My Buy Essay

Archive for January, 2009

Many people think that the Internet offers a tremendous marketplace, while others will question the extra effort and money to purchase and design a website. Some of the money-making values of having a website are summarized in the following paragraphs for your consideration.

1. If you have a local group of customers and want to expand to the neighboring areas, states or even, countries, without spending massive amounts of costly advertising money or even leasing more company space, then the Internet can work very well for you. Niche markets (small groups of customers scattered about that are interested in a very specific item or service) also work very well on the Internet.

2. As a business owner, you need to provide a map and directions to your store for your customers and enable them to look up specials, discounts, limited merchandise, or varieties and prices of each item you market. For instance, let’s say you sell cheesecakes and you would like to spend less time on the phone explaining the different varieties, how many people the different varieties will serve, prices, and availability. Here’s how this could work online for you. You would provide a secure, encrypted order form thereby collecting the person’s credit information as well as their address, phone, and email information. They would list their preferences as to varieties and sizes of cheesecakes. This form would be sent directly to your email or to your fax so that you would have the items ready for the customer to pick up that day or the day they designate. You would have the cheesecakes shipped for those that cannot make it to your store. When a customer returns to order another product from your website, they would not have to fill out most of the form as it would already be in your database.

3. You build their confidence when you show customers that you have their best interest and shopping convenience in mind when you open a website and properly maintain that website with new and updated information. Customers will appreciate being able to read about the owners, the store’s policies, the service after the sale, and any other items you think would develop a rapport to allow them to do more business with you. Having a website allows your company to develop its style and branding and develops a sense of security for the customers in doing business with your firm.

4. A small operation can look just as important as a large corporation. A website builds confidence and value into your products and services and allows you to receive orders you may have missed without being on the Internet.

5. If you do advertising on the radio or TV, newspapers or direct mail, having a website gives the customer a place to review what you tell them in the ads in much more detail. Every ad should reference your website so customers can view the details at a time and place that is convenient 24 hours a day seven days a week. You can quickly change and update information on a website without the expense of printed materials.

6. You can do any promotion online that you can do offline and much cheaper. Coupons, money-off sales, discounts, employee recognition, limited merchandise you want to move, all these can be marketed on your website. Keeping the website up-to-date can be provided by your webmaster at a very nominal fee.

I hope that you can see from some of the above points that having your own website is necessary in today’s marketplace for any small or medium-sized business as well as any at-home business. Customers are out there looking for you and you need to take advantage of where they are looking and, right now, that is the INTERNET! Since your competitors have a website, they are perceived as being more up-to-date. The ease, convenience, special online savings, information about your company’s mission, your services, your ability to communicate with customers are all important reasons for having a dynamic online website. Online marketing will only continue to grow…WILL YOUR CUSTOMERS FIND YOU ONLINE?

Keywords and Ad Words aren’t the only way that search engines score relevancy; links to other similar sites are another important factor. Keywords have been so abused by some webmasters that links are winning much more relevancy points. Google is said to love them. It might sound strange to suggest that your users should check out your competitors, but they probably know about them anyway.

If your competitors have a higher ranking than you, linking to them can often give you a higher relevancy score with the search engines and the subsequent increase in traffic will make it worth your while.

Alternatively, you can link to your own site by creating a subdirectory. This is like building another web page, but the URL will include your keyword. So if you were selling stuffed toys, the new URL would be YourDomain.com/stuffed-toys/stuffed-toys.html.

You could then write a short paragraph on the home page, describing the new page and including a link. You’ll get big relevancy points for this!

Reciprocal Links

Reciprocal linking means forming partnerships with other sites who place a link from their web pages to yours. You give them a similar link in return.

When you look for people to swap links with, make sure that you don’t reduce the quality or content of your own site. You don’t want users to click straight through without reading your content; you want them to buy first. One way to stop them from running away too quickly is to create a “Resources Page” and link to that page from your homepage. This doesn’t take away from the content on your homepage and the links are just one click away rather than being buried deep within the site, giving value to your partners.

