Therese Prentice's Blogs on Marketing

Gaining Profit At Low Maintenance Costs With EBooks

2009-09-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

If it’s money that you are after, then there are many online business ideas that you can take advantage of. EBooks are just one way to do that and it doesn’t cost you a lot. In fact, for the little investment that you make, you can turn a profit quite easily.

Just what are EBooks anyway?

An eBook is basically an electronic book. It is called as such because it is a digital form of a regular book and many people are starting to prepare its format over regular books. One reason for this is that an eBook can be a summarized version of a bigger book. And the best thing is that you can make it yourself.

Another reason why eBooks are popular is because of storage. EBooks can be stored in any electronic device and this means that you will be saving more shelf space at home. They can be read online and even be printed if necessary. EBooks can be accessed from anywhere and can be found just about anywhere online. It is much easier, for example, to find a certain title than it is to get the same title in the traditional paperback format.

Why is this important?

If you like to write and have the talent to capture readers’ attention, then you can turn this skill into a profit through eBooks that you can present on your blog or website. This is especially useful if you have a certain niche that even you are passionate about. You can create your own eBook on certain topics and then offer them on your sites for a price.

Now, when it comes to cost, you are only spending a little time to research what you need. Of course, you will need your computer, access to the web, and the required software to make an eBook. The eBook itself, of course, needs to be something that will be useful to your readers.

As for pricing, it will really depend on the length of the eBook. You can, for example, charge a higher price for an eBook that is longer than usual but the information must be useful and important to the reader.

Writing the eBook is simple. It can be a .DOC file that you made on your computer. You can use MS Publisher to make a different format and to add elements that you think your readers will appreciate. Or you can make a PDF that you can post anywhere online for the convenience of your readers because this is a widely accepted format.

The sale

Once you have your eBook(s) ready, all that’s left is getting people to download it. You only need to market it the way that you would market your website or blog.

Do this by article marketing. You can use articles to further market the eBook that you are about to sell. These articles can be used in article submission sites, in your own blog, or on forums. The information has to be enticing so that people will direct their attention to your eBook. You can give special mention to your eBooks in those articles which will include links to it.

EBooks can also be advertised to your customer as they are making a purchase. Once a purchase has been made on one of your products, you can send out an email to your customer pointing to your eBooks.

Again, it doesn’t cost much to make and you will make a lot of money selling an eBook or a series of them. If you have the talent, don’t let it go to waste; make a business out of it.

http://www.adaywiththerese.com

Build A List And Make Money Through Special Reports

2009-09-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Your business may need a boost. If it does, then you might want to use special reports. Special reports can help to boost your revenue and at the same time will help you build a list of contacts that you can use in the future.

Basically, special reports are documents that show information about a certain topic. They can be anywhere from 5 to over 20 pages long. You can even write these reports yourself if you know how to. You don’t really need much to make them but these reports are really important in growing an online business.

One example of special reports is a “How-To” report. These are actually the most popular online these days and they are usually a guide on how something is done or how a product is used. This is really great if you are someone with a niche of customers looking for software or hardware information. A lot of people these days still have trouble using their computers and look for guides that will help them out.

The tricky part about special reports is how to market them but there are several ways to do this. You can use special reports as a free offering if you are trying to build a list of customers. Basically, a customer will sign up to your website in exchange for the free report. This report can be on anything from how to deal with technical computer problems to improving kitchen storage in a small home. It all depends on your niche.

Another way is to split the report into a series for one particular topic. This way you can have customers return to your site for the next chapter or next section of the report. It can serve as a tutorial. You can use the first chapter as a way to get people to sign up. Then you can offer them the other chapters after they have signed up for the first one. This will help entice people to signing up to your site.

Of course, you really want to know how to make money from these special reports and you don’t need to build a list first to do this. In fact, you can sell the reports directly. Some people price their reports from $5 to up to $20 but the information has to be valuable enough that you would actually sell it. It will always depend on the kind of information that you are selling. One way so that readers will trust that your information is really valuable, is to offer a part of the report for free. That portion will share just a little of the whole report. Your customers can then be offered the rest of the report for a fee.

Now, you can use reports for affiliate marketing as well. This will eventually happen as your business gets bigger. Offer incentives to customers so that they will earn some money for themselves as well. Give them reports of your products that they can use to help market themselves and your business at the same time.

Special reports are very flexible and you need to build your library of reports as soon as you can. This is very important if you don’t have a list already. But if you have a list and need to start affiliate marketing, then special reports is one way to do it successfully. It’s low cost, and a whole lot of profit.

http://www.adaywiththerese.com

Business Ideas on the Internet

2009-09-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

You can try out all kinds of businesses online. You can either be part of another business or make one of your own. Of course, starting up your own online business will present great advantages and you just need one idea to help you find your niche.

These days, the economy is forcing people to start businesses with a low startup and the Internet is a great place to do that. You just need a computer, an Internet connection and a telephone and you can start right away. And when it comes to ideas, here are a few that you can try out.

1. Blogs. Blogging is a great way to have an Internet presence without all the technical problems and without the startup cash because blogs can be set up for free. You can blog about anything that interests you and other people. The best kind of blog is one that has a niche topic. You can make money out of affiliate programs like Google AdSense and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising techniques will help you too.

2. Research. Another idea is to do research for companies that are looking for specific information. You will be surprised to know that there are companies who will pay you to scour the Internet just to help them market their products.

3. Sell. Got a hobby? Then sell it to the world! Some people make a great living by making things and then selling them online. This includes making stuff like clothes and bags. If you have something to offer, then start a website that will advertise your wares.

4. eBay. Got a lot of things you want to get rid of? Don’t throw them away, sell them on eBay. eBay gives you a virtual storefront where you can display your goods and you can have people bid for your products or buy them outright. The more products you have, the bigger and better business you will maintain.

5. Freelance. If you have a particular set of skills that you would like to share with other companies, then you can offer yourself as a freelancer. A lot of businesses look for freelancers because it will cost them less to maintain them. However, this means that you can gain a profit from them, depending on the kind of service that you can offer.

6. Virtual Assistant (VA) – VA’s are fast becoming popular in the business world. Basically, the virtual assistant will perform all the administrative services of a company from the comfort of their own home. You will find VA’s working in industries like medicine, real estate, and marketing. They can be anything from a site administrator to an Internet researcher.

7. Membership website – These websites are all over the Internet. Basically, you can join a membership site and then choose your own niche that you feel suits you best. What you do is pay for a certain level and you get perks from being a member. These perks can be in the form of newsletters, videos, and articles. These materials will help you to make your business grow. The idea here is to start your own membership website and then offer your materials to members for a fee.

These are just some of the ideas that you can try out as your own online business. There are a lot more if you just use your imagination.

5 Ways to Make a Website Sell Itself

2009-09-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

A website is everything when it comes to business. It can be your calling card, your storefront, and your marketing scheme in one. This is why it is important that you make it so that your image is confident and enticing at the same time. You need to have an impact on your market so that they always come back for more. Here are five ways that you can do to make your website sell itself.

Interactivity

Your website needs to be more than just a pretty face. If you make your website a place where people can stay and interact with its elements, the chances of success are higher. You can do this by:

• Starting a forum
• Starting polls and a discussion board
• Letting people rank your products or other things
• Start a blog with comments sections
• Start contests where people can involve themselves to win stuff
• Post videos or audio content

Value

The reasons that people go to your website are varied. But the reason people go online is because they are looking for something. It can be a product or a service and this is why you should appear valuable to them at all times. You need a product, information on it, and elements that will entertain your visitors. You can do this by:

• Offering “how to” articles, audio, or video
• Offering tip articles, audio, or video
• Show case studies
• Provide reports
• Show interviews with experts on certain topics
• Offer product reviews

Easy Navigation

When you browse a site, you usually look at how simple it is to get around it. You don’t want to confuse your readers by offering all sorts of links that repeat themselves throughout your site every now and then. Make sure that you have all the main elements of a website and make sure that it is easy to navigate. Simple navigation can often be the key to whether or not your customer will come back for more. You can make your site navigable by:

• Keeping your navigation simple
• Using uniform pages
• Organizing content for easy access
• Offer search functions
• Making good use of a back key option
• Testing your site in different browsers

Easy To Look At

You have to make sure that your site is easy on the eyes. There are many sites on the Internet that do not consider what colors to use and what font sizes will help people read text easier. Think about what colors you will use and what elements will make your site much friendlier to the eyes. You can do this by:

• Choosing the right color palette
• Using graphics that do not distract
• Formatting your site conservatively
• Spacing out sentences and paragraphs
• Using a font size and a font that is easy for people to read

Sell Softly

Expect people to want to be sold on something whenever they visit. For this reason, you don’t want to do a hard sell on people. What you need is to offer something that they will be grateful for. This can include information on your products, solutions to their problems and benefits that they can get out of your products and services. This is known as a soft sell.

A website can sell itself if it is structured properly in both content and visuals. You can get more tips from friends or you can also start a survey that will get people involved to help you improve your website look.

http://www.adaywiththerese.com

How to Increase Backend Sales from your Current Customers

2009-08-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

Making good money from your front-end products but not making the most of your backend operations makes you miss out on the greatest opportunities of making higher profits.
The thriving marketers actually found their way to success through backend marketing. They maximize catering the needs of their customers by providing a line of products that will address to those needs.
We all know that backend products are those products you sell after the main products have been purchased. These are supplementary items that will help improve the performance of the front-end purchases.
To conveniently carry backend marketing out, you can send your customers another page containing other offers when they click on the link where they are supposed to download their product. See to it that your “other offers” are related to the main product that it is going to be easier for you to actually sell them.
Offering discounts and privileges on your front-end products if your customers buy your backend products will tempt them to avail of the offer for the savings and convenience they get out of the package. This will also help you build your mailing list, having more opportunity to make repeat customers.
This business do not require more than a little creativity and a pinch of initiative to make backend sales work for you.

http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com

Choosing the Products for a Successful Backend Sale

2009-08-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

People who have marked their success in the internet marketing industry claim that a large portion of their profit comes from backend sales. Every marketer must apply this strategy to their businesses to earn more, too. You just need to establish a trustworthy reputation and a little persuasive skill to go along with it.
Backend products comprise of suggested RELATED products or services to SUPPLEMENT the main product. Tale not of the terms related and supplement. These two must go hand in hand for your backend products to be actually of real help to your customers. Never offer backend products that are of no relevance to your main product. This will do you no good as it will create an impression that you are just milking money out of your customers.
Since your customers have already purchased from you, it already means they trust your brand because they invested in it. Thus, it becomes easier for you to encourage them to make business with you again. This is why it is important for you to take good care of your customers.
For a business to be successful, you cannot really rely on one product alone. The easiest way for you to keep your business rolling is by backend marketing. Without it, your business will gradually come to a halt once the untapped market runs out.

Backend Marketing Method

2009-07-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

The first thing that might come to your mind when your business needs a boost is the traditional reach-widening. You would normally resort to looking for people to market your products to. However, it won’t be an easy thing to do. And it’s not very effective, too. Most of the time, it won’t generate you that much of a profit. The most basic and most overlooked solution to this is the profitable backend marketing approach. This won’t take you much. Just a bit of convincing skills will do. All you really need is to be persuasive enough to make your customers buy another product from you.
This part here is going to be easier. Since your customers have already bought from you, this literally spells belief in your product. It goes to show that they trust your services enough to make business with you. Technically, you won’t have to start from scratch and try to win their trust because you already have earned it. This means they won’t be reluctant to buy whatever you recommend them to, unless they already have it.
Suggesting another product that supplements the front-end product they bought from you is one of the simplest and most effective ways of carrying out backend marketing. The secret here is to recommend a product with a better performance but with a higher price. Thus, you earn more from it.
One good technique marketers make is displaying suggestions of related products. People often check it out of curiosity and will end up buying more than they actually plan.
This technique sounds so simple but is very effective. It requires minimal effort yet gives your customers the impression that their needs are met efficiently. In return, it strengthens your business relationship with them. Offer them privileges to make them feel that they are making good bargain from you.
To put everything simply, all you have to do is sell a reliable product to your customers and then recommend a more expensive yet very useful product to supplement what they first bought. This is how as easy as pie backend marketing can be.

Affiliate Marketing and Backend Selling

2009-07-27T06:38:00.001-07:00

Mastering backend marketing as a craft will make you fight the gradual decline of your sales. Many people don’t know this but those who do have indeed maximized backend marketing to its full potential, thus, sowing its fruits abundantly.
Relatively speaking, backend marketing is very easy because once a customer invested his money on your offer, he is investing his trust on you as well. This makes convincing them for secondary purchase easier.
When you are already trusted by the customers, you can charge higher prices on the backend products without making them wonder why. All you really need to do is convince your customers that they need the backend product to aid the performance of the front-end product he purchased. You need to make sure, though, that your main product is of high quality.
Backend marketing increases your income in a few days’ time. Many marketers, however, do not realize what this technique brings. This might be because most marketers refuse to give higher commissions to their affiliates. They think that they’re losing a lot of amount when they do that. What they fail to see is that they can earn more even after paying higher commissions because affiliates will be more driven to market your products, thus, having more opportunity to generate more sales. More customers these affiliates drive to your site generally means more profit for you!

Getting Started With Your Backend Strategy

2009-07-20T04:47:00.001-07:00

Backend products, in its simplest definition, are the products you sell after selling your front-end products.
Starting a business basically requires acquiring new customers. However, that is going be expensive because you will have to spend on costly advertising costs. It is easier to sell to old customers, according to research by Fortune magazine, because new buyers are almost always hesitant about making a first purchase. On the other hand, since old customers have already tried your products, they already have a ground why they should trust your business. This makes it easier for them to buy again from you. Remember that with all businesses, good relationships with customers are important. It creates a foundation on whose basis you can introduce new products to.
Keep in mind, though, that while it is important to create backend products, it is more important to be mindful of its relevance and compatibility with your main product. Doing otherwise will create a negative impression on your customers and will hurt your reputation and business position.
How will you know what your customers think about your product line? The simplest, surest way is to ask your customers about it. And what better way to do that than by conducting a survey! This is one good reason you should have your own mailing list. You can send your customers a standard questionnaire which they can answer at their most convenient tome. This is more advisable than phone surveys because you might catch your customers in the midst of an important activity and interrupt them. You might also want to check what your competitor is selling because their product might work for you, too. Remember that you have the same target customers. Your products are closely related, if not similar.
Instead of starting from scratch, it’s more convenient if you try to acquire rights from someone else’s products. Check those companies who are about to go out of business and save yourself the hassle of going back to square one.
For any business to become successful, you must have faith in it. Doubting your own business won’t do you any good. Go for something you truly believe in and it will truly radiate and bring you success later on.

What is a Backend Product?

