My Buy Essay

Posts Tagged ‘marketing’

When most people begin any kind of business they seem to have a lot of expectations. They think the money will come rolling the moment they place their adds, get a webpage, or spend on advertising and a promotion campaign, etc. If you have a business you pretty much can tell that that is not necessarily the case. However, this particular article I am going to dedicate it to Internet business. I figure, you are online reading this article right now, maybe you may want to learn a little bit more about how to sell your products or services online.

By the way, don’t think because you are a construction worker for example, that the internet could not be of use to you. You get a little creative and you’ll be surprise with the ideas that can come about that could help you generate income online. But let’s continue with the article shall we?

I am not going to deny the fact that a lot of profit can be generated in short periods of time. It has happened in the past and will keep happening in the future. There is an old saying, “There’s nothing more powerful than an idea who’s time has come!”

In other words, you can have a very lucrative idea, but the market is not ready for it, therefore you may end up loosing your investment just to find out months later that that very same idea becomes a huge success for someone else. Basically, being at the right place at the right time certainly helps. And you will ALWAYS be at the right place and the right time if you listen to your heart. To the guiding Spirit within.

Then off course, there is the other side of the coin. Having a great idea, being at the right place at the right time, but not being able to capitalize on it. Well, this is what this article is going to address. We are going to explore the reasons why people buy! And I am going to dissect each topic briefly so you can have a much deeper understanding as to how all of the following pieces of the puzzle fit together.

First, I am going to address the importance of the word VALUE. When you have something to offer where there is an open market for it, and more than likely there is a demand for your product, your efforts revolve around advertising. If what you are advertising is being offered by other businesses, then you have what is called competition. That being the case, you have to be able to create an urgency for people to buy from you, otherwise you could loose your potential customers to your competition, not because their’s are necessarily better. But because of the fact that not everyone buys on the first visit. Sometimes customers need a little bit of time before they make a decision. So if you already exposed them to what you have to offer and later on they see the same product on someone else’s site, they may be ready at that moment to purchase. They may end up ordering from someone else that product or service which you took the time to educate them on the first place.

Since internet surfers are what it’s called impulse buyers, you got to be prepared so that when a potential customer visits your site, she/he is ready to make the decision at that moment!

If you are advertising a video tape that teaches people how to market products online, you need to figure out ways to increase the “VALUE” of what you have to offer. You need to answer questions such as;

* Why is your video better than the rest?

* What is in your video that you feel would make someone say, “I want this!”

* What are they gaining from ordering?

Since the beginning of time, marketing is all about figuring out ways to sell people on the idea that if they acquire whatever is you have to offer, they will “gain” something from it. If you have been subscribed to few newsletters and have read marketing articles, they summarize what I have just said in one word. BENEFITS. If from the very beginning you can point out what is it that your visitors will gain from your product or services, you increase dramatically the value of your product.

This is not the only way to add value to your product. But this is the best way to establish rapport and generate interest. So you must always begin by letting them know how your product or service is going to make them feel, or improve their life, or help them win, etc.

Once you have been able to add value to your product or service, honesty, integrity and credibility play a very important role. Maybe right at the moment of purchase, depending on how much your asking price is, they may wonder, “how do I know this person knows what she’s talking about?”

So how do you add integrity? If you are an expert on something, can you tell me about your experience? Do you walk your talk? Does your site reflects what you talk about? For example, don’t go telling me how using frames and JAVA language can work against search engine placements and how bad they are for me, meanwhile, your site uses both, JAVA and frames. To me it means one of two things, you don’t know what you are talking about and therefore just passing along what others have told you, or there is something you know that you are not telling me.

Does that mean that if you do not have a great resume people wont buy from you? Absolutely NOT! Your resume could be your website. Here is what I mean, if someone visits your site and you don’t have a degree as a nutritionist, but your site is filled with very convincing articles and valuable information that shows that you know what you are talking about, that is enough to add credibility.

Let me take it one step further, if you create a very powerful sales letter, you can have your visitor so engaged in the information that she/he wont even bother to figure who you are, or what you do. However, to pull that off, you must offer a product that has great value, and if possible, a money back guaranteed!

All you need to do is to come from a place of honesty and service, and as long as you can show credible ways in which your product will benefit your market, you should be able to sell your product(s) and/or service(s) online.

So you have something of value and you have been able to gain credibility. What can you do to add more substance to your product or service?