In any case, you want to be sure that your site is more than just a page full of links. If your site contains more links than content, it will not be attractive to webmasters, search engines or users.

Picking Your Partner

Your link partners should be sites your target market will visit. Think about your product and its subject area and brainstorm to determine where people interested in your product might be looking online. For example, if you’re trying to sell a book about blackjack strategy, it makes sense that the people visiting online casinos would make great customers. Online casinos then could be good partners.

Identify top-ranked, high quality casino sites and find the email address of their webmasters. You can also identify your competitors, see where they trade links and then follow suit.

Tips for Talking to Webmasters

Before you contact webmasters, place a link to their site on your home page or resource page to assure them that you will actually provide a high quality link. Create a subject line that will encourage them to read your message rather than deleting it. You don’t want them to think you’re message is Spam. (Something about their site or product is sure to capture their attention; they will probably open and read it, thinking that you’re a potential customer.)

Begin your message by talking about your visit to their site and what you found interesting about it. Detail your product or service in one line and ask them to exchange links with you.

Tell them in detail where you have placed their link and emphasize that it is only one click away from your homepage. Tell them that if you don’t hear back from them within 2 weeks, you will consider that to be a negative response and that you will remove their link from your site.

TACKLES TIMESHARING

With lower occupancy rates, a sagging economy, and the changing demographics of travelers, hotel industry officials are constantly searching for ways to fill rooms. One hot topic is timesharing.

Long considered the bad boy of the hospitality business, timesharing is coming of age in both size and stature. The entrance of companies like Disney, Marriott, and Hilton has served notice that timesharing is a viable occupancy option for the hotel industry.

THE BASICS

Timesharing’s image of past decades is quickly changing. Many vacationers now view it as a viable and economical option for future vacations.

The timeshare market is exploding. In the past two years, almost 500,000 households have purchased a total of more than 700,000 timeshare intervals. That means there are more than 3 million owners at more than 3,000 resorts worldwide. Contrary to popular belief, a recent survey showed that most of these owners are happy with their purchase.

“It is clear that timesharing is gaining in popularity, not only here in the United States, but also across Europe, Mexico, and in South America,” says Tom Franks, president of the American Resort and Residential Development Association, the timeshare industry body. “We expect the industry to double in the next 10 years and the hotel industry will definitely be involved in a big way.”

Timesharing is the most prevalent form of vacation ownership. Consumers typically buy one or more weeks at a specific resort and can return to that resort every year or exchange it for a week at another resort. Prices currently average around $9,000, with annual maintenance fees of around $300.

Vacation timesharing generally takes one of two forms: “Fee” timesharing gives the purchaser permanent rights–in the form of a deed–to the property. About 85% of timeshare resorts sell under fee-ownership agreements. “Right-to-use” timesharing grants the purchaser the rights to the use of the property for an established period of time, such as 30 years. Under this type of timesharing, the purchaser does not receive a deed.

Rather than return to their home resort every year, many owners opt to exchange to one of thousands of other timeshare properties worldwide. For a small fee, companies like Resorts Condominiums International or Interval International perform these exchange services for member resorts and owners. Many owners say this exchange privilege was a key reason for buying. Many hotel chains in the timeshare industry form their own internal exchange system to complement the exchange company services.

Hotel companies have found that the basics of timesharing are an ideal fit for filling rooms. They have accomplished this by using existing facilities and services, as well as developing new properties and support structures. Their success stories tell the tale of why and how the hotel industry is tackling timesharing.

THE MARRIOTT STORY

While timesharing has been in the United States for just twenty years, Marriott has been around for more than six decades. In 1984, however, it entered the timesharing business and has turned the move into a very successful venture.

“We looked into it and in theory it was a sound idea,” says Bill Marriott. “But, timesharing in practice was often not up to our standards. If we weren’t able to effect rigid controls on the quality of timesharing that Marriott offered, we weren’t interested in doing it.”

That opportunity came in 1984, when American Resorts–which had recently opened a top-of-the-line timeshare project on Hilton Head Island called Monarch–initiated talks with Marriott. American Resorts’ concept of timesharing matched Marriott’s, but the company’s ability to carry that vision forward required major capital. Marriott had the capital.

