Jeremy's Work at Home Journal

Jeremy's Work at Home Journal offers loads of information on how to start and run your own internet based home business! Tips from the pros! Vital information for success in the competitive and constantly changing web environment! Common sense and unique insights! Drop by often! FREE TO ALL!

Friday, August 25, 2006

Where Do I Find The Best Affiliate Programs? by Art Luff

Seasoned Vets and Newbies alike frequently ask the same question, What and where are the best affiliate programs?
My answer to this question will require answering the question with several questions.
First you'll want to ask yourself, what are you interested in?
Then, what do you know a little something about?
There are many sources as well as an affiliate program that would match just about any interest you may have or know something about.
Let's see if we can't simplify the process of choosing the best affiliate programs to promote.
Head on over to http://clickbank.com/ This is my favorite source of the most popular programs. They tell you the percentage you'll receive on each sale and they also put it in dollars and cents. They also reveal other stats about each program that will help you to determine if the program you chose is right for you to promote.
Your next choice is http://www.linkshare.com/ LinkShare pioneered online affiliate marketing, and today runs the largest pay for performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet. With over 10 million partnerships in the network it is the most successful pay for performance network of its kind.
Next is Commission Junction http://www.cj.com/ Maximize your revenue opportunities by developing sustainable relationships with top-tier advertisers. Perform and get paid for every sale and lead you generate. For qualifying publishers, take your program to the next level with their industry exclusive solution for top-performers.
There are more equally as credible affiliate program sources on the web but for the sake of simplicity and to keep this article to a minimum length I'm going to limit these resources to the top three. If you like, you can simply go to your favorite search engine and continue your search foe "Affiliate Program Resources".
Knowing a little something about what you want to sell will be to your advantage but not required. After all, this is The Information Super Highway and whatever information we need can be found here. The tools at are disposal are many. You just need to know where they are and what they will tell you.
Google.com would be a good place to start your search. If you type "affiliate programs" into the search box you you will get a list of literally millions of potential programs. At the time of this writing (7-12-06) there were 111,000,000 possible affiliate programs to chose from. That blows my mind (:-(
You don't have to weed through that many sites. The first few pages should give you a few ideas as to what you want to promote. Try and stick with something you've got some background in.
For example, let's say you've been working in a pet store for awhile. See if you can't find an affiliate program related to pets. Maybe pet food, pet training, pet care, etc. Perhaps you'll want to target specific pets like dogs or dog training. Dog Training and Dog Breeds are very "HOT" Markets right now and I suspect they will be for quite sometime to come.
Let's say you've chosen Dog Breeds as a topic of interest. It's time to research that topic and see if there is indeed a market for it.
Go to Overture.com and type Dog Breeds into the search box. I found the amount of searches done for this topic to be 184,184 in April 2006. This would certainly be a topic I'd want to further investigate.
I'd follow that bit of information up by going to Nichebot.com and typing those same key words into the search box. The information returned will prove to be an invaluable tool for making you affiliate program choice. Pay particular attention to the far right column. The numbers that are closest to zero determine less competition. Look for something in that category and copy those keywords back to Google.com and do another search. I'm sure you'll be able to find a program to join and promote.
Try and find a Program with at least a 50% commission, which comes out to at least $20. for you. More if possible. You can chose a program with a lesser commission if it is what's called a high ticket item. A good rule of thumb to remember is "It takes as much effort to promote High Ticket Items as it does to promote a program for a $20.00 Sale".
So why waste your time and advertising dollars promoting products that only bring a $20.00 commission when the same amount of time and money can bring you a commission of $200.00. It's good sense and the math tells the story as well.
The time and effort spent promoting small ticket items is the same as high ticket items. The benefit is you don't have to make as many sales with the more expensive item as you do with the smaller one.
The best advice I can give is to be patient, utilize as many free resources to promote your programs as you can. There are many. Get your own domain and web host. You'll want to put together a site that is unlike the generic affiliate site that the owner provides. This will put you in a different category as you will not be promoting the same page as a thousand other marketers. It will also make you credible and establish you as someone who is serious about their business on the web.
Patience is a Virtue. Posses it if you can and by the way, Happy Marketing!
About the Author
Powerful new info book - NO CHARGE!! Free NEW eBook shows how to SELL YOUR PRODUCT, with ingenious twist to EXPLODE YOUR TRAFFIC!!http://lightninghotprofits.com/SuperTips.html

Some of the absolute best affiliate programs can be found at www.jeremyfive.com/pips.html -- What's more, these fine affiliate programs can be worked from a central referral source--via your very own website (They'll even set it up for you! In just 24 hours! Full training provided!)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Choosing an Autoresponder

Today's posts are about the importance of having a great autoresponder to manage your responsive opt-in mail list. Experienced online marketers know that a responsive mailing list is your most powerful money-making tool. With it, you are able to advertise worthy products and services to a market that is already proven to be receptive to your offers.

Before you choose your autoresponder, you need to ask yourself several questions.

Is it the best value for my money?
Will my data be safe? (I don't want to lose my priceless leads and subscribers in an event of server failure or company bankruptcy!)
Will my emails get through to my potential customers instead of being blocked by anti-spam filters and real-time blacklists?
Will I experience the highest level of customer support via toll-free phone, email and fax ?

GetResponse is the fastest, most sophisticated and most feature-packed, automated, personalizable follow-up autoresponder on the web! Of course, you get far more features with a GetResponse 2006 PRO® account. But even with your FREE GetResponse,® you get the following:

Unlimited autoresponders - create as many autoresponder accounts as you want and use each one for different purposes, even for tracking your sales!

Instant, reliable delivery - someone sends you an email or fills out a form, and a reply is sent in only 30 seconds!

Up to 5 follow-ups - unlimited in the PRO version

Unlimited message length - your reply message can be as long or as short as you want! You're never limited!

Unlimited message changes - change, update or edit your autoresponses whenever you want, 24 hours a day!

Easy set-up and management - it takes only minutes to set up and we take care of the rest, behind the scenes!

Password-protected online control panel - gain access to a private, easy-to-use, intuitive administration panel.

Powerful personalization features - the most prominent feature is easy-to-configure, customizable personalization!

Smart tracking features - know instantly and precisely which autoresponder and message are pulling the most!

Database access - access and manage your database of prospects' email addresses, 24 hours a day, such as adding subscribers, viewing removals, updating messages, etc.

Powerful mailing list management features - use your mailing list for publishing a newsletter on a regular basis!

Automatically clean your mailing list - maintain your list easily, with hard bounces removed automatically for you!

Built-in anti-spam filters - that way, you make sure good messages go through and nobody abuses your responder!

And much, much more!