Let’s say you are giving a speech and want to quote an article regarding your subject matter which you have written on a piece of paper, if you hold the paper and read the words from it, it holds more credibility than if you were merely saying the words. Why that is? I don’t know. But that is just one of those interesting mysteries we come across every once in awhile.

So by having someone saying something positive about your product or service, it helps add credibility which in turn helps also increase the value of what you are offering.

What we have done so far is, we have strategically created leverage. We have given a solid foundation as to why people not only should, but must obtain whatever it is you are offering. Assuming that you are placing all these strategies in the RIGHT ORDER, positive results should be way within your reach.

So what makes people buy is:

* Value-Benefits (What am I gaining from this.)

* Value-Honesty (How do I know this is true.)

* Value-Endorsements (What others have to say about this.)

Notice that I used the word “value” along with every example because value is what people consider before obtaining anything. Benefits, honesty and integrity as well as endorsements, even when each play a role in itself, they all have once thing in common. They “add value” to your product.

If you are wrong everyone will have forgotten what you said by the time it happens anyway. Having gotten that major disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look at the industry and try to make some sense out of it.

The industry really got started almost thirty years ago in the United States. Many real estate developers lured by the vision of being able to sell a $100,000 condo for $500,000 jumped in. Not realizing they were in the marketing business in which they were inexperienced rather than the development business they didn’t do all that well and many went under. The few who really understood what they were doing did very well. Some built sizable timeshare empires.

Then the industry started to mature. The major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton, etc. decided they were losing way too many of the vacation lodging customers to timesharing. They also had a perfect vehicle to insure the brand loyalty they had been spending so much to achieve. With their huge resources they effectively drove all but a few of the smaller developers out of the business. The largest independent developers are still doing very well in spite of this. Now where does the industry go from here?

Prediction #1: The chains and the largest developers will continue to grow and to offer more widely appealing products such as points systems and multiple locations. Their pricing levels will be in the $12,000 to $25,000 range per yearly timeshare week. The biennial sales (every other year) will still enable them to also gain the lower end of this market.

In the meantime, the developers overlooked a simple, logical by-product of their millions of sold timeshares. That is the resale market. Some of these original timeshares were sold twenty-five years ago to people who were in their seventies at the time. They simply cannot use the product any more. Further, since it was/is a real estate product which theoretically never dies, there are many good reasons to have to sell and move on.

General real estate brokers took a look at this timeshare resale market where the whole resale price is about a third of a selling broker’s three- percent commission on a house and simply ignored it. Owners wishing to resell then had nowhere to turn. There was no marketing system. As a result, prices plummeted. People who had not really paid too much to the developer (after all they didn’t really make a killing) could now sell for only a fraction of what they had paid.

Enter the scammer. These folks who seem to always be the first into any new arena promised the timeshare sellers anything they wanted to hear in return for an advance fee of from $300 to $5,000. If you went for one of these deals don’t feel too bad. So did I and I should know better. I sent $350 to a company in Florida who put an ad in the Orlando shopping news for $9. That was the whole shake of the dice. It was also when I decided to provide viable solution to the resale problem…namely to provide a straight-ahead resale brokerage which would get paid when the timeshare was sold. Fortunately there were others around the country that thought the same way.

The resale business is now developing along these lines. As more honest brokers get into the resale business, they will become a group who will drive out the bad apples. They may even get something like a Resale Multiple Listing Service together. There are already some indications of this on the Internet.

Prediction #2: The good guys will drive out the bad guys.

Years ago, condominiums were in about the same place as timeshares are today. Eastern lenders wouldn’t finance condos and many brokers wouldn’t sell them. After all, how could you sell or finance part of a building? Now the same argument is heard in relation to time in part of a building. It too will pass and the time will come when it is completely normal. Further, the price of resale timeshares, which is now at ridiculously low levels, will increase as they become more accepted. The gap between the pricing of new timeshares and used timeshares will narrow.

There are already cases where timeshares which were bought for investment have worked out well for the owners. Just don’t buy that argument if you are currently looking at new timeshare product.

Prediction #3: The future looks bright for resort timesharing. As time goes on and inflation continues (which it always does) timeshares will become more valuable just as primary housing has proven to be in the long run. If you are not yet on board, you couldn’t pick a better time. If you already are, it might be a good time to consider adding to your vacation happiness. Anyone joining in now will have a hard time going wrong.

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.

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.

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.