Monarch’s success was an encouraging barometer and Marriott looked to new markets. Orlando was a very logical choice, because Marriott was already constructing a 192-acre resort complex: Mariott’s Orlando World Center.

Construction of Sabal Palms, the first of two timeshare resorts adjoining Marriott’s Orlando World Center, began in February 1986. The resort offered Marriott’s customarily luxurious surroundings and by the summer of 1987 the resort had sold all available weeks. Construction of Sabal Palms’ sister resort, Royal Palms, began a year later and recently sold out ahead of schedule.

Marriott’s fourth timeshare project was at Hilton Head Island’s signature location: Harbour Town. Construction began in 1987 and was completed in less than a year. Marriott’s Heritage Club at Harbour Town is keyed to the island’s exceptional sports facilities. Ownership includes special privileges at three golf courses and the Sea Pines Racquet Club.

The 30-villa resort’s 1,500-week inventory sold out in July 1988, just nine months after its initial offering. On the heels of this success, Marriott decided to build its third Hilton Head Island timeshare resort, Harbour Club at Harbour Town.

Marriott’s newest resort on Hilton Head Island is Sunset Pointe at Shelter Cove Harbour, which has already sold out. The resort features 25 timeshare residences, in addition to 86 existing luxury villas. Marriott is also developing a 25-acre oceanfront site for a new timeshare property, which is currently the Hilton Head Inn. The 288-unit property is called Grande Ocean Resort and started with brisk sales in April.

Marriott’s third Orlando timeshare resort, Cypress Harbour, is a 500-villa property near Sea World. It has carried forward Marriott’s successful Orlando timeshare vision and is experiencing brisk sales.

Marriott’s first resort in the west was Desert Springs Villas at Palm Desert, Arizona. The 236-villa resort is adjacent to Marriott’s Desert Springs Resort & Spa. Streamside at Vail in Colorado features 150 villas within two miles of Vail Village and North America’s largest ski mountain.

Its Paradise Island Beach Club in the Bahamas was Marriott’s first venture outside the U.S. The property offers 44 two-bedroom villas with an oceanfront location. Additional villas are planned. Marriott also recently announced that it plans a new timeshare resort on Barbados, next to Marriott’s Sam Lord’s Castle. It is called the Barbados Beach Club and started sales in February.

With so many successful timeshare properties, Marriott serves as an ideal example of hoteliers involved in timesharing. Marriott now has over 40,000 owners, with annual sales of more than $100 million. It offers many travel programs for their owners, including an excellent internal timeshare resort exchange program, exchanges throughout Marriott’s hotel and resort system, exchanges through one of the large exchange companies, one of the largest resale operations in the industry.

Marriott also recently announced that it had signed an agreement to manage a timeshare resort where it had no direct capital investment. The company expects this management contract to be the first of many. Other hotel companies already involved in timesharing or considering involvement are expect to follow suit.

Bob Miller, MORI’s executive vice president and general manager, feels that Marriott and other hotel companies can bring much to timeshare resort management. The advantages include: volume purchases and preventive maintenance for the property; collection of receivables and servicing of loans; a national rental program; access to the company’s reservations system; owner communications, systems support, and development; strong management; and much more.

HILTON TAKES ON TIMESHARING

In one of the most exciting timeshare industry developments since Marriott entered the business, Hilton Grand Vacations Company was recently formed. Though Hilton will probably not begin the construction of new timeshare properties until later this year it is already entering into the market aggressively.

As part of HGVC’s formation, it has joined as partners with a successful timeshare company in Florida, Mariner, and thus, already has 15 timeshare resorts and more than 22,000 owners. In addition to excellent resort properties, Mariner also runs many rental programs and a resale operation that has one of the highest volumes of any timeshare company in the United States.

As with many hotel companies entering the business, Hilton’s timeshare objectives include: creating a system of high-quality timeshare resorts throughout the world; establishing property management and hospitality services that include reservations, resale, and rental segments; and establishing a club to provide exchange services and access to its frequent guest program and other hotel industry programs.