And best of all... it's free, so sign up now!

The only way to fully understand and appreciate the power behind the GetResponse® is to see it for yourself.

Visit www.getresponse.com/index/jeremyfive to check out the exciting features of GetResponse® for yourself!

Jeremy Lytle

The Faithful Servant That Works And Make Money For Your 24/7 While You Are Enjoying Your Life.

If you've ever asked for information online about a product or service, or signed up for an e-list or group membership on the Internet, and received a nearly instantaneous response in your e-mail inbox, an autoresponder program was responsible for delivering the reply. Or have you ever believed that it was a real human responsible for the reply? If you are, you must be thinking that the person on the other side was so efficient. Well this is not the case, there is no real human replying your request. The message was sent out automatically by a machine.

In sample term, autoresponders are e-mail programs that send out a prewritten message in response to every incoming e-mail received. Some autoresponders, like sign-up services for e-groups and forums, are one-time deals: a single response for every message received. Today, almost every Internet-based company uses autoresponders for a variety of purposes, from automating tasks that would otherwise take up hundreds of man-hours to building lists and tracking prospective leads. So you see, the mail you received almost instantly was replied by a machine. Do not be disheartened as these automated mails usually contain enough good information for you to proceed with the next stage.

Multiple autoresponders send a series of messages to received e-mail addresses on a predetermined, timed basis. For instance, a multiple autoresponder can be used to send an instant response, then a follow-up message one day later, then another three days after that, and so on. It can also be programmed to send a message a day, one per week, twice monthly, or any interval that meets the purpose of the campaign. The series of messages can be an e-course as well. That is, you received one lesson one at a time. There again, you might be praising the efficiency of the company of having such an efficient and effective follow-up system. In actual fact, the machine is responsible for the follow-up action. Well, never mind, you still received your regular mail as promised.

Autoresponders are the most powerful Internet marketing tools available today. With such great capability as mentioned above, you might be wondering if you need to be a techie to implement it. Good news is that, they are easy to use, and once they're set up, the entire marketing process is automated and instant. When you use autoresponders, your Internet business runs itself 24 hours a day. Launching an effective autoresponder campaign can mean the difference between a struggling business and a wildly successful one.

Irregardless of your online business, you can benefit by using autoresponders. In fact, with a properly arranged campaign, your as-yet-unfounded business can be built around an autoresponder program. All you need is a product and an effective series of autoresponder messages, and you can start to have a share in the internet business.

Your autoresponder is your most precious follow-up weapon: the marketing tool that will sell your well-developed product far more effectively than any other form of advertising. It is a know fact that few sales are made by impulse buyers, particularly on the internet. However if you are able to get your message out repeatedly to people who are already interested in your products or services, you will see an explosive sales response. Hope that this article gives you an idea on the power of an autoresponder.

by John Peace
About the Author
Special Interest In Internet Business and Marketing Discover the same strategies and tactics that top internet markerters used sites to make an utter fortune each month online. See The Butterful Flys. http://www.internetbizcenter.com/butterflymanuscript/index.htm

Looking for a high quality autoresponder to handle all your home business needs? Visit www.getresponse.com/index/jeremyfive to check out the exciting features of GetResponse®!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Automated Link Exchange Software

Automated reciprocal link exchange management software makes it easy to find and contact quality link partners, generate custom link pages that match your site, and keep track of reciprocal links. LinkMachine automatically updates your link pages the instant they're changed - no uploading required. Link exchanges increase a site's targeted traffic, search engine ranking, and sales. CLICK HERE to try Link Machine for free.

About the Author:-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jeremy Lytle Will Show You How to Start an Internet-Based Home Business with Your Own Money Making Website With Automated Tools to Take Orders andGenerate Massive Residual Profits Today!Get All The Exciting Details At:
http://jeremyfive.com/pips.html
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How to get free traffic using link exchanges

Do link exchanges work? You bet they do. You will find countless posts in webmaster online forums explaining how exchanging links increases your link popularity, your Page Rank with Google, and your search engine rankings in general. However, I say forget all that. The best reason to do link exchanges is to get the actual traffic that each link will generate.

Suppose you get 1000 people to link to you who each generate just ten visitors per month. That is an additional 10,000 free visitors to your site per month. You do not even need to be listed in the search engines! You have automatic traffic coming in from other sites even if you are nowhere to be found on the search engines. Try multiplying the above numbers by ten and the figures get really interesting!

The key is not to just exchange links with any site. You should look to exchange links which offer similar content to yours. This is just common sense. If you are going to get an additional 10,000 visitors to your site each month they should be targeted visitors. They should be visitors who are already interested in your area.

What about SEO, search engine optimization? Forget about it! The search engines are changing their rules constantly. It is almost impossible to "trick" them. Even if you succeed for awhile eventually they catch on and your site could get banned. So I say just concentrate on getting releavant links to your site. What the search engines are looking for anyway is relevant content and relevant links. So don't try to trick them. Just give them the real deal! This is how by not concentrating on SEO you will have what all SEO experts are shooting for. Plus, even if you are not listed right away in the search engines you will be getting real free targeted traffic from relevant sites. The SEO will take care of itself.


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About the Author: Matthew Meyer is the webmaster for Quickregister.net Link Exchange Directory. A PR6 ranked site where you can post your free, permanent ad in search engine friendly, targeted categories.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Five Steps to Making Money With Other People's Products

If you want to make money online without having you own products, selling other people's products could be the ticket.

Selling others products has many advantages. You do not have to spend time on creating the products, you do not have to set up a system to sell and deliver the products, and you do not have to get a merchant account and pay recurring merchant account fees. The person who owns the product does all of these things for you. All you have to do is market the product and make money with it.
So how can you make money with other people's products? People who have created products usually run affiliate programs. An affiliate program is a way for you to earn commissions every time you sell someone else's product. When you sign up for an affiliate program, you will get your own unique id you use to link to products you are promoting. Once you make sales using your affiliate links, you will generate commissions.

Here are five steps to take to make money with affiliate products:

- Find A Product To Sell. Before going any further, you need to find a product that will sell. A product should have a professional appearance, be presented on a professional web site and be a quality product that you would want to recommend to others.
Once you find the product, join the affiliate program for it and get your affiliate links.

- Create A Web Site To Sell The Affiliate Product. Having your own web site to promote the affiliate products is best. I always recommend that you get your own domain name and web hosting to host your web site.

The cost of domain names and web site hosting has come down considerably since just a few years ago. You can now get a domain name for about $8 per year and web site hosting for under $10 per month. At these prices you don’t have to be a millionaire or commit to a large capital outlay to start your own web site.