The multiple ownership of individual weeks brought with it the guarantee of reservations for those who wanted to ski in the area. It was an immediate success. By the 1970′s some faltering condominium projects in St. Thomas, Fort Lauderdale and Puerto Rico were converted over to vacation ownership and thereafter timesharing became a viable vacation alternative.

Once the concept of vacation ownership was embraced by the United States it began to gain wide acceptance by the public. Sales jumped to over 50 million by the mid 1970′s and has climbed to more than 2 billion annually today. Vacation ownership has enjoyed substantial growth over the years with approximately 3.3 million timeshares sold since 1980. Currently there are over 5,000 vacation ownership resorts in over 75 countries around the world.

Exchanging a vacation ownership week in one resort for that of another resort was introduced in 1974 and thereafter timesharing offered variety and flexibility in the vacation experience. Although there are many exchange companies available which provide excellent service, the two major forces are Resort Condominiums International (RCI) which has approximately 3,250 member resorts and Interval International (II) with approximately 1,600 member resorts. Combined, these two companies provided over 1,600,000 exchanges last year.

During a 30 year span, the industry has grown from small (15-20 unit ) hotel conversions to the high quality condominium resorts of today. The evolution of the industry from scattered entrepreneurs to well managed professional development companies has brought with it a noticeable change for the better. Definitive leaders have emerged and created standards and ethics for management, marketing and sales practices. One such organization is the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) who’s members are required to comply with the established “Code of Ethics.” The recent entrance into the marketplace by major hospitality chains such as Disney, Hilton, Ramada, and Marriott has greatly enhanced the quality and image of the industry. Vacation ownership resorts of today are luxurious, spacious and well located.

By the advent of these stronger and more professional development and management companies along with the weeding out the less desirable developers and marketers, the industry is experiencing a noticeable swing from a historically negative to a very positive public image. One of the industry’s leading analysts (Ragatz and Associates) concluded that the majority of timeshare owners are very satisfied with their purchase and in fact, many own multiple weeks. The future of vacation ownership is very optimistic and has tremendous potential.

What Is Vacation Ownership ?

Vacation Ownership “Timesharing” is the right to use specific weeks of a resort during a specific time period. Simply put, it is the pre-purchase of a vacation. It is important to understand that vacation ownership is a commodity which is purchased to be enjoyed and used over the years. One should never purchase a timeshare with the intent of reselling it for a profit. Vacations are holidays for which we spend money to relax and rejuvenate; they are not investments.

Ownership of a timeshare is very similar to ownership of a condominium except that your rights are limited to a certain week during the year. The form of ownership can be Deeded, Leased or a License.

The License is somewhat different in that it is most commonly a membership in a club. Providing you are a member in good standing, you have the right to use the club and all it’s amenities. Be sure to read and understand all the terms and conditions of your club membership before you make the decision to buy. Most vacation ownership consists of either a deeded interest or a leased interest for a specific number of years.

A Deeded interest is owned outright forever. It an absolute right which can be sold, leased, or even willed to your heirs. Most timeshares which exist today are deeded ownership.

The Leased interest is much like an apartment lease except right to use it is restricted to a specific week during the year. Upon the expiration of the lease term your right to use will generally terminate and return to the resort. With a leased interest you should know the terms and conditions of the lease prior to making the decision to buy.

The time of your use can be either Fixed or Floating. Fixed time is a specific week during the year usually defined by a number. Generally the week will begin on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and is given a number starting with the first week in January an run through the end of December. (Example – week 14 might be April 7 through April 13.)

Floating time means you have the right to select any available week within a certain season of the year. Therefore, if you own a summer season week you could pick any week which falls within the

defined summer months. However, competition between existing owners for prime weeks in very desirable location can impact availability. It is important to find which type of use best fits your specific travel needs.

Each resort is different and you should ask if there are other benefits which are available to its owners. Many resorts offer special reduced rental rates for extra nights or us of other resorts which are owned by the developer. This can add to you flexibility and provide substantial saving on vacation costs. Additionally, consider carefully how and where you normally vacation. This is very important in making your decision about where you should buy and what you will be trading.

Important Facts About Vacation Ownership

- Timeshare is one of the fastest growing areas of the travel and tourism industry.

- Timeshare owners live in more than 200 countries around the world.

- Major brands now involved in timeshare internationally include Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Sheraton, Ramada and De Vere.

- On a worldwide basis, more than 12 million people took a timeshare vacation in 1999

- There are around 5,500 timeshare resorts throughout the world in more than 90 countries.

- The industry is worth in excess of $6 billion annually. The top 10 timeshare companies alone reported combined sales in excess of $2.64 billion in 1999.