Another key player in this joint venture is Ed McMullen Sr. of American Resorts. Mr. McMullen has been highly successful in timesharing and he brings much experience to Hilton. Both Mariner and McMullen have had great success with high-quality two-bedroom, two-bath units of about 1,200-square-feet and this policy will continue with Hilton and future construction.

Many resorts may be built on or near already-existing Hilton hotels and resorts throughout the world (e.g., the Caribbean, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Hilton Head Island, and Orlando). Owners will be able to enjoy all of the hotel or resort amenities and services. They will also have access to the Hilton HHonors program and other vacation packages offered by Hilton.

Hilton’s timeshare ownership program will be based on a points system, which has become very popular in the industry. The firm also plans to interface with Conrad Vacation Ownership, Hilton’s other timeshare program.

OTHER BIG NAMES IN TIMESHARING

Many other hospitality companies have reviewed the advantages of timesharing and are entering the business. Among many, two perfect examples are Disney and Ramada.

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) recently opened its first units at Walt Disney World. As with many companies in the industry, DVC tackled two major consumer concerns: flexibility and “hard-sell” sales techniques.

By purchasing a real estate interest in Disney Vacation Club Resort, guests automatically become members of the club and are entitled to a variety of exclusive benefits and privileges. Members also receive an annual allotment of vacation points, which may be used on vacations at the resort or at more than 100 worldwide resorts currently offered through a “Member Getaways” program.

“The flexibility of choosing among several different vacation experiences is what sets the Disney Vacation Club apart from many similar plans,” says General Manager Mark Pacala. “The vacation points system allows members to select the type of vacation best suited to their needs, particularly as those needs change from year to year.” Each year, members choose how to use their vacation points, either for one long vacation or a series of short getaways.

For a one-time purchase price and annual dues, guests may purchase a real estate interest in the resort, which expires after 50 years. The minimum purchase price is currently $11,730.

According to Mr. Pacala, the Disney timeshare project is substantially ahead of projections. The entrance and success of Disney serves as more proof that timesharing is a viable option for many hotel companies.

This past spring, Ramada International also entered into the timeshare business in the Bahamas. Through the purchase of a Divi timeshare resort near Nassau, Ramada is testing the waters to see if timesharing should be a part of a larger program for them. Divi recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with plans to concentrate on its five Caribbean resorts and ten timeshare locations.

With 50 units, the Ramada International timesharing project is part of the 295-suite Ramada South Ocean. They offer both floating-time and fixed-week units.

With this kind of company, the timeshare industry is really coming of age. Hotel officials obviously consider it an excellent way to fill rooms with happy vacationers.

You may have heard the phrase “the money is in the list”, or another similar saying. The reason behind this is that with your list you can target customers that are interested in your product or service. The likelihood of a successful relationship with your customers and to build your list is enhanced with the power of autoresponders.

Internet marketing is made easier with the use of autoresponders. They can fulfil tasks that would otherwise be difficult to complete and also be moulded to fit in with your marketing plan. For example, you may decide that as part of your online marketing efforts you would like to offer a 5-part e-course on your niche area. Without an autoresponder this would be very difficult, effectively and professionally anyway. However, with an autoresponder in your marketing arsenal, you are able to achieve this by automatically sending out your e-course spread over a number of days, keeping your customers interested and eager for the next part of the course. You are then able to target these customers with your future products and services, and will have hopefully built up the trust with your customer and conveyed to them that you are an expert in your field.

Once your autoresponder has been setup, you can rest assured that your emails and follow-up emails are running on autopilot. This saves you a lot of time, which can be spent on your other marketing work.

The number of uses for an autoresponder is vast. You could also set up an autoresponder to deal with invoicing if need be. There are many creative ways that you can use your autoresponder to build customer relations and make more sales.

It is wide belief that a potential customer must hear your message several times before they will commit and make a purchase. This is made possible with an autoresponder and most probably unachievable without one. You’ve probably experienced the scenario when you have received an email from a marketer with a hard sales pitch, to try and force you into buying their product with one message, but you have more likely than not declined the offer. Use an autoresponder and you can take a much more subtle approach to gain the trust of the prospect first off.

