Personal and Business Development Consulting

It’s time for your second lesson. I hope you found lesson on informative.

In this lesson we will start going over the steps you need to take to ensure the safety of your online business.

I am guessing that, since you decided to sign up for this crash course, that you have already started your own online business or you are thinking about starting one soon.

However, there are risks involved that you may not know about and there are things that you should do to protect yourself from losing everything that you are working so hard to achieve.

Did you know that the courts are levying increasingly heavy fines on people who have been found guilty of online business crime?

They don’t care if you didn’t realize you were doing anything wrong. They will still hunt you down and charge you. By not knowing the basic laws you could get yourself into trouble completely by accident.

Although there is a wealth of reliable information online. The simple fact of the matter is when it comes to protecting your online business you shouldn’t rely on second hand information or other online marketers for legal or accounting advice.

One of the first things that you should do is find a good lawyer and accountant. If you can’t afford a lawyer you may want to find a paralegal or check into an online service like legalzoom.com. Just be sure to check their credibility before you give them your money.

When it comes to legal matters, in particular, you will need to look for a professional that understands the nature of running a business on the Internet.

Because the laws that govern what you can and cannot do or say on any sales enabled websites that you create are generally going to be the laws of the country where you currently live.

However, you are most probably going to transact business with customers from many different countries, and you need a lawyer who can handle any legal problems that arise from such international, cross-border transactions.

You will also find that most lawyers are probably not familiar with how Internet businesses are run, and therefore you need to search for someone who can really help and protect you. Look for somebody who

understands the nature of transacting business online and the ramifications of running a business that genuinely does not recognize international borders. The best place to start is online. Try doing a search for “lawyer Internet law” and you will find several resources that can help you track down a qualified professional.

Do not be tempted to try to teach any lawyer that you approach how Internet business works, because the information that you provide to them will probably be based on what other people have told you, and we have already established that such information is often incorrect and inaccurate.

Finding a suitable accountant, on the other hand, should not be a complex matter, because your business is essentially no different from any other, apart from the way that you accept payments.

Unlike a ‘real world’ offline business, you are unlikely to issue invoices to your online customers, and therefore the ‘paper trail’ that would most commonly be associated with accepting payments is a little more complex and obscure than normal.

Make sure that the accountant you engage is aware of this from the outset, and ask them what kind of documentation you need to keep for them. Taxation is something that you need to talk to them about too and we will talk in more detail about that in your next lesson.

Ken Mathie

Enhancing People’s Lives Through Creative Technology

ebizstore.net

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When most new internet marketers get started in a new business, they have a great deal to learn. One of the many things to learn is driving visitors to your website. The marketing piece of the learning curve can be confusing for the new online marketer if they do not have proper mentoring to keep them focused. There are many ways to drive traffic to a website. Everyone wants as much traffic as possible, but is all traffic good? Not necessarily. Choosing the right keywords is essential to your success. Why is this? Driving targeted visitors is what you want to do; keywords help you do just that.

Actively building a list of keywords and researching them is a weekly task that all internet marketers must do. Your primary target is to rank in the search engines for the respective keywords you choose. Thus, when a prospect searches for something in the search engines they are able to find you. Many new online marketers are not exposed to the big image concept of keyword research and the purpose it has. Other new internet marketers have an idea of what keywords are and their role in marketing but don’t fully grasp how to use them to target a market. For instant, “work at home” would be a common keyword one would think of to use when promoting a home business opportunity. However, this is a broad keyword. Not only would it be expensive for pay per click, but it would be too competitive for free methods of advertising. Thus, a new internet marketer could potentially spend effort, time and money setting up marketing around this keyword only to not experience any online results at all. The key is choosing the good keywords that go hand in hand with your target market.

