Posts Tagged ‘On-line’

A Guide To On-Line Marketing For Norwich Businesses

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The Internet has brought with it many opportunities for Norwich businesses to reach a wider global audience. The decision to use online marketing, also referred to as web marketing, internet marketing, or eMarketing, is becoming an increasingly important part of nearly every company`s marketing mix.

The practice of on-line marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales, and should encompass a mix of components.

Successful on-line marketing for any Norwich business requires a well thought out, comprehensive strategy which penetrates all stages of the customer engagement. On-line marketing should:

• Communicate a company`s message about itself, its products, or its services online
• Conduct research as to the nature (demographics, preferences, and needs) of existing and potential customers
• Sell goods, services, or advertising space over the Internet

Components of online marketing any Norwich businesses should consider include:

• Setting up a website – now seen as an essential for any successful operation. A well developed website should convey the company`s ethos and core operating principles, whilst informing existing and potential customers of the features and benefits of the company`s products and/or services. It may also include the ability to capture leads from potential customers or directly sell a product or service online.
• Email marketing – is the internet’s method of direct mail and enables an organisation to distribute information through Email. Various methods include regular newsletters to one off special offer mailings.
• Banner advertising – is the equivalent of traditional print advertising and involves the placement of ads on a website for a specific fee.
• Online press releases – are an important way of keeping customers updated with company news.
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – involves marketing a website online via search engines such as Google. Results can be achieved either by improving the site`s natural (organic) ranking through search engine optimization (SEO), buying pay-per-click (PPC) ads or purchasing pay-for-inclusion (PFI) listings in website directories.
• Blog marketing – in a growing trend which involves posting comments, opinions or announcements on discussion forums or other related blog sites or through hosting a company blog.
• Article marketing – can enhance traffic to a website and involves taking articles related to your business and having them published online on syndicated article sites.

On-line marketing for any Norwich businesses brings a host of benefits including:
• Reduced cost – Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets.
• Continued dialogue with consumers – The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and purchase products and services at their own convenience.
• Reporting – Nearly all aspects of an on-line marketing campaign can be inexpensively and immediately traced, measured, and tested.

If you are a Norwich business who needs help on how to enhance your on-line marketing efforts contact Norwich on-line marketing experts neo optic. Visit our website neooptic(dot)com/online-marketing-norwich(dot)aspx or call us to chat about how we can revolutionise your web activity.

Kris smith is the author of this article. He has been in the online marketing and web industry for over 10 years. More information about online marketing visit- www.neooptic.com/online-marketing-norwich.aspx

Are You Making Money On-line?

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Have you been successful at generating an on-line income? Is the dream of quitting your day job within your reach? I would bet 9 out of 10 people reading this who say they`ve been trying to find a way to make an income on the internet, haven`t been successful. I hear you! {I looked for a couple of years for that ever elusive holy grail, the quick fix.

What I`ve learned is that there is no quick fix. I bought all kinds of products, bouncing from one best thing to the next great thing. I tryed it all, but I lacked focus! The key is to pick an avenue and stay with it. Whether PPC (pay per click) is your thing, selling your own products, selling affiliate products or whatever … it`s important to take action and stay on course.

There are alot of internet marketers out there, the “gurus”, who have made a great deal of money. Much of it from people who lacked focus and jumped from one hot product to the next without following through on any. It`s easy to get caught up in all the hype and find yourself consistently shelling out the dough.

Any type of product you want is readily available on the internet. If you have funds available, you may find paying for advertising of those products works for you. If so, by all means go for it. But if you don`t have alot of money to start with, and can`t really afford to pay per click or action, then start building an email list. You`ll find all the “gurus” say the money is in the list and they`re so right.

What the heck is building a list? It`s a system where you collect names and email addresses from people interested in what you have to sell. Yes, there are some tools you`ll need to use, but they`re relatively inexpensive and fairly easy, even if you`re a newbie. Additionally, these tools provide the information needed to run your business. Making money on-line is a business and should be treated like one.

When I first began trying to make money on-line, I made the big mistake of not running it like a business; not running it like I did when I use to “go” somewhere to work. I say this because so many people think they can just put up a website and they`ll make money from it. Think again! You have to work at it just like you do with any business.

You need a product that is of value and then you have to bring internet traffic to it. Again, paying for advertising is one way, if you have the funds. If not, then start building your list. So where do you start? There`s a product I found that tells you in easy step-by-step instructions how to build a profitable list. I`ve looked at several products and find this one to be complete and easy to follow. See below for the link, and then get started by taking action!