2009-07-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

Whether your business is an online or an offline business, backend products are important for you to figure out whether or not your profits are marginal or staggering.
Some businessmen fail to give importance to repeat customers. They merely focus on having as many customers as they can without giving much attention to reselling to the existing ones. What they don’t realize is how backend marketing can do wonders to their business.
Never confuse “backend” from “up sell” because there is a big difference between the two. Backend is the sale made after the initial sale while up sell is the additional product or service offered to customers while selling something and occurs before a sale is made.
Why is The Money in the Backend?
Backend concept ensures you unlimited profit because you no longer have to spend on customer acquisition cost. You won’t have to charge your customers higher prices either. That means you can cash in upon your goodwill and build strong and lasting relationships with your customers. This is going to be an advantage to you because studies show that around 35% of these customers will buy from you again.
Let’s say the original cost of a product is $30 and you’re selling it for $97. Regardless of how less you spent on that product compared to its selling price, you can’t be assured of high profits because you still have to spend on advertisement and promotion. Assuming you spent $600 for the ads and you got yourself ten customers. Your gross profit will be $670 [$97 x 10 customers) – ($30 x 10 customers)] while your net profit will only be $70 because you still have to deduct the ad expenses from the gross profit.
If you don’t apply the backend concept, your profit will only stay at $70. On the other hand, offering backend products or services to these ten customers will earn you more. If 30% of these customers avail of your backend offers at $250 each, you make another $750 for yourself. Add it up to your initial profit, you now have $820 for a profit.
Given that scenario, do you now see what the backend concept can do for your business? This just goes to show that even though initial sales may not generate that big a profit for you, your backend sale can help you make up for it.
Importance of Backend Strategy
When you are selling information products on the web, you will usually think that there is a need for you to create many products in variety and in different niches. But sooner or later, you will need to find another way to leverage your list of products when anyone purchases any of those.
So when you’re selling anything, you need to develop a backend product that is related to your front-end product whether complementary or an accompaniment. When you already have developed one, make sure to let your existing customers know about it. They will purchase for sure if your backend product is what they are looking for.
You should realize that you earn more from selling different products to the same customers rather than from trying to sell a single product to a vast number of different ones.
It is better to gain small profits from a steady circle of customers rather than making higher but one time profits from others. Remember, repeat customers serve as the foundation of your business. You should also create an efficient backend strategy that will suit your customers’ needs. Know their concerns and preferences for you to be able to do that. Creating a poll or posting a questionnaire will make it easier for you to gather information from your customers. See to it, though, that you still provide quality service and information to your customers while you’re at it.
These polls and questionnaires will also help you build your mailing list so you won’t need to constantly send sales pitches out. Since you have their addresses on your list, you can send them teasers and perks that will make them want to buy from you and gain further access to the information.
It is important to gain trust from your customers because once you have established your trustworthiness, it will be easier for you to make sales from them. These customers will be your key to making steady profit over the years so never do anything that will break that trust.

The Importance of Backend Marketing

2009-07-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

You may think you have done every knick and every knack of internet marketing so it may come as a surprise to you why you’re not as successful as you hope for. Well have I got news for you! If you haven’t thought about backend marketing, you actually haven’t done “everything” just yet. You must have noticed how the industry is jammed with competition so you must have known already that for you to survive in this business, you should keep up with the trends and take the lead while you’re at it. Never let your competition leave you behind. Thus, you need to invest in backend marketing.
As mentioned earlier, it is easier to make sales from an old customer than from a new one. Marketing estimates state that eight out of 10 old customers will most likely buy from you again given that they are satisfied with their bargain. These people know what it’s like to use your product and this will serve as a basis for them to believe that what you offer is reliable and really functional.
For this reason, it is very important for you to take care of old customers. They are your business’ foundation. Building strong and lasting relationships with them will help you out more than you know. These people are the ones who will almost certainly avail your new products when you offer them. More than that, since they have already tried your products out, they are already familiar with your product line. Their responsiveness to your products’ changes will help you evaluate your products so you know how and what to adjust if necessary.
Give loyal customers perks, discounts, and privileges to make them come back and buy from you over and over again. One good approach many marketers make is by offering big rebates to their customers. This is a proven way of attracting more customers, keeping the new, and also reviving the inactive ones.
Inactive customers are more important than it seems. Remember, these customers have already tried out your products in the past. A little push and a little reminder are what they need to resume making business with you. Give them a call or email them information about the privileges you offer. This almost always catches their attention and gives them reason to start buying from you again.
It is true that your business cannot just start and end with the same product. You should keep on providing your customers with fresh solutions every time. Give them something to look forward to and they will definitely keep on coming back for more.

Does Squidoo Really Turn A Profit?

2009-07-14T00:40:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to make a profit online and especially on Squidoo. This is one of the very few social networks that are built specifically for people promoting their own services and products. It’s kind of like an online co-op where people can share commissions made from sites like eBay.

Ever used Google AdSense? This is another way you can make a profit through sharing revenues. The only catch about this system is that you need to have enough quality content in your lens to actually have more and more people visit it. Only when you have a lot of visitors will you actually see some money being made.

Does Squidoo really turn a profit? It can if you are industrious enough to build your lenses into quality content portals that also have sales functions or affiliate links for products you would like to promote. The beauty about the system is that it is easy to use and you have all the discretion to do with it as you please. Set up your page or lens the way you want it and with the content that you see fit to market your product.

In terms of productivity as a writer or artist, Squidoo serves as an excellent tool online. Search engines recognize it fully and this means that you can gain the attention of millions of people from around the world and you don’t even need web developer experience. Top time it takes to set up your own business page with Squidoo? 20 to 30 minutes depending on how much initial content you will upload to your lens.

Another way to use Squidoo is to market or direct people towards your own existing website through back links. This will help the ranking of your website as well and this can help generate more hits to your page. Provide information to your marker about the products that you offer through Squidoo and then link them to your website pages.

Squidoo is a great tool for marketing your business and it really can turn a profit if you use it correctly. You only need to know how to present yourself and your product to the world and then turn that information into a Squidoo lens. Be professional or be fun; it all depends on how you want to project on Squidoo; and if you do it right, Squidoo will serve you well in return.

Creating Multiple Streams of Affiliate Marketing Income

2009-07-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Multiple streams of income is one reliable way of keeping your business afloat. It is also believed to save businessmen from the famine effect that is prevalent in the business industry. Multiple streaming is genuinely advisable for those in the affiliate marketing business because it assures them that even if some of their income streams are sinking, they will still have a fall back and will not directly go into bankruptcy.
The first step you should take in creating multiple streams of income is to assess your resources. You do need to know just what you’ve got before you head off to war. Know your capabilities and skills, and your resources as well. These will basically help you figure out the kind of business you should venture in. you might also want to consider your family and friends. Determine their abilities and resources as well. You can ask assistance from them from time to time and have access to what they possess. On the other hand, if you already own a site or are a webmaster, you surely have an aged. Joining an affiliate marketing business will definitely be a wise step to make for you to generate extra income.
Affiliate marketing business is one of the most enticing ways to help you gain multiple income sources because it comes in different shapes and forms. They have a wide variety of choices for you to venture in. there are also a lot of training materials to help you improve your affiliate marketing abilities.
To create income streams, being an affiliate marketer helps you attain just that. Whether you are working part time or full time, you have an advantage of promoting products and services from web merchants. Through this, you certainly can earn much even without investing large amounts and without having to worry much about customer support, bookkeeping, and e-commerce. You don’t have to do much except promote and resell the products and services in your site.
It is wise to advertise as much merchants as you can with affiliate marketing so you can offer you visitors as much options to choose from. With the use of multiple merchants, you can ensure yourself of multiple streams of affiliate income. This helps you secure your business from downfall just in case crisis occurs.
You must be mindful of the affiliate programs you choose though. You have to go only for those that catch your interest in order for you to be able to promote them effectively. Don’t sign up on numerous affiliate programs just for the sake of signing up. You may end up signing up on programs that you do not actually believe in. it is always best if you go for those that suit your interest.
To make multiple streams more stable, you should learn to adopt other strategies and techniques to help you develop your skills and equip yourself with more traits to make you more successful in your affiliate marketing business.
Never focus only on one stream. They must all be of equal importance. That way you still can bail out when you catch your business in critical moments. This is what multiple streams are for.

Google Adsense Profits Mixed In With Affiliate Marketing

2009-07-08T03:18:00.000-07:00

If you are a webmaster who needs financial to keep your website running or if your website is your bread and butter and you need cash, affiliate marketing might just be what you’re looking for. Affiliate marketing brings a lot of funds flowing into your bank account. Moreover, if your website offers excellent content, you might also want to try Google Adsense, too.
To put it simply, affiliate marketing is an agreement between websites. One website is the merchant’s and the other, the affiliate’s. In this agreement, the affiliate allows the merchant to promote and market his products on the affiliate’s site. They would then agree on how the merchant will pay the affiliate for it. This is beneficial for both parties because the affiliate will earn from doing nothing but placing the merchant’s ad on his site while the merchant gets to promote his products for a cheaper cost.
There are lots of ways the merchant can pay the affiliate for his usefulness. This means earning easy cash for the webmaster. Some of the common ways to earn on this are the pay-per-click, pay-per-lead, and the pay-per-sale methods. Affiliates prefer the pay-per-click method over the two others because with this method, the visitor will only have to click on the advertiser’s site for them to gain money. The merchant’s, on the other hand, prefer the other two methods because they will only have to pay once the visitors but from them.
You should not rely, however, on the method you will use because it does not guarantee more visitors because it only means greater chances of making sales.
What does Google Adsense have to do with affiliate marketing?
Google Adsense is some kind of affiliate marketing program. With this program, Google serves as the middleman between merchants and affiliates. The merchants will have to sign up with Google and supply Google with their text ads about their products. These ads will then appear on Google searches, on the affiliate’s sites, and on the webmaster’s sites.
But even though Google Adsense and other affiliate marketing programs seem to have a lot of similarities, they also differ in so many ways. All the webmaster has to do, in Google Adsense, is to place a code on his site and Google will take care of everything else. Generally, Google will only place relevant links you our site. This works well for you and the advertiser because those who will visit your site will be those who are interested with whatever it is you’re advertising.
Pay-per-click method is the basis of Google Adsense’s compensation to the affiliates. The advertisers pay Google an amount everytime someone clicks an ad on your site. Google would then deduct their share from the amount and forward the rest of the amount to you. Checks are sent monthly. And to assure you of transparency, Google provides a tracking tool that lets you monitor your earnings from the ads.
How then is this relevant to all of us?
This generally leads us to acquiring more profits. Both affiliate marketing and Google Adsense programs work for you, whether you are a merchant or an affiliate. The merchants get to save costs with affiliate marketing. Webmasters easily gain income by creating websites. And if you combine your profits from both Google Adsense and affiliate marketing, you will surely come up with large amounts of profits.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

2009-07-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

A Content Management System (CMS) is exactly what is claims to be — a way to manage your website content. It is an application that is used to create, edit, manage, search, and publish various kinds of images and texts. A good CMS makes publishing and updating your website effortless.
There are four main types of CMS to choose from. Look into each type thoroughly with their respective uses so that you can decide to go for what suits you best.
• Enterprise CMS – used to manage and store content which are related to organizational processes. This tool allows the server to manage the unstructured information of the browsers.
• Web CMS – used for generating, managing, and regulating a wide range of HTML collection.
• Mobile CMS – designed to simplify the publication of content for mobile device browsers. This tool generally resizes the images and graphics to fit the screen of the mobile device being used.
• Component CMS – manages content at a “component” or basic units rather than at the document level. This tool has greater accuracy and has lesser costs compared with the three others.
Any of the above-mentioned CMS support any of the following features:
• They have the ability to assign responsibilities to different categories.
• They send messages to alert servers about content changes.
• They track multiple versions of a single instance of content.
• They capture content.
• They publish the content to a storage area called repository to support content access.
You choose carefully whatever feature it is you need for your site. Decide on which will help you best and go for it. Choosing the right CMS for you is a very challenging task but it is something you need to think of thoroughly. A CMS that is carefully planned for helps maintain the consistency of your pages’ content and creates a lasting effect on your site.
With all the CMS today, wordpress has become a popular choice because it is the easiest one to use and changing its template is not as complicated as the others. But beginners are recommended to use joomla or dupral because they’re the friendliest tools for those who have no background with CMS.
It has been said that CMS can transform a weak website to a profitable making entity. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and let it change your business just as it did to many others.

Promoting Backend Products for Increased Sales

2009-07-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

Before trying to promote your backend products, you must first have a definite idea of what a backend product really is. A backend product is the commodity or service related to the front-end item offered to the customers.
The concept here is that it is easier to make secondary sales to the customers whom you already made business with. Successful business owners have seen this and used it to their advantage. Those who do not use backend marketing miss out on the opportunity to earn more than what they get from just selling their main products.
One good way of catching your customers’ attention is by including a not-so-obvious ad on the thank you note you give them after the purchase. Mention your backend product along with the purchase of the main product and give them discounts for it. This will surely entice them to avail of the backend product.
You can also give them freebies when they purchase from you. Or offer regular customers rebates and special packages for the purchase of your backend products. Or you can cut off the price of your new items just for your loyal customers and offer it to them before introducing it to the market. This is going to make them feel that their loyalty is given importance and thus, you build strong business relationship with them. Moreover, send out another thank you note after the purchase of each backend product. Make your customers feel that their purchase is appreciated. This is going to show business etiquette, too.
Set up a portion of your site just for product updates. This is an ideal place for the promotion of your backend offers. Even when customers want to withdraw their subscription, you still can attract them to buy. Include a small ad in the withdrawal from and try to offer them something else, something better. This is backend marketing, too.
All of the abovementioned tactics do not require too much effort from you, yet will surely generate you more profit than you can by just selling front-end goods. Do not miss out on this because it will make you miss out on profits, too.

http://nichemarketingfordirectsalesleaders.com/

Do You Have What it Takes to be an Affiliate Marketer?

2009-07-01T01:12:00.000-07:00

Different people have different interests. Some are into books, music, parties, and other indoor activities while others are into the outdoor ones such as sports and traveling. Our interests become part of the person that we are and our outlet when we want to lay low from the hustles and bustles of the real world. But come to think of it, how many of us actually make money out of the things that make us happy?
Making money out of our interests gives us the advantage of earning extra income. It may also give us the option of quitting the jobs that we most likely hate. For this reason, quite a number of us would resort to having our own online businesses. This is to make an addendum to our regular income or to progressively substitute the jobs that we have. If you are thinking about this, then you might want to consider venturing into affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is one great activity where web merchants share revenues with other affiliates. When affiliates refer clicks, leads, or sales, they are paid a commission. This is an advantage on the affiliate because they don’t have to spend on creating their own products but earn from them nonetheless. What’s more is, that they are free from e-commerce, bookkeeping, and customer support concerns.
Let’s say you do want to be an affiliate marketer. The question is, do you have what it takes to be one? Before anything else, you first need to decide on the areas that catch your interest. Resolve on your forte and start from there. Make sure you possess the qualities of a good affiliate marketer such as perseverance, fortitude, determination, and endurance.
To be a good affiliate marketer, one has to be really patient. A lot of marketers lose out on business prospects because they tend to get impatient with how things flow. Another thing is that, you do need to determine your strengths and focus on maximizing them.
It is not easy to be an affiliate marketer. You have to be flexible enough to learn new techniques everytime you promote a different product or service. To be a successful affiliate marketer, you should know how to listen and be taught with the skills you need to master to help you go through the business.
Affiliate marketers should know how to run and manage their sites effectively. This allows you to acquire as many visitors as you can and make sales out of it. Technically speaking, the faster the website is set up, the greater chances you have of generating sales right away. Prevent yourself from soaring low. Aim high and focus on making your affiliate marketing business on a long term scale.
It is always best if you know how to entice your visitors to acquire the more expensive services. In return, you get to position yourself as an expert in your field and will make sales easier for you. Some people believe that just by having affiliate links, good profits will pour in. Don’t be fooled with this. It is ultimately better to have strong and quality affiliate programs because affiliate marketers are more successful when they have good business relationship with their customers.
Other than that, creativity also plays of equal importance. Affiliate marketers must be able to develop quality content based pages and attach your affiliate links to all your content. This will make customers keep coming back for more. Having given you the gist of affiliate marketing, now you decide. Do you have what it takes to be a successful affiliate marketer?
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Don’t Make These 4 Common Affiliate Mistakes!

