My Buy Essay

Archive for May, 2008

If you are trying to sell a product or service on the Internet, then you are probably doing so through an affiliate program. You signed up as an affiliate (usually for free) and they gave you an affiliate ID (user name or number). They may have even given you a basic marketing package which includes text ads, banner ads, and solo ads with a link to your affiliate sales page. All you have to do is use these tools to get traffic to your affiliate sales page.

Well that sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? This process actually works too, except that your probability of converting your traffic into sales is very, very, very low. In other words, you may have to have thousands of people to visit your affiliate sales page before you ever see your first sell. Now those aren’t very good odds, are they?

Unfortunately, that is what most people do. They spend a lot of time, effort, and money getting all of those people to that affiliate sales page and then they finally make a sale and earn a referral fee or commission. But wait, it can get even worse. Let’s say that you made one sale and earned a $10 commission. That’s great, right? Well not really, because in the terms and conditions of your affiliate program, you don’t actually get paid until you have accumulated at least $20 of commissions. So get back to it and get another sale and finally get paid. Good grief!

Don’t quit! Internet marketing is a great way to make extra money, but you have to know some of the secrets. Here’s one. “Don’t advertise your affiliate program directly.” You must use a four step process.

Four Step Process

1. First, you must provide something of value. The easiest valuable thing that you can give away is information. An informative email course, special report, or ebook are all great ways to give away free information.

2. This step goes along with the initial step above. Don’t give away your free information until you get an email address. You must capture the name and email address of your prospective sale in order to be able to implement the next step.

3. If the information that you are providing is good and helps people, then you will earn some trust. If someone gives you some information that saves you time, money, or effort; then you are going to closely read anything that they send you – as long as the information is still valuable. This is why it is so important that you get that name and email address before you start giving away your information. Now you can keep the information flowing through an occasional email to your prospect.

4. Finally, if you have been providing valuable information and earning trust from people, it is much more likely that they will buy something that you recommend. This is especially true if you can convince them that what you are recommending will help them and that it is worth their money. The easiest way to do this is to recommend something that you have actually purchased and use yourself. Just tell them how it helped you and why you think that it was worth what you paid for it!

Internet searches are extremely effective in finding not only how popular your topic is, but how to set up your autoresponder for maximum results.

A vast majority of internet users find what they’re looking for by searching, whether they use a general web search engine like Google or a site-specific engine to wade through consumer mega-sites like e-Bay and Amazon.

A quick search on your topic will reveal how many people are interested, and what convinces them to check products out.

Google

Without a doubt, Google is the most popular internet search engine&ndashso much so, its name has become a synonym for the act of running a web search (i.e., “I couldn’t find that site that posts the winning lottery numbers, so I just Googled it.”)

Many internet marketers make increasing their site ranking&ndashthe “place in line” the site appears in Google results using their keywords&ndashone of the key components of their advertising campaigns.

Obtaining a top 10 Google rank (appearing on the first page of search results) is akin to winning an Olympic gold medal in the marketing world.

How can this help you with your market research? By studying the top search results for pages you find through keywords relating to your topic, you can find out what these sites are doing to achieve search engine success.

The following steps will help you run an effective and informative Google search.

1. List keywords and keyword phrases relating to your topic. For example, if your topic is “working from home”, your list of keywords might be: work from home, working from home, work at home, telecommute, telecommuting, at home jobs.

2. Go to the Google home page and type in your first keyword or phrase, then click on “Google Search”.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with Google, clicking on “I’m Feeling Lucky” will not produce a list of web sites; it will take you directly to what Google has determined the most relevant site for your keyword. But if you’re in the mood for a laugh, you might try “I’m Feeling Lucky” just for kicks.

When you receive the search results, check out the pages that are relevant to your topic (search engines are by no means exact, and sometimes you will find results that don’t relate to your topic&ndashor at least, not in the way you had in mind). The best way to do this is to right-click on the links you want to visit and choose “Open in new window.” This will keep the Google search results page open so you don’t have to backtrack through your browser to find it again.