A good idea is to build interest among prospects gradually, starting by providing information on the topic that your product is related to. You can then progress from there with each message to include how your product is going to be of benefit to the customer and how it can solve their problem. Do not merely send a few emails saying the respondent should buy your product, else they will be left with questions such as “what will the product do?” and “how will it help me?”. You need to provide informative messages on the topic and how your product is going to solve a problem to keep the potential customer interested and for an end result of convincing the person to make a purchase.

Good practice is to concentrate on how succesfull marketers may contact you. Keep note of the methods they use and whether they work on you, and you can then mould a plan on the most effective methods that you have encountered and put them into practice with your own efforts.

The power of autoresponders to internet marketing is immense. You can see how they can be used to automate marketing efficiently, however they must be used correctly in order to reap the benefits and succeed online. For a wealth of information regarding autoresponders, take a look at .autoresponderinfo.info

Positive thinking can help you reap many benefits in your internet business.

Through positive thinking you can achieve better focus, more readily recognize new opportunities, better define your business goals, build up your belief in yourself and your product/service, and more actively seek new ideas.

Positive thinking can help you keep your focus by teaching you to concentrate on what you can accomplish.

Once you believe that you can accomplish a goal, your attention becomes more focused and your determination increases.

You can also use your positive thinking skills to help you recognize new opportunities. With a positive belief in the future, you will become more open to different possibilities.

This belief in what is possible will allow you see certain situation as opportunities for growth and inspiration.

Positive thinking can also come in handy when you set out to define your business goals.

As you learned in the earlier chapters, goals that are set using positive thinking guidelines are easier to achieve and progress towards. You can also use these skills to better define those goals.

The more specific a goal is the simpler the steps are to reach achievement. When you view a goal as being simple to complete, you encourage your progress toward that goal.

Anyone who has ever attempted to set up and run an internet business knows that the undertaking comes with pitfalls. These pitfalls can be better weathered if you are armed with positive thinking skills.

Through positive thinking skills you can expand upon your belief in yourself and your business, which will lead to a better attitude and the belief that your business can grow and flourish. During slow times or times of difficulty, use your affirmation, visualization and goal setting skills to redefine your business and make the changes that will lead you to success.

Finally, you can use your positive thinking skills to help you seek new ideas for your internet business. Whether you need a way to improve a product or a new way to expedite the shipping of a product, you can use your skills to brainstorm for new ideas. By believing in the impossible and putting your positive attitude to work, you will be able to find inspiration in things that others dismiss.

Negative thinkers have a tendency to see a new idea and think, “There is no way that will ever work”. By immediately dismissing the idea, they miss out on the opportunities it can afford. Positive thinkers, however, see an idea and think, “Well, that may not be the exact answer I am looking for, but let’s work through the possibilities and see what we come up with”.

This ability to be open to an idea and eventually expand upon it or reinvent it to suit your exact needs will enable you to benefit from ideas that may not have been positive to start with.

If you don’t want to create your own digital products then purchasing information products with resale rights is a very good option for you. Although there are many products available, it it is essential that you are aware of the pros and cons involved in making the best decision for your business.

The main benefits of selling digital / info products are:

* Only pay the cost once as additional copies are free

* No physical products to store, package and deliver

* Instant zero cost delivery to your customers

* Order processing can be totally automated

Here are 4 easy ways to get your products:

* Earn commission as an affiliate selling someone else’s product

* Purchase resale rights to someone else’s product

* Hire someone to create them for you (Ghost Writer)

* Create your own ebooks

If you are not selling through affiliate links you will need to have your own mini-sales site to promote your products and download them to your customers.

Purchasing Resale Rights Products

This is by far the easiest way to find suitable products to sell from your mini sales website. There are many sites that offer products for sale with resale rights and you should have no difficulty in finding suitable products for your niche.

A simple Google search will identify hundreds of resale rights products. You should include your niche in your search to make the results more relevant e.g. “health resale rights products” (without the quotes of course). This search returned over 6 million results, so you can see that there is no shortage of potential resale rights products.