2009-06-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Affiliate marketing has these claims that are very enticing and inviting. People who are unaware how its system really goes, tend to believe the myth that it makes you rich overnight. They buy the hearsays about those who earned fortunes with affiliate marketing. Some of these stories may be true but some people think that they are going to be rich once they acquire their own affiliate marketing business.
It is true that affiliate marketing harvests financial rewards. Businessmen go through a lot for them to reach the success they desire. A lot of them relish the rewards they wouldn’t have enjoyed had they been working ordinary jobs. They know, however, that while affiliate marketing is definitely profitable, money doesn’t come easy for hard work is entailed with it.
One of the obvious reasons why some businessmen morosely fail is that they are unaware of this fact. They believe in all the tall tales of having easy money with affiliate marketing. What they do not know is that there are also those who invested a lot of their time, effort, and a lot of their resources attempting to succeed in this business. What they must know, really, is that if they are armed with nothing but myths, they are doomed to fail in the end.
With affiliate marketing, so many have tried but few have succeeded. Why? It may somehow boils down to the fact that they are armed with wrong information about the system and how it actually runs. It goes beyond that. It is more about knowing the market and the target market.
Spotting the most common mistakes of affiliate marketing can somehow burst out its bubbles. This can lead to correcting the wrong notions often believed as true. The first common error of affiliates is their lack of knowledge with affiliate marketing’s principles.
The first common mistake of affiliate marketing pertains to search engines. Affiliate marketing involves advertising and we all know that internet advertising is almost impossible without search engines. It is very important for every affiliate to equip himself with search engine optimization so that he will be capable of setting up better websites for his business.
The next common mistake is how affiliates jam their pages with banners that do not deliver adequate information about the products and services they offer. The greatest and simplest way to combat this mistake is to provide good content together with the banners. Significantly, customers must be aware of the product features and specifications. What better way to do that than furnishing good content to your site.
The third mistake is that some affiliates promote only one product. As a result, they fail to give customers ample options to choose from. This leads to generating fewer sales in contrast to giving them a lot of other options to pick out from.
The fourth common mistake is the third mistake’s opposite. This mistake is with regards to promoting too much products. Providing your customers with more options than they actually need leads to confusion. They end up not being able to choose anything. It is best if you give them only the best options giving them the chance to choose what suits their interest the most.
In general, downfalls in affiliate marketing can be pointed to the fact that not enough effort was exerted. Affiliates must understand the system well enough for them to keep going in the industry. They must take it one step at a time. That is the simplest but most practical thing to do.
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

COMMON BLOGGING MISTAKES

2009-06-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Blogging is fun but it does not mean that you do not make mistakes. Since blogging has changed its purpose from personal usage to one for marketing then these mistakes should be avoided.
* Be consistent with your subject or topic
You should focus your blog on one niche or subject. If it is a personal blog it is best to have content relating to you and your activities. If it is a business blog then it is important to concentrate on your product or service.
It is not good to jump from one topic to another one more so if it is unrelated to your previous posts. Readers will not also like topsy-turvy topics.
* Get others to notice your blog
Blogging is one form to share and get noticed. Your interest will also be the interest of some other people thus it is necessary to drive traffic to your site.
You can drive traffic to your blog by participating with other blogs and linking to sites. With such exposure, people will be lead to your blog.
* Connect with others in your niche
If you are doing a blog to for business then you should have link exchanges with sites that are also in the same niche.
Be conscious of the mistakes will allow you to manage your blog well and lead traffic to your blog.

http://nichemarketingfordirectsalesleaders.com/

Finding Hot Selling Products to Sell

2009-06-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

For us to be able to identify what products to sell online, it is important to follow and recognize what people are willing to buy. When you come across a good idea for a product, it must be in connection with its demand in the existing market and the market share it will have eventually.
People always ask two common questions before they come up with a clear-cut decision: “what should I sell?” and “what products are hot selling?”. For us to actually grasp what we are looking for, we need to do some research. We can’t have it any other way. We will meet a lot of coiled ideas which we may believe could lead us to profit-generating ideas. What’s important is for us to be able to identify and satisfy the three minimum requirements of a purchase: the need, the wants, and the expectations. Need is the basic reason why someone wants to acquire something. It is the lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful. Thus, it is going to be necessary to possess that something. Wants are the determining dimensions among many choices. On other hand, expectations are the intangibles affiliated with the product. This is how customers anticipate and foresee how a product will work to satisfy their needs or wants.
The first thing to be considered in finding hot selling products to sell is the demand. The basic things we should take into account are its easiness to be understood and its affordability. This concept of demand works all the time, anytime.
After considering the demand, in order to find hot selling products to sell, we must take into consideration the level of competition or market share our product will have. This refers to the ration of our sales versus the total market sales. Normally, business will define their target competitors. It is the customers, on the contrary, who decide at the end of the day which of all the other brands they will choose from. We must, therefore, be practical in choosing a market segment where our product will acquire leadership among others. Take note that it is not only important to satisfy the customers’ wants and needs, we also have to profitably outdo our competition. If not, our competitors will beat us and will end up satisfying the customers better than we do.
Finding out the interest level about the product is the third factor to be considered in finding hot selling products that sell. Knowing the general interest of customers helps us establish the demand and the number of competitors we should deal with. Sometimes, we give up on pursuing a product when we find out there isn’t much demand for it and there isn’t much competition. But we don’t necessarily have to stop there. There is still one last thing that might help us get through. It is also important to know how others are advertising those products. If there is considerable number of them doing so, it might mean it is good enough to put up a good sale. Coming to end of the process, we must analyze and evaluate all the gathered information. We have to thoroughly go over everything and balance them out before really deciding on anything.
Here are a few aspects to be looked into: 1) insufficient demand means not enough people are going to buy for you to make enough profit, 2) too much competition means you might not be able to generate enough sales for the business, 3) too much advertising will cost you too much, and 4) not enough general interest plus low demand means that even if there are competitors trying to hit the market, there might not be a good market out there for you.
Take time to think about all of these in great detail and you will certainly find hot selling products for you to sell.

Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

How to Drive Laser-Targeted Traffic Using Overture

2009-06-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

It is inevitable that with online businesses, no traffic generally means no sales. Because of this, businessmen are willing to spend large amounts just to reach to the top of the search results. Since you are promoting a product in your site, you need as many visitors as you can attract. This is practically the most basic guideline of online marketing businesses. You have to start right, for you to succeed. Doing otherwise will not help you move up the ladder of success no matter how hard you work for it.
Undeniably, driving traffic to your site holds the key to success to affiliate marketing. This is the most effective way of promoting your product. Affiliate marketing gives you the most secured strategy which is paying for performance. This is very practical because you only spend those that were acquired from the sales generated. You only pay for commission only when sales is made. And the proven and tested most effective way to do this in affiliate marketing is by laser-targeted traffic to your site and by means of pay-per-click search engines or PPCSEs.
With internet marketing’s entire saga, overture claims to be the best PPSCE. This can be credited because advertising in Overture Premium Listings gets your site enlisted on leading search engines such as Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, Netscape, and more. This gives you the advantage of being found by more than 80% of internet users.
Overture elicits good sales because it allows you to pay for performance by driving those you want to target to your niche. People get to visit your site and find exactly what they are looking for. The secret is to drive laser-targeted traffic to your site by using keywords that are relevant to what you offer. The more precise your keywords are, the greater opportunity you have of being found. This practically equates to greater opportunity of generating sales and lesser cost for each new sale.
By helping you stay away from the most common, general keywords, Overture attracts more traffic for your site. These general keywords are usually more expensive and costly on your part. Overture, on the other hand, gives you a wider range of laser-focused, more targeted keywords that are less expensive.
With overture, you are given the opportunity to respond to your customers, and build stronger, long-lasting relationships with them. One time sales can’t bring you success in this business. Repeat customers are very important and PPSCEs like Overture helps you attain that. They also allow visitors to respond.
Overture also provides “backup response” to those who almost “almost bought” your products. To accomplish this, advertising your product over and over again will bring you more customers. Perks and bonuses will help you with that, too. Some of the backup responses you might want to use are free newsletters, free catalogs and promos that will give them chances to win free goods and products. Offering discounts and special offers to repeat customers will also keep them coming back and establish trust with them. This will even lead them to spread the good news through word of mouth.
After all that’s been said, it all boils down to one thing: pay for performance is one of the most efficient techniques that businessmen should take advantage of. Driving traffic to your site and converting these traffics to sales through Overtures is a very helpful strategy you wouldn’t want to miss.

Making Money Selling Other People’s Products

2009-06-17T00:51:00.001-07:00

Because of the dazzling opportunities online business and marketing bring, more and more people are getting enticed with it. This is to supplement their regular jobs or even to ultimately replace them. A lot of people have seen online marketing’s numerous benefits already and so should you.
Since this is an online business we are talking about, it means a wider market reach for you. You get to sell not only locally, domestically, but internationally as well. Practically, this translates to higher profits. What’s more, you won’t have to spend as much as you will if you’re setting up a regular establishment. This is more economical and will most likely save you a lot of expenses.
One more advantage of affiliate marketing is that you don’t have to have own products to sell. All you really have to do is sell or just even try to. But the products you have to sell do not necessarily have to be yours. You just need to set an agreement with a merchant and start from there.
Because of this, affiliate marketing has become the most popular method of selling other people’s products online and the fastest growing, too. It is basically a relationship between merchants and affiliates where the affiliates promote whatever the merchants’ products are. Typically, the merchants provide the affiliates with ads that will link to their web pages. The affiliates post these ads on their sites and will get a commission everytime traffic is driven to the merchant’s site or when a sales is made.
Th process is generally easy. All you have to do is sign up as an affiliate marketer for a company that offers affiliate marketing programs. Or you can sign up as a member of an affiliate network. There are countless networks to choose from. Some are for a fee. Those fees, however, are just normally for the tools you need to jumpstart your business and are very helpful.
Once you have signed up with an affiliate marketing program, you are now ready to earn from marketing other people’s products. But how? There are many ways to do so but it basically depends on the affiliate program you signed up with.
There are three ways to compensate affiliates: pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-lead (PPL), or pay-per-sales (PPS) method. Merchants usually opt for PPS because they will only have to pay the affiliates once an actual sale is made. Affiliates, on the other hand, prefer the other two methods because they earn even without actually selling.
To further help affiliates earn more, there are what we call two-tier programs. These programs not only pay affiliates for the traffic or sales they direct to the site but also for the traffic or sales directed by the affiliates who signed up with the program through his recommendation.
Moreover, there are also residual affiliate programs to help you with your affiliate marketing. These programs get affiliates paid for as long as the merchants keep the customers that they, the affiliates, referred to the merchant’s site. Or, the affiliates get paid a percentage per month for as long as the company keeps the referred customer.
Look into all these options and advantages and see just how profitable it can be for you. You can earn as much as you want to. You just have to work hard for it. Dedication and hard work will definitely get affiliates where they want to be. Be an affiliate now and make money from others’ products just like others did.

TIPS TO GET YOUR DIRECT SALES GROOVE BACK

2009-06-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

When someone just got started with his own direct sales business, chances are he will be so ecstatic about it and will be envisioning so much about his sales and recruitments over a period of time. The excitement is so hefty that you work on it ‘round the clock and there is a still so much you want to do. But as this transpires over time, your frenzy slowly fades as you realize that your goals are not met. You then begin to ask yourself: is this business really for you?
Yes it is! Before you let your business go, try to recall why you’re in this business in the first place. Find your motivation somewhere within you. Read on and find out how.
1. Rework your goals.
If you haven’t met a goal or two, don’t get down on yourself. Stop and think about why you didn’t meet those milestones. Maybe you aimed too high too early. On the flip side of the coin, maybe you made the goal too easy to obtain and when you reached it the sense of accomplishment just wasn’t there. Take the time to re-evaluate your goals and set some new ones that will help to get you pumped up again.
2. Look up to successful members of your team.
Ask others what keeps them going. They might be able to inspire you and give you insights on how they got to where they are. This is a very relative matter and what works for them may not work for you but being able to listen to their endeavors might just enlighten your mind and make you move forward instead of stopping right where you are and putting all you effort, money, and time to waste, too.
3. Think about what got you in the business.
You are where you are for some reason. Revisit your past and relive that reason, whatever it may be. This might just help you feel the excitement you once felt when you first started. When you do, focus on that reason once again.
4. Past Customers Make Repeat Customers
Take the time to call old customers. Repeat customers can make up a huge portion of your business.
5. Talk to Your Recruiter
When you feel like you’ve run out of people to contact, ask your recruiter if they have access to leads from others who have left the company or some of their own they don’t have the time to work with that they would be willing to send your way.
6. Pull Out Your Product
If you haven’t used the product you’re selling in awhile, pull it out and remember what makes it so great. Do you have out of season items that you can bundle and offer for a special sale? If so, pull them out, put something together and call people to show them what you’ve got to offer.
7. Go to the Company Motivators
Majority of the sales companies have materials that they use to motivate their members. These may be in the form of newsletters, videos, CDs and such. Take time to read, watch, and listen to these materials. You will surely be able to pick something up that will make you want to keep going. Attend a meeting too. They are meant to lift the spirits and will show you that others have been where you are right now and come out on top.
Just like everything else in life, there will come a time when boredom of something sets in. remember though that this is just part of a cycle. Making it through the tough times is what makes for a successful business. You CAN do it. And you should!
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan. http://nichemarketingfordirectsalesleaders.com/

Video

2009-06-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

Videos are yet another marketing strategy in the advent of internet. With all the other techniques of catching people’s attention, business owners do not anymore rely only on images and texts. They now make use of videos and designate a portion of their sites for them.

How are videos nay better than just seeing images and reading contents of a web page? A lot of webmasters have discovered the power of videos as a way of generating income over the internet. They have realized that more than just images and words, videos can better illustrate the product or service advantages by personally conveying it yourself.

Videos are indeed an effective way to getting your message across right. What you say, how you say it, and how you look when you say it makes a really big difference than just reading through it. In many cases, videos enhance sales letters, if not, ultimately replace them.

The success of any website is marked by the traffic it gained and videos have proven to help you gain them. It is easier for a visitor to visually understand a demonstration on a topic or on a tutorial as compared to reading. Videos help explain things that are hard to put into writing.

Videos have different file formats for different needs. Here are the following:

• MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group generally produces better-quality video than competing formats, such as Video for Windows, Indeo and QuickTime.

• WMV - Windows Media Video is a compressed video file format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. A multiplexed (audio and video combined) MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 file mpeg was not developed for any particular operating system

• QT - QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation, music, and interactive panoramic images.