3. Note the way the sites are laid out (is it appealing and easy to read, or does it make your eyes bleed?), what kind of text is on the front page (does it seem informative, or is it all hype? Are there a lot of spelling and grammar errors?), and whether there is an obvious available product. If there is a site counter, note how many visitors the site has received.

4. Repeat this process with the rest of your keywords. You will often find the same sites showing up in the top 10 for different, related searches. Pay special attention to these; they are the ones you may want to emulate when you create the web site for your autoresponder.

NOTE: If you run a Google search on your topic and find only two or three related web sites before the results turn up unrelated material, it may indicate there is a limited market for your topic. In this case you should either rewrite your keywords and try again, or consider choosing a different topic altogether.

eBay

It’s said you can buy anything on eBay, from cars and computers to clothing formerly worn by celebrities.

This massive online consumer marketplace and auction house is a haven for buyers and sellers looking for great deals from the comfort of their own homes.

Searching for products related to your topic on eBay can help you home in on your market. It will also help you determine how much buyers are willing to pay for products related to your subject.

Follow these steps to exploit eBay for information:

1. Sign up for a free eBay account. This personalizes your experience and allows eBay to provide you with relevant information every time you visit.

2. Go to the eBay home page and log in.

3. Choose one of the categories on the left-hand side of the page that’s relevant to you topic and browse through the listings, or search for a specific item or topic using the search bar at the top of the page.

4. Make note of the price ranges people are willing to pay for items or products related to your topic. This will give you a general idea of what to charge for yours. Also, note how many products are available related to your topic in comparison to other topics. This is not limited to books: you might find CDs, audio programs, or one of many forms your product can take.

Amazon

Amazon.com, the “other” internet consumer giant, is similar to e-Bay in that you can find just about anything you want to buy. Amazon’s biggest selection is in media: books, movies and music; but they also have an enormous inventory of electronics, toys, jewelry, clothing and accessories, and much more. Where e-Bay concentrates on selling used products through auctions and classifieds-style advertising, Amazon carries new products along with a healthy dose of independent sellers touting used wares.

Your purpose in using Amazon for market research is twofold: you will identify your competition and find out how popular your topic is, and you will familiarize yourself with how Amazon works, as you will likely want to consider making your product available through Amazon.

Here’s how to check it out:

1. Sign up for an Amazon account, if you don’t already have one. Like eBay, Amazon will give you personalized recommendations based on your searching and buying history, and keep you updated with the latest available information on your topic.

2. Once you’ve signed up, go to the Amazon home page and log in (you may be automatically logged in; Amazon really likes keeping track of its customers and often will keep you perpetually signed on, even when you leave the site…)

3. Using the search bar at the top of the page, choose “Books” from the dropdown list and type in your topic or keywords. The results you get will be both print books and e-books. Since Amazon deals primarily in new product, you will be able to view the retail price of competitive products.

4. Make note of prices and the number of titles available relating to your topic. Also, you might want to consider checking out the Listmania sections on the product pages you view (you can find this by scrolling down on the page, almost to the bottom). Listmania is an Amazon program that promotes customer recommendations by allowing Amazon users to compile lists of their favorite books on Amazon. Checking out Listmania picks helps you understand what type of product your target market is interested in, and how much they are willing to pay for it.

5. Once you find a product, if you scroll down past Listmania you will find sections on “similar items by category” and “similar items by subject.” You can browse through the available products related to your topic in this way without going back to your search results page.

Internet marketing has been making some pretty dramatic changes over the last few years, like the growth and evolution of the search engine optimization industry, viral marketing, pay-per-click advertising and the mainstream adoption of blogging. Despite the recent changes I predict that even greater change is still yet to come, thanks in part to the growth of broadband internet access, advances in hardware and software technology, and marketers need to reach consumers through multiple mediums.