- Create Content For The Web Site. To get more visitors and more sales, you need content for your web site. It is not enough to just link to the product with your affiliate link. In order to make money with your affiliate link you need to bring potential buyers to your web site. A great way to bring them in is with content that is of interest to them, and is related to the product you are promoting.
One good way to generate the content for your web site is by creating your own content and articles that are related to the topic of the product you are promoting. Another good way is by using the articles that were written by the author of the product. Many authors allow their affiliates use the authors' articles on their web sites, and use the affiliate link in the resource box.

- Optimize Your Web Site for Search Engines. Search engine optimization is the process of modifying web page content and meta-information to improve the search engine ranking of the page. Successful search engine optimization will greatly increase the number of visitors that come to your web site. The more visitors to the web site you have, the more affiliate products you will be able to sell, and the more money you will make.
Make sure you optimize every page of your web site for search engines; that way you will get more web site visitors.

- Use Your Articles To Promote The Affiliate Product. Article publishing is a great way to drive traffic to your web site. Start by writing a few articles that are of interest to the people who would want to purchase the product you are promoting. Use the About The Author Resource Box to promote the product. Then take your articles and submit them to article directories. Doing this will bring more traffic to your web site and help you make more money.

Remember, you do not need to create your own products to make money online. Follow the five steps we outlined above to make lots of money selling other people's products.

Start making money today! Biana Babinsky pays you 50% commissions for selling her Complete Online Marketing Course. Learn how at http://www.completemarketingcourse.com/affiliates/

Friday, August 18, 2006

Search Engine Optimization: Increasing Link Popularity

Search engines are the gateway to the Internet; they are
the first tool that potential customers use to find the
products and services they need. This is why link
popularity is so imperative. If the customers do not find
your website, you have no possibilities of making any
sales.

You're probably wondering what the blazes is popular about
a link! Well, in a word - plenty! Link popularity refers to
the ranking assigned to your website by the search engines,
and it determines the ranking your page gets when keywords
are entered into a search engine. So, you're probably
wondering, how do I make my link popular?

Search engines are discretionary, giving status and ranking
to sites that have links to their pages from related,
quality sites. It's a simple formula, but a very important
one. Google created the system, and now virtually all the
most popular search engines employ it to rank your web
pages in their indexes.

The more commonly used your keyword is, the harder it will
be to achieve link popularity, but without achieving this
step, it is almost certain your site will never rank highly
on any search engine. But don't be discouraged; there are
tried and true ways of achieving link popularity using the
most competitive keywords.

There are a few things you should be aware of. The first is
that just linking up with a large number of other websites
will not achieve link popularity. In fact, it may have
quite the opposite effect. This is particularly true when
pertaining to websites that are nothing more than "link
farms" - pages containing line after line of indiscriminate
links. Search engines may aggressively discriminate against
your website if you are associated with a link farm, so
steer clear of them!

The next thing to bear in mind is the quality of the site
you are linking to. Never link to a page you have
reservations about your visitors seeing. The last thing you
want your website to appear as is indiscriminate and cheap.
Linking to sites of poor quality will only lessen your link
popularity, if not completely destroy it.

So let's get to what you need to do to achieve supreme link
popularity and improve your rankings to stellar status on
all the popular search engines.

The first step, and the fastest way to get your foot in the
door, is to get a listing in a popular directory, such as
Open Directory Project and Yahoo. If your site is
business-related, you will want to be listed on Yahoo, and
despite the fact that it will cost you around $300 a year,
it will be money well spent. If your site is
non-commercial, the listing will be free, but it will take
time and follow-up to actually get it listed. Open
Directory is gives you a free listing whether you are
business-related or non-commercial, but be prepared to make
a lot of follow-up inquiries before you see your site
listed.

You are aiming to get listed in the highest level of
appropriate category, and this just takes some common
sense. For example, if your company ships Alpaca wool from
an Alpaca farm located in the middle of Nowhere, Tiny
State, do NOT submit your listing to "Retailers from
Nowhere, Tiny State." BIG MISTAKE! All you have to do is
look a little deeper - and submit your listing to the "Fine
Alpaca Wool" category. You will not only associate yourself
with culture and quality, but you will be listed in a
national category.

The next step after you have attained directory listings is
to locate other quality sites that will increase your link
popularity. Try to find sites that are in some way related
to yours, so not only will your link popularity increase,
but your customer base may also be expanded. You want to
avoid your competitors and look for sites that are useful
to your site's visitors. Let's look at the Alpaca Wool site
example. Linking up to a site that sells knitting supplies
would be helpful to your visitors, and the chances of the
knitting supply site wanting to link up to your site are
also greater. By linking to a related site that will be
relevant to your website's traffic, you are increasing both
of your site's business prospects - and both of your sites'
link popularity.

Not all sites want to link to other sites, so you will have
to do some research when you are looking for possible
linking partners. Google is an excellent starting place for
your search. Make sure you enter keywords that you think
quality customers will also enter to find your own site.
Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked,
non-competing websites that have a links or resources page.
Go to these sites and objectively assess them. Look at the
quality of the product, the graphics, and the ease of use.
Then check out the other sites they are linked to, and
determine if your own site would fit in with the crowd.

When you decide you have found a good prospect, you must
set out to woo them. The first thing to do is to add a link
on your own links page to their site. This is an essential
first step; it shows good faith, and ups your chances
significantly of their reciprocity. After you have added
their link, you must contact the webmaster of their site.
Since this is almost always done by email, you want to make
sure it is immediately clear that your message is not junk
mail. This requires that you tell them right off the bat
that you have added a link to their page on your site. A
hook like this almost always insures the reader will read
on.

Next, be sure to be flattering and let them know how much
you appreciate their website. Make sure you emphasize that
you have actually visited their site, and that their site
is not just a random pick. Give them the address of your
links page, and ask them to check out the link for
themselves. It's a good idea to mention that they will not
only benefit from the increased traffic your website will
direct their way, but you will also increase their link
popularity. Briefly, explain why link popularity is so
essential, but do this in a sentence or two so you don't
sound like a professor! Finally, tell them you would
greatly appreciate if they would reciprocally add a link on
their own links page to your website.

Go through this process with as many appropriate sites as
you can find, bearing in mind the criteria of quality and
non-competitiveness. After you have emailed all relevant
sites, be sure to check these website frequently to see if
they have added a link to your page. Give it about a month,
and if no link appears, try another charming email. Then
give it another month, and if your site is still absent
from their links page, it's time to remove their link from
your own links page. The only time you want to pursue a
link further than this is if you believe a site is crucial
to your link popularity and your business needs. Just
remember to keep all your communications complimentary and
cordial.