• MOV - designed initially for the Mac platform but is now usable via a plug-in and helper application on most other operating systems.

• AVI - Audio Video Interleave files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback.

• RM- It is typically used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio and is used for streaming content over the Internet. archetypial streamed video files basic player can still be downloaded for free at http://www.real.com/. You can also use the files as non streamed format, but they are not so well designed for that

• FLV- Flash Video is a file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player.

Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Teleseminars

2009-06-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

A teleseminar is an emerging new way to communicate, provide training over the phone, and conduct business without the cost and hassle of traveling. The audience may range from a few callers to 1000 participants depending on the capacity of the bridgeline and on the prestige of the topic. Typically, these conference calls are recorded for future use. During these calls, there is an allocated time for the presentation of the topic and also for the questions to be raised by the audience. Teleseminars are yet another unique way to reach people and inform them of your purpose.

Teleseminars are used to supply facts, give training, or to advertise a product or a service to a group of people who are interested in a particular topic. These are typically good for teaching others and marketing your product or service, going over the key points in some materials, and taking questions and answers for your customers. Teleseminars are seminars are similar to the conventional seminars in terms of content and purpose. The only difference is that teleseminars are given over a teleconference rather than at a specific place.

How are teleseminars done? How easy are they? From the words telephone and seminar, teleseminars are seminars done over a phone conference. Trainers speak on one end and participants listen on the other. It works just like the traditional seminars minus the hassle of going to a live seminar. Listeners can just stay at home or at their workplace and be trained just the same. This goes on at an average duration of 2 hours. If you are the trainer, give your callers clear instructions about muting and unmuting their phones in case of background noise so as not to interrupt the ongoing seminar. Let them know when the line is open for questions. Questions encourage participation and generally add value to the call. If you are the only speaker, keep a drink nearby in case your mouth dries up from talking. If you do have a guest speaker, have a secondary guest or a backup plan in case of unforeseen events. Record the call for the benefit of those who would want to listen to it over again or for those who have missed the teleconference. End your teleseminar with a call to action for your participants like giving them an assignment and asking them to send feedbacks afterwards. This gives more value to your teleseminar as it builds linkage to you and your participants.

Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Making Websites Mobile Friendly

2009-06-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to technology people can gain access to the web right at their fingertips even when they’re on the run. As people’s need change, their means do so, too. With that, the web can now be accessed from phones and other wireless devices.
Think PDAs and how handy they are. Compared to the size of your desktop, you can really say that size does matter. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) fit in your hand and works just like an ordinary computer does. With all these handy devices available for everyone to take advantage of, website owners should see to it that their sites are mobile friendly. Sometimes, websites have added mobile features but when you check it out using mobile devices, they really are not mobile device-friendly. Mobile emulators make it possible to view your website as it would be seen by someone using a mobile device. Sites that are not mobile friendly are useless when viewed on small screens and will most likely turn users away. That is why it is very important to create a very good first impression to customers browsing for whatever with the use of their mobile devices. This gives you the chance to capture customers who are in need of your products or services even when they’re on the go. Because normal sites may not be viewed just the same as when viewed on your desktops or laptops, site owners may want to consider a separate site for wireless users. Different screens and situations must be given thought, too, as sizes of phones and mobile devices do vary. It might not be enough to just transfer your internet site format and leave it at that. Content must be balanced and must not be overcrowded. It is important to give customers what they want or it might spell the end for your site. To help you with this, adding simple code to the main page that detects a mobile operating system will make it easier for you. Windows CE may be used for this. This Microsoft OS is optimized for devices that have minimal storage and can be redirected to a basic and low band-width page.
Separate sites may include the basis of your site, contact information, summary, and a link back to your main site from those pages. A domain mirror just for mobile users will be helpful, too. So say for example your site is www.thissite.com, your mirror on a sub domain may be mobile.thissite.com.
Moreover, PHP files will be useful, too. These will automatically prepend to every page that changes all URLs to mobilized URLs. All of the above-mentioned are helpful to make sites mobile friendly. You don’t have to make all of these on your own. You can always hire someone to help you provide convenience to your customers.
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Website Automation

2009-05-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

Website automation is one of internet’s developments. Its significance is fast spreading as it gives business owners a solution to their time constraint problems. In a world where every business person seems always on the run, no matter how hands-on they want to become, they cannot always be there to do everything for themselves, but that is not an excuse for leaving some important things behind. Technology offers us solutions to almost, if not, every online dilemma we have. Business-owners now do not have to monitor their websites 24/7 because website automation has taken place.
What is website automation and how does it work? It is simply making your website work for you even when you are not there. This gives business owners a lot of time to do other important business transactions other than just monitoring their sites. Generating message boards and forums allow visitors to leave their comments, questions, and other concerns and get responded for it even when you are not personally there. Website automation also has this “refer a friend” program that allows current visitors to contact and invite others to your website or forum.
Those who have not yet discovered the convenience of website automation manually approves all new users without knowing that there are several program options that allow them to set up automatic user registration that immediately processes the username and password being registered without waiting for someone to approve their request. Autoresponder services help both the server and user keep in touch. Link checking softwares keep track of back links and alert both when something changes and when a link is taken down. This means that its convenience does not work one way as it is accessible not only to business owners but to the users as well --- server side system has tools that run on the server while client side systems run in the browser and is usually easier to install and get running. Server side is sometimes more complex but you can always hire someone to do the job for you. Other than that, you can also make use of RSS subscriptions that allow visitors to syndicate and subscribe to your site’s content. This lets them easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites or pages that caught their interest. They do not have to visit each site individually and basically saves them time. Moreover, importing other RSS feeds can automatically add new content to your site. Now think of all the convenience website automation can do for you and give it a try.
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique styled membership organization for women who are Lifestyle Entrepreneurs. Re-engineering the way women do business, build meaningful relationships and live amazing lives. Therese is the host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Women in Business How to Start and Grow as Profitable Lifestyle Entrepreneurs" - Blog Talk Radio Show.

Therese has an Branding and Internet Marketing Support service "The Outsource Squad" - helping Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Authors, Speakers and Small Business Owners make money online by outsourcing their branding and internet marketing strategies. - Make a Name and a Profit for Yourself Online.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Social Networking

2009-05-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

One of the internet phenomena at present is social networking. It links people to each other in so many ways. Its online community is rapidly growing by the minute as it connects members with common interests --- be it food, entertainment, fashion, sports, pastimes, or even education and business. Unlike the first few networks that came out, there are new networks now-a-days that are meant for more than just friendships and relationships. Business owners have also discovered the power of social networking and joined in the craze, too. They found out that it is somewhere they can spread about anything the fastest that they possibly can. Furthermore, it yields tons and tons of information you can make use of to help you decipher exactly what you will want and need for your market. You may even stumble upon things you never thought you’d find. It is also a considerable way of generating links to your site and be able to connect with other closely related sites. This, in turn, will link your individual page to them. If that is not enough for you, you might want to try linkbaiting by posting a hot topic, event, images, or anything that people can tell other about. This will surely bring traffic to your site. When it does, it will undoubtedly spread consciousness of other people regarding your site and whatever it is that you’re offering. Other than that, most social networks are for free. The only thing you’d have to spend is your time to submit your link and you’re ready to go. Once you’re good, people can then start viewing your site, link your page to other sites, bookmark you, mark you as favorite, which will help you be an established expert in your field. Whatever social networking you a part of, its best advantage is being able to connect you to people interested in your field or your topic in particular and vice versa. Here’s a list of some of the social networks you can choose from.
http://www.myspace.com - a social networking website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos for teenagers and adults internationally.
http://facebook.com - users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.
http://www.linkedin.com - the purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of
http://www.flickr.com - an image and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform. In addition to being a popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers as a photo repository.
http://www.ryze.com - a free social networking website designed to link business professionals, particularly new entrepreneurs.
http://multiply.com - a social networking service with an emphasis on allowing users to share media - such as photos, videos and blog entries - with their "real-world" network.

What is Web 2.0

2009-05-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry that was originally characterized as interactivity in a website and making it something more than just words on a page. It has no exact definition but it is primarily caused by an attempt to comprehend rules for success for the internet as a platform.
Web 2.0 has meant different things over the years depending on the point of discussion. According to O’reilly, the term “2.0” refers to the coming back of the web business after its collapse on 2001 and its distinguished progress thereafter. However, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has questioned whether the term can be used in a meaningful way since many of the technological components of Web 2.0 have existed since the early days of the web.
Since we cannot completely grasp what exactly Web 2.0 is, then let’s just define what makes a site a Web 2.0 site. It is somehow seen as the second coming of the World Wide Web and is said to be the improved version of the sites that make the web their platform. It provides its users a way of interacting with others and organizes their content. Web 2.0 does more than just the retrieval of information because it furthermore includes the acronym SLATES as used by Andrew McAfee:
Search - the ease of finding information through keyword search which makes the platform valuable.

Links - guide to important pieces of information. The best pages are the most frequently linked to.

Authoring - the ability to create constantly updating content over a platform that is shifted from being the creation of a few to being the constantly updated, interlinked work. In wikis, the content is iterative in the sense that the people undo and redo each other's work. In blogs, content is cumulative in that posts and comments of individuals are accumulated over time.

Tags - categorization of content by creating tags that are simple, one-word descriptions to facilitate searching and avoid rigid, pre-made categories.

Extensions - automation of some of the work and pattern matching by using algorithms e.g. amazon.com recommendations.

Signals - the use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology to notify users with any changes of the content by sending e-mails to them.

With the long list of Web 2.0 sites over the net, here are a few of the most popular ones:
www.technorati.com
www.digg.com
www.flickr.com
www.youtube.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.myspace.com
www.rhapsody.com

Forum / Message Boards

2009-05-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Message and forum boards have popped out all over the internet. It is almost impossible to find popular sites these days without them. People seem to have noticed the importance of providing a space for their readers. Message and forum boards leave the impression that what they have to say matters and that they are given a chance to their concerns out.
There are a number of message boards to choose from that would fit different needs for different kinds of people:
• www.vbulletin.com
• www.phbb.com
• www.getvanilla.com
• www.proboards.com
• www.bravenet.com/webtools/forum/
• www.eaboard.com
• www.ivillage.com/messageboards
• www.boards2go.com

Message board is a helpful tool for sites wanting to drive traffic. Users can register to join the discussions and share their opinions on a certain topic. This form of user generated content can grow rapidly but needs a lot of maintenance. Enough number of people is also needed so that the page does not grow stale and is kept active. Contents have to be regulated, too. What one has to thoroughly consider, though, is that message boards can take up a lot of space if the size of avatar images and signature files are not reasonable limit.

For all websites making use of forums, owners have to remember that it takes time to build a community. Forums do not grow steady overnight and must be maintained to be kept active. Patience is truly a virtue with forums because as your community grows, your expertise on a particular topic or field will be established. It will also give your readers a reason to keep coming back to your site so they can continually participate in the discussions they have joined in. again, this will drive more people to your site and will drive a steady traffic.

Given that your forum and message boards are now flooded with more people coming by the minute, the need of moderators come into the picture, too. They are necessary to keep things moving and to keep spammers away. They basically regulate the content and its amount and normally, one or two people will do.

Although message boards and/or forums seem to be a very good idea to add in your sites, do make sure though that they are kept active, are carefully planned, and made interesting. Its existence must be made for a purpose and not just for the show. Having an inactive forum with no recent activity is as good as having no forums at all.
Therese Prentice is a Lifestyle and Business Success Mentor, Branding and Internet Marketing Strategist, Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing and Direct Sales Trainer teaches Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Speakers, Authors and Small Business Owners how to integrate Internet Marketing into their traditional marketing plan.

Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
The Outsource Squad - Get your FREE Ebook "Smart Way to Choose and Outsource Partner" http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com/howtopartner
In the Living Room - “Lifestyle Tips” http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Blogging with Web 2.0

2009-05-12T02:23:00.000-07:00

Blogging is one of the easiest ways to reach a wide variety of customers. It basically builds a community between you customers and you. It is a perfect place to convey your insights, opinions, ideas, concepts, or whatever you would want your customers to know. Blogging generally helps to position you as an expert of a topic or of your field by sharing your knowledge to your readers and establish trust of your expertise as they go through your content.

Blogging platforms and added plug-ins make it easy to optimize your website for search engine optimization even with little no knowledge of the field and still get satisfactory rates for it. RSS feeds which are meant for the publishing of frequently updated materials make it all the more easy for your customers to subscribe to the content of your pages. This gives your readers the benefit of timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. Blog softwares have simple URL structure that makes it easier for search engine spiders to find and crawl blogs frequently to improve their results in the search engine results page.

Since blogging became a phenomenon, many blog sites have surface many blog sites have surfaced on the web for internet users to choose from. It basically keeps you in touch with your readers on a consistent basis for as long as you give them meaty reasons to keep coming back for more. This is easy to maintain and can be accessed for free. All you need to do is to look up on these hosts and choose whatever suits you best.

http://www.blogger.com - Blogger.com allows a user to create a user id. Depending on the userid and password the user creates a specialized link namely "yourlinkname.blogspot.com".
http://www.wordpress.com - Wordpress.com is an Open Source software meaning it's free for anyone to use and modify to meet their personal needs (in this case, to create blogs).
http://www.livejournal.com - (often abbreviated LJ) is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary.
http://www.thoughts.com - Thoughts.com claims that they are a 100% FREE online conversation community with features that you won´t find on other blog sites including unlimited bandwidth, photo, video and podcast sharing, community forums and live news discussions.
http://multiply.com - Multiply is a social networking service with an emphasis on allowing users to share media - such as photos, videos and blog entries - with their "real-world" network.
http://vox.com - The service claims to be more streamlined and easier-to-use than other blogging tools available.
http://xanga.com - is a website that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, and social networking profiles.
http://www.wordpress.org - Wordpress.org provides the software to create your blog, but Wordpress.org does not host your blog on the Internet for you. You will have to pay a separate hosting provider to obtain a domain name and host your blog online.
http://www.movabletype.com - The application supports static page generation (in which files for each page are updated whenever the content of the site is changed), dynamic page generation (in which pages are composited from the underlying data as the browser requests them), or a combination of the two techniques.
http://expressionengine.com - ExpressionEngine is a Content Management System and is available in a free "Core Version", and in both "Personal" and "Commercial" versions after paying a one-time fee.
http://b2evolution.net - One of the main differentiating features of b2evolution is its ability to manage multiple blogs under a single installation.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, Direct Sales Trainer teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate online marketing into their traditional marketing plan.
Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique styled organization for women who are Lifestyle Entrepreneurs. Re-engineering the way women do business, build meaningful relationships and live amazing lives. Therese is the host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Women in Business How to Start and Grow as Profitable Lifestyle Entrepreneurs" - Blog Talk Radio Show.
Therese has an outsourcing service "The Outsource Squad" - helping Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Authors, Speakers and Small Business Owners make money online by outsourcing their online marketing strategies. - Make a Name and a Profit for Yourself Online.
Email: therese@socialnetworkingqueen.com
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

ABOUT BLOGGING

2009-05-05T21:39:00.001-07:00

There is a new way to update friends and family on what is happening to your life. Using the internet, you can create a personal journal and share with people. This is called a web blog or blogging.