For step-by-step instructions on how to build your list visit http://listbuildingroadmap.com.

ProfEssays offers the best custom writing on-line

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

There is a great number of custom essay writing services on the Internet. Most of them claim to offer custom essays and papers produced especially for each particular client according to his or her specifications. All of them reassure students that their pieces of writing will never be plagiarized or published anywhere. However, the reality is quite different. Plagiarism is a wide spread phenomenon, many papers are sold and resold over and over again to different customers, quality leaves much to be desired, and clients often find it difficult to get in touch with customer service.
Custom essay writing company ProfEssays offers a different quality of service. All of our research writers are native speakers of English coming from an extensive variety of educational backgrounds, embracing everything from philosophy to sciences. Therefore we are able to match each particular assignment with the best writer for the job.

Writers are available for clients throughout the entire writing process. This implies that they are welcome to send necessary resource materials to their writers, stay informed about the progress of their projects, or communicate other important pieces of information. Our writers respond to all client inquiries in a friendly manner.

We never use essays and papers that have already been written by our expert writers, nor do we tolerate any form of plagiarism in our company. Each new assignment we start from scratch so every single sentence is original and exclusive.
We are the only site to guarantee that if a paper fails to meet the specified requirements, we will rewrite it or refund. However, this is an extremely infrequent circumstance. In most cases papers produced by our writers receive high marks.

Our talented and experienced researchers compose a variety of papers: custom essays, term papers, research papers book reports, MBA essays, executive summaries, and different kinds of research projects for college and university students at any level. Besides, we offer editing, proofreading, and researching services, even for those students who must meet the strictest academic standards. By serving as excellent examples, our writing and research products help our clients show academic and professional results, improve their writing skills through acquainting with techniques and approaches of our writers.
Whatever you need in terms of custom writing, ProfEssays can help. Every single project is paid our close attention, from the shortest one-page custom essays to the most challenging theses and doctoral dissertations. Remember that there is nothing is more important than your education. Don`t you owe it to yourself to select have your assignments accomplished by reliable professionals in custom writing? Our contact details: http://www.professays.com support@professays.com

On-line Magazines as a business opportunity

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Magazines have been a significant part of American media since the late 19th century. Until 1879, only the wealthy could afford to read magazines, and so most of the magazines produced were predictably high-end political pieces targeted to a focused group of individuals. However, with the introduction of second-class mail, magazines became a viable, affordable mass media form that the average working person could afford to buy and read . As such, their content began to change, and they began to circulate to very large numbers of readers. By the early 20th century, popular picture magazines were becoming commonplace, and by the end of the Second World War, the magazine industry was well established as a formidable mass media form in daily life. Magazines were big business, and they generated bug revenue for the big, mainstream producers.

Today, technology and the information age have begun to change the revenue model for magazine producers. With the increasing ease of production given today’s modern desktop publishing software, the cost to produce a magazine has dropped dramatically. With that drop has come a proliferation in the industry that has increased competition for a seemingly constant stream of consumer dollars. This is to say that there are more magazines today than there have ever been before, but the average magazine reader is not reading more. Hence, magazines today must compete for limited resources in an ever-crowding field.

Although this situation has not yet led to an active price war in between magazines, certain elements of such a war do exist, and the danger to the profitability of major players within the industry is very real. Magazines draw a significant amount of their revenue from their advertisers, and as such they have a great deal at stake in maintaining their circulation and readership rates. Thus since the cost to keep an existing reader or subscriber is a great deal lower than the cost to obtain new readers, many magazines will almost give issues away to existing readers who threaten to leave the magazine by allowing subscriptions to elapse. Thus today’s magazines are faced with new challenges: offer more to existing readers, control costs, and reach new readers cheaply. Whether they like it or not, the Internet is becoming a major way that all magazine producers are tackling this problem.



WHY ONLINE MAGAZINES?

In her article “Maximizing Profitable Growth,” Deborah A. House outlines five steps to surviving a price war :

• Have a plan

• Innovate

• Make it easier to do business with your company

• Focus on productivity

• Make decisions based on real time data

Of those five steps, the last four are significantly easier to accomplish via online publishing, and the first one is a necessity for all types of publishing, either print or online. Taking the last four one at a time, shows will explain some of the advantages of online publishing over print publishing.