- During 1999 each of the top 10 performing timeshare companies worldwide recorded sales in excess of $100 million.

- RCI, the world’s leading timeshare exchange organization, arranged vacations for seven million people worldwide in 2000, making it one of the world’s largest travel companies.

Timeshare Today And In The Future

The modern timeshare industry continues to expand at a rapid rate, with new markets opening up in Asia and Eastern Europe and consolidation prevalent in the established markets of Western Europe and North America.

Firmly established as a key sector of the mainstream vacation market, the multi-billion dollar timeshare industry now embraces modest entrepreneurs and mighty corporations. Its global reach with close to 6,000 resorts in more than 90 countries extends from Spain to China, Mexico to South Africa.

Some of the world’s biggest names in the hospitality and leisure sector now have timeshare interests – Hilton, Sheraton, Disney, Ramada, Four Seasons, Hyatt, Westin, Ritz-Carlton and Radisson. At the same time, the list of well-known European companies with timeshare interests continues to grow – RIU Hotels (50% owned by TUI – Touristik Union International, Europe’s largest tour operator), Sol Melia, De Vere, Macdonald Hotels in partnership with Barratts (the UK’s Number One house builder), Mondi Ferienclub in Germany.

Quality developments around the world are enjoyed by millions of owners, their families and friends, making the phenomenon of timeshare a success story without equal. In 1999 over 12 million people took a timeshare vacation.

Timeshare owners come from over 190 countries but more of them live in the United States than anywhere else in the world – 47%! In fact the US has the lion’s share of timeshare resorts – over 1,500. And that accounts for more than 37% of the total worldwide. In the western world, timeshare is now a highly organized and regulated industry. Trade bodies such as the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and the Organisation for Timeshare in Europe (OTE) work to apply codes of conduct and ensure that expansion is based on sound commercial practice and ethical standards.

There is also considerable regional, national and international legislation in place which aims to help protect the rights of potential purchasers and discourage the use of high-pressure sales tactics.

Timeshare in the future The worldwide timeshare industry looks set to grow in popularity and log record sales in the months and years ahead. Social trends mean more people have more time and money to devote to travel and the concept of vacation ownership. In many parts of the world, regulation has given timeshare a firm footing, helping to reassure and protect purchasers with a series of consumer protection measures.

Since its inception, timeshare has undergone a metamorphosis, according to Timeshare: Coming of Age, an independent report published in October, 1999. With the advent of the points-based system, the original real estate concept has been transformed into “a flexible, pre-paid vacation membership concept, placing timeshare where it belongs – in the mainstream of travel, tourism, hospitality and leisure”.

In 10 years time who knows where the next development will be?

Marketing for the internet is an entirely different field when compared to marketing in the real world. Although, just like marketing for corporations in the real world, many of the same theories apply.

At the start of every business, you should have a business plan. This will undoubtedly be different for different companies and different types of industries. In some cases, you don’t have as much planning to do, but in others you’ll end up with a 200 page document.

Now, when starting an online business, or even when just branching off and creating a website for your business, you’ll have lots to plan. For starters, what type of website works best? Many internet marketers will tell you that first and foremost, you need to have a blog based on your industry. If you’re running a company that sells candy, start a blog on how candy is made. This is becoming more and more essential because it turns your website into a living, breathing thing. People will be able to leave comments and you’ll be able to receive feedback on your product.

Blogging is a great way to start an online business because not only can people leave comments and feedback, but you can write about other people and others can write about you. This is the basics of linkbuilding. Essentially, the more that other people talk about you, the more popular your website will become, most notably in search engine rankings.

One of the biggest mistakes that online businesses make is to put up advertising on their site. This is fine once you’re established, but is absolutely never okay when just starting out. It generally takes well over a year for any business to start making money through the internet. It will be worse for your company to try and force it than to try and make money right away. In fact, using ads can actually hurt your reputation as a legitimate company in the eyes of many online communities.

Once you have everything running smoothly, you should start using social media marketing. Submit your blog entries to StumbleUpon and Digg and Reddit. Get friends to help rate your blog posts and you’ll start to see a huge increase in traffic. A good estimate of what you should aim for is 2000 hits per day.

A few of our customers told us about their creative ownership methods and use. They are very creative ideas on building and effectively using a timeshare portfolio.

There is a simple idea to most of these portfolios: Travel to the nicest places they could find as inexpensively as possible. They had found that timeshares let them do this. Their secret is to build a timeshare portfolio.