A blog is similar to a journal or diary where you can post your activities or thoughts on a regular basis. Just like a diary this is solely maintained by you but the difference is that you can give access or allow people to read your blog or post comments on what you have written.

There are different types of blogs depending on the subject:

• The most common type is a personal blog. Blogspot, WordPress and other blog sites make available spaces for personal blogs. Personal blogs are online diaries or journals. You can post anything on your blog including images and videos.
• People also make cultural blogs which cover topics about the arts, music, painting and culture in general. Most of these blogs are made for educational purposes.
• Niche blogs are also called topic blogs. These blogs focus on a specific subject like acne remedies, diet methods, etc. This type is usually created in support of a website which sells the product or service.
• Business related topics are covered by business blogs. This type of blog is used by people to update others about business and its environment. Good examples are the blogs about the stock market.
• Science blogs are made by those who want to inform others about a particular scientific field. Usually the blog is restricted since some information is sensitive or confidential.
• Blogs written by two or more people are called collaborative blogs. This type of blog is maintained by clubs or interest groups.
• Students have also found a use for blogging. This type of blog is similar to a cultural blog though the subject maybe about a particular course.
• When a discussion about certain topics is made though a blog this is called a forum blog.
• Using a blog for advertising purposes is called spam blog or splogs. This kind of blog advertises a product or service blatantly.
Anyone can make a blog especially that it is FREE. Let us discuss how to start a blog.
• Choose a blog site service for which your blog will be published.
• You will then be asked to give your blog a title.
• Most blog site services allow you to choose a theme or style. This will make your blog look interesting.
• There are blog site services that can make you set your publication for public or private view. For private view blogs, only those given access usually through logins and passwords can read your postings.
• After making the aesthetics and access level for your site, you can publish your site.
• You can start posting to your blog.
Blogging has now become not only a hobby but has become an interaction point between people on a personal level. Business owners have found ways to use blogs to support their business as well.
Find a blog site service that you will be comfortable. Happy Blogging!

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Twitter…A Great Tool To Get Clients

2009-05-05T21:38:00.002-07:00

The advent of information superhighway or l the “internet” has made almost everything possible. So, people are very much interested to discover ways on how they can market or spread the word about what they do through this. The easiest and most popular thing to market your online business is through Twitter. What’s good in Twitter is that you don’t need tons of time and money just to do your promotion.

Whether you want to reach more people, or perhaps you are caught in a situation where in you want to make sure that the people around you understands what you’re doing , Twitter is just a click away.

This social networking site is a mere combination of chat and blog service. It is a great way to gain a broader audience. Just be yourself and show to others what you’re doing via “tweets”. I assure you, you’ll go places with Twitter.

In spite of the abbreviated length of “tweets”, still, Twitter can do you a great job. With this short and direct to the point way of communicating, you have the chance to pass on information without being too wordy. You also gain the ability of attracting your potential client’s interest to click your link for them to learn more. You have the ability to send potential clients to specific areas of your website in order to find the information they need. This will save them time and that’s a plus. If someone wants specific information and you can give them an answer with a few words and a link, for sure they will love you for it.

After some time that you’ve been on Twitter you will start to see the word of mouth concept flying around. Twitter has quickly become a business center on the net. Many business owners go to ask for recommendations of service providers for certain tasks. You’ll find what you want even some businesses recruiting writers, web designers, blog installers and more. Twitter is viral in nature, what you have can easily be passed on to others.

If you have a product and the people know that you are out there, surprisingly, your “tweets” as well as your URL will be passed around and shared. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity to get your name out there. Many people are now on Twitter, you’ll find that this know-how is one thing that will help you become stand out among the rest.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

What LinkedIn Is

2009-05-05T21:38:00.001-07:00

LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing networks in the occurrence of internet. As of press time, it has over 38 million members in over 200 countries worldwide, half of which is from outside the U.S. borders. LinkedIn may not sound as widespread as Friendster or Myspace and Facebook but once you get to know LinkedIn, you will surely find it to be the most helpful in your profession. This is because executives from 500 companies are users of LinkedIn. This network gives you more opportunities and advantages in your career and will be your most useful asset. Being a professional network, LinkedIn links you to the professionals all over the world and brings you closer to success.
Having all that said, what is LinkedIn really? And how useful is it?
Come follow me and join me in the discovery of LinkedIn in the world of professional networking…
LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, with 170 industries from 200 countries. Here, you can meet and collaborate with eligible professionals you just might need to work with for the advancement of your career. All you have to do is go to LinkedIn.com, create a profile, and instantly connect with trusted contacts to help you increase your network which will furthermore help you land jobs, close deals, find potential partners and clients, service providers, or just simply meet people with the same interest, profession, or industry.
Now that we have gotten acquainted with LinkedIn, comes the next question: Who can use LinkedIn? It is made available for quite a number of users and not only for the jobseekers. LinkedIn also is for the entrepreneurs, attorneys, business developers, consultants, journalists, non-profit organizers, and for those who want to venture their capitals.
This professional network aids entrepreneurs get their ideas off the hook, helps attorneys with public exposure to attract potential clients, assists business developers make the right partnerships and connections to expand their company, and helps the rest in spreading awareness and in finding the right resources for their cause.
With its fast growing population, LinkedIn has updated its features for the convenience of its users. Its profile now posts more information and shows mini snapshots of your company. It has also reached 38 million top professionals with DirectAds and gives unmatched reach to professionals globally in a cost effective way. You may also get updated with the responses of interesting group discussions through email. And unlike other networks, LinkedIn provides you with an advanced search results for people you want to find because their results include the most common alternative names in the English language. So if you’re searching for “Daniel” but he is using “Dan” instead, its search results will show that, too. Not only that. You also get the latest on what people say about your company and let you share advice and recommendations with a wide-ranging set of professionals as you can ask them questions anytime, too. More than that, all of these are accessible in your iPhones!
So if you’re looking for a network to leverage your careers, join and be part of LinkedIn now!

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

iBlogger or Wordpress?

2009-05-05T21:37:00.001-07:00

The two main hosted blog types, are Blogger and Wordpress – you'll find that whenever a discussion about where its best to host your blog, if you're not hosting it yourself, that these two are rated the highest.
So which of the two services is better?
Ultimately, both services will offer you a strong and solid base to blog from, but there are a couple of distinct differences between Blogger and Wordpress.

Wordpress
Wordpress hosted services are not designed to be used for commercial purposes – nevertheless, most people do. You get a choice of themes (and without paying, you can't design your own theme) and a choice of plugins. You can 'map' your domain to the site, for a fee, giving you the appearance of hosting it yourself.
Wordpress hosted (at http://wordpress.com) is almost identical to hosting it yourself, other than the obvious 'bonus' of not actually needing to look after your install. But its disadvantages include being at the mercy of a third party site, and needing to pay for additional 'services'. These still cost less than buying hosting and setting the blog up yourself.

Blogger
Blogger is owned by Google, and is designed around ease of use. You can 'ftp' your blog onto your own site, or host at a domain (yourblogname.blogspot.com) of your choice. Blogger doesn't use plugins, but does let you use your own theme, within certain limits.
A huge community has been built around Blogger, but unlike Wordpress.com they allow commercial based blogs as well as non commercial, which means they are more prone to spam.

In conclusion. If you really can't host your own blog at your own site, play with both Wordpress and Blogger, because ultimately, the main difference will be between which one your more comfortable with. And that's the one you should use.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

About Facebook

2009-05-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Facebook is a social network that utilizes Web 2.0 platform. Facebook is one of the top ten applications in social networking sites in the world. This stared as a social experiment that was originally designed to keep the lines open for friends who are physically apart. With Facebook, profiles are created and updated with thoughts, photos, comments, etc. People can be invited to be in the list of friends. Once a person is invited, he can get to view the profile.
Gaining popularity with the younger generation and college students, Facebook helps in connecting with friends and family who happens to be a member of this social network.
Facebook have the following features:
 Search for people on the Facebook network and invite them to be part of your friend’s list
 Make photo albums and upload photos so people can view them
 Leave private messages, post public messages or notes
 Upload videos to the profile
 Play games with other Facebook members
 Become a member of a Fan Club or group
 Chat with those on friend’s list who are online
Facebook is for everyone. Adults, students or teenagers can use it. For business owners, it is a great way to do networking connections to the group who has a potential targeted client. This social network is free making it accessible for everyone.
The site is also utilized by business owners to create a customer base. Business owners invite people to be part of the friends’ list then announcements or product updates are made using the message facility or the public postings. Just imagine with one method, the announcement can go a long way to hundreds of people easily and with no cost. Customers and clients can interact with business owners too by sending private messages or placing comments.
Almost everyone is into Facebook. Be it for personal or business social networking. Have a Facebook profile now and experience firsthand the power of this social network.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

About Social Networking

2009-05-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Social networking an internet phenomenon which represents a means for people to interact without parting from the comfort of their homes or roaming half way around the globe. Find out more about social networking and how this enhances one’s life.
Social networking sites provide a venue where we can mingle with other people and interact with those who have same interests as ours. It is a platform for getting to know more people and have more friends. It came about when someone with a bright idea began wrap up an unfamiliar social concept into a cyberspace platform.
The younger generation welcomed this new method of socialization. When they were physically apart, this was a new way to “talk” and be with each other. A lot of relationships were established using social networks. This was a way to meet people in a non- threatening social situation.
Social networking is not for teeny boppers but adults as well. Facebook and MySpace were the first social networking sites. Having a social network account meant that people can communicate and continue updating each other on what is happening with them. Loved ones, relatives and friends can view your photos, know your thoughts and reactions and interact with you through these sites. This is a very personal experience for a lot of people.
Through their associations on networking websites business owners could form valuable alliances discovered by the social networking gurus. Anyone who wants to develop a website for their business social networking becomes valuable to them. Telling people about your product door to door is similar to social networking. Joining social groups with parallel interest creates a compelling business profile and draw in the people you know.
In the life of both young and old alike social networking has its own place. It is use in meeting new people, making business contacts, staying in touch with family or just beefing up your internet presence. Social networking is the wave of the future. Are you into the future?

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

YouTube As A Viral Marketing Tool

2009-04-23T00:39:00.000-07:00

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine how many thousands of words the power of video have. YouTube has become the foremost social networking site that specializes in video content. What started as a hot spot for kids to upload videos that were made, business owners have now caught up and is using YouTube as a viral marketing tool.

What is viral marketing? Viral marketing is simply the posting or sharing of a review for a product. Videos of people making testimonials or endorsing a product are made by business owners and they are uploaded to YouTube for all its millions of viewers to see.

One factor that is making YouTube so convenient is its ease of use and most of all it is FREE. Once someone is a member of this social network, it is effortless to upload a video file. Comments can also be placed by viewers. This allows interaction and communication which is what social networks are all about.

The facilities that YouTube have are so conducive to viral marketing. This is word of mouth advertising which is cost effective and have a base of millions. A good review made on video can lure others to check on the business site. Traffic is not only brought about through YouTube but sales as well.

Another viral marketing campaign is to create a video and upload to YouTube inviting people to visit the business site for a free business report, a product sample or sign up for a newsletter. This surely makes people be interested in the business website.

Make the video as appealing as much as possible. Let it be unique with audio that is pleasing to the ears. Always leave the offers and link at the last part to make viewers watch the whole video. Get ideas from TV ads and find resources on the internet on how to make out of the ordinary videos.

YouTube should be one of the options for any viral marketing campaign that is launched by a business owner. Create high quality, motivating and appealing videos. The site is FREE so make use of this opportunity to reach millions.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Web 2.0 and Social Networking

2009-04-23T00:38:00.002-07:00

There is a term nowadays that we read about on the net, Web 2.0. What is Web 2.0 exactly and how is it related to social networking.
Coined by Tim O’Reilly in a conference in 2004, the term has been further refined. Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 is a new format for web development and design that highlights communication, information sharing, interoperability and collaboration on the World Wide Web.
Social Networking allows people to meet and connect on the net which is a platform of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 allows the medium for which interconnection occurs. The creation of profiles allows interconnectivity between individuals or groups. Other areas of Web 2.0 are:
 Message Boards
 RSS Feeds
 Audio and Video Capability
 Instant Messengers
 Blogs
 Social Groups
Web 2.0 directed towards communication and this is the base of which Social Networking is all about. News or updates can be broadcasted to subscribers at an instant. Blogs and the ability to place comments allow a person to share thoughts and experiences to a whole network.
These are the popular social networking sites that are Web 2.0:
 Facebook
 YouTube
 Twitter
 Linkedln
 Wikipedia
 MySpace
 WordPress
 Blogger
 Flickr
The above is just a partial list and nowadays, a person can have several subscriptions or memberships to these sites. Every site listed uses content made by users or subscribers and these are ranked by the search engines. If one has a good blog or gallery, this gains popularity among the network members. This can then be used to get traffic or be part of marketing efforts.

Web 2.0 is a means of communicating in a convenient way with the use of manageable applications. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds sends updates or changes about a page to the subscribers email. People who follow a particular niche need not worry anymore about not getting information. With Web 2.0, this feature is an inherent part and this is what makes the platform so usable to marketing efforts as well.
Google and Yahoo Groups are companies that make use of this technology. They usually send important information about the company to the people who signed up and belong to the group.
Many companies are shifting to the Web 2.0 platform for reasons that it is conducive for communication thus can really boost business. The format also allows creation of blogs, websites, relaying or getting information in an effortless manner. Web 2.0 is the foundation of business and personal social networking.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Twitter: How Useful For Business?

2009-04-23T00:38:00.001-07:00

One of the most popular social networking sites is called Twitter. Named after the movement of birds, Twitter is a quick way to send messages to people on the internet. Many business owners are now wondering if Twitter can be an effective tool for their business or is it just a fad that is going to disappear like others.

We need to know what Twitter is all about before anything else. Twitter is a social networking site that is like all other social networking sites. The site allows communication between people. The only difference is that Twitter uses short posts sent to a person’s friends. These short posts are called “tweets”.

Tweets are 140 characters long. This is just enough to send quick and precise information and messages to people. A tweet can be sent to one person, a group or to all people on the friends list. When they log into their Twitter profiles, the person or persons can see the message and can respond by sending a tweet. Such messages are sent and received in real time. This means that if the person you are “tweeting” is online while you were sending the message, he can receive it the moment you hit SEND.

Business minded individuals have found Twitter to be another tool to promote business online. With Twitter, they can increase utilization and visibility on the net. An example is for a business which has field personnel, a supervisor or manager can send “tweets” to everyone. Instead of making email, a “tweet” can suffice for short and to the point messages like meetings or important updates.

Twitter messages can be set as protected so the sender can control who to send to. It can be an individual or to everyone on the list. Employees can subscribe to the company RSS on Twitter and every time there is an update or a message they can be notified immediately...

For the online entrepreneur, a Twitter profile with all customers can be made and once there are new products or price changes, the announcement can be made using a tweet. Interesting tweets can be posted so customers will be enjoined to visit the business website for further information. Customers also have the facility to make comments and ask questions in a fast and efficient manner.

