The Importance of Getting Your Website Listed on DMOZ
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.profit-today.com/pips.html


DMOZ is used by Google for ALL of the contents of the Web Directory portion of their site. Many small search engines and directories also use DMOZ results for their directories. Since DMOZ has been around a long time and uses human editors, Google also gives your site quite a lot of link popularity credit, if your site is listed. Needless to say, DMOZ is an important link, if you can get it.

When performing directory submissions, your first stop should be DMOZ.org. Spend some time finding the absolute best category for your site. This is crucial. Submitting to the wrong category will hold up the review of your site. Then create a good description and use your company or website name as the title. Make sure to read their submission guidelines, especially for the category you are submitting to. Basically, you get one shot at DMOZ, submit right the first time and forget about it. For some commercial categories, it may take YEARS to be reviewed. DO NOT submit again and again, your submission will be put at the back of the review queue if you keep submitting, or be deleted altogether! Don't get fancy with the description, yes, try and incorporate your main keyword phrase or phrases, but be careful. The description should adhere to their submission guidelines perfectly. Take a good look at the descriptions of sites already listed in the category for an idea of what the editors are looking for. Use natural language, not sales jargon. Make it short and to the point. Also, be sure to use an email from your site, like webmaster@yoursite.com. This may help the editors know that this is a legitimate submission from an important person in your company, as opposed to if you use myname@hotmail.com as the submission email address. You don't need to worry about being spammed. It's unlikely you will ever hear from DMOZ via email. So use your real email address from your domain.

Once you've submitted to DMOZ, you can check your category once a month to see if your site has been added, as you won't receive a confirmation email if your site is accepted or denied.

If the category you are submitting to does not have an editor listed AND if the category doesn't have a lot of listings, preferably less than 50 consider applying to become an editor of the category. As editor, you can approve your own site into the category very quickly. Be honest in your application, the DMOZ people will research the information you give them, if you lie, you won't get approved. If you are approved, be an honest editor, giving competitors a fair shot to be listed. You wouldn't want a competitor keeping you out of the directory if they had the power, would you? Login a couple times a month to review new listings and to keep your editor account updated.

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.profit-today.com/pips.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Internet Marketing Strategies that Won't Hurt Your Savings Much
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596


Your new business will benefit a lot from various Internet marketing methods. But you don't have to spend millions of dollars just to get some decent exposure for your company. There are ways to make your business be seen and felt without doing overkill with your advertisement expenses.

Make use of your online power - through Internet marketing. Here are simple methods that you may employ to boost the visibility of your business without shelling out more than what you can afford. However, these techniques need patience and some footwork to produce agreeable results.

Firstly, you need a website before you can make use of these low cost Internet marketing strategies. So go create one or hire a web developer. It will display your products and services. This will be used in employing the following Internet marketing techniques.

1. Affiliate Marketing

This is the process of recruiting a network of smaller websites known as affiliates to drive targeted traffic to a website. Ad copy and links will be provided by the advertisers. You will have to pay a certain percentage of the sales profit to your affiliates.

2. Links

One of your goals should be to attain a good ranking with search engines. One way to do it is through link building. This could be done through trading links to other businesses that are related with yours.

3. Newsletters

Sending out newsletters to your subscribers (those who signed up for your newsletters) will help greatly in establishing a good working relationship with your customers or prospective customers. It has to be short, sweet, consistent and written for a general audience.

4. E-mail Marketing

As one of the best cost-effective Internet marketing tools, it stays as a very important method of keeping your customers aware of your products and services. Just make sure to avoid spamming or soon enough you will have to close down you business due to complaints.

5. Articles

If you put quality content in the form of articles in your website along with your products and services, search engines will have to index your website. Getting you website indexed by popular search engines means more traffic for you.

6. Forums

Expand your Internet network is through joining forums that mainly discusses stuff regarding or related to your products and services. Actively posting responses or answers and asking relevant information will build your reputation as that forum's member and boost your company's visibility through your signature files. These signature files are those that go with your every post. Links to your website could be included in this signature.

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Writing Effective Emails
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596


You have joined a great business and you want to create a downline to make it a success. Or you have found something that you believe will interest a good majority of the web users.

You make your decision to begin a mass emailing campaign. Have you got what it takes to write an email and get the replies flying in?

Most of us send out emails almost every day we do it so often with out even thinking about it, as a result they are often written and sent out less than perfect and fail to produce the desired result.

The purpose of sending out mass email is usually intended to attract visitors to view a website rather than make a sale, therefore it is important to take your time and define your aim precisely before writing the email.

Keep it simple and brief; avoid using long or technical words as some people may not understand them. Do not use three words where one will suffice. If the email is long and full of waffle boredom will set in and without a doubt it is likely to be deleted before reaching the end of it.

The opening paragraph is vital. If it does not click with the reader right away you have wasted your time sending it.

Even the best writers spend time editing and rewriting their article or email.

Start with an eye catching headline. It might be a question or statement. You must grab their attention right away. Look at it from your readers point of view, is it forceful enough or exciting to make you want to read on and discover the end result?

Headlines hook prospects and lead them to the next line. There you start to build their interest to ensure they read the next sentence... and each subsequent one.

You might even find it is worth offering a free gift or a monthly newsletter that would help their business. There are plenty of free e-books on the web that you can give away.

If the intention of your email is to make a sale then offer a guarantee or a full refund this should dispel any fears they may have.

A cheeky way to test out your email is to send it to a couple of friends who are interested in business, add a message at the end of it and ask them to email you.

If you don't receive a reply then you know your email was discarded before they reached your message, it is then a good idea to edit your email and remove any unneeded text.

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Does Your Business Need a Newsletter?
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596


If you are not yet using a newsletter as a part of your marketing efforts then you are missing out on potential and existing customers becoming valuable long-term buyers.

Newsletters provide an effective tool for collecting interested visitors' email addresses and converting them into buyers. They also are a great vehicle for keeping in touch with your most valued contact - previous customers. How?

NEWSLETTERS KEEP CUSTOMERS

When you have a customer buy from you, but no newsletter to follow up, than you are virtually handing him or her back to your competitors. Of course, if the service was good and the product memorable they may come back, but what if you have a new product that your existing customer may wish to buy and they do not know about it? What if they lose your website address? What if they just forget about you? A newsletter will prevent these things from happening.

HOW OFTEN?

That depends on various factors. Some businesses contact their subscribers as often as every day, others as infrequently as several times per year. What works for you depends a lot on what you are selling, what information you can give them, how often your subscribers will want to hear from you, etc.

A good rule of thumb for many businesses is once per week. Twice a month if you really feel that is the most you can do. More often and the customer may unsubscribe or routinely delete your messages. Less often and you're allowing your competition the chance to win over your potential customer.

WHAT DO I WRITE ABOUT?

Are you very informed on the product or service? Do you have a lot of contacts? Can you point out related products or services they might be interested in?

You do not need a long newsletter. A sale alert or announcement of a new service or product can do just as well for some businesses, while others find a tips format more suitable. Industry news or 'How to...' and 'Top 5...' topics are a good idea and always try to make a connection between the newsletter and your product or service. Subscribe to several competitors' newsletters (they will surely be subscribing to yours). Use a free email account to subscribe and see what they are providing their customers.

KEEP IT CONSISTENT

It's amazing the amount of newsletters that abound online. Because of this subscribers can forget which ones are legitimate and which are spam.

Keep your format consistent so your newsletter becomes visibly familiar. Also indicate that the subscriber requested the information and provide an unsubscribe link on EVERY issue. You must do this if you want to limit complaints or spam reports.

Your newsletter deserves time and attention - it is the voice of you and your business and will help you to build relationships with your customers (and potential customers) in a way that no other tool can.

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

5 Simple and Easy Ways to Advertise Online
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596


Some people say that advertising is everything!

Regardless if you have a product, a service, a hobby website or just want to share pictures of your wedding, you have to advertise somehow to get the traffic to your site or blog.

But not all traffic is equal. There are services that can help you drive tons and tons of traffic to your site and it won't do you any good at all because it's not targeted traffic.

Take for example all of the many different 'surf for traffic' or 'traffic clicking' programs that are out there. If you have a website that is about your hobby, say model airplanes, then what good is this traffic really going to do you? Who's using these services?

Webmasters and marketers that want traffic on their own site.
So they most likely won't spend any more time on your page than is required by the little timer these services use and then they are gone again. Even if your site is about these traffic services (this is about the only time you will see very much benefit from using such a tool) you will still have to spend a ton of time just surfing and clicking around to get a real benefit from these programs. Once marketers realized this they switched gears. They started promoting all the different programs to a lot of other marketers to get them in their downlines, so they could get some traffic as a bonus. This became their new focus. The problem is that everyone else did exactly the same thing, so not a lot of people were surfing the internet anymore.