Innovate: Innovation is a necessity for any business, but the Internet by definition requires innovation and makes innovation easier. First off, new systems are easier to implement online both because they can be implemented worldwide all at the same time and because the costs of electronic implementation are lower than the costs of world wide hard-system changes. Of course, some changes that are implemented electronically also force hard system changes, and those changes can still take time and money, but in all cases, the advent of information technology eases the transition. The Internet and the development of intra-office intranets aid in the dissemination of information; this makes the change easier to manage.



Make it easier to do business with you: One clear barrier to entry for any new customer is the difficulty of using a new system with a new service provider. In the magazine industry, this can be seen in the challenge of getting one’s product to retailers and of managing one’s fulfillment systems. By using online methods, magazine producers can bypass middlemen and go straight to their customers. This makes it easier for the customers to use the magazine, and provided that the online magazine is well designed, it can allow the magazine publisher to more carefully focus the reader’s attention on what the producer wants the reader to see first. Also, by doing business electronically, the system of payments and inventory is managed easier, to better benefit for both producer and consumer.



Focus on productivity: As has been stated, in today’s environment, magazine producers need to do more with less because they are competing for limited resources. In a world with less income, producers must therefore cut their costs. Working online allows producers to avoid their printing and distribution costs while theoretically allowing them to maintain their ad revenue and their subscription base. This is not to say that online magazines are the only, or even the best, way to reach all consumers, but having a good online magazine is an excellent way to drive traffic to the print magazine and to make maximum use of the content that has already been purchased or created.



Make decisions with real time data: This is perhaps the best argument in favor of online magazines because online data is more complete, more accurate, cheaper, and faster than data from traditional distribution/circulation sources. Online data is available in near real time. Magazine producers can use it to make changes instantly once they fully understand the nature of their actions on the marketplace.



ONLINE BUSINESS MODELS

Having looked at these four factors, it becomes clear that online magazines are at least a big part of the future of the magazine industry. They may never eclipse real paper magazines, but they will definitely play a big part of the magazine experience for future generations of magazine readers. Thus, it is important for all magazine producers to understand how to maximize online magazine revenue. To do this, one must have a clear grasp of the business models currently in place in the online magazine industry and then understand what tricks can allow publishers to squeeze extra profits from their online subsidiaries.

There are at least five separate business models for online magazines: Daily, weekly or monthly searchable, PDF download and/or email distribution, paid subscriptions to magazine web sites, and magazines available via micro-payments.



Dailies: Most magazines are produced on either a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, but since building traffic at a web site is largely a function of building habits into readers, many editors today ask their journalists to think in “daily” terms rather than in terms of weekly or monthly deadlines . This can mean many things: releasing some content every day, releasing all content on the same day but using a Flash application to rotate what readers see as the top story, or simply having journalists check in on the comments left on their stories so that they are forced to interact daily with their readers. In all cases, however, the idea is to make the online magazine site a daily stop for readers, and thus it must also be a daily stop for at least some contributors as well. In this business model, revenue is generated primarily through search-driven ads, such as those utilized by Google, so that traffic on the site is the primary revenue driver.



Weekly or monthly searchable: This model is similar to the daily model, but all of the content is released at the same time in a searchable format. The magazine then uses an internal search engine in order to make it easier for readers to search for their specific articles.

Revenue for this business model is oftentimes similar to the daily model, and indeed this model can be combined with many elements of the daily model as well in order to create an easy-to-navigate, required reading magazine. However, the downside of both of these business models is that the reader is not required to flip through the pages of the magazine or otherwise explore issues in which he might not have been naturally interested. This is a poor use of the full resources of the magazine and also lessens the potential effectiveness of the magazines advertising because there is no casual glancing involved on the part of the reader.

On the upside, however, this format makes sense when the magazine has a vast amount of data and wants to be known as the subject matter expert in its field. For example, Wired Magazine utilizes a searchable format because it wants to be the one-stop-shop for all computer-related consumer product information. Search technology greatly helps its usability in this respect, especially since the magazine already processes a vast amount of data.



PDF download or email delivery: Download or email delivery is most useful in either business-to-business (B2B) applications or in the case of inflexible reader demand. In this case, users either receive a magazine online via email or are required to go to a web site to download the entire magazine at once via PDF. The upside to this format is that it forces casual browsing, maximizing the advertising opportunities per reader. However, the downside is that it requires more work for readers. It is likely to appeal to fans or non-casual business users more than casual Internet surfers. Download or email delivery is most effective in B2B situations where users need the information in the magazine. This makes them prime targets for focused magazine advertising.