Twitter is one social network sector that can be used by everyone – personal or business. This social network is here to stay due to its effectiveness and ease of use. Let Twitter do your promotions and interaction now and see how it makes a difference.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Social Networking Using MySpace

2009-04-23T00:37:00.000-07:00

MySpace first came to the attention of many parents because their kids were using it. But, MySpace is not only for kids but also for the innovative business owner looking to create a following on the Internet. You not only easily find friends on MySpace, but build a compelling profile that attracts business associates.
MySpace is a fun social network to post pictures and communicate with others but the lack of strong security became a major concern. Still, MySpace grew and changed to meet the demands of the public. For those using this site, they could create profiles, upload pictures, and add multimedia content like music and videos for their friends to see. These features attract new members to MySpace, particularly small and large business owners.
For the business owner, MySpace represents an untapped market of people who were potential customers. They could link their profile to their websites and join groups with similar business and personal interests to draw in new business. MySpace was not just a twenty-something hot spot, but a business hub as well.
Networking on MySpace begins with a membership. Joining the social networking site is free. Once you sign up, it’s time to create a profile. Profiles are essentially about you. It is a place where you can tout all of your good qualities as well as your business.
But, that is not the end. To network, you have to meet people. The only way to do that is through getting involved in chats, leave messages for others, upload media for friends to see, and join social groups. MySpace presents another avenue for building a wider customer base and sharing information and resources with likeminded individuals.
Have a MySpace profile for personal reasons like touching base with friends and relatives. Create a MySpace page for your business and connect and have a free marketing tool in your hands.

Social Bookmarking: Another Business Tool

2009-04-23T00:36:00.002-07:00

With the popularity of social networking sites, there has been a surge of social bookmarking sites too. Social networks revolve around the maintenance of relationships between members of the community. Social bookmarking, on the other hand, is responsible for connecting content that are made by its members. Because of its connectivity function, social bookmarking sites provide another business tool for site owners.

It is no longer uncommon to see icons at the bottom of blog posts and articles. When you hover the mouse, website names like Technorati, Digg, Furl or Delicious pop out. These are social bookmarking sites. A social bookmarking site is pretty much the same as an actual bookmark. Bookmarks are made to indicate a page or passage so it will be easy to locate. The same purpose goes for social bookmarking icons. A website can be marked for convenience. Others can also be directed to a site using a social bookmark.

There are many forms of social bookmarking sites. Squidoo deals with creating lenses that highlights a particular niche of the lens owner. Flickr’s specialization is on photos and images. Others deal with movie or music reviews.

For the business owner to utilize social bookmarks there is a need to choose the appropriate site. Always remember that traffic to the business site is the number one purpose. The content or information that is placed on the social bookmarking site should be interesting enough to let readers click on the website URL. The objective is to have the readers mark your page and make comments or inquiries. People will be interested in updates because they are informative and useful.

Content is very important. A business owner can have a following of readers and even have a higher search engine ranking because of the traffic. In order to have good content, visit popular bookmarking sites and observe the most popular sites that are being viewed. Analyze what others are reading and why they find the sites interesting and informative. Visit competitive sites and investigate how they are doing content and presentation. Be observant on what readers are commenting and what type of information that they are asking for.

With the use of social bookmarking sites, a business owner can increase visibility and makes it easy to get prospective clients. By adding social bookmarking icons to blogs or websites, it is an effective way to bring traffic to the business website and a strong possibility that the reader will add the URL to the favorite list on the browser.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Outsourcing Basics: How to Choose the Right Person for the Job

2009-04-23T00:36:00.001-07:00

Finding the right people to do your outsourcing tasks can make the difference between big profits and costly regrets later on. Though outsourcing has been around for sometime, its continuing popularity is proving to be its own undoing. Rates are going up all the time and good providers jump from job to job without any commitment. You hear of countless horror stories and substandard service that leave some business owners burned. But all of these could have been prevented with some proper planning and foresight.

Having a good plan will help you sidestep most common problems and maintain a smooth working relationship with outsourcers.

Here are some suggestions…

Get vendors/contractors with the right experience for the task.
It’s always good to have a test run of services and get a feel of what your provider can do. Look at ability and experience instead of a long client list or impressive looking offices (for vendor companies). Study how much they have done with the same task with other buyers.

Never assume.
What sounds simple to you may sound complicated to your outsourcing agent so avoid oversimplifying instructions. Also take into account the cultural context. What sounds logical in your part of the world may not be familiar to your contractor in theirs. Put in the time for a proper training system to clarify objectives.

Try out providers in multiple countries.
Gauge the quality of costs and turnaround time among different vendors or providers. Keep multiple contactors working on similar tasks to have someone replace another just in case something happens. Always have a backup plan to keep your projects moving forward.

Evaluate work constantly.
Quality control should always be part of your outsourcing strategy. Install a good evaluation system on both sides to catch issues early in the production process. There should also be a proactive commitment on your part to manage the whole process with continued foresight.

Make sure you are offering a win-win service agreement with your contractor.
Outsourcing is by nature a competitive market and talented people are always on the move. Offer a profitable service contract to hire and retain good people for your assignments. Finding the cheapest service on every task can actually drain more of your time and energy. It would be better to work with the same people to ensure faster turnarounds than continually shopping for the cheapest set of skills you can find.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

About Niche Marketing

2009-04-23T00:35:00.001-07:00

The internet offers hundreds of thousands of businesses that you can choose from. There are many internet marketing experts who will give lessons, tips and webinars to help you start your own business and they will always start with niche identification.

The key to successful online business is to find a niche to concentrate your efforts. Once you have identified the niche then you can implement a straightforward campaign to promote the business.

Building a Niche
For customers presented with options on where to buy a product, you have to present a reason why they should buy from you. You have to tell the customer that the product is your “niche”. You have to inform the customer that buying the product from you is going to be an edge over others who purchase from the competition. This can be in the form of guarantees or the extensive knowledge that you have on the product you are selling. This shows that you have more to offer than the rest. Your confidence on the product will make you more attractive to prospective customers resulting in sales conversions

Benefits of a Niche
The number one benefit of a niche is that since you are an authority, you are reliable. Hence you will stand out in the internet community. Other benefits of niche marketing are:

There is no wasted time and effort.
Only those needing your product or service will be the recipient of your marketing campaign. This is because a niche is very specific. This gives you the opportunity to provide information or updates that your customers are interested on. There is no wasted time and effort since your customers are sure to appreciate what you will inform to them.

You can improve and filter your online marketing campaign to a specific group of customers.
It is impossible to sell to everyone on the internet. When your marketing campaign is for a 1000 people and only 10 will buy your product, it is because only 10 need it. Your marketing strategy is not effective. There is loss of profits not to mention time. When you do niche marketing, you identify what group of people requires the product and direct marketing efforts to them. With this type of strategy you are saving on costs and eventually more profits.

Niche marketing establishes credibility as an authority on the business
Because a niche will focus on a specific group of people, it is going to be effortless to be known as authority on the business. Once your customers will know that you are an expert then they will trust your products or services. Once this is established, customers will buy from you and refer you to others as well.

If you want to be successful with your internet business then look for a niche you can establish yourself. Without a niche, you will just be the same as thousands of others selling over the internet. Identify which group of people your product or service will be needed. Start with a small niche and develop it to gain traffic and sales.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.amazingsilverjewelryparty.com

Use E-Mail Marketing To Boost Your Sales

2009-03-30T20:42:00.002-07:00

In recent years, e-mail marketing has been used by websites to promote products and services. This marketing strategy has proven to be effective and cost-efficient. Besides search engine marketing, which is the number one strategy, e-mail marketing is gaining popularity and is now being resorted to by a lot of companies.
E-mail marketing is no different from direct mail marketing. In the past, companies send catalogs and other product announcements to people using snail mail or postal services. E-mail marketing does the same thing but the information is sent electronically. The difference is in terms of speed. Using the e-mail facility is not only fast, it is also cheap.
Here are reasons why an e-mail marketing campaign is an important internet marketing tool that can give you a higher return on investment :
Easy to use and cost efficiency
Setting up an e-mail marketing campaign is as easy as sending a personal e-mail. Though you will be e-mailing to hundreds if not thousands of people, there are available inexpensive auto-responders and e-mail marketing software to make the work quicker. An e-mail marketing campaign does not require too much of an investment nor time to implement.
Provide constant communication with customers
Not too many people will place their trust on someone selling through the internet. A lot of buyers are even hesitant to pay online. An e-mail marketing campaign allows the seller to assure buyers of its credibility. Why is this so? Through constant e-mail updates on products and services, customers are kept informed of what is new and upcoming. Regular communication between seller and customer is present. This is important in building trust especially on the customer’s part.
E-mails can reach targeted customers better
It is a waste advertising to people who are not really interested in your products or services. An e-mail marketing campaign will have an opt-out option and those who do not want to receive updates can always use this option. When someone receives an e-mail from your company and does not opt-out this is an indication that the person is interested and would like to know more about your products or services. A targeted market will be established. It will now be effortless to promote products and services.
Make your business noticed
Studies have shown that for a customer to buy from a site, it will take several visits before a sales conversion will take place. This is not really news that companies welcome. With an e-mail marketing campaign, you will be in touch with your potential customers on a regular basis. Customers will then know the availability of a product or service from your site. Whenever a need comes up, there is a high probability that the customer will remember your site and likely buy from you.
Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Twitter: Online Marketing in 140 Characters or less

2009-03-30T20:42:00.001-07:00

It doesn’t matter whether you are new to online marketing or you are a more seasoned business owner, you are always looking for new ways to network and get the word out about your product or service. You have to take a look at Twitter. It’s a hybrid between instant message and pint size blog. Twitter will change the way you interact with your existing customers and how you cultivate new customers. It is all about the relationships so remember givers gain on this new platform. There is a culture on Twitter so sit back look and listen before you begin to market products or services. You can jump in the conversation at anytime but always remember to provide something of value.

Here are 5 reasons to use Twitter as your Power Marketing Tool of choice…

1. 140 Characters or less
Less is more! One of the best things about Twitter is that it keeps all messages short and to the point in 140 characters or less. You'll have to give your customers and clients the gist of what is going on in short messages better known as “tweets” (messages similar to instant messages) that allow their interest to be piqued in such a way as to make them want to know more. You don’t have to worry about boring your clients or customers, there simply isn’t any room for the extra fluff. Instead, you will be able to catch their attention quickly and make them interested in knowing more.

2. All in an Instant…
It is a Blog and RSS feed all in one, you can get access to the people that use Twitter seconds after they create the post. Twitter allows its users to connect their account to the cell phone for instant message type interaction. It is much like have a chat but only using 140 characters. You can reach your followers in an instant and they can reply in the next instant no matter where they are, and you will find that this is very important when you want to make marketing one of your biggest priorities. You are making sure that your followers have all of the latest updates about what you are doing and what's going on in your world by simply sending a tweet.

3. Follow the crowd…
Twitter is a social network not just for business. People connect with people first and the business will follow. Remember people buy from people they know, like and trust. Connect with the people and the business opportunities will follow. Be authentic, allow your true personality to shine through your tweets and your profile. We are the sum total of all the relationships we have past and present. Be a person of value in the conversations, listen and build your social equity with ease. Your Social Equity is very important when building your online brand.

4. Listen and Learn
Listen to the conversations to the others who have something in common with you. Search for people in the search functionality or use a tool called Twitter Search to see what being talked about on Twitter, follow those that you find who are interested in you. Listen first and see what can learn. You will actually learn how to use Twitter by listening. By following other’s Twitter accounts, especially if they look like they have a lot to offer, you can stay in the know about various products, services, and other activities online and offiline. Listening and Learning is a great way to stay at the pulse of Twitter and your industry. Connect with the leaders in your industry and you will learn more than you can imagine.

5. Make Them Laugh
You can use Twitter to bring out the fun side of people and life. There is a lot for room to add a bit of mystery in your tweets as you only have a few characters to get your point across. You gain a lot more followers (fans), build your social equity, credibility, website traffic and customers as a result of piquing their interest with a bit of humor

Confessions of a Twitaholic: Be careful, just as with any other social networking site, Twitter can quickly become addicting. I am a happy Twitaholic who has learned how to monetize the Twitter experience and so can you. When you are having fun, you can sometimes get catch up in the moment. Twitter is great and powerful marketing tool to help build your social equity, credibility and profitability. Make sure you are always stay connected to the original purpose for Twitter, Powerful Marketing Tool in 140 characters or less.
Therese Prentice the Social Networking Queen is a successful Online Social Networking Marketer who helps average people to have extraordinary success with their online business ventures. Start Building Profitable Relationship through Social Networking

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Tasks That Can Be Outsourced

2009-03-30T20:41:00.004-07:00

As a business owner, you will be limited in terms of skills that need to make your online business grow and expand. You have to consider outsourcing some business processes for you to have time to do important tasks like promotions and marketing. You need to focus on areas that need your decisions and that no one except you can handle.

There are some tasks that can be outsourced and in the long run will prove to be cost effective:

SEO
Many people believe that submitting their sites to search engines and directories will boost sales. This is not always the case. It takes a lot more to optimize your site. You need a search engine optimization expert to handle such matters. You can also avail of a link building service to assist you to get rankings in major search engines. Search engine optimization will bring traffic to your site and this will mean sales for you.

Recommended Service: http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Website or Graphics Design
The attractiveness of your website layout and design is something that should be a good user experience. When you present a potential customer with a neat, easy to use, informative and even fun website then that will add up to return traffic and sales for you. People will always remember a good website. You should leave this very important part of your online business to the professionals who know the dos and don’ts of design and usability. There are thousands of website developers and companies who are capable of doing your site. Don’t waste your time learning coding and graphics design. Concentrate on the more important tasks.

Copywriting
Writing or copywriting is not everyone’s cup of tea. Your website’s content is an important aspect of your online business. No one would want to read a very technical description of a product or worse a very sloppy written one. Having a clear and concise copy is needed to establish you and your products credibility. When you do not have the gift to play with words or even make a decent copy then you should outsource this task. There are people who know how to go about writing for the web. These experts will even help you on your on-page optimization. Hiring a professional writer will never be a waste of money.

Recommendation: http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

The Power of Press Releases

2009-03-30T20:41:00.003-07:00

People listen to the news and read the newspapers every day. This is because news is always interesting and information is always current and worth the time. One way to effectively promote your business is by using press releases. A press release is a write-up that publicizes an event.

Press releases promote your business without being too obvious. You can give a good story about you . business or your product. People are very interested on good stories and press releases allow people to read and get to know your product and eventually about your website.

Benefits of Press Releases To Business Owners
Press releases have the following benefits :
Creates a brand – When you release a press release your business name will be publicize and this is a good way to establish branding for your company. Readers will retain your business name and your website address as well. If ever readers need your product, you will surely be remembered or referred to others.
Lead traffic to your website – Always see to it that your press release provides a website link to your site. People are always curious and if they need more information they can always click on the link and go to your site.
Cost-effective publicity – Press releases are usually published free when you submit to media groups. If ever there is cost in publication this will be a small amount. The only cost that you may have is if you outsource the press release copy.
Be known as an expert – Once you continually have good stories or updates though press releases, people will remember you and respect you to be an expert on the topic or product. Building credibility is very important for your business. Consumers will tend to buy from those who have trustworthy products.
Topics Considered As News
Here are samples of effective topics for press releases:
• Announce products added to inventory
• Business announcements
• Discounts/Sale promotions
• Charity work your business is involved with
• Freebies from your website
• Awards and accolades given to you or your business
• Promotions that you are having

The above topics are newsworthy and will surely catch the interests of readers. Remember that an effective press release will draw people to your site and there is potential sale when this happened.
Press releases are inexpensive but powerful means to put your business on the minds of people. It will show how good your product is and what is happening to your business. Get positive results from press releases.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Marketing Yourself from the Inside Out

2009-03-30T20:41:00.001-07:00

What do Oprah, Martha Stewart, and Dr. Phil McGraw have in common? They’re all Brands. You, too, can develop Your Personal and Professional Brand Reflecting Your Purpose, Talents, Passions and Natural Abilities.