Bottom-line is this. You need targeted traffic. So here are some tips on how you can generate exactly the traffic you need and bring the visitors you want to your website without having to chase after them.

1. Content

What is your website about? Do you just have a page with a lot of links and not much else?

If this is the case, think about adding some content to your website that will be of value to any potential visitors. You could write articles or find articles at one of the many directories that you can reprint on your site.

2. Talk about your experiences in your subject matter.

You don't have to put up some kind of resume (although that can work too), but rather try writing about what you are doing, as it relates to your topic of choice. Let's look at the model airplanes again briefly, you could talk or write about the latest plane type you built, how the last time flying your plane went, what challenges you run into or perhaps even post some pictures of your plane or of you flying it.

3. Forums and bulletin boards.

You could add a forum or bulletin board to your website where your visitors can interact with each other. There are a lot of free services available out there that you can use to either remotely host a forum for you, or even software you can install on your website's server. To find some of these, just head over to your favorite search engine and you will definitely find plenty to choose from.

And while you are visiting the search engine, why not run a search for any bulletin boards and forums that are already out there for your chosen topic? You could visit those and interact with the visitors there and since many allow you to post a signature or a profile, you could add a little line about your own site with a link (just check the rules of the forum first so you don't violate any of them).

4. Start a blog.

Blogs are very popular and search engines love them because they provide constantly new and fresh content. Your blog would be a great place to talk about what you are up to that day.
So if you spent some time today buying new parts for your plane you could write about where you found them, how much they cost you, why you chose those parts, anything really goes.

The really great part about this is that you can point links from your blog back to your website, so when the search engine stops by to grab and index your latest content, it will also stop by your website and you will start seeing very targeted traffic heading your way.

5. Write articles.

Writing articles isn't hard and can be a great source of fresh, new traffic to your website. There are a lot of ezines on any topic out there and there are also a lot of directories where you can share your article.

Basically, what you do is write an article and then add a small resource box that links back to your website (just like a signature) and then let other ezine publishers know that you are allowing them to print your article in their ezine. And many publishers go to the article directories to find new content for their newsletter and even their websites. And since there are websites and ezine newsletters on any imaginable topic out there, you can't lose. Write an article every couple of days and post it in the directories (even one a week or every two weeks will start getting you traffic). Very soon you will find new traffic coming from search engines, newsletters and websites.

Best of all, these 5 simple tips will bring targeted traffic, meaning the visitors are coming to you because they are interested in what you wrote.

So there you have it, 5 easy and simple ways to advertise and drive traffic to your website at absolutely no cost.

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Do you have what it takes to be an e-entrepreneur?
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
Author of "Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online"

These days, it seems like everyone wants to work
from home and make money on the Internet. But
before you even turn on your computer, the first
question you have to ask yourself is whether
you’re cut out for this kind of work.

The fact is, building a home-based business isn’t
for everyone. Some people like the commute. They
really do enjoy having a boss who tells them what
to do, and they like the routine of working
nine-to-five for an ordinary salary that can
barely pay the mortgage. Personally, I think
they’re nuts.

More reasonably, there are people who are
concerned about the risk of starting up their own
business. They’re not sure it’s worth the
investment of time and money, and they’re scared
of the responsibility that comes with running
their own company. They wonder if there is
another way to escape the rat race.

I’m sure there is. You could win the lottery or
wait for your Aunt Sue to keel over and leave you
her condo. Or maybe you could sit down with a pen
and paper and draw the blueprint for "The Next
Big Thing". Anything can happen... Right?

For me, what happened was creating a successful,
self-running Internet marketing system. It didn’t
happen without effort. It didn’t happen without
at least some initial investment of both time and
money and, of course, it doesn’t happen now
without me making sure that the taxes are filed
and the paperwork is done. But it happened.

I’m my own boss. I work from home according to my
own schedule and I get to pocket all the cash my
business makes. If you’re prepared to give an
e-business the time, the work and the money it
needs to get started and get growing, it can
happen for you too.

Article excerpted from "Dotcomology":
Don't Pay A Dime For Any Ebook, Marketing
Course, Software Program Or Anything Else Until
You've Read This Groundbreaking Document...
Click Here to Discover "Dotcomology" Now!

How Can Joining a Forum Help Your Business?
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Online forums are a fantastic reminder of the influence the internet has had on society. Using forums to connect with your market is a natural progression.

Forums are online communities where individuals can discuss topics ranging from fly fishing to breast feeding to internet business. Discussions are conducted by posting notes to the forum. A single discussion is called a 'thread' and most forums have several - even hundreds - of threads going at any time.

What is truly remarkable about the use of forums is the personal quality of the discussions. Read some of the posts on forums such as ivillage.com and you'll soon see that the members become more like neighbors (and even friends) than strangers connected only by the keyboard and monitor in front of them.

Where brick and mortar businesses used to prosper based on their involvement in the community - online businesses now have a neighborhood all their own - online forums.

How can participating in a forum help YOUR business?

NETWORKING:

Online forums are a fantastic place to connect with others who are knowledgeable about your business. You probably cater to the same audience and share a common interest. If your businesses compliment one another you might just find a highly profitable partnership or joint venture.

Even if you don't find a working relationship you may find the referrals or discussions highly beneficial.

TRAFFIC BUILDING:

Along with the referrals you may get when you've developed a trusted online presence with other members of the forum, you are also likely to attract targeted visitors to your website.

If the forum permits you to post a signature (your website URL) onto the posts then you can be sure that some of the members and quite likely some of the 'lurkers' (people who view but don't post) will come check out your site.

EDUCATION:

Using the forums wisely can open you up to a great education. Whether it is from fellow entrepreneurs in your field or experts and other posters - you are participating in an 'inner circle' type discussion that may open your eyes to new developments and opportunities in your business.

ADDICTIVE:

The only downside is the highly addictive atmosphere. With members posting from all over the world it can be difficult to reign in your viewing time on forums.

On the flip side, other members are hopefully as interested in what you have to say and you may quickly develop a reputation as a reliable source for information.

Be very cautious to follow forum rules. Never spam a forum - your aim should be to participate in a conversation, not interrupt it. Have fun and watch your business grow!

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Starting an Online Business - Affiliate Programs Make it Easy
Copyright © Scott Turner
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

If you have been longing to start a business online you may be coming across terms you've never heard before. You may also have found the opportunities available are overwhelming. Where do you begin?

AFFILIATE PROGRAMS - EASY START

Affiliate programs may be the easiest online business to start running. Why?

With any online business you must have a product or service to sell. First you must create this product or service and then you must be able to fill orders.

Selling your own product or service also means creating a website, learning how to write ad copy, setting up a marketing plan, being able to accept payments online and obviously doing the work. If you're selling a physical product then you will need to make or buy the item, package it and pay for shipping costs. If you provide a service than you will likely have to start by doing free jobs to build your credibility and then when you are charging for your service you are still limited by how much work you can actually handle.

THE MAGIC OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

Affiliate programs are a great way to get started in an online business. In fact there are even some 'Super Affiliates' who are making fabulous incomes from affiliate programs. So, what ARE affiliate programs?

Affiliate programs allow you to sell another company's service or product and make a commission on every sale or lead. You do not even need to build a website or handle the transaction. Your job is to drive traffic (customers) to your affiliate link.

An affiliate link is a special URL code that will identify customers coming to the company's site from your advertising. It will likely be the website address with a code attached to the end.

Some affiliate programs also have tiers. That means if someone who is interested in SELLING the product comes through your link and signs up you will also get a small percentage of THEIR earnings.

HOW DO I CHOOSE A PROGRAM?

You should research the popularity of some of your interests. Try to determine if people are buying that product or service online. There are many sources for finding that information including free ones such as the Overture keyword tool.

When you have found an area that is popular then type the subject along with 'affiliate program' into your search engine and see which programs have services or products for that area. You can also use an affiliate program directory.

When you have found a program that looks interesting you should read the terms of the program. Make sure that payouts are not based on a high commission earning or you may never see your money. Also try to choose programs with high commission rates. Often you will find ebooks and downloadable software has the highest rates as there is no physical product to make or ship. If you are satisfied with the terms then you need to sign up - usually a simple process.

START MARKETING

The reason affiliate programs are so great for beginners is that you only need to focus on marketing - not making - your product.