Paid Subscriptions: Many online magazines sites offer paid subscriptions to their premium content, but this business model has proven relatively ineffective over time for most companies. The simple reality is that with the proliferation of magazines, potential users will often go elsewhere for similar information before they will pay for a specific magazine online. Internet search technology makes this easy to do. Of course, there are certain exceptions to this rule such as Consumer Reports or the Wall Street Journal online (technically an online newspaper), but in both of those cases, the information contained is widely considered to be the best in the world in its specific class, and the companies’ owners have done a very thorough job of integrating online with paper-copy information. Moreover, even in the case of the Wall Street Journal, online subscriptions have not successfully replaced revenue lost over the past five years to Internet news sources.



Micropayments: Some small magazines are distributed via micropayments for individual issues. This system is neither widely used nor widely successful in any case, but it does offer a means for effective distribution in the case of small groups that need minimal revenue to cover costs and which already have a devoted following. For example, a church newsletter can be successfully distributed via micropayments so long as its readers know that they are paying for the basic costs of production via their micropayments. However, as a general rule, micropayments are not a way to make money online.



ENHANCING REVENUE

Even given all of these business models, there is still no clear consensus on the right way to publish a magazine online. However there are some emerging lessons for online publishers. Perhaps the most important is to think in terms of producing information rather than in terms of producing issues. Publishing online is inherently different in many respects to publishing in print. The weekly, monthly, or quarterly model does not always make sense. Thus online magazines today must find ways to make their readers repeat customers. Once they have their readers hooked, online magazines need to leverage their relationships to get the most out of each reader. They can do this by encouraging repeat visits and my finding ways to repackage or enhance existing information that the reader has shown himself interested in so that he will go deeper into the subject matter and spend more money. Even if this deeper relationship leads to little more than more advertising revenue per reader, that is still an important victory.

Moreover, Internet technology makes it easier than ever to generate content specific to specific readers. Using modern click-stream tracking technology, online magazine companies can determine what their readers are interested in and use that to target specific follow-on publications and targeted advertising to their existing readers. This too allows magazines to develop brand extensions with an idea already in place of who their specific readers are going to be for those brand extensions. This technique is not terribly different from the technology that Google employs in its search ads, but here online magazines can go deeper. They can target their brand extensions to specific users based on their reading habits, and they can utilize their customer knowledge to make follow-on sales. That is how revenue is maximized per customer or per reader, and it is the key to surviving in a world where the number of customers is constant but the number competitors in the field is growing.

One final thing to consider in enhancing revenue is that oftentimes online ads can be used as content or to supplement content. An example of this in the paper magazine world is the magazine Lucky. Lucky is a magazine about shopping; as such there is virtually no difference between its content and its advertising, and indeed, some of its content is almost certainly driven by paid-placements. However, readers looking for information about shopping know this and buy the magazine because it informs them about products in which they have interest. This type of business synergy is also possible in online magazines, and given the resource constraints in the modern marketplace, many experts argue that it is becoming a necessity for survival. For example, an online magazine about movies would be well served to have movie trailers as advertising on the website. These trailers would be paid advertising that would also serve as looked-for content by movie enthusiasts. By placing prominently on the site and promoting them, the online movie magazine is maximizing revenue in a way that also pleases readers. That is the goal.



SUMMARY

While it is not a foregone conclusion that online magazines are the wave of the future for everyone, one can certainly speculate that they are a big part of the future for most readers. The advantages of online magazine production are too great for it to be ignored, and more to the point, readers are turning to the Internet for all types of information – including magazine information – whether producers like it or not. So the smart magazine producer must know how to maximize his online revenue to survive. Fortunately there are a few good ways to do that. By finding ways to repackage information for multiple projects, exploit existing consumer relationships to make follow-on sales, extend successful brands to existing consumers, and use advertising as content, online magazine producers can maximize their revenue per reader and therefore survive during a time when there are many magazines but few readers.


Craig Willis is an associate staff writer. Upon graduation, he started a career in writing research papers and has been providing quality term papers and custom essays. His specialty subject is Anthropology term papers

Help People Succeed By Selling E-books And E-courses On-line.

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

Writing E-books And E-courses For Fun And Profit.

Developing a unique product to sell on-line does not have to be a big deal. The trick is to find something that does not include a lot of inventory, shipping cost and is relative inexpensive to reproduce. I can’t think of anything more adaptable, low maintenance and expressive than an e-book or e-course.