How Do You Choose The Right Keywords?

a. First be sure to fully understand the big picture of internet marketing and the critical components that make up that big picture. Doing this will help you focus and be able to take more step by step actions that will build momentum. This will also help you understand the role of choosing the right keywords so you have a goal when you take this step.

b. Consider your target market. Who is it? What do they do? What are their interests? What would they search for online? What are the benefits of your business? What are the highlights of your business? Why would someone want to join your business? Essentially, you must think like your perfect prospect. Think of how you stumbled upon your business. How did you find your business? What were you looking for when you came across your business?

c. Use keywords and keyword phrases. Sometimes 2, 3 and 4 word phrases are more commonly typed in to the search engines.

Where Can I Look For Keywords?

There are Competition Keyword Research tool that are extremely helpful in helping with the research process. Google adwords has a free keyword tool which does a good job of providing additional ideas once you enter a keyword phrase into the software. Good Keyword, Niche Bot Classic are other options. Wordtracker is very good, but this has an upfront cost as well as a monthly fee. It is worth it for an experienced marketer but I would not recommend it for a new internet marketer. One paid keyword tool I would recommend for a new internet marketer is Micro Niche Finder. It has a feature where you click a button and the dot turns green, yellow or red depending on if it’s a keyword that you should pursue or if it’s too competitive. The other feature that is helpful for the new internet marketer is you can click on the keyword phrase and immediately be able to click on articles and other choices to see how the keyword currently is being optimized on the search engines. It’s simple and does not have a monthly fee. It does have a one time nominal cost but it well worth it.

How Do I Use My Keywords?

Now that you have identified a list of keywords and have done some research to identify the ones that are a “green light” and not too competitive, it’s time to optimize those keywords. What does that mean? Optimizing a keyword means building your marketing campaign around the keyword. Using the keyword in the title and body of your advertising. Articles, videos, blog posts and so forth are all examples of advertising means that need to have keywords driving them so they rank in the search engines.

Properly incorporating good keyword research methods and optimization is crucial to your success and will drive the much desired targeted traffic to your website. Targeted traffic going through a well designed website and marketing funnel will be sure to deliver sale after sale.

Need more information about SEM tool please visit: Search Engine Marketing Tool

Make sure you monetize your sites properly – read make money with adsense information.

How To Put Creative Marketing, Free Publicity, and Strategic Joint Ventures to Work for Your Business…

 
Sit Back And Watch Your Profits Explode!

Introduction:  In February 2006, John Ritskowitz hosted a teleseminar with Michel Fortin, David Garfinkel, Yanik Silver, and JP Maroney. Entitled “Million Dollar Roundtable,” it was a chance for these marketing pros to share some of their best secrets for marketing offline, which is something more online Marketers should be doing. Ideally we should all be marketing both offline and online.  Well these folks delivered the goods, and while the call lasted about 2 hours, it still wasn’t enough time to get to everything (it never is, right?). So John compiled some of the ideas they talked about on the call, plus lots more ideas to cover the offline marketing spectrum.   Some of these ideas are more traditional, such as yellow pages advertising and classified ads. Of course that doesn’t mean they should be neglected.   Other ideas are traditional, but not used as much, or I should say not always used as effectively as they could. Direct response marketing and publicity are two that come to mind.   And then there are really creative ideas that are often overlooked, such as valuable joint ventures and strategic alliances. Some of these ideas have the potential to really deliver a lot of leads and sales with minimal traditional “work.”

  You’ll find these ideas start out somewhat simplistically and gradually get more creative and complex. So dig in and start thinking about how you could apply these ideas to your business today!        