Many affiliate programs have information on how to market and give you tools such as banners, product feeds and more. You can also look for other information on marketing including writing articles, creating pay-per-click campaigns, commenting in online forums etc. As you gain experience marketing you will make adjustments to your selling and start creating a wonderful income!

About The Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Not long ago, I didn't know ANYTHING about Internet marketing...
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here's how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Your Home Business: Turning Pennies into Dollars
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Henry Ford taught us that to simplify the
manufacture of automobiles, that the best way to
do so was to install the assembly line. That one
change revolutionized the auto manufacturing
industry permitting the industry to build cars at
a cost whereas the average person could afford to
buy one.

The lesson we should take from this is that
having the ability to improve the process of
getting the job quicker and cheaper, without
compromising the quality of the job being done,
will help catapult the person who simplified the
process to the top of his/her field.

Pennies saved in your home business can turn into
dollars at the end of the day, and dollars can
quickly multiply into hundreds or thousands of
dollars over time.

Doubt me if you will, but let me ask you a
question. Do you think a saving of two fifths of
a penny could make any real difference in the
profit margin of a home business? Of course
the right answer is "it depends on how many
transactions are done in a year, utilizing the
savings of the two fifths of one penny."

You only have to think back a couple of decades
to really appreciate this question. Do you
remember the nut that lived and died in a Las
Vegas hotel room? You know the one who was a
billionaire, and was so worried about germs that
he died of starvation? If you guessed Howard
Hughes (1905-76), pat yourself on the back.

Now Howard did not make all of his money on his
two fifths of one penny. He did however make a
ton of money from his two fifths of one penny. It
seems Howard owned a can manufacturing company.
And one day, Howard's team figured out how they
could make one minor change in the design of
their food can to reduce the amount of tin
necessary to make a single can.

As the story goes --- if my memory serves me
correctly --- the reduction in tin usage equaled
a saving of two fifths of one penny per can.
Howard --- being the really smart businessman
that he was --- decided that he would not be so
greedy as to keep all of the savings for himself.
What Mr. Hughes did do was to keep half of the
savings for himself, and give the other half
to his customers. The incredible thing about Mr.
Hughes decision is that by saving his customers
an extra one fifths of one cent per can, he
managed to take more market share away from his
competition --- netting his company an additional
and substantial portion of the total market share
in the canning industry.

Let us return our thoughts to your home business.
Have you ever gotten the feeling of excitement
--- when you read something or thought of
something --- that you could not wait to
implement this new idea? This could be one of
those moments...

In every home business, there are certain
processes that we do over and again. Sometimes it
may be possible to trim the time or expense of a
process which in turn will add pennies or dollars
to your bottom line. If it is a process that you
do hundreds or thousands of times per month, then
your savings will multiply into hundreds or
thousands of dollars in monthly savings.

Imagine what running a home business was like
BEFORE the computer...

Before the personal computer, we had to hand type
all letters and invoices. Now, we can setup a
letter or invoice that we send out quite often,
and we can save it in our word processor so
that when we need to use it again, we can print
it quickly and efficiently. There is no longer a
need to type the document again from scratch.

The computer has simplified our business
communications and has provided us the
opportunity to reduce our costs of doing business.

Think about all of the other processes that the
computer has enabled us to do for far less
expense than what we could in the past.

In this case, the computer is a tool that permits
us to save time and money.

So, my challenge to you is to begin examining the
processes in your own home business and look for
ways in which you can save yourself time and
money. It is far better for you to contemplate
on this matter than it is for me to do so for
you. Simply put, you know your business better
than anyone on the planet does. Therefore, you
are in a better position than anyone to find
those extra dollars that will decrease your costs
and increase your profits.

The extra pennies and dollars you could extract
from your business could spell the difference
between success and failure for your home
business enterprise.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
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Understanding the Different Methods of Online Promotion
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Did you realize there are only three types of
online promotion?... This statement may seem odd
and even untrue in your mind, but I am speaking
in more general terms than you might be thinking.

Let me explain.

The three types of promotion are Junk, Active and
Passive promotions.

JUNK PROMOTIONS ARE MONEY PITS

Junk promotions are those that seem to produce
results, but by their very nature are really only
illusionary promotions.

For example, let me begin with FFA (Free For All)
pages. You might find yourself subscribing to a
submission program that tricks you into believing
you are submitting your links to tens of
thousands search engines.

Yes, you can submit your URL to a FFA page, but
FFA’s usually only permit 100 or 1000 links on
their page at any one time. So, if ten thousand
people are submitting a link to an FFA page on a
daily basis, then the average life of your link
is between seven minutes and 144 minutes. I
suspect the actual number of submitters is much
higher and the results are much worse. Given
that few people surf FFA pages, the chances of
your submission being of any real value is
practically nothing!

Most of the people telling you that you can
submit your site to tens of thousands of search
engines are truly only submitting your site to
FFA pages! Beware of the false promises.

Another junk promotion method is Safe Lists. A
safe list is a mailing group that is signed up to
be received by people who want to submit their
own ads. Now, most safe lists have thousands of
subscribers who are able to submit their ads daily
or weekly. The person signed up to receive the
list will receive anywhere from twenty to 140+
messages a day from the list. These messages will
be received by people only interested in promoting
their own thing who do not have the right
motivation to open, let alone read Your
Advertising. As a result, thousands of messages
go out daily or weekly that will never be seen by
anyone but the sender of the ad. Where is the
value in that? There is none.

ACTIVE PROMOTIONS

Active promotions are the type that require you
to go out on a daily basis or a weekly basis and
put out your advertisements. With active
promotions, you will either place your advertising
or you will not sell your products or services.
Your choice is simple --- work or starve.

Examples of active promotions include Pay Per
Click Search Engines (PPCSE’s), Direct Email,
Ezine Advertising, Solo Ezine Ads, Newsletter
Publishing, Ezine Ad Swaps, Classified Ads,
Auctions, Site Sponsorship and Banner Ads.

Some people are able to utilize these methods
very productively, while others are destined to
drop their money into the bottomless pit of
failed Internet promotions.

PASSIVE PROMOTIONS

Passive promotions are those promotions that can
continue to provide results for you long after
you have invested the work to make them available
to the Internet community.

Examples of passive promotions include: Link
Exchanges, Articles, Ebooks, Content Exchanges
and Writing Testimonials for others.

Let’s look at articles as a solid example of my
point.

You are reading an article that I have written to
promote my own business. This article is timeless
and therefore could have been written five years
ago and still have been as valuable as it is
today.

Due to the fact that the article is timeless, it
can and will be placed in newsletters/ezines and
their accompanying online archives, on websites
and in ebooks for many more years to come.

As a result, this article will continue to serve
me well beyond the time in which I wrote it and
submitted it to publishers and webmasters for
public consumption and publication.

This is the best example I can give you of an
excellent passive promotional method.

AVOID THE MONEY PITS

Many try and even fewer succeed to conquer the
Internet and to produce their dreams of online
wealth.

My hope is that you will be one of the people who
conquer the challenges before you and to make a
nice living while working online. It will take
drive, determination, study plus trial and error,
but you can make it work for you.

Please continue to educate yourself so that you
can avoid the money pits - instead, strive to
find the money barrels. It can be done. I am
living proof.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Understanding the Different Methods of Offline Promotion
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

No business can survive the long run without some
form of consistent advertising. As a result, most
business owners will eventually consider using
advertising to promote their business.

The toughest part of the advertising equation is
in determining where and how to spend your
advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you
could plunk down your entire advertising budget
and receive absolutely no return on your
investment. But, if you do it right, your
advertising could continue to bring a nice return
for years to come.

HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS

In order to make good decisions concerning how to
spend your advertising budget, you must first
have a good understanding of the different types
of advertising and promotion available and what
can be expected to be achieved by each.

· You must understand which markets the different
media's can reach.
· You must understand the demographics of the
media's consumers.
· You must understand the buying habits of the
consumers reached through the media.

WHAT OFFLINE ADVERTISING & PROMOTION MEDIA'S
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED

The media's that people think of most often are
television, radio, newspaper and magazine
advertising. Of course, these are the big boys
that big businesses use regularly.

Other methods of promotion include trade shows,
press releases, direct sales, telemarketing, word
of mouth, branding and billboard advertising.

CONSIDERING THE BIG MEDIA OUTLETS

The big boys of advertising media's generally
cost big bucks. Given certain circumstances, the
big media's can be bought for very little money.

Take for example, television, radio and
newspapers cost big bucks during their prime
times, but can be bought for pennies on the
dollar during non-primetime hours.