Then set up a schedule to check your ranking in search
engines frequently to see if your link popularity has
improved. This is not achievable in the blink of an eye. It
will take some time and a good deal of work. There is no
way around the labor-intensive quality of improving your
link popularity, which is why search engines regard it with
such importance.

By the way - make sure you have a beautiful, streamlined
site or you will never persuade anyone to link up to you.
Be prepared to keep plugging away at this process, as long
as it takes, until you achieve link popularity stardom!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Pay Per Click, SEO & Article Marketing: Which Method Should You Choose?

There's no question, the three most popular ways to drive
targeted traffic to your website are pay per click advertising,
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and article marketing.

And if you're on a limited budget like most marketers, you need
to know the answers to the following three critical questions:

1. Which of the three methods work the best?

2. Which of the three methods should you use?

3. Which of the three methods is the most cost effective?

In this article, I'm going to answer all three of those
questions and then give you my recommendation.

Let's examine the most popular of the three marketing methods
first, pay per click advertising:

Pay Per Click advertising is a huge, multi-billion dollar a year
industry and are huge cash cows for both Google and Yahoo. There
is no faster way to drive targeted traffic to your website than
with a ppc advertising campaign.

For instance, with Google Adwords, you can literally be driving
targeted traffic to your website and making money in just a
matter of minutes.

Does ppc advertising work? Yes and no. For some, it works
extremely well. For the vast majority however, ppc advertising
simply leads to frustration and money down the drain.

So, what's the problem? Actually, there are several problems:

Inexperienced marketers who don't have a clue about how to write
ads that will enable them to get the most out of their ppc
advertising campaign.

Exorbitant keyword costs.

Click fraud.

Because of the "pie in the sky" climate of Internet marketing,
many marketers have a fatal "get rich click" mentality, because
of what they've read in some e-book.

They want instant gratification...that magic pill if you will!

They're not interested in taking the time to learn how to do
things the right way. So, they throw a bunch of money at a ppc
ad campaign, fall flat on their face and then come away
convinced that Internet marketing doesn't work and is nothing
but a scam.

Exorbitant keyword costs is another huge problem. While doing
research for this article, I visited Yahoo/Overture to price the
popular keyword, "Internet marketing."

This is what I discovered. At the time this article was written,
if you wanted the #1 position, it would cost you $2.51 per
click. Ouch! Just to be listed last on the first page at #31, it
would cost you 95 cents per click. Double ouch!!

Needless to say, you have to be one of the "big boys" to play
over at Yahoo's sandbox.

The keyword "Internet marketing" was much more reasonably priced
over at Google. The minimum bid was only 10 cents.

That price isn't bad. But then you have to contend with another
huge problem that could potentially eat away at your profits...
click fraud.

It is estimated that 30 percent of all ppc clicks are
fraudulent. In fact, according to the June 28 issue of the San
Jose Mercury News, both Google and Yahoo recently had to settle
class action lawsuits regarding this very issue.

Google has to refund an estimated $90 million to advertisers.
There is no word yet on the exact amount Yahoo has to refund,
although they are liable for $4.95 million in attorneys fees
alone.

When you consider the billions of dollars both companies make
from their ppc programs, the settlements amount to litle more
than pocket change.

Search Engine Optimization is another popular method marketers
use to drive targeted traffic to their websites. Should you
optimize your website? Yes, definitely. SEO does work. However,
I personally don't think you need to invest thousands of dollars
in SEO. Here's why:

With the ever-changing algorithms of search engines, you could
spend big money on SEO that may put you at the very top of the
search engines today, and then with one major algorithm change,
you could drop completely off the charts tomorrow. (Remember
Florida?)

Instead, I think you should focus on SEO basics like keyword
density, title description, meta tags and acquiring plenty of
inbound links.

You should also diversify your efforts to make sure you're
receiving traffic from sources other than search engines. You
never want to put all of your eggs into one basket. Which brings
us to our third and final marketing method:

Article Marketing: Writing articles is quickly becoming the most
popular way to drive targeted traffic to your website.

The reason I like article marketing so much is because it's
free, and also because articles are viral. If you write articles
and allow them to be freely published, your articles become
viral, meaning your articles can actually spread like a virus
and have the potential to be viewed by millions (yes millions)
of Internet users.

And because search engines love articles you can expect to get
linked to by many high-profile websites, thereby increasing your
PR (Page Rank) and traffic as well.

There's also another important by-product of article marketing:
Credibility.

Other than testimonials from well known expert marketers,
writing articles is the quickest way to establish credibility
online.

If you write good, quality content, not only will your articles
get published regularly, but they will also brand you as an
expert in your field, which will instantly enhance your
reputation and bottom line tremendously.

Don't know how to write? No problem. Hire an affordable
ghostwriter over at elance.com.

In closing, all three methods of marketing discussed in this
article today work. To what degree however, will obviously depend
on the experience, work ethic and ingenuity of the individual
marketer.

So, which marketing method should you use?

Because it's both free and viral, article marketing is obviously
the most cost-effective of the three methods discussed here
today. Therefore, article marketing should be your number one
priority.

That said, I also think you should use a combination of all
three marketing methods for optimum results.

However, I would caution you to spend your money prudently, in
regards to ppc and SEO.



Dale King is an ex-advertising salesman and the owner of
GuruKnowledge.org

http://guruknowledge.org

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

10 Ways To Instantly Improve Your Conversion Ratio

A conversion ratio is the ratio of orders to site visits. For example, if 100 people visit your site, and one person places an order, your conversion ratio is 1 percent. Of the top 100 e-tailers, 22 percent report conversion rates between 1 percent and 1.9 percent, 20 percent report rates between 2 percent and 2.9 percent. Only 20 have achieved rates over 5 percent (source: e-tailing.com; 2004). Conversion ratios can also be used to measure actions other than purchasing, such as subscribing to a newsletter, requesting additional information or downloading a file.

Generally speaking, you'd like to get your conversion ratio to at least 1 percent and then build from there.

In this article, I'm going to give you some steps that should help you improve your conversion ratio.

1. First Impressions Matter: In her article "The Power of First Impressions" Jill Bremer writes:

"First impressions count! Packaging is important, whether we're considering a house, a product or a person. We think what looks attractive or reliable from the outside must surely be on the inside. We judge books by their covers; we buy houses based upon curb appeal and we take people at face value. And they do the same to us!

I'll agree with you that none of this seems fair. People should be judged by their inner values and beliefs, but it is often the first impression that determines whether someone will stick around long enough for you to reveal those wonderful qualities. Very few people will ever see those documents that define who you are, such as your resume, diploma or birth certificate. Like it or not, it is often that first impression that determines your future, more than your professional achievements, family background or educational credentials."