Today, people thirst for quality information that will set them apart and give them an advantage. You, as a writer, can supply that crucial element, that little bit of information that sets them apart from their competition. You can develop and sell quality e-books or e-courses that could contribute to someone’s future. You could be the instrument that changes a life or at very least empowers someone to be all that they can be.

Start your own on-line business.
If you are looking to start an on-line business, it would behoove you to consider e-book writing as a profession. Developing and marketing e-books and e-courses could be a perfect avenue for growing yourself. Even if you don’t have a lot of worldly experience, with the Internet, you can research and develop almost any subject.

Bits and pieces of information lay waiting for you to make some sort of sense of it and arrange it into an order someone else can benefit from. If you are a copywriter, with very little effort, you might just find yourself being recognized as an e-book guru. You can help people help themselves by being their catalyst to greatness.

E-book copywriters are great people persuaders.
Through the written word you can motivate, trigger emotions, and set the stage for self improvement. You are the great provider of information, the one who empowers the mind to do great things. Like an actor you can set a stage for someone else to have a more enjoyable life’s experience. Isn’t that why we are here . . . to have and share the best experience possible?

As a e-book writer, you also know how to persuade people to purchase your e-book. You know how to use the power of persuasion to electrify and draw people into your story so their journey might be a little more beneficial. It’s all about transferring your exuberance into their experience.

It’s easier than you may think.
Gathering information might be time consuming but once you have enough quality information it can be manipulated into multiple e-books. You have the power to add to or take away from your storage of information to develop the best creation possible. That’s what it is, a creation gathered from millions of sources and organized into a fashion any intelligent being can make out and make good use of. Your job is to elevate your reader into a higher level of prominence.

E-book writing helps people.
You don’t have to know everything you only have to know how to present information. Your job is to gather and present information in such a way the reader will be inspired. Information is only information until someone puts it into an order that someone else can benefit from. Many people, more than you would think, don’t know how to gather information. They don’t know how to put things into order so it would read like a road map.

As a e-book writer you arrange information into a map for people to follow. You lay out step-by-step instructions for other people to pursue as they chase their aspirations. You are the Author, the empowered, the deliverer of dreams the exciter of spirits. You deliver a lifestyle otherwise passed over and inspire hope in the future.

E-books can be formal or informal
E-books are not simply a collection of information to be sloughed off as tidbits of knowing but they are the concrete that binds the human foundation. If you develop and present your e-book in such a way as to excite the reader into action, then, my friend, you have achieved your purpose. What greater purpose is there than helping another have a better life’s experience? Take your brother or sister by the arm and lead them to victory. Victory over oppression, rejection and disillusionment. Help them look their fears straight in the eye and stand upright in the face diversity.

Find a subject and start writing.
You don’t have to lean on someone else’s writings for success. Stand on your own two feet and be the producer of remarkable and compelling e-books, or even better, e-courses. Do some reportive investigating, put an extraordinary e-book or e-course together, and watch your bank account grow.

Happy Trails

“Former Development coordinator for Imperial Research, author, Spiritual Adviser, Donald Yates is now retired but continues to expand through Self Discovery. Learn how you can also. Go to.”
“Affiliate Marketing” => [Click Here]
“Business Opportunities”

Increase On-line Website Traffic with Reciprocal Linking

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Even though reciprocal linking has come under scrutiny by search engines such as Google, having links from other websites is a critical element in every search engine optimization campaign. Linking is at the center of how the Internet works. Link popularity is and I believe always will be a key component in getting top ranking website.

An election analogy works well in explaining link popularity. Each link to your web page counts as a “vote” for that page. “Votes” from websites with high link popularity count more than links from other sites. Links that use keywords that match your page also have their “votes” count more.

These “votes” add up to PageRank, which Google uses to determine the importance of a web page in the search engine results. If your site gets enough “votes”, your website can “win the election” with top rankings and increased web traffic.

The “election laws” are set and enforced by the search engines. The job of the search engines is to give consumers accurate and relevant results if they want these customers to keep coming back. The search engines are constantly changing and improving their algorithms to detect “election fraud” from those who are trying to trick their way into a top ranking spot. The best way to succeed with the engines is to focus on giving good content that visitors would be interested in and then you are working along with the search engines toward the same goals. This includes how you approach your linking strategies.