Television primetime is between 7pm and 10pm.
Radio primetime is between 7am and 6pm. With
newspapers, the primetime is Wednesdays and
Sundays.

If you intend to hit a media during prime time,
get ready to drop some bucks. Primetime means
that you will be able to hit more consumers
during these times. So, in most cases, a
primetime buy will enable you to reach more
people with your advertising.

Non-primetime hours can still deliver a lot of
eyes and ears to your message, and sometimes,
these off-hours can be bought for a bargain
basement price.

GETTING MILEAGE FROM EVENTS

Trade shows and press releases are more
event-driven. The trade show is the event, while
the press release generally exploits an event.

Trade shows are an exceptional tool when you deal
directly with potential sellers of your products
or services. Other shows are directed at the
consumer, and those can be very valuable avenues
for sales as well.

The press release is aimed towards gaining
attention for a business by distributing
newsworthy information about the business.

Sometimes the appearance of a business at a trade
show or other show can provide the necessary
angle for a press release. But most often, a
successful press release will actually require
more noteworthy information than the appearance
of a business at a show.

Yet, even the most mundane of information could
be spiced up to give the real air of importance
necessary to get your press release read and
printed.

The great thing about a press release is that
might permit you to get relatively inexpensive
promotion on television, radio, newspapers and
magazines; for far less than what it would cost
you to buy advertising in those same outlets.

UTILIZING A SALES TEAM

Depending on what type of business you run and
the consumers you are trying to reach, you might
find direct sales and telemarketing to be very
lucrative ways to drive sales to your business.

Both are very similar in nature. Direct sales can
be very expensive, as it requires a great
investment of time to accomodate. Telemarketing
seeks to minimize the time expenditure, but it
often leads to a smaller degree of respect and
attention.

Depending on your product or service --- and
always depending upon the people you employ to
the task --- each method will be more suited to
each business on an individual basis.

BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS

I grouped branding and billboard advertising
together in my original list for a reason. I did
this because billboard advertising serves most
businesses best by helping to support the process
of branding.

Branding is the process of establishing your
business as the supplier of a certain product or
service, or in emphasizing a certain USP (Unique
Selling Proposition) as it pertains to your
business.

If branding and USP seems to be a confusing
concept, think about Wal-Mart and their tag line:
"Always Low Prices, Always."

Think about Ford Motors, "Quality is Job One."

Think about the Visa Card, "It's Everywhere You
Want To Be."

You see, these top corporations have managed to
make their USP part of their branding.

Even if you are only competing in a local
marketplace, your USP can and should fit snugly
into your branding strategy.

NO MATTER THE MEDIA OR METHOD

Whichever method or media you should choose to
employ in your advertising and promotion, you
should become knowledgable about your market, and
the consumers reached by each media. It is
important to understand which consumers can be
reached by a certain media, and in what
quantities.

However you choose to spend your advertising
dollars, you should always track the results of
your promotional efforts. Failing to track
successes and failures will ultimately lead to
the failure of a business.

When you know whom you are trying to reach and
how you think you might be able to reach them,
you will begin to learn how to use advertising
and promotion to make your business successful.
That is a good thing --- after all, that is why
you got into the business in the first place,
isn't it?

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Understanding the Difference Between Marketing and Promotion
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Are you an online marketer? Or do you simply
promote affiliate programs? Marketing is truly
the most misunderstood word in use today on the
Internet. Let me see if I can clarify this issue
just a bit.

In Marketing 101 at your local university,
marketing is actually the process of Product,
Place, Price and Promotion.

PRODUCT

No business can exist without a product or
service to sell.

In a nutshell, entrepreneurs are the people who
believe in a product, service or idea, so much
that they are willing to invest their lives into
the development of their dream.

Historically, every major corporation in the
world was started by an entrepreneur with a dream
and the drive to make it a reality.

However, there comes a time in the life of every
corporation when those who fear the gambling
nature of their founder, squash the
entrepreneurial drive that made the company a
viable concern in the first place. The
entrepreneur will either submit to the careful
nature of the stockholders, or he will be forced
to leave the company he created.

The only entrepreneurs who withstand the pressure
to move more carefully are those who have
maintained majority control over their companies.

PLACE

In the offline world, place is defined by
location. On the Internet, place is defined by
domain name and the web hosting service chosen.

Both online and offline, place can make or break
a company without respect to the quality and
value of the product, service or idea.

PRICE

Selecting a price is determined first on a basis
of whether the company wants to be seen as a
discount or a value company.

Take for example Wal-Mart and Staples.

Wal-Mart is the lead discounter in the
marketplace. Staples on the other hand is the
specialist in office supplies.

Both sell a significant number of office supplies
despite the fact that the lowest price can
usually be found at Wal-Mart. As a value dealer,
Staples can afford to charge more for their
products than Wal-Mart.

So the question for you is whether you want to
position your company as a discount or value
company.

Testing has shown that products and services can
be sold at any number of prices and still reach a
significant number of people.

The challenge of selecting the best price for
your product or service will require a certain
amount of testing.

UNDERSTANDING THE PRICING EQUATION

Let's assume we are selling a product. Let us
also assume that we know that the product can be
sold for $10 or $50. Let us also assume that if
the price dips below $10 or rises above $50, then
the product sales fall off significantly.

Our challenge is to determine the best rate at
which to sell our product.

Testing has shown us that we can sell 1000 items
a week at $10. Testing has also shown that we can
sell 500 items per week at $50. And testing has
shown that we can sell 650 items per week at $45.

At $10, our projected weekly earnings are
$10,000. When we sell the product at $50, we know
that we can earn $25,000 per week. Most
importantly, we know that we can earn $29,250
when our product is priced at $45.

With the imaginary testing we have done on our
imaginary product, we can easily see that selling
our product at $45 per item will earn us more
money over the long haul.

Thus, when we make the decision for a national
rollout of our product, then we will price our
product at $45.

Of course, this is a very simplistic analysis of
the point I am trying to make. Though simple, I
believe this analogy will help you understand the
methods of developing a product's prices.

PROMOTION

Promotion, on the other hand, is the process of
notifying the consumers for your product or
service of your availability to serve them.

Methods of promotion vary distinctly and should
be arranged to meet very specific goals.

As with product, place and price, promotion
should not be left to chance. You should test
every ad, every media, and every price point to
determine the best bang for your promotional
dollars.

HEADS UP!

If you are an online promoter or marketer, please
factor in the most important element concerning
the cost of your promotions.

What element is that? Your time!

Value your time at a certain dollar amount, and
figure in your time into the cost of your
promotional accounting.

I say this because too many online promoters lose
sight of this concept and spend 20 hours to
generate one sale while using free advertising.
Even if you rate your time at the federal minimum
wage, then you will have invested $105 of your
time for one sale that might only net you a gross
sale of $45!

ARE YOU TRULY A MARKETER OR ARE YOU JUST A
PROMOTER?

Most people who run a business on the Internet
call themselves marketers. Yet, most of these
same people are really just promoters wrapped in
the label of a marketer.

True marketers do not promote without a lot of
advance work. They spend time planning, testing
and measuring their actions and results to get
the most out of every dollar spent and earned.

Entrepreneurs finesse the art of marketing as
they build their company into a major enterprise.

If you are a promoter who does not keep an eye on
the total marketing equation, then you are bound
to fail.

If you do call yourself a marketer, then do what
a professional marketer does. Make sure that
every dollar spent is spent well. Make sure that
every dollar earned is put to good use. Market
well so that when the people of the next
generation look at your life, they will see a
fine example of a successful entrepreneur that
they will strive to emulate.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Tracking Offline Advertising Success by Measuring ROI
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

The great promise of online advertising has
always been that advertisers will now be able to
effectively track the successes and failures of
their online advertising efforts. This promise
has been met.

Yet, for those of us who still employ offline
promotions and advertising methods, we must
consider the various ways in which we can
effectively track our results in the old-world
media.

TRACKING RESULTS BEFORE THE INTERNET AGE

How long has it been? Ten Years? Believe it or
not, it has been less than ten years since the
Internet went mainstream.

Companies still utilize the same methods to track
results as they did before we laid our hopes on
the Digital Superhighway.

TV advertisers ask you to call extension X. Radio
advertisers offer you additional savings if you
tell them you heard it on XYZ radio station. In
newspapers and magazines, advertisers suggest you
clip the attached coupons.

Why do you think advertisers employ these tactics?

Simple. They need to know what advertising is
bringing customers in the front door and to their
cash register.

By understanding what advertisers are bringing
them customers and dollars, they have a better
understanding of where to spend their next wave
of advertising dollars. Additionally, they can
do a side-by-side comparison of their Advertising
Return on Investment (ROI) to determine which
method brings them the most percentage of return
per dollar spent.