Have you ever thought that YOU had a unique gift to offer the world? I encourage you to spend some time looking inside yourself, examine the fibers that make up who you are. In your search through all the inner fibers, identify and write down all of your unique talents, natural abilities, passions and purpose in life. The goal of this inner self-discovery is for you to discover what makes you unique so you can create your Brand.

To help you along on your road to self-discovery, I want you to think about the following questions:
1. Think about how you are showing up in the world.
2. Are you consistent with who you say you are?
3. If you asked 5 people to describe you, what do you think they would say?
4. Would the adjectives they used to describe you, be the same adjectives you would like them to use?
5. Are the adjectives, the same as those you would use to describe yourself?
6. Do you think the adjectives would be very different in any of the scenarios?

Before you continue in the world of self-discovery, I want you to ponder this concept for a moment. The adjective used by you and anyone else should be consistent, authentic and clearly define who you are.

Ask yourself a few more questions to help further stimulate your thought process. Let’s talk about YOU. What gets you up in the morning? What is the driving force in your life? What is your uniqueness?
1. List 3 things you love to do
2. List 3 things you are good at
3. List 3 thing you would do if you only had 5 years left to live
4. List 3 things you would do if time and money was no object

What is the common thread on your list? Are you honoring YOU, your values and your core beliefs?

Define your Goals. Keep the end results in mind. Through the use of a Mission Statement, highlight the purpose of your life. What is the end result you have in mind for your life? If I were to write your obituary today, what would you want said about you (your Unique Brand), your life and what you accomplished. A mission statement is defined in seven words or less, highlights what matters to you most, what inspires you, should capture your core values and beliefs. Creating a purposeful mission statement can take some time to really hone in on why you are here on earth. You can use a good mission statement to help you with your day to day decision making process. Making the right decisions will bring you closer to your goals and the purpose for your life. Being crystal clear about where you are, where you are going and designing a roadmap for getting there, is time well spent.

A great question to ask yourself, to help you with your process:
Who do I need to become in order to…? (you fill in the blank)

You can fill in the blank with whatever you would like, just make sure it is congruent with your mission statement.

Keep in mind you want to define your Brand yourself, instead of someone else defining it for you. Your Brand is built on your core values and beliefs. How are you going to Build your Brand, so you can show up consistent, authentic and on purpose? Remember your Brand will have to influence your general audience and your target audience. Your General Audience is defined, as those who can connect you with your Target Audience. Your Target Audience is defined, as those who want what you have and are willing to pay for it. Keeping in mind, you must add value to everyone you meet. Everyone you meet is either categorized as a General Audience member or your Target Audience member. How are you going to add value to everyone you meet, so that they can ultimately help you connect your Brand with your Target Audience?
Answer: Let your Brand Stand out with Consistency, Authenticity and Clarity over Time. Ask yourself everyday – How can my Brand add value to someone’s life today?

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Information Products: Make Profits From Them

2009-03-30T20:40:00.001-07:00

A new line of products is now available online. Information products are write-ups made by the website owners and marketed online. These materials are usually information about a particular topic or they teach something. Popular formats for these information products are:
 Videos
 Informative articles
 Reports
 E-Books
 Guides
 Audios
How This Works:
You write about something which you have expertise on and present tips, tricks and other relevant information about the topic.
Once a person searches for the topic that you have written about, the prospective buyer will be made an offer through your website or page. If they find your information relevant and they need it, they will then be asked to subscribe or download the file containing the information for a nominal fee.
How Much Will You Gain
You do not need to purchase a sophisticated word processing program to make your document. You can convert your file to a pdf format, upload to your website and let those interested download easily after payment. It is a straightforward and simple way to transmit to your readers what they need.
There is no great cost involve except for the hosting and domain name that you will have to get for your website. After the initial costs, you will not spend on anything else. On the material itself, the only investment that is apparent is your time to for development. You may sell your information product at a minimal amount but consider the fact that if it a good product people will buy increasing your revenue and profit.
Lessons From Others
If your product is something that people really need then you can sell it at a higher price. Information products dealing on “problem” areas are good ones to develop and sell. Others who have made a profit from such products have dealt with diet, health issues, personal problems, nutrition, etc.
When people realize that they need your product they will buy no matter how much it will cost. So learn and observe from others who have made successful information products and follow or innovate what they are doing.
I Don’t Have A Talent To Write
Not everyone can write more so write confidently on a specific topic. You can hire a ghostwriter to develop your topic and deliver something that you want to sell. Ghostwriters can also do the research work for you and make you appear as the authority on a certain niche or product. But you have also to make the effort to know what you are selling so you can guide the ghostwriter if needed.
Whatever the cost of developing an information product, you can still get a decent profit. Look for a niche that you believe will sell and direct your efforts to promotions and marketing. You do not need to be an ace writer; you can hire someone to develop the topic for you. This may add to your costs but this will surely make you appear professional and an expert on the topic.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

The Leap of Faith: What you need to know before you quit your day job!!

2009-03-30T20:39:00.002-07:00

Power and Success: Virtual Conference for Women Entrepreneurs
7 Keys to Success before you take the Leap…
1. Know what you want to accomplish?
Define your WHY? What business are you developing? What do you want
to accomplish? How will you accomplish your WHY? Focus, Pray and
Meditate on your WHY each day as we get what we focus on.
2. Create a Exit Plan along with a Business Plan
Your Exit and Business Plans are your roadmap to where you are going.
The Exit Plan defines all the things you need to accomplish before you
can quit the day job. Make sure you include paying off debt, making large
purchases such as a new desktop, a laptop, a car or training programs
that will facilitate your rapid growth in your business. Enhance and
upgrade your skills because as an entrepreneur you will be wearing
multiple hats which may require new skills so take an assessment of your
skills and see what you need to upgrade.
The Business Plan is the roadmap for your business. It includes your
Business and Marketing Strategies. It will define the business, industry
and your executive summary. Your marketing strategies will highlight how
you are going to get your product or service in the hands of those people
who want, need and appreciate us the most.
3. Have 3 – 6months of Personal and Professional Savings.
Ladies I can’t stress this enough. It is going to be very different once you
no longer have that consistent paycheck. You want to have money so you
don’t have to get stressed out when clients aren’t as punctual with
payments as you may like. Having a financial cushion is one of the best
secrets I can share with you.
4. Set up your Bookkeeping System.
Learn QuickBooks or Quicken or something like it. You want to start off on
the right foot. Establish your preferred system for managing your cash flow
on a monthly basis. Even though you may have an awesome accountant
you need to sign all your checks and have a handle on your money.
© Copyright 2008 Therese “Hustling Diva” Prentice – 917-763-0717 – therese@hustlingdiva.com,
Permission is granted to reproduce this article, providing you use the article in its entirety,
including the brief bio trailer, all links and references within.
5. Weave your Network – Your Support Team of Resources, Contacts
and Organizations. The #1 best thing for you to do while you are still
working, so you can turn Contacts into Contracts once you leave your day
job. Join at least one organization that you think will connect you with
those individuals in your target market. I always suggest you get involved
and the best way to get involved is on the Membership committee, as you
will be one of the first people a new member meets when joining the
organization. You can make that person feel warm and welcomed. People
always remember people that help them or make them feel good.
6. Your Signature is Your Brand - Make a Name for Yourself!!
Define your Brand before someone else does. You want to decide and
define how you are perceived by others. While this will take some time you
want to make sure your brand is a part of everything you do from your
stationery to the way your phone is answered. Strong brands influence
people’s decisions to buy and they also build brand loyalty
7. Hire a Coach – Your accountability partner that will give you some of
the best advice whether you want to hear it or not. A friend may not have
the skill or they may feel uncomfortable being direct and honest with you.
A Business/Marketing Coach has been trained to support new and
seasoned entrepreneurs to grow sustainable business which will last the
test of time.
Bonus #8 Get Clients Now!! – Starting today start securing clients even if
they are small clients and even if you offer them pro bono services so they
can experience you. We all have to start somewhere and some day why not
start living your dream today!!
Stay connected to events like the Power and Success – Virtual Conference
for Women Entrepreneurs where you are going to surround yourself with
powerful women who will assist you in growing a strong sustainable business.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

New Tools To Build Interest For Your Website

2009-03-30T20:39:00.001-07:00

The goal of every business venture is to increase sales. Owners of websites are no means different from the brick and mortar stores. They want profits and will do everything and anything to boost sales. A little known strategy that is being resorted to now is to piggyback on the inherent need for people to get information and this is done through teleseminars or webinars. Nowadays, there are teleseminars and webinars conducted online on various topics and products. Once you conduct such activities, people will visit your site and look into your products especially when you have interesting and useful topics.

Internet marketing experts now encourage online entrepreneurs to organize and conduct teleseminars and webinars to reach the thousands of people. This is a good promotional tool for your product. Besides from promoting your products, you are also building credibility. Prospective buyers will trust you more than those who are relying on traditional marketing tools.

Definitions: Teleseminars and Webinars

A teleseminar is an event facilitated by a presenter who will convey information regarding a certain topic or product. The medium for this is the telephone.

A webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the web.

Utilizing these two tools can increase sales. Once your participants get interested on the topics and your products the next step for them is to visit your website and eventually buy your products. The “thirst for knowledge” in every person will lead them to go to your site even on a regular basis just to find out what is new and available.

Establish Your Expertise

When you conduct teleseminars and webinars you are showing people that you are confident of what you know and your products. Studies have shown that when one is selling on the web, products must have a knowledge base. People do not just buy because of the nice images or the nice audio they hear. They buy because they “believe” in your product. You have to impress people with what you know and how this knowledge can help them. There is an assurance that whatever they are looking for in a product, you have that and you are willing to stand by your product. You are an expert and you are willing to share what you know through teleseminars and webinars.

Educate Your Viewers

There are some people who participate in teleseminars and webinars without knowledge of the topic or product. For some reason, they came across an announcement. These are the people that need to be “educated” about your topic or product. They are your potential buyers and you can promote your website to them and to others that they may tell it to.

There are other tools that you can resort to so you can promote your products but teleseminars and webinars are very powerful strategies to educate and build trust among your prospective clients. If you have the time, resources and product to advertise then this strategy will surely put you at an advantage.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Benefits of Outsourcing for Your Online Business

2009-03-30T20:38:00.003-07:00

A lot of people now are doing online business and this business is booming. The reason why it is easy to have such business is because there are so many resources teaching people how to establish one. One of the strategies to save time and costs while doing an online venture is to outsource some business process or task.

Initially, the online business has to be handled by the owner. This is needed to be able to have a good grasp of the processes that are involved. However, when the business grows bigger, orders are coming in steadily, products have to be updated and new ones entered on the site then work will be tedious for the owner and this is the time when there is a need to outsource some if not all processes. The business owner has to be free to do activities like marketing and promotions for the business to prosper.

Here are some benefits when you outsource:

Getting Qualified People for the Task
There are some aspects of the business that you might not want to handle. Processes like accounting, product inputs, website design or maintenance and some others.
The tasks you are outsourcing might not be ones that you have desire to learn about, whether they are troubleshooting, manufacturing, taking orders, website design and maintenance, or something else. By handing the work over to an expert who enjoys and makes it their business to know these things, you'll be able to take advantage of their knowledge in the area without having to learn it yourself. This in turn will give your customers or clients more than you could possibly give them yourself.

Cutting Expense of Resources
Maintenance work for websites is not easy to do. For product images you need good software to be able to edit, crop or make images. You also need other resources in order for you to market your website like auto responders or email marketing software. These and many more will have to be subscribed to or bought. If you outsource this area of your business, you will not be burdened anymore of buying the software needed. Once you contact an “expert” in that particular business process it is sure that they have the proper tools to do the job. This is a great way to reduce expenses.

Time for More Important Matters
When your website already has traffic and sales are coming in, tasks for order processing will become repetitive. This task together with customer service and other value-added services should be outsourced. As a business owner, you should focus on product development and marketing because this is what will make your business grow. You cannot be stuck with regular and repetitive tasks. You can hire people to do this for you and concentrate on the more important matters.

Business Expansion
Because the day-to-day operations are outsourced, the business owner now has more time to think and plan. This will be a time to think of expanding the business – getting more product lines, adding more domains, doing more marketing promotions.etc.

Professional Relationships
Outsourcing your tasks will involve a binding contract with the individual or company you are dealing with. There will always be continuity of work. If you do the process or employ someone and that person resigns from your company then you will be on the losing end. When you outsource, the person or company you are dealing with depends on you for income and work. You are assured that if something goes wrong the outsourced task will get done. People will get replaced immediately so work will not be disrupted. There is a professional relationship and this is a binding one.

Boring and repetitive tasks which pegs down the business owner can be outsourced to qualified people. This frees up the time for more planning and to concentrate on the more important aspects of the business.

Outsourcing is not an added expense. It is a wise move and a secure one. This will help the business to expand and have more profits.

Are you a slave to your Online Business? Break the chains. Check out http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com to find out how!

5 Outsourcing Mistakes You Should Avoid

2009-03-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

When you consider outsourcing the goal is to have a more profitable company while simplifying the business processes. The objective here is to let the business owner have more time to do the more important processes. Tedious and repetitive work should be handled by those who are capable of doing the task. When you outsource, you are spending less because you do not have to buy equipment or software to have work done.

The concept of outsourcing is an easy one but there are also pitfalls that you should watch out for. You can encounter problems if you are not conscious of these mistakes.

Below are 5 outsourcing mistakes that you as a business owner should be aware of and should try to avoid as much as possible:

1. Have a reasonable budget for outsourced work
Outsourced work rates should be given considerable thought. Some individuals or companies will work on tasks on hourly basis while some will accept retainer fees. Whatever business process you outsource, always have a budget that you can work with when negotiating with contractors.

2. Choose your contractors well
Just like in hiring people for a company, you have to conduct thorough interviews with the people who are bidding for outsourced work. If you will deal with a company you have to check this too. You should ask for character references for individuals to get more information. Since most of work will be made remotely, you should establish clear and regular communication with the people doing the work for you. The people you deal with should be trustworthy and dependable.

3. Do not underutilize your contractor and their resources
You should gauge the capacity of the contractor and the available resources that they have. Do not outsource to many individuals the same task. If one contractor can take on the work then it will be cost effective for you. There are contractors who will accept bigger projects or tasks at lower rates just to keep your business. These are the people you should try to deal with. Once you have established a good relationship with one contractor then it is better to stick to this person and find out if he/she can do more work for you.

4. Keep a good communication line with your contractor
Whatever you are outsourcing there should be good communication between you and your contractor. See to it that you give clear and precise instructions what you want to do. Establish a timetable and set deadlines as well. You also need to let your contractor understand your goals. By being clear on matters, contractors will understand what is going on with your business, what roles they have on the business and what your expectations are.