As people’s lives become more busy, fragmented media will result in more opportunities for both advertisers and web site owners. Standard advertising mediums such as television, radio and newspapers have been loosing effectiveness (partially because of new technologies like TiVo and XM Satalite Radio) while online advertising has become more effective. As an advertiser, there are more opportunities available than ever before to reach highly targeted prospects with a relatively small investment by advertising online. As a web site owner, there are more opportunities to generate additional revenue by providing advertising space on your web sites. As people spend more time online, this trend will continue to grow.

RSS will become a powerful, trackable marketing tool. In it’s current form, it is a great tool for reaching out to people who have the technical background to use it but it does have some limitations. Many customizable web portals (My Yahoo) let users display RSS feeds on their home page, but require users to sign in with cookies. Some email programs can display RSS feeds and several programs have even been specifically designed for displaying RSS feeds. However the user base is still fairly small. With the release of Microsoft’s Windows Vista, RSS will become mainstream and be adopted by soccer moms everywhere. Once that happens you can expect to see tools developed to manage and track the traffic from RSS feeds.

The search engine optimization industry is another area that will change considerably. All of the major search engine companies have taken considerable steps to reduce web site owner’s (or an SEO firm’s) ability to manipulate the ranking of their web sites. As the algorithms that determine the importance of a particular web page become more comprehensive and better able to filter out spam you will see two things happen. First, the search results will become more relevant. Second, the SEO firms that are using dishonest techniques in an attempt to rank higher will collapse one by one until only honest, ethical firms exist.

Given my present understanding of my ubiquitous lack of understanding of the world in general, I can’t help but smile just a bit when I think about my beliefs when I was around 15 years old. I was in 10th grade at the time and good god did I ever have it all figured out. On a pretty consistent basis I would use words like “ignorance, short sighted and unaware” when talking to my mother; and I guess probably most other people that had the misfortune of chatting with me. As you can probably guess, it turned out that I really didn’t know everything. Well, here I am a full-grown adult and, fortunately, I am much, much wiser; I currently know that I don’t know anything. And, if I ever start to forget that, I am thankfully reminded on a consistent basis how little I really know.

This just happened about 10 minutes ago, in fact. I thought that I had the internet marketing and advertising thing pegged. I was thinking about all those annoying pop ups and all the other advertising that frustrates me; on the up side this irritating new field of advertising has given rise to an unprecedented number of new jobs, for the people that are able to create all the software that shields the rest of us from the internet advertising. So, anyways I had my mind made up that people could be divided up into two camps&ndashthe good and the bad. But, much like the Haitian Revolution, things have much more complexity than just black and white (haha, I just threw that in there to pretend like I did know something…I had to read a book for school).

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. I sort of saw the internet marketers as a group that found their financial success wherever it happened to be and without consideration as to what was necessary in order to achieve it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’re killing puppies or anything. But, I do think that there’s a certain pride that can come from contributing something positive to the greater community and those that choose to directly and consciously work in means that are in direct conflict with that aren’t on the good side.

But, I just was informed about alittle thing that’s throwing a wrench in my good vs. evil dissection of the world. It’s the business that does networking for the internet advertisers and marketers. Now, it seems like the companies that are behind all the banner ads and the like are on the short end of the stick from these internet advertisers for the internet advertisers, the victim of uncouth internet practices. This changes everything for me. I’m not simply talking about internet advertising, but the mulit-layered complexities that is a spider web of friends and foes and who is crossing who and back stabbing who, while helping who else. Hmm, I have a lot to think about, but for sure I understand that I definitely don’t know anything.