So what first impressions does your website project? For example, are the colors of your site appealing? Did you know that blue is considered to be the best color for websites? It's true. According to psychologists of color (AKA color consultants) the color blue is psychologically connected to the following words:

authority, peace, unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, confidence, water, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness.

Have you ever noticed that most police uniforms are blue, as are the uniforms of the United States Postal Service?

The color blue signifies authority and reliability. It instills confidence.

To back up my point, I went to Google and typed in the words "Internet Marketing." I then examined the top 30 Internet Marketing websites.

Here's what I discovered:

24 of the top 30 Internet Marketing websites use blue as the primary or dominant color on their sites.

24 out of the top 30. That's no coincidence. If you're not happy with your conversion ratio, change your website color to blue.

2. Navigation: Is your website easy to navigate?
While it may be true that Content is King on the Internet, your website needs to have an orderly structure - and many signposts - to help visitors navigate it... to find whatever it is they're seeking... to get to whichever section of your site they wish to visit. Quickly. Efficiently. Painlessly.

If you force people to click on multiple links and wander around your website aimlessly trying to find whatever it is they're looking for, you can bet your bottom dollar, they won't return again. There are simply too many other choices available on the Internet.

Construct a website with a simple navigation system that shows visitors exactly where they are and how to get to other sections of your site. Do this, and not only will your visitors return again and again, they'll bring their friends with them!

3. Give Before You Take: Don't just send visitors straight to a sales page. Give them something first. Give them a free report, a free 7 day Internet Marketing course, an e-book, something. Give something of value, before you ask for money and watch your conversion ratio improve.

4. Make Your Website Credible: Lack of credibility can kill your conversion ratio. Here are some things you can do to make your website more credible:

A. Make your contact information clear: phone number, physical address, and email address.

B. Post a photo of yourself.

C. Update or add new content to your site regularly.

D. Have real and verifiable testimonials, including full names, website an/or e-mail addresses.

E. Be aware of typographical errors and broken links. It's also important to keep your site up and running.

F. Are you affiliated with a respected organization? Tell people. Conversely, don't link to outside sites that are not credible. Your site automatically becomes less credible by association.

G. Get your own domain name. Don't use domain names like, "Geocities", "Angelfire" or "Tripod" Be a professional. Get your own domain name.

5. Try Changing Your Headline: Just changing the headline of a salesletter has been know to boost conversion ratios by 500 percent or more. If your current salesletter isn't converting the way you think it should, try changing the headline.

6. Don't Confuse People: When people come to your website, is it crystal clear what your site's all about, or do your visitors have to guess? Are you trying to be all things to all people? If you sell e-books on how to make money, why do you have banner ads for satellite dishes? See my point? Laser-target your focus, and leave no doubt what you website's all about.

7. Offer Free Bonuses: Does your salesletter offer free bonuses when people make a purchase? Start offering free bonuses...the more the better. But don't give away the same recycled e-books that everyone else is giving away. Do some brainstorming and try to offer something different and unique.

8. Make Your Website Sticky: "Sticky" refers to a site’s ability to keep visitors on your site once they have navigated there or encourage the visitor to return frequently (i.e., the visitors "stick" to the site).

Research has shown that anywhere from 95 to 99 percent of visitors to your website won't purchase the first time they visit. Therefore, it's important to get visitors to come back to your site again and again so you can have multiple opportunities to sell them something. The best way to do this is to have a sticky website.

A site’s stickiness depends on the content of the site that encourages the visitors to remain there but is not necessarily what the visitors went to the site looking for. For example, in addition to the original content visitors are looking for, you can also add a glossary, stock quotes, games, community forums, news feeds and/or chat rooms to make the site more appealing to visitors. Also, add special features to set yourself apart from competitors, such as interviews with the content’s authors.

9. Ask For The Sale More Than Once: When I began studying copywriting many years ago, one of the first things I was taught was to ask for the sale several times. This is called "closing the deal," or "call to action." Why several times? Because people are preconditioned to say NO. It's a psychological mechanism.

It starts when we're little babies, and our parents constantly tell us NO. It continues into our school years, when our teachers constantly tell us NO. And we deal with it everyday at work when our bosses tell us NO. So when people come across your ad or salesletter, they already have their guard up. So you have to slowly chip away at all of those years of hearing NO, NO, NO! That's why you have to ASK, ASK, ASK for the sale several times.

1O. Offer A Strong Guarantee: Show you have confidence in your product or service by offering a fair and reasonable money-back guarantee. Thirty days is good. But sixty or ninety days is even better! If you're offering good value for the money, you won't have to worry about refunds. Generally speaking, very few customers ever ask for a refund.


Dale King is the owner of the new Internet Marketing website, GuruKnowledge.org

Monday, August 14, 2006

How To Buy Leads & Turn Them Into Loyal Customers

TERMS OF USE: Please feel free to use this article as long as it remains unedited and the resource box at the end is included. Thanks.



Today, I want to explain to you how to establish a relationship and rapport with your opt in email list. I want you to be so damned hot that you can create lists at will and have them eating out of your hand. I also want to explain to you the benefits of having a BIG and RESPONSIVE list (and how you can make a bundle from this without anyone buying a thing from you).


You And Your List - How To Establish A HUGE Rapport With Your List So That They Listen To Your Words Closely, Check Out Your Recommendations & Contribute To Your Bottom Line!

There are two main categories by which you can build your list - Paid (Leads/Subscribers) and Zero Cost (JV giveaways, forum & article posts etc). Today, I want to focus on how you can get a list FAST through BUYING LEADS and then converting them into loyal subscribers that BUY from you. Again and again.

When you buy leads, it's a different process to getting opt in subscribers who may have subscribed after seeing a forum or article post that you had written. They aren't as "warmed up" as the other type of leads. You need to win their trust, because when you first approach them you may as well be wearing a straight-jacket and come screaming at them wielding a rusty axe. They will run. Or in the subscribers game, delete your message fast.

Here are some highly potent tips for converting LEADS into loyal subscribers and customers. Pay close attention to them:


Part 1 - Tips On How To BUY Fresh & Potentially Responsive Leads!

1. The quality of leads you purchase will vary significantly depending on who you buy from. Don't bother with those cheap mailing lists offering 1 million email addresses for $10. Most probably they will NOT be spam compliant and most of them will almost certainly bounce. It's a waste of your time, energy and $10. If in doubt, question the seller of the leads - ask how the leads were collected and how spam compliant they are. The last thing you want is to get black listed just because you bought a cheap bunch of leads in good faith.

2. Make sure that you're buying leads that have expressed an interest in your niche. If you're in the home business niche for example then you need home business leads.

3. Make sure that the leads are no older than 60 days maximum.


Part 2 - How To Convert Leads Into Loyal Subscribers & Customers!