What’s Good About Resale Rights Products?

* You pay once, then get to keep 100% of the profits

* Usually supplied with ready made mini-sales site

What’s The Downside of Resale Rights Products?

* Lots of competition as many others selling the same product

* Competitors selling at cut prices can ruin your profit opportunities

* The market can already be saturated before you get started

Although there are some serious drawbacks, selling resale rights products is still a viable proposition, as most of the problems can be overcome.

Tips On Making Your Resale Product Unique

* Avoid products that have flooded the market and try and find ones that have limited distribution. They will cost more, but in the long run you can make a lot more sales and money from them.

* Combine with other products to create your own unique package.

* Customize the supplied mini-site to make it your own unique product.

The first thing you need to do is get some help in the form of step by step instructions and coaching videos designed specifically for newbies.

Article marketing is the number one internet marketing tool; it is recognized as the most effective and cheapest way to drive traffic to a website. Articles maximize your website exposure, generate valuable back links for better search engines positioning and result in traffic generation to you website.

Many internet marketers grasped the concept of traffic generation with articles but the problem is article writing is not an easy task for many people. Although there are people who are able to complete an article for about 500 words in less then 10 minutes but many need hours to write once. And many find that article writing is so scaring and give up this powerful technique to drive free and targeted traffic to other website.

In actual fact, article writing is not that difficult and your can complete an article easily if you know the golden formula of article writing. Below are some guidelines that can help you to generate your article easily:

1. Have knowledge about the topic

The first thing you are going to need to write a good article is some knowledge on the topic. Remember you don’t have to be an expert on the subject; all you are looking for is enough information so that you can whip up an article on it. You can get more related information on the topic you going to write from any search engines; just type in the keyword of your desired article, open at least 3 sites from the front page that look to be the most informative and read them to get more information for your desire article.

2. Outline The 3-5 Points of The Topic

Let say you would like to write an article about fat loss, what you are looking for here is 3-5 points about fat loss, no in depth information, just 3 or 5 points, or aspects of fat loss. For example, you might find something about fat loss program, fat loss with special exercise program or how to control the diet for fat loss & etc, note down these 4 aspects in a text file. From the page that you saw these points, read the relevant information in as much depth as you need so you get some ideas for your content.

3. Give A Good Title For Your Article

The title is the headline of your article and as such has the job of piquing your reader’s interest and imploring them to want to know more. Hence, don’t overlook the powerful of article. Whether your potential readers want to choose your articles other other’s articles are depend on your article title; thus your article title should be "eye catching" enough to draw the attention of your potential readers.

A great article title should contain phases that draw the interest of your potential readers, such phases include:

• Words that generate curiosity like "What you need to know", "…secret revealed"
• Promise a benefit like "how to", "Discover", "Learn to" & etc
• Pose a question which may include "How can", "What if", "Why does", "When is" & etc.

4. Article Summary/Teaser Copy

Most of article directories and websites will display the article summary below the article title. It will act as the door opening key for read to enter into your article. Summary should not be too long, 2-5 sentences based on your key points to lead your readers to read your full article. This summary may include in the end of your article for closing purpose.

5. Article Content Make Easy With The 3-5 Points Noted Down Earlier

A 500 words article may contain 3 to 5 paragraphs and if you have 4 points noted down during your information search; then you can divide each point to 1 paragraph. Start the first paragraph with a brief introduction on your topic or information that you are going to delivery to your readers; then, go into detail on each point and limit each point to a paragraph.

You will find that with the main points drafted down before start writing your article, you will finish writing the article fast and easy because the perfectly structured nature you will know exactly what you have to write in each sentence of each paragraph from start to finish.

In Summary

After all, article writing is not that scary. You do not need to be an expert on the subject; all you are looking for is enough information so that you can whip up an article on it. The golden formula of writing is not other than "Know what you want to write", "Get the related information in points form", "Add an introduction", "Connect all these points together" and finally close it with a "Summary". You are done with an article.