5. Your role as an Outsourcer
There is a need for you to understand your role in the sphere of outsourcing your business. You have to be clear on instructions, timetables and deadlines with your contractor. Communicating with your contractor is important. The reason why you are outsourcing is because you want to have more time on your hands to monitor and expand your business. Part of the monitoring work is the outsourced work being done. See to it that your contractor knows what you expect and when results will be given back to you.

Also bear in mind that you may not be the only client of your contractor. Be mindful of the time that they give to you. Always give feedback on their work so they can do a better job for you.

These are just some of the possible difficulties that you will encounter when you outsource some tasks. Outsourcing is a solution for many business owners and the benefits will always outweigh the problems. Do not be afraid to outsource tasks that you believe can be done by others fast and accurately.

Outsource? Of Course! Get started now at http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Social Networking Defined

2009-03-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Social networking is a big part of today’s savvy business owner’s activities online. It is no longer just a buzz word but a way of doing business. It is all a part of the Social Phenomenon taking place now on the Internet. It is a place where a business owner can take their business global without having to get on a plane and travel halfway across the planet to make a new connect. Find out exactly how you can use social networking to enhance your business life and ultimately increase your bottom line. Guess what? You can do all of this from the comfort of your home or office.

All of the new social networking sites provide business owners with the platform to connect quickly with your target audience, the decision makers, gurus and the movers and shakers in your industry. Often times you can bypass the gatekeepers. As a business owner you simply need to make a list of who you would like to connect with online, select a social network and simply put the name of the person you wish to connect with in the search box, send them a message and ask to be their friend. The current social phenomenon is like living in a community where everything you could ever want and need is at your fingertips. Social Networks are the perfect venue to find and meet people who have similar interests or products and services you desire. Think about it, someone had the bright idea to package this not so unfamiliar social concept into a cyberspace platform. One of the added benefits of social networking is that you have the ability to connect with new people while also reconnecting with lost contacts.

When most people think of social networking they think of the younger folks usually under the age of 25, but not any longer. The younger generation found a way to talk with their friends when they weren’t within sight of each other. Young guys and girls used it for meeting each other in a non-threatening way. Often times you see younger folks using their social profiles to express their personalities.

What we have discovered is social networking is not just for the young folks but the adults have found great pleasure and business from social networking. One platform so many purposes. Facebook and MySpace were some of the first social networking sites on the scene. We heard about MySpace primarily because of all the controversy surrounding what some called Generation X young adults were posting, but it made parents aware of the social networking craze.

Social networking experts discovered that originally adults started using these platforms to find old friends, but many business owners found numerous other ways to utilize these social networks. Business Owners, Associations, Speakers, Coaches and Authors started using social networks to expand their reach both locally and internationally. Now, social networking has become an invaluable tool to build ones brand or companies brand and to build an expanded audience for their products or services. You can integrate social networking into your existing marketing plan today if you have a strategic plan of action, knowledge of your target audience and bit of time. Create a compelling business profile, find out how your target audience is using social networks and you are well on your way to success in building a new level of brand awareness. The wave of the future is social networking. Why don’t you embrace it today?
Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Sell Yourself First To Succeed In Online Selling

2009-03-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

The internet is a faceless kind of media. We sell products online and make money out of it. Most people succeed but there are those who do not. Selling online is one of the most convenient ways of earning a living but we must always let our customers know that there are real persons behind all this. As we sell our products, we also sell ourselves. The better we sell ourselves the more we earn from it.

The Meaning of “Selling Yourself”

The idea “selling yourself” is the concept referred to when trying to convince people of your value. The internet provides communication in so many ways; through emails, instant messaging programs and even messages through forums. It is through these means that you sell yourself. The idea is thought of as arrogant but it is your responsibility to make people see and believe in your capabilities. It is like acknowledging your own talents to make people notice you.

A Reason Why You Need To Sell Yourself

We do not want to get scammed when dealing online. You can get swindled anytime. This is one of the reasons why we need to build trust with those we intend to sell to. We must present ourselves professionally. Wearing a business suit does not mean overdoing it but presents a positive image to the viewers. People need to know that they are dealing with the right person.

Ways To Sell Yourself

Be positive and present yourself in the best possible way. Share your knowledge and be enthusiastic in answering questions. This will draw people to you while you develop an honest communication and build strong connection with others. By doing so will increase their level of trust in you. If you have established your target market, your site must provide an opt-in email address sign-up list, so one can regularly receive updates on new products and services through newsletters. You should continue to nurture this relationship even after you have sold products to them so that they will always come back and buy more products from your site.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach
Tools and Resources for Lifestyle Entrepreneurs...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com
http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com

Effective Web Copy: The Key to Attract Customers

2009-03-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Most people nowadays rely on the internet for all kinds of information. This is because the high technology world provides convenience. Even shopping is done online because it is time-saving. This is almost true for most but some people find it difficult, given the search-engine device—one may have a hard time looking for the right store which could cater to all their needs. When they search for a product, a number of sites will be laid-out in front of their face. The trick is to type a word or keyword. Keywords will direct people to your site, depending on the topic of interest. When they are directed to your site, they must be lured to stay. A powerful and convincing page title will do that. This will set you apart from your competition. There is nothing more satisfying than finding a webpage that caters to your need in the title alone.

The next lines of the title will give clarity to what they need and prove the usefulness of the page. Sentences must be kept simple and straightforward. It must also be centered on the benefits the customer will get if they buy your product. Images are used sparingly only if necessary. The text alone will do the communicating. A good web copy is complete, concise and easy to navigate. Colored fonts is also useful to emphasize points. Words used must always relate to the content. This will keep their attention in. Strive to make it flawless or free from errors. This will make visitors believe they are dealing with a professional.

Writing an effective web copy is the key to increase the number of your customers. Convincing a person to buy a piece of cake might not be a very difficult task but making him take a bite is an entirely different thing. Write to communicate to the reader. Make it effective and enticing to read.
Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate social networking online into their marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique membership organization for women in business, founder of the "Social Networking Inner Circle". Therese is host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Social Networking Online" - Blog Talk Radio Show

Visit on the web...

http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Your Website’s Mark On The Internet Wheel Of Fortune

2009-03-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

We have noticed a lot of companies changing their website every now and then. They believe that if they are updated in terms of website design compliance, they can have a “winning” site. This is not always the case. There is a great tendency for a website to fall on the “lose” mark of the Internet Wheel of Fortune too.
Some companies after a year online will decide to let their site die. They do not realize that a website is part of the corporate image and that in this day and age, a website is a calling card. If people cannot find you online, people will not know about products and services therefore they will not buy what the company is selling.
A good website should be appealing and usable. If a company wants a site to land on the “win” mark of the Internet Wheel of Fortune then time and effort should be put into the building of the website.
Importance of a Well Created Site
An online store does not differ from a real store. When one goes into a department store, everything is organized in shelves and counters making it easy to look for items. Every item sold is placed in such a manner that it is convenient for the shopper to find. There are areas for “specials” or “on sale items”. There is a reason for every placement.
Studies have shown that in order to increase interest in products or get more sales, products or items should be placed in a clean and orderly manner. This is also true when it comes to website layout and design. A cluttered, unorganized placement of products will surely deter the shopper from proceeding further on the website pages.
A good website design is one that has user-friendly features and this includes search functions and effortless navigation. The object of an effective online store design is to let the shopper find the item then purchase the item using a payment gateway that is reliable and easy to use.
Shoppers do not want to go into a store that is so cluttered and dusty. So when this happens that store will surely go bankrupt because no one buys from that store. An online store is the same. Once shoppers access the site and they find it interesting and fun to use then for sure there will always be something that the shopper will purchase. Because the user-experience is a pleasant one, shoppers will go back to the site as often as they can and therefore there will be repeat sales.
The business site should have the look and feel of a professional site. Planning and research should be made before website build. What colors will be used? How many columns will the site have? What are the categories to be listed? Which payment gateway will be used? Several other questions should be answered to make the website as effective as possible.

Make your shoppers happy so that sales conversion will happen. Once the website has been bookmarked to be a site worth visiting and shopping from then it is simple to introduce more products and services without worrying about traffic. You have a captured market for an appealing website. When this happens, it is only then that the website has a ‘WIN’ mark on the Internet Wheel of Fortune.
Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate social networking online into their marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique membership organization for women in business, founder of the "Social Networking Inner Circle". Therese is host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Social Networking Online" - Blog Talk Radio Show

Visit on the web...

http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com

“We treat clients the way we treat ourselves”

2009-03-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

Attention Offline Business Owners, Lifestyle Entrepreneurs, Coaches, Authors, Speakers and Small Business Owners
“Make a Name for Yourself Online with Therese Prentice aka Social Networking Queen
and The Outsource Team”
To better support the ever growing demands and frustrations of Business Owners building an online presence, my company “In the Living Room LLC” comprised of a group of highly talented, skilled and dedicated members will be available to support you and your business in “Making a Name for Yourself Online”. It’s not who you know, it is who knows you!!

Menu of Services…
• Brand Development: From Idea to Logo to Blog Design
• Social Marketing: Strategy Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Online Lead Generation: Strategy Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Content Development and Marketing: Article Writing, Rewriting, Ghostwriting, and Article Marketing
• It’s all in the Design: Graphic, Blog and Promotional – Online and Offline
• Blog Talk Radio Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Online Guerrilla Marketing and Promotions
• Sale Page Set Up
• Distance Learning Training Center Development and Maintenance
• Forum Marketing
• Social Bookmarking
• Online Community: Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Help Desk: Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Wordpress Membership Module: Development, Implementation and Maintenance
• Social Networking: Strategy Development, Implementation and Maintenance
Pre- Launch Discount Packages available now!! Stay Tuned for the official launch on March 15, 2009!! - 917-763-0717 --- http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate social networking online into their marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique membership organization for women in business, founder of the "Social Networking Inner Circle". Therese is host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Social Networking Online" - Blog Talk Radio Show

Visit on the web...

http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com

The Truth About Affiliate Marketing Myths

2009-03-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Affiliate Marketing has taken a surge the past years to being a fast track business. Selling products for other people and getting a commission from the sales is a now a profitable and legal business. Once a link is provided to the affiliate marketer then there is already a business relationship with the product seller.
There is a need to understand what Affiliate Marketing is and not be swayed away by the myths about this money making opportunity.
Myth: Going into the Affiliate Marketing business is a waste of time and effort. The products are not saleable and people will not buy junk.
The Truth: To go into the Affiliate Marketing business takes research. There are thousands of good products that you can choose and develop. As a business person, you just do not jump and sell whatever is available at sight. You have to pick the product that you believe will sell and earn decent commissions. Time and resources put into choosing the right product will result in better sales conversions. The effort put into product selection will yield good results.
Myth: The Affiliate Marketing sites will sell itself.
The Truth: After product selection, there are other considerations to be made in order to make the product sell. You have to select the best marketing method to place your site on the first few pages of search engines. You also have to drive traffic to your site as well. You can’t just place an Affiliate Marketing site and leave it; you have to sell the site as well.
Myth: When you build an Affiliate Marketing site, customers will automatically find it.
The Truth: No matter how good your affiliate site looks and how usable it is, if you do not market your site people will not find it. Do not expect the site to “sell” itself. You have to place your site on search engines and see to it that traffic is driven to the site. Put some effort on marketing your site so that your products will convert.
Myth: Affiliate Marketing is another get rich quick scheme.
The Truth: The internet is full of scams and deals which are bogus. Because people do earn money from affiliate marketing sites, there are those who believe that it is another of those “get rich quick” scams. The truth is that Affiliate Marketing like any legitimate business takes time and hard work.
Myth: If you go into Affiliate Marketing, you can get rich immediately!
The Truth: This is everybody’s dream, to get rich overnight! But as in any business, Affiliate Marketing will take time and effort. You have to know the process how to make the site get traffic and even spend some money to make this happen. Conversions are not made instantly too. People have to go to your site, decide to buy your product and even go back again and again to buy products that you sell. It does not mean that once you have an Affiliate Marketing link put in place, you get money fast.

There are thousands of fly by night schemes to make money using the internet. Affiliate Marketing has proven to be an effective means to have a legitimate business. However, it is something that you need to research, build and market. The hard work that you put into building an Affiliate Marketing business will reap a steady income if it is done in a systematic and well-thought manner.
Now that you know the truth about myths circulating about Affiliate Marketing, it is

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate social networking online into their marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique membership organization for women in business, founder of the "Social Networking Inner Circle". Therese is host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Social Networking Online" - Blog Talk Radio Show

Visit on the web...

http://www.theoutsourcesquad.com
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.inthelivingroom.com

Make A Business Blog To Insure Your Website’s Success

2009-03-04T22:05:00.001-08:00

Blogs which started as online personal journals shared with family and friends has now become a business tool along with websites. The main use of blogs for business is for posting of information and facts about a product or service. Blogs also allow readers to interact with the author by commenting on an entry.

Benefits of a Business Blog

1. Gain expert status with targeted audience.

A blog on a particular product or topic provide expert advice and information. Once your blog comes out in search engines for a particular topic, the user will have the impression that you are an expert and your site will might even be bookmarked for easy access.

2. Blogs drives traffic to the product or service site.

Because blogs are regularly updated, they provide dated content and this is something that search engines are good at. The search engines find blogs easier to index than sites. Once your blog is retrieved and your site is linked to this blog then there will be traffic to your site as well. You can also link your blogs to other similar blogs to allow more click-through visitors.

3. Blogs can easily be maintained.

There are no hard rules about blogs. All you need is to post information or thoughts of the chosen topic. Blogging is fun too that most people consider this a hobby already. A website will take technical knowhow to update and is time consuming as well.

4. Blogs makes it easy to get return visitors.

As you gain expert status, people would want to read more and more about the chosen topic. There will be return visitors thus a constant flow of traffic to your website as well.

5. A blog is easy to build and inexpensive.

There are numerous blog programs that allow you to set up a blog. Some are free and some have very cheap subscription fees. Most use templates which make setting up easy and fun.

Foster Rapport with Your Readers: The greatest benefit of your business blog.

Of all benefits, building rapport with your readers is the most important of all. Blog programs have facilities for readers to place comments or inquiries about the chose topic. Because of this, you can have interactions with your readers. Questions can be answered and more inputs about the product or service can be available to other readers.

Establishing a personal contact with the readers helps to gain trust in your expertise. You can also get access to first hand needs of the readers and improve on product lines or services that you offer on the main website.

With the outlined benefits, a blog is a necessary tool for your website success. Add this as a primary marketing tool and you will reap the rewards of getting traffic and sales without spending too much or no cost at all.

Therese Prentice is a Social Networking Expert, Joint Venture Broker, Certified Marketing and Business Coach, Speaker, Teacher, Certified Teleclass Leader, Networking Marketing Trainer, teaches small business owners, entrepreneurs, authors and speakers how to integrate social networking online into their marketing plan.

Therese is the founder of "In the Living Room" a boutique membership organization for women in business, founder of the "Social Networking Inner Circle". Therese is host of "Therese Prentice Teaches Social Networking Online" - Blog Talk Radio Show

Email: therese@socialnetworkingqueen.com

Visit on the web...
http://www.socialnetworkingqueen.com
http://www.nichemarketingfordirectsalesleaders.com