1. Remember, you're an axe wielding lunatic to them. Your first job is to establish TRUST with them. Tell them a little bit about yourself and explain that you're there to HELP them. DO NOT SELL anything in the first few mails. Studies have shown that it takes SEVEN points of contact before a lead/prospect will feel comfortable buying from you. So you need to present some killer content to them during this period. Prove to them that you're a credible, experienced person who can GIVE them what it is they're looking for.

2. Offer them a lot of QUALITY freebies - but don't just give the link and leave them to it. Explain to them HOW the product you're giving to them can assist them. Outline the benefits of the product. Tell them that usually you sell it for $49 or whatever but as a loyal subscriber they are getting it with your compliments. This seriously boosts your credibility and now like a dog wanting another tasty bone they'll be looking out for your next email. They're warming up.

3. Tell them that your door is always open. Invite their comments, questions and suggestions. You're building rapport now. More trust is being established. You're no longer someone just after their credit card - you're a human being who has spent time on them.

4. This tip will be rebuked by some. You'll hear some people say that you should just write simple, basic emails - that's just rubbish. DON'T BE DULL! People are human beings and they want to experience emotions. They want to know a little bit about you. Don't be afraid to ENTERTAIN them as well as offering them solid, gold-plated information. So let them know what you got up to over the weekend. Tell them about the cat in your garden that looks exactly like George Bush. I do - and you know what, it gets a response!

Having said that, it's critical to find balance between entertainment & hard-hitting content. You really must WOW them with the useful information that you're revealing. If on the other hand all you've got inside your mail are affiliate links and a cat that looks like the president then your subscribers will probably leave you in droves.

By the way I'm not saying that there really is a cat in my garden that looks like George Bush (though there is a squirrel that bares a remarkable resemblance to Tony Blair).


Part 3 - How You Can Use Your Opt In Subscriber List To Create In come (Without Them Even Buying Anything)

Once you have an opt-in subscriber list that has a good number of members and is responsive, the world just opens up to you. There are so many ways to create additional funds from them without them actually buying a thing from you. Here's how:

1. Adsense is exploding and new players are coming to the party. BIG players like Yahoo and Mr Bill Gate's Microsoft. When you have a targeted opt in list you can write articles of interest to them, send them to your blog/site that has Adsense displays and you can bet some of them will check out the ads. Money in your pocket. Now say that you had 50,000 opt ins and only 25,000 actually click on your post. Out of them, you achieve a 5% CTR (5% of these click on Adsense Ads) with an average commission to you of just $0.30 per click. Well even with these MISERLY figures, you've just made $350 from this one post. 3 posts a week = $1,125 per week (or $4,500 per month). Kinda makes you want to grow that list now doesn't it?

And by the way, some niches offer CRAZY payouts. Check out the details on this particular niche and think about how having an opt in list in this market could do some serious things for your bottom line:

http://www.digital-resale-rights.com/propertyprospecialoffer.htm

Or this niche, where your targeted opt ins can't help but click on your Adsense displays:

http://www.digital-resale-rights.com/travelmaldivesspecial.htm

2. You can if you wish offer paid adverts to your newsletter. Going rate for this is about $20 to $800 depending on the type of advert, number of subscribers and prestige of the list. If you're just starting out it'll be the lower end of the spectrum - but even so, that could be $60 for 3 classified ads and say $80 per solo. For some online business entrepreneurs, their entire business model revolves around paid ezine advertising.

3. Do people ignore you because you're a newbie? Once you have a big list it's an incredible leverage tool. You could easily approach potential JV partners cladded in a white panama hat & suit, smoking a Cuban cigar and say "Yo - want me to promote your product to my 50,000 subscribers? In return I want a solo advert for my product."... then blow smoke in their face. Don't do it to Russell Brunson though, he'll beat the stuffing out of you.

Point is, a quality list is the most powerful asset your internet business has. With it, you can write your own ticket. Again and again. You could create joint ventures till you're sick of collecting payments. You could do ad swaps with prominent personalities in your niche and grow your list even bigger. And then there's the main source of in come - back end offers to your own & affiliated products. Now do you see why the big guns with lists of 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000+ are raking in over $10Gs per month?

All the best,

Tuks Engineer
---------------------------------------------------------------------Would You Like Over $1,000 Of List Building Information, Software & Internet Buisiness Profit Resources More That Will Help You Build Huge Opt In Lists & Income NOW? Want It All For FREE?
http://www.digital-resale-rights.com/ibelifepass.htm

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Well-Rounded Affiliate Marketing Strategy Tips

Affiliate marketing can be as easy as promoting someone else’s link in your own email. And it can be more strategic and involve setting up a website, autoresponder series and more for a complete promotional campaign.

Here are some top tips to help set up and run a well-rounded affiliate marketing operation:

Affiliate Program

First of all, research and find free affiliate programs with a variety of products for you to promote and ones that allow you to participate without purchasing anything. A popular place is Clickbank.com with many top-selling categories of information products. Others are Commission Junction at cj.com and LinkShare™ at linkshare.com, both with products and services offered online and off, for those interested in selling real-world items like pet supplies, flowers, gift baskets, etc.

Other affiliate programs such as SFI are free to join initially, but require a minimum purchase for full participation in the compensation plan. SFI is a well-known affiliate program that operates world-wide with a wide variety of products.


Autoresponder Series

Next you need a good automatic means for communicating via email. Popular autoresponders are Get Response at http://www.getresponse.com, Aweber Communications at aweber.com and 1ShoppingCart.com. These have excellent setup and management instructions with support practically round the clock. Learn how to set up a subscriber form to capture email addresses and other information you’d like to contact your clients and leads, even offline with postal mail. Then learn to create (or hire someone to create via online bid sites like Elance.com) a series of messages to lead shoppers back to your sites. Hint: the magic number is 7! People need reminded up to 7 times to return and buy. So load at least 7 messages!

Articles

Write articles on a regular basis about each of your affiliate products and submit them to online article directories, article submission services, ezine publishers and website owners in your niches or fields of interest. Don’t make them advertising pieces, but rather stories or news discussing features and benefits for readers. At the end, add your byline with affiliate link and / or other contact information. This can increase website visitors, leads as people subscribe through your autoresponder forms, sales and website links, increasing your search engine rank for better positioning when people conduct website searches.

Website / Newsletter / Blog

Although many affiliate products and services come with their own websites, super affiliate marketers who earn the bigger affiliate bucks use their own websites to attract visitors first, then send them to their affiliate sites. This way, you can capture your own contact information to use yourself and track and monitor your own shoppers instead of blindly sending them elsewhere to click someone else’s sites. Popular means to stay in touch to bring these shoppers back to you plus build rapport include setting up a blog and sending out a regular newsletter with information. People can subscribe to your blog via an RSS feed to receive your news announcements and articles that point them to your affiliate links. Ditto with an ezine or postal newsletter.