The SE`s are now clamping down on “campaign finance violations” in the form of paid text links. These links typically have poor anchor text and may be on a page that is oversaturated with links. Many times these identical links appear on hundreds or even thousands of web pages. The search engines, particularly Google have set-up methods for detecting these links. These links now are being devalued or filtered out completely.

Search engines are also clamping down on “unfair campaign practice” This includes link farms, hidden links, search engine spamming, cloaking, doorway pages and other black hat SEO practices.

So exactly what is a link farm? This is a type of “ballot box stuffing.” A link farm is a web page (or even an entire website) that is set up for the sole purpose of allowing webmasters to exchange links with each other for search engine ranking purposes only. These links are usually unorganized and many have little or no relevance to the topic of the website. The key element here is that link farms are not created for the website visitor, but for the sole purpose of getting good rankings.

What do the search engines consider ethical “campaigning”? Don`t opt for the quick fix in order to generate instant sales. Focus on good content and designing your website for your visitor, not the search engine. Make your website compliant with what the search engines want, rather than tricking your way to good rankings.

Does reciprocal linking work today? Absolutely! Here are some things you should consider as you develop your linking strategies. The websites you select to trade links with should be of interest to your site`s visitors. Choose a theme and topic that is consistent with your website. Keep the maximum links per page to 10 and categorize your links to make it easy for visitors.

Choose only websites that are high in quality, high in PageRank, and links with your targeted keywords. To get links, try www.freelinkcentral.com. I like this link exchange directory because of its research resources. It has keyword search capabilities and shows the PageRank of every link… and best of all it is free.

Other ideas to consider, try adding a paragraph of text or content to each links page. This tends to give a natural look and less like a link directory. During any link trading campaign change your link text regularly. Add your links on a slow and regular basis rather than all at once.

Link building has always been on the scene, and links have a nice benefit, they drive direct traffic to your site when clicked. They have an added benefit in that they greatly improve your standing with the search engines. But be very careful if you are doing link building purely for the sake of the search engines.

Link building is usually the most time consuming and most powerful part of effective broad based SEO.

This article may be reprinted in its entirety for use in newsletters, websites, article archives and newspapers provided that this resource box is left intact and all links are left active.

Copyright November 2005

Doug Williams is the founder and president of Doug Williams and Associates, LLC. DWA is an Internet marketing and search engine optimization firm. DWA also operates a managed linking service “Don`t Worry About Links” at www.dwalink.com. Visit www.dougwilliams.com

Taking Payments On-Line

Friday, December 19th, 2008

There are ways of selling goods and services on line without the visitor having to make a telephone call. Many people, these days, are perfectly happy to give their credit card details on line, providing a secure server is utilised to gather sensitive information.

In its basic form a shopping cart could be just a button or a hyperlinked piece of text that takes the visitor to an order page. The page will usually allow additional items to be added. A simple system worth looking at is Mal`s Shopping Cart which has all the interactivity of larger offerings without the expense.

There are many commercial shopping carts that use templates and they can look very professional, but be sure to compare all the facilities offered before you make a decision. These solutions are ideal for a trader that has many similar items for sale and allow frequent updating and price changes. They also permit a high level of customisation to incorporate the house style of your website with logos and images etc.

You will need to have a bank merchant account in order to accept credit cards and they have very strict entry conditions which sometimes preclude smaller operators. In these cases why not consider using Paypal? This gives you a credit card facility without a bank merchant account and can be very cost effective as it is charged on a transaction basis rather than with a monthly fee.

Some firms offer the complete e-commerce solution including the banking side, but make sure that it can interface with your own business bank account. These solutions are quite tempting for someone who operates from home as some banks refuse to provide merchant facilities for home workers.

One word of caution regarding charge-backs. In these days of increasing card fraud it is the retailer that loses the money if a customer uses false details or challenges a transaction. You must do all you can to check the details a customer has supplied before accepting a transaction and with the power of the internet this is much easier to do than it used to be. There are websites which allow you to check phone numbers and addresses against official databases for a small fee and I would recommend you always do this with a new customer until a trading relationship has been established.

Nigel Hunt operates Money Making Website which is a site giving hands on advice for the newcomer to small website operation.

How to start an On-Line Business

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Here is a little info that could help people on How To Start An On-line Business. This is hard work, not a get quick rich scheme :-)
Let`s break the down the tasks:

1) Finding something profitable to promote on line.

You can find/build a product or service your self and market it via the internet to generate sales. This does require a lot of work, time and dedication in building that side of the business.