UNDERSTANDING HOW WE SHOULD MEASURE

The truth is that we really do need to know how
people are deciding to visit and buy from our
business establishment.

Some consider this idea silly or even a waste of
their valuable time. Far too many people, who
think of tracking in this fashion, end up
searching for a job at some point in their
future. Unless pure dumb luck is on the side of
the business owner, a business simply cannot
survive if it does not track the effectiveness of
its advertising.

Somehow, some way, a business owner or his
marketing staff must look at their advertising
and promotion budgets, and look at their
advertising mediums and find a way to know which
is doing the job for them and which is not.

DISCOVERING WHAT MOTIVATES OUR CUSTOMERS

Somehow, we must get our customers to tell us how
they found us and what ad motivated them to come
in and purchase our product or service.

Everyday, businesses motivate their customers to
tell them how they learned of them by having the
customer call a certain extension, offer them an
additional discount to tell them which
advertisement they had heard, or to offer them a
coupon to use.

Others motivate their customers to tell them how
they had learned of their business by offering a
very specific product in their advertising. They
know that if someone shows up at their business
to buy a certain product, then they will know how
the person had heard of their business.

This is why you should make your radio
advertising focus on a different promotion than
your newspaper advertising. Different mediums
should focus on different leader pieces so that
you can see which medium provides the best
results.

UNDERSTANDING WHY WE SHOULD MEASURE RESULTS

We measure advertising results so that we can
learn how to not waste our money and to learn how
to get the most bang for our advertising dollar.

Return On Investment or ROI is the key
measurement utilized to determine the value of
our advertising.

It is best to show in an example how ROI is
measured.

Cost of Newspaper Advertising: $150
Number of Items Sold As a Result: 60
Retail Price of Individual Item: $ 10
Profit on Individual Item: $ 3

Gross Income on Items Sold: $600
Gross Profit on Items Sold: $180

In this example, you have spent $150 to make
$180. Your ROI is 120%.

Cost of Radio Advertising: $ 300
Number of Items Sold As a Result: 50
Retail Price of Individual Item: $ 20
Profit on Individual Item: $ 6

Gross Income on Items Sold: $1000
Gross Profit on Items Sold: $ 300

In this example, you have spent $300 to make
$300. Your ROI is 100%.

Utilizing these two examples, you can quickly
discern why and how we are calculating ROI.

Now, some people would consider both to be good
investments of their advertising dollars. In
fact, many believe that so long as their
advertising generates enough sales to break even
as the radio example did, then they consider the
investment to have been in their future rather
than their present. So long as you do not lose
money on the transaction, then you should at least
be willing to continue with the advertising
medium that was used.

However, over time, you might find that the
newspaper advertising will continue to provide
the 120% ROI. If that is the case, then your
newspaper advertising should take more of a
center stage in your advertising efforts so that
you can develop more profits which can be used to
increase your dollar investment into your
advertising.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF TRACKING YOUR OFFLINE
PROMOTIONS

With this introduction, you should now have
available to you the knowledge necessary to
introduce tracking into your marketing efforts.
Those who take the time and effort to advertise
and track their results will benefit more than
you can imagine.

Truth be known, a single person with a dream
today started every big corporation in the world
many years ago. Each of these corporations grew
from a fledgling operation to a economic
powerhouse by tracking and tweaking their
Advertising ROI.

Every corporation and small business who will
remain in business through the long term will be
tracking their advertising and promotional
efforts today. It is an investment into their
future success. If you make the same kind of
investment of time and cash resources, you too
will be making an investment in your future
success.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Starting Your Home Based Business on a Shoestring Budget
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Whether seeking a supplemental income or a
full-time income, many folks have undertaken the
task to discover a viable home based business
solution to meet their personal needs.

For most folks who contemplate a home business, a
low-cost or no-cost solution is not only nice,
but also very necessary. Many also seek to find a
home business that will permit them to maintain
their regular day job in order to protect their
base income.

Taking the cautious approach to a home based
business and keeping one's job during the
start-up period is often a very good decision. By
maintaining one's job, one can maintain the
health of their personal finances while
permitting their home business grow healthy and
strong.

Fortunately, most home based businesses can be
started with little or no cash, can be maintained
on a shoestring budget, and can be operated
successfully with only a part-time investment.

One day, the business will be strong enough to
support itself and its owner. When that time
comes, it will make good sense for the business
owner to leave his or her outside job to dedicate
more time to growing and maintaining their new
thriving home based business. You will know when
that time has finally arrived.

The nature of a home based business makes it easy
and very realistic for most folks to take the
plunge into home business ownership.

Yet, many folks put off starting their own home
based business, because they have the
misconception that they will have to risk
thousands of their own hard-earned dollars at
start-up. Then later, if their business fails,
they fear they may be forced to take out a second
mortgage on their house just to stay out of
bankruptcy.

Are you one of these folks? Do you let your fears
of failure keep you from reaching for your dreams?

If so, then allow me to introduce you to a few
home business ideas that you can start for less
than $100 and can be started and operated very
profitably as a part-time business.

THE LIFEBLOOD OF ALL SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES

First of all, let me advise you to search out a
business model that will deliver steady and
repeat business. It is the one thing --- above
all others --- that will assure that your company
can survive the test of time.

HOME-BASED MAIL ORDER:
Home-based mail order is a good example of how
one can quickly grow a home business income. Mail
order is a low cost start-up business that can be
launched for around $100 USD.

With proper planning, your home-based mail order
business will not require up-front inventory
purchases. In the mail order business, it is not
uncommon to rely upon drop-shippers for product
fulfillment services.

By utilizing drop-shippers, we can sell the
products, collect the money and then purchase the
products from the wholesale outlet. The wholesale
outlet will then put a return address for your
company on the product packaging and deliver the
product directly to your customer.

Your primary expense in the mail-order business
is advertising. Classified advertising tends to
be a relatively inexpensive form of advertising
with thousands of outlets available to the small
business owner.

WHOLESALE BUSINESS:
Buy low --- sell high. You can acquire high
quality, top-of-the-line merchandise for a
fraction of the retail cost. Starting a wholesale
business would require a Wholesale Dealers
Directory as your source for merchandise. You can
find a Wholesale Deales Directory by using any
search engine to look up the term.

AUCTIONS:
Auctions can be an excellent source for buying
cheap and selling high. Both government auctions
and Internet auctions can lead to some excellent
profit opportunities. Auctions are an excellent
tool for both acquiring and selling merchandise.

MAKE AND SELL YOUR CRAFTS:
Crafts are a hot seller at country fairs, swap
meets or anyplace where people gather. Make your
own crafts and sell them for a tidy profit!

SELLING INFORMATION:
Selling information by mail is another good
example of an inexpensive home based business
start-up. One can gain the resale rights to
information for usually about $50 USD. Other
costs will include printer cartridges, paper and
postage. There are plenty of free classifieds
sites on the Internet, in which to successfully
advertise your information.

WRITE INFORMATIONAL BOOKLETS:
Write and publish your own informational
booklets; sell them at a high price! All you need
is a little know-how, a printer, paper and
stamps. This is a GREAT home business idea! You
can also sell the resale rights to others, for
extra profits. In this age of the Internet, you
may also take advantage of the fact that selling
information is one of the most profitable
endeavors one can pursue online.

OFFICE SERVICES:
Offer office services for hire in your local
paper. You'll be surprised at the amount of
regular office business that can be gleaned from
one little classified ad. Word processing, typing,
accounting, data entry, proofreading,
transcription, promotional letters and
newsletters. All these tasks can be accomplished
right from your own home office.

AVON REPRESENTATIVE:
Yes, Avon's been around for eternity, hasn't it?
Then it's not such a bad prospect as a home based
business, is it? I once knew a woman who did so
much business as an Avon rep. that she had people
calling her and knocking at her door wanting to
order products at all hours of the day and night!
Once you are an established Avon representative,
you, too, will turn a good profit.

CONCLUSION:
On your search for the ideal home based business,
try not to get caught up in any scams that will
run off with your money. There are thousands of
scam artists out there just waiting for the
next sucker to come along. Remember, if it sounds
too good to be true, then it probably is. Just
use your good judgement and invest wisely in
proven methods of earning extra income.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Promoting Your Business with Copper Wire? Think Again!
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

So many people launch their first or second
business with the misconception that they can
survive without advertising. It is their fear of
failure that almost single-handedly assures their
failure. They fear spending the money that they
need to get and keep their business running
during those early years of their operation.