Interaction

In all you do, invite interaction from your readers and website visitors. Get to know your audience and build rapport. Would you prefer to buy from a stranger? Or someone you know? Ask for feedback with your articles. Conduct surveys on your blog, ranking articles for popularity. Invite your readers to contribute their articles.


In summary, affiliate marketing can be as easy as promoting someone else’s link in your own email. But it can be more strategic and offer both your affiliates and you much greater rewards. So reach out with your promotions and develop a well-rounded affiliate marketing strategy. And go for a win-win!


About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jeremy Lytle Will Show You How to
Start an Internet-Based Home Business
with Your Own Money Making Website
With Automated Tools to Take Orders and
Generate Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details At:
http://jeremyfive.com/pips.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

The Fundamental Key to Internet Home Business Success

Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.Home-Business.com

In regard to making money on the Internet, everyone is always
looking for the quick fix. They want to sign up for a program,
place and advertisement and make hundreds or thousands of
dollars instantly. While this may be possible depending on your
circumstances, the most direct and guaranteed path to success on
the Internet is to stick with the fundamentals.

I was reminded of this lesson by a friend of mine who is an
athletic coach for kids in the city where I live. This guy is
actually so passionate about kids and athletics that he coaches
4 different sports: basketball, soccer, baseball and football.
Of course, he has a kid of his own on each team. But what's
remarkable about this guy is the results he gets with his teams.

He was recruited to coach the 8th grade football team where his
children go to school. After 27 years of losing seasons in a
row, the first year my friend became the head coach the team won
the district championship and repeated their championship run
the following year. This past weekend he coached 12 different
games and won all 12 of them. As you can tell, this guy is
extremely dedicated.

But the funny thing is that he and the kids he coaches are not
totally hung up on winning. If they lose a game, they feel
equally good about themselves as they would if they had won.
What matters most to them is how well they played and lived up
to their potential as a team.

The real question is how my friend's teams continually perform
on such a high level and beat nearly anyone they play even
though they are often smaller and younger than their
competitors. I asked this question to my friend the other day
and he told me that it's all in the fundamentals.

In his practices, all he works on with his kids is keeping a
positive mindset and practicing the fundamentals. He told me
that his teams never scrimmage or strategize about upcoming
games during practice. They simply work hard on all the
fundamentals of whatever particular sport they are playing and
do so more than any other team they play. This constant practice
and improvement of the fundamentals is what allows his teams to
progress faster than his competitors. While most other teams get
caught up with how to win, out-strategize, be stronger than and
intimidate their opponents, my friend's team are just so good at
the basics that they blow everyone out of the water when game
day arrives.

This got me thinking about my own Internet business and why I've
been able to succeed on such a high level while most others who
have tried to do what I do have failed. The answer is not really
surprising.

Most people who try to build a successful Internet home business
are looking for the quick fix. They want it to work IMMEDIATELY
and so they usually fall prey to business opportunities that
promise to help them get rich overnight and advertising scams
that promise to deliver thousands of hungry prospects to their
website in the next 24 hours. Of course, these opportunistic
schemes are really just geared to steal people's hard earned
money. You see, when someone is desperate and looking for an
INSTANT solution, they will often be taken advantage of and
their chances for success with an Internet home business are
slim to none.

However, while there are thousands of business opportunities on
the Internet and millions of different ways to advertise and
promote your website, I personally practice the fundamentals in
my Internet home business. I do this by sticking with the
business opportunities I've joined for the long haul and
promoting my website consistently with simple, affordable and
easily maintained Internet marketing techniques.

In fact, one of the techniques that works best for me is writing
articles like this one and getting them published on other
people's websites using article syndication tools and software
such as the those provided by the good folks at Content
Propulsion Lab: http://www.ContentPropulsionLab.net

By writing articles and getting them published on other websites
online using powerful tools like those mentioned above, I'm able
to get my name and website address in front of thousands of
people without paying a dime in advertising. Of course, the key
to this strategy is that I write and distribute articles
consistently in this way. It's one of those "fundamentals" that
doesn't cost anything but a little time and effort. Fact is,
it's this price of time and effort that most people are
unwilling to pay. They'll gladly part with hundreds or even
thousands of dollars, but ask them to do a little hard work and
they say "No way."

It's this understanding that can separate you from the pack. If
you are willing to practice the fundamentals of your business
faithfully and consistently, you will be destined to succeed on
a high level. But if you can't and you're only looking for the
quick fix, you have already lost the game before you even set
foot on the field.

Even pros like me practice the fundamentals every day. In fact,
especially pros like me practice the fundamentals. The moment I
stop practicing the fundamentals is the moment I stop being a
pro. Think about this carefully and then renew YOUR commitment
to the fundamentals of your Internet home business today. Do
this and you will soar past your competition.

About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy is an Internet home business
authority who has helped thousands of people launch a successful
Internet home business. To learn more about Stone Evans and find
an Internet home business that is right for you visit:
http://www.Home-Business.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Quick and Easy Steps To Build Your Website's Revenue

Mark Nenadic

The ideal for many people is to have a website that creates its own revenue, building a substantial income for its owner while he or she lies on a beach somewhere on a tropical island. Though that has happened for a very limited few, the rest of us need to take certain important steps to make sure that we earn enough money from our websites to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Among these steps, there are five that have proven to be the most effective for generating additional revenue on a website. These steps are:

1.Creating superior content 2.Measuring the actual potential for income held by your website 3.Preparing your site in a way so that banner ads fit attractively and practically 4.Study the demographics of your visitors 5.Register with all of the major directories, and any of the smaller ones that deal specifically with the subject of your website

Superior content should be considered the most basic necessity of any website that is to become successful. Content is the main source of value for a website from the point of view of the visitors. Therefore, your content needs to be so great that it creates tremendous value for your site. This will make certain that people talk about it, spreading the word verbally, and you may even be written up by the media.

A content-rich website will include such items as (for example):

Information This can include articles product reviews website reviews detailed and descriptive links to other sites

Free downloads This can include software ebooks reports and other digital items.

Entertainment This may include such elements as music pictures videos games quizzes and other fun items.

Services Anything that can be provided online can be included here such as site monitors calculators submitters and other online services.

Good quality unique content can be quite challenging to create. If you have the time and the skill you can write it yourself but you may need to hire an expert to write it for you. This is however much more effective than using free content from elsewhere because it makes certain that your site content is unique.