Strategies for cyber jungle survival (tips for online retailers)

In the organizational landscape, the novel and logical means that is perhaps the most encouraging of all drivers is E-commerce. It seems to have revolutionized the manner in which business processes and procedures are being undertaken. Some of the goals that it has been able to effectively carry out is the improvement of the dealings among buyers, vendors, and suppliers, greater cost-efficiency and widening one’s scope in the global economy. This has accorded businesses more opportunities for growth and expansion. Through an advocacy of more personalized approaches in business, it has given a new definition to competitiveness. Customer information and data are now being yielded by vendors from their consumers. The significant volume of data also allows these individuals to leverage on promotional offers and the best buys. Online trading has been successful at endorsing price competitiveness and compels online vendors to work towards this end goal.

Within the retailing industry, the increased availability and accessibility of cyber trading has been the key to its immense popularity and steady rise. This also implies high cost efficiency, without the necessity of expenses such as rent, manpower cost or labor. The intense competition in physical markets and the very high fixed costs are just grateful for this innovative solution. The broad array of products and services are appreciated and patronized by consumers. The substantial volumes of online data also compel online vendors to leverage on cost. The relative ease accorded by online shopping has allowed consumers to optimize their management of time. Numerous online vendors have adapted the online store and a novel online shopping experience as concepts on the new online age. An outcome of this occurrence is the birth of the terms “cyber shops, virtual shops, e-tail, and online shops” were brought forth. Physical vendors are pressured to cope or run the risk of being tagged obsolete. This resulted in the mushrooming of websites.

A contemporary investigation conducted by the World Trade Organization has indicated that a specifically promising future is waiting for firms who are engaged in trading products and services through cyber trading. These encompass organizations that are into the sales of computer software, printed news, magazines, music, and film. Numerous industries, including brokerages, tourism, telecoms, and consumer / media advertising that are yielding the benefits of cyber trading. One overall international work of the industry has projected to attain a US$1 trillion value in 2003. Attributing to the high expenses of operating as a start-up business, difficulties in daily routines, uncompetitive volume of sales, cutthroat competitors, and unpredictability of the arena, Internet players in retail are starting to lose hope and to lose money.

In summary, to sustain its leadership, leading online vendors should to maintain their niche in the following three areas that have been proven to be the leading factors considered by Chinese online consumers:

1) Improve brand equity – The major dynamic to cyber buying for customers are security and trust elements. Online vendors should to solidify their brands so that products purchased from them are perceived as trustworthy.

2) Alliance partners – Alliances and networks are critical in the digital economy because of heightened efficiency for transactions and a variety of offerings to the company. Therefore, the addition of alliance partners expected to generate better performance of dot.com retailers is a priority area.

3) Integrative advertising and promotions program – Vendors online must launch intensive marketing efforts to gain visibility. If possible, the online vendors involved in the study should to convey to customers their integrity, honesty and trustworthiness in all these online transactions. This will help address the doubt or uncertainty of online consumers to transact online because of trust issues. The use of banners may not be effective in encouraging customers to purchase online. In the cyber jungle banners are quickly implemented; however, they present low impact. People are inclined to shrug off these banners.

Online marketers ought to leverage on these strategies to put in more into their coffers. In the end, a synergistic combination of marketing efforts, support from partnerships and persistent and effective advertising will win consumers’ mindshare and trust. And, ultimately this will be reflected in his buying decisions.

Many think that a profitable home-based business requires tons of high-tech supplies, and a never-ending stream of cash. Fortunately, that is not the case. Internet marketing can now be executed easily and successfully on a limited budget. The desire for home business enterprises is at a high point, and affordable marketing options are endless. With a bit of effort andcommitment, your internet marketing campaign can work with practical and useful advertising options.

When working with a limited amount of means, you must first construct a workable internet marketing plan. It must be decided what types of advertising and promotion will be used, and how much money will be allowed for each part of your marketing budget. Always be aware of your financial situation. There are several creative and unique promotional techniques that can be used in your internet marketing plan, which will not break your bank. Ironically, many have discovered that several of the low-cost marketing methods are just as useful as the more expensive ones.

Message boards and forums have taken over cyberspace. Joining these forums and discussion groups is another excellent way to market on a budget. Engage in groups related to your chosen service or program. Frequently posting questions and answers will build your reputation in the business community, while at the same time, advertising your services. This form of internet marketing has grown to be one of the most effective methods.