Let’s face it, when you start in business, money
is usually pretty darn tight. So, you must figure
out how to get off the ground without throwing
your money down the drain. Every single red cent
is important enough to hang onto with a tight
fist.

NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO REINVENT COPPER WIRE

I am reminded of an old joke a friend used to
tell about himself.

My friend had always told me that both he and his
brother were the inventers of copper wire. He
insisted that the two of them were fighting over
a penny one day and managed to stretch it out
into the first strand of copper wire known to
mankind.

Indeed, now is not the time to try to reinvent
copper wire.

ADVERTISING IS A NECESSARY COMPONENT OF A
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

The point of advertising is to notify your
customers of the existence of your business. It
is necessary to tell people that you are in
business and to tell them what products and
services you are offering.

Unless people know that you are offering a
certain product or service at a certain price, no
one will knock upon your door to buy your wares.

If you fail to attract customers and dollars,
your business will die. Therefore, advertising is
a must for the success of your business. Sure,
word of mouth can take you places, but it can
only take you so far. Advertising is designed to
pick up where word of mouth leaves off.

ATTRITION IS A DEFINITE FACTOR TO CONSIDER

Attrition is a factor in all businesses. A
business is able to pick up so many customers and
dollars on every advertising or promotion
venture. Yet, a certain portion of your old and
new customers and dollars will drop off over time.

You simply cannot rest on your laurels. You must
continue to generate new business and new dollars
or your business will die.

EZINE PUBLISHING DELIVERS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF
COMMERCIAL ATTRITION

If you have ever published an online ezine, then
you will have seen attrition first hand.

You can spend all week advertising your ezine and
note that your efforts have generated for example
500 new subscribers. Yet, by the end of the week,
your subscriber base has only climbed by 250
subscribers. What went wrong?

Well, this is how it works. Keep in mind this is
only an example to make my point, but if you have
ever published an ezine, then you will know I am
right on the money with this observation.

In one week:

· 500 people sign up for the first time.
· 40 of those people unsubscribe after the very
first issue because they do not like the content.
· 30 people quit after the first issue because
their only purpose in subscribing in the first
place was to get the freebie you had offered to
new subscribers.
· 30 of those people unsubscribe because they do
not remember subscribing to the ezine in the
first place.
· 80 email addresses bounce due to ISP email
filters.
· 20 people bounce because they did not pay their
Internet bill.
· 35 people have simply changed their email
addresses without submitting a change of address
to you.
· 15 people have quit the Internet altogether.

In the final analysis, 100 of your new
subscribers, or 20% of your newcomers are gone
after one week. Another 150 subscribers were
long-time subscribers who are gone for other
reasons.

If you make the mistake of stopping your
advertising, your ezine list will eventually wind
down to one subscriber --- you. In our example,
150 long-time subscribers disappear every week,
and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You
must absolutely keep a fresh flow of new
subscribers coming into the ezine in order
to stay ahead of the attrition curve.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE ATTRITION CURVE

An ezine or a business, what is the difference?
Not much. Your business will suffer the same fate
as the ezine if you do not advertise. I don’t
know how to make it any more clear than this.

Yes, you must be careful not to throw your money
away on advertising that does not generate
results. But you cannot afford to throw the baby
out with the bath water.

Carefully, pick your advertising, study your
results, and put your money back into what is
working for you.

In conclusion, you must decide. Do you want to
advertise your business, or do you want to watch
your business die? The decision is yours and
yours alone. Well, what are you going to do?

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
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Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
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Networking Your Home Business within Circles of Influence
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

When you need an auto mechanic or an air
conditioning repairman, where do you turn for
help? Sure, some people turn to the yellow
pages. But most will turn to friends and family
and ask if they know of anyone who can do the
work.

The best place for your business to be positioned
is to be the business on the tips of the tongues
of the people asked to make the referral.

THE 300 RULE

Preachers, funeral directors and people in a few
other professions have learned "the 300 rule"
through their own personal experience.

"The 300 rule" states that the average person
knows 300 people on a friendly level. Wedding
planners tend to make reservations for 300
guests. Funeral directors tend to need to make
room for 300 mourners. You get the idea.

DOODLING WITH CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE

Imagine your circle of friends, family and
acquaintances, a.k.a. your circle of influence.
Now, draw your circle of influence as a circle on
a blank piece of paper.

Next, contemplate the people in your parents'
circle of influence. Some people who know your
parents also know you. Therefore, you will share
some influence with the people your folks know.
Now draw your parents' circle of influence on your
piece of paper.

Your circle and your parents' circle will
intersect in one area, although the larger
majority of the two circles will not intersect.
If you are like most people, the two circles on
your page at this point looks very similar to the
MasterCard logo.

Now imagine drawing a page full of intersecting
circles, each circle representing the circle of
influence of the people who are within your own
circle of influence. Imagine trying to
encapsulate an accurate rendering of where your
circle and the circle of your friends will
actually intersect.

Some circles will share a large area of space,
while others will barely cover one another.

Actually, you can only imagine at this point what
your piece of paper will look like. The actual
layout of the circles imagined in this analogy is
simply too overwhelming for the mind to
comprehend.

THE BIG PICTURE

300 multiplied by 300 equals 90,000. By using the
analogy of doodles in the previous section, the
average person can actually network with up to
90,000 people! Even factoring in the overlap,
one can still probably network with 50,000 people
through their own circle of influence!

Simply amazing, isn't it?

HERE IS THE SECRET TO YOUR SUCCESS

There are 300 people on this planet whom you have
a reasonable amount of influence. Take advantage
of this fact. Make darn sure that every person
within your own circle of influence KNOWS that
you are in business for yourself, and make sure
they understand what your business offers.

When your friend is asked to make a referral,
they will recommend you.

PASSIVE VERSUS ACTIVE REFERRAL NETWORKING

When people ask your friends for a referral and
your friend mentions your business, that is
passive referral networking.

Active referral networking is when you can get
your friends go directly to their friends and say
"Hey, I have a friend who just started a
business. If you are in need of what he offers or
you know someone who will need his services,
would you please give my friend a call or make
the referral to his business?"

If you can get even a portion of the people in
your own circle of influence to actively refer
your business, then you have built the foundation
to build an advertising campaign even more
effective than the average local television
advertising campaign.

Think about that for a moment.

Most people only dream of reaching 50,000
potential customers with their television
advertising dollars. You now have the knowledge
to reach 50,000 people without spending a single
penny.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

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Keeping Your Email Box Organized & Ready for Business
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Learning how to get the most organization from
your email software is very likely the most
important skill you can learn to conduct a
successful online home business.

There are three primary email applications on the
market that folks use to manage their incoming
POP3 email. Those three are:

· Microsoft Outlook Express
· Eudora
· Netscape Mail

In order to get the most from your email
software, there are three key processes that you
should learn. These processes are concerned with
data organization, saving time and email database
management.

SET UP EMAIL FOLDERS

Organization is key to any emails that you intend
to save. Having 2000 emails in one folder is a
sure-fire road map to confusion and lost
communications and information.

You are the best judge as to how to organize your
email into topics that provide an easy method of
retrieval of the information when you need it
most.

Fortunately, the primary email browsers make it
easy to organize your information. By allowing
you to create folders within your email software,
you can file specific emails into folders
dedicated to the topic of the email.

To create new folders:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: 1. Click File - Folders - New ---
alternatively, you may also right click an item
in the Folder window --- and then type in the
name of your new folder. Highlight the folder
above where you would like your new folder
to be placed, and then click OK.

EUDORA: Click on Mailbox - New --- or right click
on Eudora in the folders window and then click on
New. When the window opens, type in the name of
your new mailbox and click OK. If you want to
create a folder to place other mailboxes into,
click the checkbox before clicking OK.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click File - New Folder. Then from
the drop-down menu, select the folder that you
wish to be the folder directly above your new
folder, before clicking OK.

FILTERING EMAIL

Email filters are a tool to help you save time
and frustration. Have you ever lost an incoming
email under the deluge of email coming into your
mailbox? With filters, you can direct the
important email or not-so-important email into
certain pre-ordained folders.

As part of the war against spam, most ISP's use
filters every day in an attempt to keep the spam
out of your mailbox. In fact, I even use filters
to sort my incoming mail trying to catch the spam
my ISP missed.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you need some
special software to filter your email. Setting up
filters is actually quite easy.

To setup email filters:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: Click on Tools - Message Rules -
Mail. A wizard will open to help you create your
new email filters. Just follow the instructions
provided to direct mail based on certain criteria
into certain folders.