The other option, which is by far the most popular, is to promote a product/service for another company, receiving a commission for every sale you generate. This is called an “Affiliate Program”, if you search on Google for Affiliate Program you will find heaps of info and companies that you can work with. A big bonus taking this route is that these companies offer help, advice and promotional material to help you generate sales. You also have the added bonus of not stocking/shipping/billing the products or services.

A type of an affiliate program that I personally have had excellent experience with is promoting Premium Rate Services. The most popular service by far is the dating services, men wanting to chat live to women. These services are accessed via a premium rate number, charged at x per minute. I receive a percentage split of the tariff the service is on, for example ?1/min. That ?1 would get shared between many people. The Telco (The Company that supplies the numbers) would take 25p, the Operator would receive 25p/min, the Service provider (The company that sets everything up, employs the operators, sets up the numbers and is the company that pays everyone) would take 5p/min. The rest goes to the promoter/media owner – 40p/min. Doesn`t sound much but it builds up quicker than you think, the average call duration is 8 minutes, 40p x 8 = ?3.20 per call.
If you want to promote the services I promote, Visit Premium Rate Provider.

2) Research you competition

How can you design your site better than the others? What content can you add that others don`t? What would make your visitors want to buy your service/product? What are your Target audiences? Why would people re-visit your site?
Spend at least 2 weeks visiting your competition, learn what they offer, how they get traffic. Find as much info as possible.
3) Planning your Web Site:
Start planning content for your site. Pictures, wording, games, newsletters, tools your visitors can use. Content is King!
A visit to www.wordtracker.com is essential to look for keywords.
You need to plan your web site as much as you can. Think about what pages you are going to have, what content are your visitors going to enjoy etc. They say “Content is King” And I couldn`t agree more. The more content your site has the better, for Search Engines and your visitors!

The better you plan your web site, the better the outcome!

4) Learn On Site SEO

Learning On Site SEO before building your site will help you design your site around the SEO rules, which are vital if you are want traffic from Search Engines. To learn the basics of SEO, www.seochat.com is a good site to get going.

5) Designing a Web Site.

I always say to people starting out, DONT LEARN WEB DESIGN. You can get a site built for peanuts these days, it just isn`t worth putting your efforts and time into learning any web design/programming work at all. Of course a lot of people would disagree this, but I`m going on my past 8 years experience.

Web Site Design Services – We can build you a site exactly to your spec, as you pay for what you need.

6) SEO, Search Engine Optimisation.

The reason I suggested that it`s not worth learning Design (If you are in the early stages) is because I think that your time and efforts are better spent in learning SEO. Getting people to come to your web site is hard, but doable if you follow the rules. The more people who visit your web site, the more money you will make.

Off site SEO. You need to build links to your site, which is not easy. Submit your sites to as many directories as possible, email other webmasters for a link exchange, research on-line on how to obtain more links. I spend 3 hours per day trying to find links and thinking of ways that I can get more links. If you have something on your site that other sites would want to use, then they could link to your site, the best method I have fount to date. You can also try forums, adding a link in the signature of your posts.

Good luck!