One customer has four consecutive weeks of timeshares at four different resorts around the Gulf Coast of Florida. Each year the customer and his wife travel to Florida and spend four weeks at four nice resorts. Their total housing costs for four weeks is under $2000 (based on the total maintenance fees they pay).

The couple is retired, so they have more free time than most people. But their idea is great &ndash and cost effective. They are also not alone.

We see more and more people who recognize the value of a timeshare and then purchase multiple properties. These properties to give them cost effective travel at great resorts.

Here are a couple Timeshare Portfolio models we have seen our savvy customers use:

The “Expressway” Portfolio

The scenario given at the beginning of this article is a perfect example of an Expressway Portfolio. In this model, the timeshare property owner wishes to visit a specific geographic repeatedly. The Expressway Portfolio is usually composed of fixed-week properties in the same general area. People who build this portfolio like the idea of spending their vacation time in a specific area.

Customers who favor the Expressway Portfolio model often have children or extended families that frequently travel together. Often, the resorts are within a half-day car ride from home. Since the resorts are close, travel expenses are kept to a minimum.

The Dartboard Portfolio

This Dartboard Portfolio is the model of choice for “empty nesters” or those who have more time and flexibility. This portfolio emphasizes properties acquired primarily for trading, or floating weeks at desirable resorts. Each year’s vacation planning is like throwing a dart at a dartboard.

Each year the Dartboard Portfolio owner works the Exchange companies and resorts to create the best vacations possible. The property owner uses low-maintenance properties and exchanges them for more expensive resort properties. This property owner also uses floating weeks at a favorite resort and reserves each year for the best time possible.

The Dartboard Portfolio usually consists of a “foundational resort” that may have cost more than other timeshare properties to acquire. We see many customers in the West using Hawaii properties as “foundational resorts”. They cost more, but they will be visited almost every year.

The portfolio is then filled in with trading properties. These are usually two- bedroom units that have low cost annual maintenance fees (typically under $400). These trading units are banked as early in the portfolio-building process. The Portfolio Owner then shops the exchange company for the possible best trade.

Factor in Your Available Vacation Time

There is no best portfolio; every person’s situation is different. However, we have noticed that portfolio owners keep a few factors in mind. The first factor they consider is available time.

They ask themselves several key questions:

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How many weeks of vacation do they have each year?

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How many vacation weeks can they actually take each year?

*

How many of these weeks do they travel between vacation sites?

In other words, how many vacation weeks does the portfolio owner need to stay home.

Here’s a suggested rule of thumb: use 50% of your available vacation time with a timeshare. As your vacation time increases, add additional timeshare weeks.

Estimate Your Cost

Cost is the second key factor. The type of portfolio you choose to build is affected by the cost of travel. If you live in the Midwest, are you ready to pay for yearly airfare to Hawaii? Would it make more sense to acquire a Caribbean timeshare for a little more money up front (but lower annual travel costs)?

You can also start with an Expressway Portfolio and transition to a Dartboard Portfolio. As your family matures, you can start to use your existing timeshare weeks more for trade. You may even want to create a hybrid portfolio with some properties at fixed locations to be kept over the long term and some are used solely for trading.

Focus on the Reward: More Control, More Fun

The best part of building a portfolio is the control you have over purchasing properties. When the right properties are purchased, the focus of your vacation is on the experience, not on the expense.

You spend your time enjoying wonderful places with family and friends &ndash and that’s the reason for owning timeshare properties in the first place.

Many marketing campaigns for products hook a potential customer in with a catchy advertisement. The hook may come in the form of a slogan or picture. While snappy text and pictorial design might make a customer take a second look, it does not always convert a customer lead into a sale. What Internet marketing tools can you utilize to convert more sales leads into actual customers?

The answer is multimedia marketing. What is multimedia marketing? Let’s define “multimedia”. Multimedia is media that involves an advertisement that “talks and moves”. For example, multimedia contains more than just text and/or pictures. Multimedia advertisements contain audio and video elements. By adding audio and video ingredients to your marketing campaign you will see your sales conversion rates soar.

What exactly are audio and video multimedia marketing elements? Audio elements include voice-overs, sound effects, and music. For example, when a potential customer visits your web page the first thing that catches their eye is the beautiful graphics and text information. At this point your customer needs to feel an emotional connection with your company, products, and services. This is where audio elements play a role.