Your sites income potential should be determined very early in the process of its creation. Consider the amount of traffic you have already developed how much you realistically believe that you can build and how much you would need to make your advertisings compensation worthwhile.

When you design your website do it in a way that banner ads will fit well in the appearance and functionality. This way, when you include banner ads that will pay for their clickthrough and clickthrough rates youll be able to fit them in without having to reconstruct your overall website design.

The more quickly you can introduce new banner ads that will provide you with income for your website the better your revenue will flow. Once the site is easily displaying banners you should join as many promising affiliate programs as possible and display their banner ads in all of the suitable places. It is important that you create as many impressions as you can so that you will create a direct line of traffic through your affiliate links and build your income.

To be able to properly gear your site to send people through your links you will need to know your demographic. Of course, we cant all afford to do extensive demographic studies however there are some things that you can do to become familiar with who your primary market includes. You can study what your successful competition is doing and who they are gearing their marketing toward. You can also offer free newsletters or other free features through registration where certain general demographic information is shared with you.

Once your site is all set up, its time to register with as many of the large directories as you can. Then, find out about smaller directories that focus on the topic of your website and register with them as well. This will not only help your inbound links so that youll achieve more effective search engine optimization but youll also create more ways in which your site can be found.

Your last step is simply to pick the beach where you want to relax as your revenue flows in from your successful website.

About Author: Mark Nenadic Mark is the director and face behind FifteenDegrees-North http://www.15dn.com, where you will find articles and resources to help with SEO, marketing and Web design.

Prime Affiliate Promo Ideas

You have permission to publish this article electronically
or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are
included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be
appreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net


Prime Affiliate Promo Ideas

In order to earn more by being an affiliate and marketing
products and services of someone else, you have to do more than
the average affiliate marketer does. Sure it’s great to grab and
use the marketing tools that the provider has packaged when you
sign up for a link; like banners, articles and ad spots. But do
more.


Specialized Website

First of all, look at your own online promotional strategy
focus. Why offer the same affiliate link everyone else will? Be
different. For example, set up a splash or leads form page to
capture email addresses of those showing interest. Follow up by
emailing them a 7-part autoreponder series on how they’ll
benefit from each feature of your affiliate product or service.
And write a call-to-action in each one. Offer a no-cost report
for all who sign up, and have plenty of contact info, links and
a call-to-action inside the report as well.


Affiliate Portal

As you progress, you may decide to be an affiliate of several
programs that you have personally tried and liked. So you could
develop one website as a "portal" to showcase your affiliation
for each, grouping together those products and services that are
in the same niche. If you have more than one niche, think about
developing more than one portal.


List Building

Develop lists with complete contact information not only for
emailing but for postal mailing offline, too. And set up
sub-categories. For example, as your budget allows, maybe mail a
black and white flyer to your huge portal list.
Then create monthly specials for those on smaller niche areas,
sending glossy postcards and following up with an email sales
letter and a weekly ezine with articles.


So do grab and use the marketing tools that the provider has
packaged when you sign up for a link. But do more so that you’re
not limiting you’re results.

-30-

By Diana Barnum, president of Moving Ahead Communications.
Get tons of freebies, tips and help at http://OhioHelpGroup.com or
call: (614) 529-9459. Freebies section at http://presssuccess.com/bookstore

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Affiliate Program Success - Taking a Tip From My Uncle the Coin Collector

Jeremy Lytle

When I was 10 years old, one of my favorite outings was to attend a local coin show with my uncle and the local minister. I remember my uncle’s advice then, a caution that is very familiar to those in the coin-collecting hobby, “Buy the book (first), then buy the coin.” The meaning of the phrase is to suggest that one ought to familiarize oneself with the book value of a coin, in light of its rarity, condition, and demand by collectors. The book would presumably also educate the collector on the strong points and weaker points of the coin, and its desirability in the current market. The collector who had purchased a recent annual guide to coins would presumably be a step ahead of those who had not, when determining the fair market price of a contemplated purchase. This was very valuable information to have at a coin show where part of the fun was in trying to outwit a seller, for a bit of extra value, and perhaps profit.

In the online work of home business, my uncle’s advice also holds true. Information is very easily obtained online, as many sellers hope to capture the attention of a prospective buyer by offering a bit of education on the marketing tools and techniques that are available. Often this education comes in the form of a free report or a low-cost e-book. Embedded in the pages of the book will frequently be a rundown of the features of whatever program the seller happens to be promoting.

This marketing technique would be comparable to a coin seller offering to sell you a new price guide with its fresh descriptions and grading scales, while allowing you to hold the coin he is selling—hold it in your hand for just a little while—so as to attract your interest.

As a prospective buyer in the vast world of home business opportunity, you perhaps know that it is unwise to chase after every new program that comes along. Real profit will likely not materialize without substantial concentration on a single program, or perhaps no more than a handful.

But my uncle’s advice to “buy the book, then buy the coin” still holds up all these years later in internet marketing, just as it did in coin collecting. Education is invaluable in making money, no matter where that education comes from. Many e-books are worth their weight in gold for the good advice and solid business plans they offer. Learning is fundamental to success no matter where the instruction comes from.

I suggest you follow my uncle’s advice and “buy the book, then buy the coin.” Don’t abandon your current program to look for whatever looks best at any given moment. The grass is always greener to the cows stuck on this side of the fence rail. There are some very poor programs indeed that are sold via lively and exciting advertising copy. Take time to absorb the information in the reports and e-books that seem to offer promising content, particularly if they are relevant to the goals you have--whether building traffic to your website or simply announcing your site to the world. Only after you have given attention to the information, taking particular note of the techniques and tips which will help you improve the way that you run your home business, can you then honestly evaluate the business opportunity that is being promoted in the pages before you. Perhaps you don’t need the new opportunity at all.

Perhaps your current program is better, or at least as good. Carelessly jumping on “the next big thing” is unlikely to bring you the profits you seek. It is better to learn all you can from the material—“buy the book,” as my uncle would say. See if you can apply the recommended plans to marketing your current program. When you have absorbed all the new information, you may just decide not to “buy the coin” at all. You may decide that your current program will do just fine—and you may also benefit from application of all you have learned from the e-book, even one with a product of its own to sell.

If you do decide to “buy the coin”, it will then be because you have made the decision that the program you are being offered does genuinely have a fresh approach or innovative product. In either event, the new marketing lesson you have learned will undoubtedly improve your knowledge, skills and abilities—and that can only help your home business.

About the Author:
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Jeremy Lytle Will Show You How to
Start an Internet-Based Home Business
with Your Own Money Making Website
With Automated Tools to Take Orders And
Generate Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details At:
http://jeremyfive.tripod.com/money

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