Part I – Traditional Offline Marketing

• 1) Classified Ads – This is something everyone should be testing in some form or another. It’s great for lead generations. You should still have a strong benefit-driven headline and a clear call to action. Free reports work very well with classifieds. My local paper, the Hartford Courant even has an ongoing deal of 3 lines for 3 days – for free! Even adding more lines only ends up costing a few bucks. With a price like that, there’s no reason anyone with a website should not be testing ways to draw traffic to the site with classifieds.
• 2) Direct Mail – Nothing beats direct response when it comes to results-driven proven advertising. And messages sent directly to your highly targeted market via direct mail can deliver a terrific return on investment (ROI) when tested properly. There’s a wealth of information on direct marketing by Michel Fortin, David Garfinkel, Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, and many more experts. Here are some sites where you can learn more:
• http://www.successdoctor.com – Michel Fortin’s main site
• http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com – David Garfinkel’s site
• http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com – Home of the Gary Halbert Letter
• http://www.dankennedy.com – Dan Kennedy’s site
• http://www.srds.com – The Standard Rate & Data (SRDS) List Book, a great resource to locate mailing lists of nearly any type you can imagine. You can also find it in some larger city libraries.
• http://www.referenceusa.com – Reference USA is a great place to get compiled lists by industry, SIC, demographics and more. It contains names, addresses and lots of other great information on more than 12 million U.S. businesses, 102 million U.S. residents, 683,000 U.S. health care providers, 1 million Canadian businesses, and 11 million Canadian residents.
• http://www.usps.com – The US Postal Service website has a variety of tools and educational materials about direct mail as well.
• 3) Postcards – Yes, postcards are a form of direct mail, but it warrants its own category. Postcards are cheaper to produce and mail than full-blown direct mail packages or sales letters, and they are great for generating leads. Like classified ads, a free report or free gift often works well here. Postcards are also a great way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects, and they also work well as part of a sequence of mailings. A good place to go for customized postcards is http://www.usps.com (the US Postal Service website), because the USPS has partnered with a company that will print and mail your postcards for you! Best of all, you only pay for the postage (i.e. FREE printing costs). Hint: be sure to include yourself on the mailing list so you can get your own mailing as well.
• 4) Yellow Pages – Another great resource that is often underutilized or used ineffectively. Yellow page ads are great because when someone sees your ad, they are already in the market for your product or service. Yellow page ads need to be benefits-driven, with your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) stated clearly and boldly (remember, this is the one place where your prospects will see your ad alongside all of your competitors). You want your ad to stand out from the clutter. Use a direct response type of ad, and again, free gifts or premiums work well here.

Gary Halbert has written about yellow pages several times in his newsletter. To find them easily, just enter the following search at Google:  site:thegaryhalbertletter.com +”yellow page” Another great resource that JP Maroney recommends is Alan Saltz’s course on the subject, available at http://www.yellowpagesprofit.com A great thread on this topic can also be found on Michel Fortin’s forum at: http://www.copywritersboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=1652

• 5) Space Ads – If you’re going to do a space ad, it will generally get better results if you use the same layout as the editorials. Use the same font styles and sizes for the headline, body, etc. If the newspaper uses 2 columns per article on the page your ad will appear, use 2 columns in your ad. If they use 3 columns, you use 3. The “advertorial” approach almost always does better than traditional space ads that scream “ad.”

A great way to get very low costs space ads is to use what’s known as remnant, or standby advertising. Enter the following search in Google to see what I mean and to learn more:  site:thegaryhalbertletter.com +”Nancy Jones” And you’ll learn to experiment in many creative ways to find out what works for you. A local advertising paper, the Rare Reminder here in the Hartford area, has classified ads and space ads. But I noticed that one “stone and mulch” company has their space ad featured upside-down in every weekly issue. At first I thought it was a mistake. But after seeing it upside-down week after week, I suspected they found that their upside-down ad stands out from the clutter. People think it’s a mistake and read it. Yes, it’s a gimmick. Would I do it? Only if it tested positively. And maybe it has for these folks. Food for thought.