EUDORA: Click on Special - Make Filter. Once
again, just follow the instructions in the Filter
wizard.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click on Edit - Mail Filters. Then
click on New in the wizard. Once you click on
New, you will be taken to a new wizard window.
Follow the instructions here, then when you are
done, click on OK. This will return you to the
first window where you will set up the sorting
order of your filter.

CLEANING AND COMPRESSING YOUR MAIL DATA

This is an important part of your email
management. When you no longer need an email, it
should be deleted. When you first delete an
email, your software will send the email to the
Trash Bin. Your email is not actually deleted
until you first empty your trash bin.

Emptying your trash bin compresses the mailboxes
from where the email was originally filed. This
is absolutely paramount to the protection of your
email data. If you go too long between
compressing your email data, then your email data
could become corrupted and you might need
assistance in recovering your email data.

Even after you have emptied your trash,
Compressing Folders is a recommended step to
prevent other data corruption. Once you
understand that an email does not actually move
from one folder to another until the folder is
compressed, then you can better appreciate this
advice.

As an example, when Email A comes into your main
Inbox, the data connected to Email A appears in
two files. One file contains the header and body
of the email. The other file contains only the
email header information.

When an email is moved from one folder to the
other, only the header information is actually
moved. The body information will not be deleted
from the original folder until which time the
original folder is compressed.

This explains the purpose of emptying the trash
AND compressing folders. If the email was simply
moved from the Inbox to another folder, then
emptying the trash is not enough. The original
placement of the email is not actually removed
from the file that contains the body information
until the message has been designated for
compression.

To empty your trash:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: Click on Edit - Empty 'Deleted
Items' Folder. To compress the remaining folders,
click on Tools - Options, then click on the tab
for Maintenance. Then click the button that says,
"Clean Up Now". Once the compression is completed,
click OK.

EUDORA: Click Special - Empty Trash. To compress
the remaining items that need compression, then
click on Special - Compact Mailboxes.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click on File - Empty Trash
Folder. To compress the mailboxes, click on File
- Compress Folders.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that
you utilize the tools for emptying the trash and
compressing the mail folders. Protecting your
email data on a regular basis is good practice
for avoiding disaster in your mailbox.

So many of us rely upon our email software to
keep our online business running smoothly. Once
you master the tools provided in your email
software, your online business will run smoothly
also.

Let me share one important lesson I l've learned
about computer software. One should never be
afraid to try new things. Learning how to get the
most out of your software relies upon your
willingness to dig in and learn how to use it.

Once you learn how to use your software to its
full potential, then your life will be greatly
simplified and your effectiveness will be
dramatically improved.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
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Is a Home Business Right for You?
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

Every morning as people wake up and make the
commute to work, many dream of the day when they
will finally work for themselves. Every time the
boss lets someone know that they must give up
their weekend plans for the good of the company,
people contemplate the benefits of being the
owner of their own business.

Are you one of these people?

If you are, it is important to ask yourself some
very important questions before you make the
uncertain leap into self-employment.

Many dream of the benefits of home business
ownership, but few take into account the
sacrifices that must be made to bring the dream
to fruition. Please don't make this mistake
yourself.

You must approach home business ownership with
your eyes wide open. Ask yourself the important
questions, and more importantly, answer your own
questions openly and honestly.

AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION

Are you the type of person who relishes every
chance to gather around the water cooler for
social interaction?

If so, then home business ownership may not be
the right decision for you.

Instead, if you feel that you can be quite
content sitting alone at your desk; speaking only
to clients and really minding your own home
business, then you might have what it takes to
succeed as a home business entrepreneur.

If you feel at ease with your own company and
don't need a dozen coworkers milling around your
desk, then you, too, could savor the freedoms
that will allow you and your family, to live the
lifestyle you know you want and deserve.

THE KEY TO HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS

Self-motivation is the key to success when you
start a home-based business. You need to possess
the ability to push yourself ahead. Your drive
and determination will be reinforced with every
new sale.

The level of success that you will achieve
greatly depends on the time and effort you are
willing to plow into your new home business. Your
organization, planning and marketing skills, will
all be put into practice when you embark on your
liberating journey from employee, to being your
own boss. In fact, you will be the wearer of many
hats and gain a wealth of business experience
along the way, when you finally make that
commitment to work at home.

YOUR SUCCESS RESTS ENTIRELY UPON YOUR OWN
SHOULDERS

You will now be the boss. Are you truly able to
work independently? Do you have the drive; the
tenacity, to persevere with your home based
business? Will you be able to invest the
necessary time to nurture it, to watch it grow
and see it through, from germination to full,
glorious bloom? When you're the boss, you are
responsible for the success of your home
business, from A to Z, from disappointments to
victory.

When you work at home, it will empower you to
achieve many things you were unable to do when
you were stuck working for that tyrant boss.
Remember him? He's the guy that wouldn't let
you take time off when your baby was sick...the
same guy that called you in to work on
Thanksgiving Day.

A home business means that you can take good care
of your family and make money from home,
simultaneously. You will have the best of both
worlds! Just think--no more dirty laundry piling
up--you can do it while you work. No more
scurrying around at the last minute searching for
a babysitter either. And no more worrying about
getting fired; you'll be the boss!

IN CONCLUSION...

Stay positive and focused on your home based
business, even if, when sales aren't up to par,
you get occasional negative remarks or derogatory
comments from people with stuffy, dead-end jobs.
Ignore their cutting words and bear in mind that
success is the best revenge! Keep your admirable,
positive attitude at the forefront and show them
what you're made of!

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
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How to Win the Advertising and Promotion Game
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

I am certain that, as a business owner, you have
often entertained the question as to how much to
spend and where to spend your advertising
dollars. For most small business owners, these
questions can add to the headaches suffered in
the course of normal everyday operations of their
business.

THERE ARE NO SIMPLE ANSWERS

The how much to spend and where to spend it
questions have no easy answers.

Depending on your type of business, many people
suggest that the *how much* should be equal to
anywhere from 4% to 10% of your gross receipts.

The quandary is that a business cannot survive
without a fresh flow of incoming customers. But,
a business can seldom generate a fresh stream of
customers without spending money to get the word
out about their business.

THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Have you ever paid for advertising and sat back
to await the fresh flow of customers, only to
find yourself sitting and sitting and then
sitting some more?

Don’t feel bad about that. It has happened to
many of us before.

See, knowing where to spend the advertising money
is not enough to get the job done.

Where to spend the money only begins to highlight
the other issues connected with advertising:

· Marketing Plan
· Advertising Strategy
· Headlines, Ad Copy and Visual Presentation
· Tracking the Success of Your Advertising
Campaigns

THE MARKETING PLAN

The Marketing Plan is used primarily to identify
your own products and services, costs, strengths,
weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of
your competitors.

To learn more about constructing your own
marketing plan, visit the Small Business
Administration website for a comprehensive
study of the elements of a Marketing Plan:
http://www.sba.gov

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

It is important to understand what you expect to
gain from your advertising.

Do you simply wish to get your name known so that
when your customer will need you, they will think
of you first? Or, do you wish to get your
customers in your front door on Saturday?

Do you want your customers to come in and take a
look around to discover the next object that they
cannot live without? Or, do you want them to come
in and buy a specific widget?

Do you hope that enough people will come in to
buy enough products or services to pay for your
single ad? Or, do you expect to gain a lifelong
customer who will help pay for your advertising
over the course of several years?

When you know what you want, then you will better
understand just how to do it.

HEADLINES, AD COPY AND VISUAL PRESENTATION

You might be surprised how many business owners
put out advertising without regard for the
quality of the sales pitch or presentation. The
quality of your distribution outlet or the amount
of money you spent to get there will do little
for you if the advertising vehicle is a junker.

Test all of your advertising materials in smaller
markets before blowing your advertising bank roll
on it. You must absolutely know the value of your
advertising before putting large sums of money
behind it.

TRACKING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Tell your customers to save another 10% when they
tell you they heard or saw your ad in
such-and-such location. Suggest that they can
register to win a free widget if they fill out a
form and have them to tell you how they heard of
your business. Advertise a specific widget in
your ad and track the sales of that widget.

It does not matter how you track your advertising
--- just make sure you do it!

IN SUMMARY

The ideal way to spend your advertising budget is
to buy a rifle with a high-powered scope and to
only shoot your targets in the light of day.

If you are not tracking your advertising, then
you are shooting a pellet gun without an attached
scope, with blinders on, and shooting in the dead
darkness of night.