You can provide music that sets the tone for your product or services. Perhaps you are in the party planning business and you have an advertisement about planning children’s birthday parties. You can play fun, upbeat music to mimic the atmosphere of a birthday party.

You could also add in a button that allows website visitors to listen to your actual voice. You can demonstrate your passion for your product and money back guarantee through your voice. Potential customers will feel that their experience has been more personable. This allows them to feel more comfortable with your company, services, and products. A wonderful side effect of this safe feeling is increased customer sales.

Video elements are another tool you can employ in your marketing campaign. You can create your own Internet commercial. You can demonstrate how to use your product through a video. You could even video testimonials from happy customers. A video will allow potential customers to attach a “face” to the product or services you are selling.

You are building a relationship with your customers when you make their Internet experience rich and satisfying. Plus, did you know that adding an audio element to your website can increase your response rate by 300%. Wow! That is a massive increase that you just can’t ignore.

Another great benefit to creating audio and video components for your website is that you can build CDs and DVDs from these files. You could create reports on specific topics and burn them to CDs and DVDs. Then you can sell these products to customers.

The Internet is ready to handle sophisticated audio and video files. Plus, Internet technology is improving every day. You can create these audio and video components in the comfort of your own home or office. It really is that simple. The effort you put into creating your own multimedia marketing campaign on the Internet is well worth it when your sales conversion rate skyrockets.

Many marketers have been shifting their marketing budgets to the web over the past few years. Marketing online allows you to target specific audiences and easily track return on investment, commonly referred to as ROI. Unlike traditional marketing methods, results of Internet marketing campaigns are almost immediate. This allows you to better evaluate what elements of your campaign are producing results and which are not. When buying online media, you must be willing to shift your marketing dollars to the online methods that produce a positive return.

To be successful at Internet marketing, you must understand the essential secrets of Internet marketing. These secrets can allow you to achieve success by finding the right audience, communicating your message properly, and leading consumers down the path to purchase. These secrets include:

1. Website Directory Listings. Before you begin any marketing campaign, make sure that the website you’re promoting has been listed in the common directories such as DMOZ, Yahoo!, and Google. Even if you’re using a marketing page off of the root directory of your website, be sure that the primary site is listed. This ensures that prospects can continue to find your marketing pages long after you’ve launched your campaign.

2. Generating Traffic. In order to realize a return on your investment, you need to generate traffic to your marketing pages. There are a number of ways to do so online. Some of the most popular include Google AdSense, Overture, and Looksmart. Other methods include affiliate programs and targeted website advertising. Research other websites that have the audience you’re looking for and negotiate favorable ad rates for your online marketing campaign.

3. Marketing Pages. Don’t lead prospective purchasers to a generic website. If you do, potential buyers won’t know what to do next. The easier you make if for prospects to take advantage of your offer, the better. Whenever creating a marketing campaign online, provide a specific page for leading purchasers to your product or service or a billboard that showcases the offer. Take the guess work out of making a purchase and more consumers will buy.

4. Testimonials. Customer testimonials are the most powerful way to sell your product or service. When consumers hear from those who have purchased and used your product or service, they gain a certain level of trust and comfort in what you have to offer. Solicit testimonials after each purchase and use those that are the most convincing to prospective purchasers.

5. Create a Compelling Offer. Be sure to offer something that no one else is currently offering. If your offer is similar to your competitors or is not very interesting, consumers have no reason to learn more. Of course providing something for FREE is often a great way to entice potential customers. Maybe it’s a 3-day free trial or a free evaluation of some kind. Be creative, try something new, and measure the response.

6. Developing Trust. Before anyone will buy from you, your website or company needs to be seen as reputable. This means that consumers can purchase from you and not worry about the safety of their credit card information, personal information, or anything else being exchanged. A good method for developing trust is to purchase and display safety and reliability icons such as BBB Online, Trust-e, and VeriSign.

7. Provide a Guarantee. Nothing makes a consumer more comfortable with a purchase than offering a guarantee. Perhaps you can offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or a money back guarantee. A guarantee is a great way ease the risk of making a purchase. If your competitors are offering a guarantee, you want yours to be equal or better.

Internet marketing is an incredibly powerful medium for segmenting your prospects and delivering targeted advertising. Online, you can easily measure you return on investment and refine your marketing campaign over time to improve results.

If you are a local business you can benefit from Internet marketing as well. Look for local directories to list your business or service. Or, you can supplement your local advertising with product marketing pages on your website. Internet marketing is more than just placing ads online, it’s using the web to communicate the value of your products and services.