• 6) Radio/TV/Infomercials – You might be surprised how inexpensive you can get these types of slots, especially if you use remnant advertising. Study the best infomercials, for example (the ones you see over and over again…they must be working or they wouldn’t keep airing them), to get some ideas on how they are constructed.
• 7) Flyers – Who says you can’t hire a high school student to stuff mailboxes or stick ‘em under windshields? Obviously if you are selling a high-priced financial course, it would be better to target the windshields of a fancy hotel than your local Wal-Mart. And I believe the US Postal Service also prints them for you like they do postcards if you want to mail them. Check out http://www.usps.com
• Networking – Your local Chamber of Commerce, trade shows, seminars, and anywhere your prospects hang out are all good opportunities for networking. In many cases, the hotel bar the night before the seminar is the best opportunity for making contacts. It’s usually more effective to try to capture contacts and leads than to try to close a sale on the spot, so get your elevator speech ready and have plenty of business cards on hand.
• 9) Telemarketing – Remember the “Do Not Call” list only applies to consumers, so if you do any kind of business to business selling, telemarketing is a viable marketing method you can use effectively. Also, the “Do Not Call” list may not apply to you with your customers or if you already have a relationship with your prospects.
• 10) A Trade Show Booth – A great place to capture leads. Again, a free report or gift does wonders. When you get a long line waiting at your booth, many people will stop by just to see what the fuss is about. Make your sales materials and sales people benefit-driven. Remember what your prospects are thinking: “What’s in it for me?”
• 11) Blimps, Banners, and Billboards – If it’s zoned for advertising and it’s blank, you have an opportunity.
• 12) Door Hangers – Those same high school students can help you with door hangers as well.
• 13) Circulars – Again, high school students can also help you hand out circulars, post them on community bulletin boards, on telephone poles, wherever. You can make a donation to your local church and ask them if you can leave a stack at their next bake sale or bingo event. And certainly you can arrange to have your circular included in your local newspaper or community paper. For your money, circulars are very inexpensive to print and distribute.
• 14) Card Decks – These stacks of index cards are mailed to targeted audiences. Each deck can contain anywhere from 50 to 200 cards or so, each with an advertisement or coupon. They may also double as a business reply card on back. Since your ad is mixed in with tons of others, it’s especially important to have a great headline and layout that will stand out from the clutter.

Card decks are inexpensive because all of the advertisers are sharing the cost of the mailing. They can cost as little as three cents a prospect for large mailings. Even for smaller mailings, they are generally cheap, which is good for testing. Make sure you choose your audience wisely. Card decks are great for targeting a niche. Free reports or books work especially well here, because the person flipping through the cards will be attracted to the word “FREE.” As always, make sure there is a clear call to action. Multiple methods of response usually work better than a single method. For example, they can drop the card in the mail, call a free recorded message, go to your website, etc. And you may have some options with remnant space, so always try to negotiate a lower price (how hard is it for them to stick another card in their mailing…their costs are incremental and their profit is high even on remnant rates). A couple other tips: When you see repeat advertisers in a deck, you have a pretty good idea that the deck is working for that ad. If that ad also targets your niche market, it may be a good one to test in. Also, test with copy that you already know works.

• 15) Value-Paks – Similar to card decks, “value-paks” are little booklets with multiple ads. They are mostly used with coupons, rather than business reply cards.
• 16) Ad Magazines – You’ve seen them. Magazines that are little more than a collection of space ads. They are usually local, and the ads in them usually aren’t direct response. By putting your direct response ad there, you stand out over all the other ads. But the downside is that these magazines tend to be less niche-focused (although there are certainly exceptions, with the real estate and automobile-themed magazines and newspapers).
• 17) Catalogues – Your catalog doesn’t have to look like L.L. Bean or the like to be effective. A good one to study with respect to the ads themselves is the J. Peterman catalogue (check out http://www.jpeterman.com).

Here’s a good way to start small and work up from there in developing a good catalogue:

• a) Try a simple double-sided flyer first and test response.
• b) Make sure you locate highly targeted lists, as the wasted cost of mailings is going to be your biggest expense.
• c) Continue to expand, test, and tweak. Test everything-your layout, your copy, your prices-until you find the best combination.