On Friday, the 26th of August, the concept of the Million Dollar Home Page appeared and it revolutionized online advertising forever. The concept, created by Alex Tew, was simple, for one dollar you can purchase one pixel and there will only be one million pixels available. A minimum purchase is a 100 pixel block, which will link back to whichever website you specify. At the beginning it was not clear it would work, but amazingly it did. It came out of nowhere and became unbelievable successful within a span of few months. Once the website had reached the awaited million dollar mark, the number of sites that copied the idea would almost match that amount. Scattering all over the World Wide Web, none of these duplicate sites proved to be successful as they all began to fail miserably. Some sites would be a simple twist on the idea, and others would be a direct duplicate with a different name. Regardless, it remained clear that no one would find the same success and the hope for another site to reap the same outcome became bleak. Was it simply a fad, or was it just a matter of time before new, and more exciting and innovative ideas would appear?

It was mid March, seven months after Alex Tew’s creation, when the next big idea began to appear on the Internet. The game is different this time, but focuses strictly on innovative advertising. The idea of Take the Spot, imagined and created by Pratik Naik, began to be gain popularity all over the Internet. It has already been proclaimed as the next Million Dollar idea. Rightfully so, Take the Spot’s growth has already been staggering within the first ten days of opening. Receiving over thousands of hits and hundreds of dollars, the website is off to a phenomenal start.

We had the pleasure to interview Mr. Naik and asked him to tell us more about his inspiration for the creation of this idea, “I wanted to create a source of advertising that thought of the people first, and not only focusing on my personal gains. Sites that are simply made to copy the success of Alex Tew do not work because people know that it does not benefit the investor, but only the site owner and they are smart enough to see that. It was about time advertisers found a website that could first and foremost benefit them. I took examples of many successful business models along with popular websites and analyzed their success, I found a formula that not only worked, but enhanced it so that it would benefit the advertisers even more. I wanted to create the most cost effective way to advertise on the Internet, and this is what I have come up with. Most sites out there are only made for personal benefit, so I turned the focus around to you, the buyer/advertiser. With the mindset of an investor looking for the most cost effective solution, Take the Spot was made.”

With innovative websites such as Take the Spot and Million Dollar Home Page, focused to help advertisers bring in more traffic while only spending a minimal amount, the future of creative advertising seems as though it has just begun. Some people believe it is just a fad, and others believe it is here to stay. As long as more people with innovative minds such as Alex Tew and Pratik Naik continue to develop their ideas, this trend in creative advertising will become the norm.

For those of you taking marketing classes, I am sure you are all very familiar with the 4 P’s of marketing. They are Products, Place (Distribution), Promotion and Price. When you are marketing your website, you need to be aware of this four P. This four P helps you market your site effectively, just like when you are opening a retail store.

Product. What is your site’s product or service? Are you selling services, tangible goods or both? Are you giving out free service to turn your customers to buy your products? or vice versa. Are you giving both free service and products to drive visitors which will drive your advertising revenue? Whatever you do, it is crucial to know your products so that you won’t forget why you do all the promotion.

Place. This is the distribution channel of your products or services. If you are giving out free contents, make sure you distribute it well. If you merely post your content on your site, you are not using maximum distribution. Furthermore, if you are using unrelated forum or submission service to distribute your content, then you are wasting time. For example if you are distributing content about how to choose a credit card, you should be submitting your content to article submission service that specializes in finance first before distributing it elsewhere. This way, you will get a bunch of interested viewers instead of casual visitors.

Promotion. One way I can think of is to pay a text-ad at another website to describe the superiority of your product or service. Promotion normally involves spending money. Again, you need to focus your promotion on your core audience instead of blindly spending money on general audience.

Price. This is the pricing strategy of your product or service. The pricing strategy is very dependent on the other P of online marketing. If you are establishing yourself as a high-end mortgage lenders from the way you describe, distribute and promote your products, then your price should reflect that.

In online marketing, the ‘place’ aspect costs little or no money. This amazes me. For example, to create awareness of your website, you can list it to hundreds to thousands of free web directories. For content distribution, you can sign up and submit your article for free at various article submission service.

Social networking sites such as YouTube