Even with a bigger gun, the blinders in the dark
constitute the single largest mistake made by
advertisers. If you are unable to track your
advertising to learn what is working well, what is
working somewhat, and what is a money pit, then
you are condemned to repeat your mistakes over
and again.

By relying only on gut instinct, you may be
choosing to spend more money in the money pit and
to lose all of your money in the process.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of making
money from your advertising, you should plan,
prepare, track and study your results. You must
have factual information on which to base your
advertising decisions. When you are making the
right advertising decisions, then making money
from your business might just come easy.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

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article within your website or newsletter as long
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How to Stay Focused on Your Home Business Goals
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

When you are the owner of a home business, you
will find hundreds of distractions that vie for
your time, energy and focus.

Common distractions include: children, family,
friends, neighbors, pets, phone calls, mail,
household chores, video games, television,
neighborhood children, visitors, and so many more.

As an owner of a home based business, you must
always remember your purpose in bringing your
profession home. What was your reason for wanting
to own a home business? Was your goal to work
from home so that you can share in the lives of
your children? Was your goal to be out from under
the rule of a tyrannical boss? Was your goal to
have the freedom to work when it is convenient
for you? Was your goal to make tons of money
working for yourself?

Here's a few good tips that will help you stay
focused on your home business:

TIP #1:

Whatever your reason for going out on your own,
you must keep your reason in the forefront of
your mind. If you forget your reason for starting
your own home business, you will not be working
for yourself for long. It is far too easy to let
circumstance drive your activities --- and when
circumstance is in the driver's seat, you are
more likely to crash and burn.

TIP #2:

Remember --- your own business is a lot like a
real job. Some people go to work to play, some go
to socialize, and others --- most often those who
are paid in a commission or tip environment
--- go to work to work and to make money. When
you work for yourself, your salary is directly
proportional to your productivity. Therefore,
wouldn't it make sense to stay focused on getting
as much done in as short of a period as possible?

Go to work to work and to make money. Leave
playtime and recreation for when your workday has
ended.

TIP #3:

When you are dealing with family in the course of
your workday, it is important to schedule your
activities as much as possible. With small
children, you must take time when you must, but
you should also work hard to make sure you
dedicate a specific number of hours to your
workday.

With older children, it is much easier to tell
them that you will be working between the hours
of x and y. Your children and your friends must
understand that certain hours of your day are
devoted to the activities of your business.

TIP #4:

Don't permit your friends and extended family to
run over you. Many people get the blind idea that
if one works from home then they are not actually
working.

Well-meaning people may try to fill your doorway
to bring advice about getting a real job. Others
may simply believe that if you are at home, then
you are fair game for chitchat and socialization.

You must stand firm. You must make certain your
friends and family understands that when you are
working, then you ARE working! If they wish to
socialize with you, then they need to do it
during the hours that are not dedicated to your
home business.

You are the only one who can stand up for you.
Your friends and family will seldom be able to
appreciate your dedication to your home business,
unless you make the effort to make sure that they
have the same respect for your business that you
do.

TIP #5:

You should allot a certain portion of your day to
email and to regular mail. For example, allot one
hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon
to handling your written communications.

Unless you dedicate certain times to the handling
of these communications, you will soon find
yourself on the downward slope of decreased
productivity.

TIP #6:

When you find yourself spending too much time
doing non-productive activities, then you should
seriously consider finding a third-party service
provider who will assist you in those
non-profitable business activities.

As an example, you might be in the mail-order
business. You might believe that your time is
best spent writing ad copy and setting up your
advertising, but you find yourself spending far
too much time taking care of your books to take
care of your advertising in the manner that you
should. In this event, it might make more sense
to hire a bookkeeper to handle your financial
records for you.

CONCLUSION:

In the end, the success of your home business is
entirely and completely reliant upon you and the
decisions that you make.

You had your reasons for deciding to start your
own home based business. You must always keep
your reasons in the forefront of your mind. You
must always be able to rely upon your own self
and your dedication to the success of your
business.

Your friends and family might be annoyed that
they cannot come visit upon their own whim, but
when success comes to you and your business, they
will better appreciate you for putting your foot
down when necessary.

Success is within your reach, if only you can
stay focused on your goals. You must decide to
reach for your goals, and then, you must have the
discipline necessary to reach them.

About The Author:
--------------------------------------------------
Stone Evans Will Personally Build A Money Making
Website Just For You That's 100% Ready To Take
Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits Today!
Get All The Exciting Details And Signup Now At:
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596
--------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

How to Measure Advertising Success Online
Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10596

It is easy for me to tell you that you need to
track the success of your online advertising. It
is also easy for me to tell you that you must do
so in order to know which of your advertising
is helping you to make a profit, to break even,
or to break the bank. Far too many advertisers
get caught in the online money pits in an effort
to develop their online business.

DON’T BE AFRAID

I also know that when I say these things, some
people get spooked. People get spooked because
although they might run an online business, they
may not understand the technology that keeps
their business running.

Let’s face it.

More people are learning how to design and
develop their own web pages. In fact, software has
been created to help them do so rather easily.

But when it comes down to the more complex
technologies such as web logs, database
technology, and web programming, most people
just freeze up and fail to make an informed
decision.

Some will turn to a programmer with hopes that a
programmer could save their online business, and
many will get burned by their personal
programmers. When a programmer burns a webmaster,
the cost can be very high. And at the end of the
day, the programmer may leave the webmaster with
a broken web site.

The only real choices left to most webmasters is
to learn how to install pre-made scripts on their
own, or to keep their websites technologically
simple. *Technologically simple* often fails to
help the webmaster find the success that he or
she so fervently desires.

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF PRE-MADE SCRIPTS

Web software is often very simple in its
installation, so the webmaster really should not
fear it.

All one needs to install their own pre-made web
scripts (software) is an online web site file
manager or optional FTP software. They will also
need the ability to change the *permissions* on
the files on their web server.

When downloading scripts for installation on your
server, the file may come in .zip, .tar, or .gz
format. Each of these are variations on the
compressed / zipped file format. There are
many utilities available for unzipping files. One
such utility is WinZip which can be found at:
http://www.winzip.com

Most scripts, once downloaded and unzipped, may
appear in text format with extensions such as
.php, .cgi, .pl or .cfg.

Most of these files can be read as plain text in
an application like NotePad. Occasionally, the
file will be in a binary format which cannot be
read with a text editor.

The files which can be read in a text editor are
often written in the Perl or PHP programming
languages.

While most of the scripting will seem like
Chinese to you, you will be able to pick out
certain sections that can be read and understood
easily.

If the application also contains a .cfg file,
this is your configuration file that can usually
be changed to reflect your own personal needs or
desires for the operation of the software.

NEXT STEP, UPLOAD THE FILES TO YOUR SERVER

Most of these web applications will have a
readme.txt file included with it. If it does,
please read it. If it does not, don’t worry, this
section is for you.

You must upload the files to your server as plain
text. If you are using FTP to upload the files,
then you must tell your software to upload the
files in ASCII format. If you are using your web
file manager, then the files will automatically
upload correctly.

Once the file is on your server, then you must
change the file permissions.

Files with the extensions .php, .cgi, or .pl are
executable files and there permissions must be
set to 755. Files with the extensions .cfg, .txt,
or .html must have their permissions set to 644.
Files and folders that will be written to must
have their permissions set to 777. Files with no
extensions can be classified as any of the above,
so check the readme.txt file.

755 defines an executable file. 644 defines a
read-only file. And 777 defines a writable file.

Once the files are on your server and the
permissions are set correctly, the application
you have placed on your server should work for
you just fine.

LOCATING PRE-MADE SITE TRACKING SCRIPTS

Probably one of the best resources for locating
pre-made scripts is: http://www.cgi-resources.com

If after reading this article you still fear the
task of installing a pre-made script on your
server, then you might seriously consider
remotely hosted site tracking software. If
you opt for this route, be sure to buy the pro
version of the software offered. If you don’t
choose the paid version, you might find your own
competitors having access to your site tracking
data! That should not be an acceptable option to
you.

THE PURPOSE OF SITE TRACKING

With site tracking software running on your
server, you can review how many people came to
your website and what URL’s they might have used
to find your website. You can also see where your
visitors have come from, when they came, how long
they were on your site, at what page they entered
and left your site, and much more.

This is the kind of information that will help
you to determine with some certainty how
effective your advertising is and how profitable
your advertising can be.

Operating without tracking data is tantamount to
operating a business with the intent purpose of
failing.

I truly want you to succeed with your online
business. I know deep down in my heart that the
more people who find success online, the greater
my own chances for remaining profitable over
the long haul. *A rising tide floats all ships.*

About The Author:
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