E-mail marketing has been coined as one of the most cost-efficient internet marketing methods. To utilize this marketing technique to the fullest, you must first establish a broad e-mail or newsletter list. This list will keep your customers up to date with all of your programs and services. The only problem with this form of marketing is the issue of SPAM. Be sure that each person on your list has requested to receive e-mails from you. If too many complaints are received, your web site could be closed down, and your business could be in danger.

Have you ever felt like you’ve gotten in way over your head? When you first embark on an internet marketing venture, it’s perfectly normal to be overwhelmed. There is so much to learn, so many different things you can do to market a business online, and so many “experts” that claim they’ve got the “secret” to making money online. It can really be mind boggling at times.

So, what’s the secret to internet marketing and making money online? Well, let me tell you, there is no secret. What there is though is information overload. There are tons of strategies for various types of internet marketing techniques and what works great for one business, might not work at all for another.

So, rather than trying to “master the art” of internet marketing, it is best to get a quick overview of internet marketing techniques, decide which one (or two) you want to try first, gain the knowledge and skill you need to pull off the technique, and see how it works. Of course you need to do some research to identify your target market and create a marketing plan, but your internet marketing plan doesn’t have to be extensive and doesn’t have to be set in stone from day one. You can review your stats, see what is working and what isn’t, and tweak your internet marketing campaign as you go along to strengthen it and make it more effective.

When you get started in internet marketing, it is good to have an understanding of various types of internet marketing techniques, but the primary ones to concentrate on in the beginning are search engine marketing and pay-per-click search engine marketing. On average, over 80% of the traffic that comes to a website finds the website through the search engines, so search engine listings are vital to internet marketing.

Search engine marketing consists primarily of optimizing your website using targeted keywords, filling it with relevant content, building relevant incoming links, and submitting the site to the search engines. With pay-per-click search engine marketing, the process of internet marketing through the search engines is simplified a bit because you bid on keywords that will provide results for your particular website and your search engine rank is based primarily on your bid rather than relying solely on site optimization which can be quite challenging.

Rather than focusing on a variety of internet marketing techniques at once, you’ll find it is much more effective to pursue internet marketing options one at a time. After perfecting one strategy, you can move on to the next, continually strengthening your internet marketing efforts.

Microsoft windows opened up a new world for me. From a Computer Layman to an expert in most things . took me about 10 years. Not bad for someone who works long hours in an offline business with little time on the computer. I have tried most things such as marketing affiliate programs, mlm,list management and have had some success selling on e-bay. One thing that has always eluded me was to be able to create a Great website using the right tools and knowledge.

I created a website about 5 years ago and had problems with hyperlinks,banners and website file association.. There were many things i wanted to do with this site but lacked the right knowldge and guidance to do it.

I eventually gave up and went back to the hard slog of working my offline business. Recently i found the right information on a site which i consider to be good value for money(it costs nothing at all for this knoweldge) When you learn this knowledge you will know how to create an idea,and market it.

They also show you how to create a mean website! Most of the information i have accessed over the years seemed to take a lot for granted that you have a working knowledge of web files,know how to upload your your files using a ftp client to a host webserver.

This was always very confusing to me. I have finally found the place that helps you to create a website step by step without confusion. The teachings on this website are massive and show you the basic structure of building a website . It is like finding all the pieces of a jigsaw and putting them all together with ease. All the concepts of this course while individually dont mean much by themself, once you put them all together they pack a punch so powerfull that you cant wait for the next lesson.

I could never work out why my images would not upload to my site, so easy now yet then could not see what i did wrong. So to summarize the information provided here is absolutely free and the wealth of information covers every thing from marketing, finding a niche market, to creating your own website.

chris merrill

Free for everyone and hours of video tuition

.newprofitsecrets.com

By Lama Kalla