Chris Osborne

Managing Director

Platinum Phone Services

chris@platinumphoneservices.co.uk

http://www.platinumphoneservices.co.uk

On-line Vs. Off-line

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Today Internet is the most popular word in the world. It`s on everybody`s lips. You can hear phrases like «I`ve bought it in the web store» or «I ordered tickets on-line» everywhere. It`s so usual today that people just can`t imagine their life without it. Every day they appeal to the Internet to find different information like latest news, forecasts, inquiry data etc. To start morning with the Internet became our daily norm of behaviour. However, you shouldn`t consider Internet only like the place of entertainment and source of information. It`s also great thing to do business. Lots of companies and firms create their corporate web sites and in that way increase incomes and widen the sphere of clients.
It can`t be even doubted that creating of web site in the Word Web favourably affects on the prospering of the company. It becomes apparent through the increased number of clients, bargains, sales and incomes correspondingly. However, despite of the fact that benefits of Internet presence are obvious, some businessmen still can`t bring themselves to take this decisive step. Among them there are mostly holders of some non-manufacturing business companies, small business owners, because they don`t realize the huge power and strength of the Internet and see any ways how they can benefit in their business by the means of web site. They think if they can`t sell something on-line so they don`t require the web site. It`s very typical and in the same way wrong opinion. They just forget about such important things in the Internet as information and advertisement. There are web sites that look like twenty-for-hour showcases with necessary information about services or products of some company and contact addresses.
John Thomas from Harrisonburg says: «Despite of the fact that my business is small (I`m owner of holiday home), I have enough clients who are satisfied with all conditions and services. Why should I create a web site?». And there are thousands of similar cases. People just don`t want to refuse a stable established way of running a business and try something new. And no matter that this new method is proved and recognised as one that makes huge benefits and is better than others. But let us recur to John Thomas and his problem. By the example of his story we`ll consider main reasons why he should create a web site and what additional benefits he will get.
1. Prestige – First of all nowadays to have own place in the world wide web is a sign of prestige and commonly accepted norm of competitiveness and stability of the firm. Increasingly more potential clients while choosing the firm or company make inquiries about whether this firm has web site or not. Time is money and it`s common truth. If you`re not on-line, you`re nowhere. Prestige of your firm is only of local character. And it`s not so good as your think. There are many others holiday homes that enjoy wider popularity and client`s confidence mostly because of having web sites.
2. Widened sphere of clients – Of course to have hereditary clients across the generations (from father to son, from neighbour to neighbour) is good. But dont` you think that it`s time to find new sphere of clients and in such a way develop your business from local holiday home to state one for instance. If you want to help people don`t restrict yourself only to one town or district. You can do much more.
3. Source of information – Today telephone directories and advertisers gradually become a thing of the past. Tomorrow is with Internet. Just imagine: web site with useful information about your business, beautiful pictures of your holiday home, list of conditions and services and thousands visitors of your site. Nice prospects, isn`t it? Don`t you think that it`s much better and more effective thing than advertisement in newspaper or phone number on Yellow Pages. By visual demonstration your potential client can see all advantages of your institution. They can find all needed information on the site without disturbing your telephone.
4. Twenty-for-hour advertisement – Your web site will be round-the-clock showcase of your business. It`s cheaper than advertising on television but has the same and maybe even better results. Internet community is so great that you shouldn`t worry about the number of visitors of your site. Who`re interested in your services will certainly find your holiday home in the world web. Especially, if e-mail address of your site is placed in definite on-line search systems concerning this theme.
5. Competitiveness – By being represented in the web you also raise your professional level among the competitors. You have chance to keep an eye what methods and innovations are used by your rivals. And if it`s something worth your attention and good for the improvement of conditions of your clients well-being, you can use it as well.
6. Viability – It`s said: «If you`re not in the Internet, you`re commercially dead». If you want to be viable in the business, you should create your web site, no matter what business you`re engaged in.
So, we`ve already considered the main reasons why you should create a web site for your institution. However, there is another important question what is the best way to do it. It`s really hard and vexed question. What`s good for one is bad for another.
 Someone prefers to appeal to a design studio or professional designers. This way is unacceptable for the startups simply because of very expensive job rates. But if you have enough money you`ll get really good high-quality web site.
 Another way is to create it yourself. There are lots of books of how-do-I type. Advantages of this method – you spend less costs and try yourself in new role as a designer. Moreover you know what must be in your site as nobody else. That`s definitely plus. But, you can`t be sure that you`ll get that results of your work you`ve been expected. It may turned out that you have not designer`s talent and all your efforts and time will be spent for nothing. We hope, that it`s not about you and you have numerous talents.
 The third way is to buy ready-made template of web site. It`s the easiest way. You buy template, customize it (add your content, photos and all information you want) and your web site is ready to work and gain profits. Advantages – you save time and money and get professionally designed web site, you can choose any from thousands represented in the on-line templates store. Disadvantages lie in the fact that a template should be customised and it might be beyond of someone`s power. But you can get professional support in this business at low prices.
It`s up to you which of this methods to use. No matter what choice it will be, you do right having decided to create your web site. In the end of this article we want to advise you to redesign your site as time goes by. Web site is the face of your institution in the web world and you should take care about its appearance. It must be always fresh, modern and unique. Think about it!
Hope, you enjoyed reading this article and found something useful for you.

Florence: Great Free Pocket Travel Guide by Flashbooking reservation on-line website

Saturday, December 13th, 2008

Flashbooking is a growing cheap hostel Florence and hotels directory specializing in budget accommodation for independent travellers, students, backpackers, families and all the ones that travel on a pocket. Flashbooking is becoming a recognized source of information and services for who loves creating a trip by him/herself and book bed nights securely online.

In fact, thanks to a secure server certified SSL provided by Thawte (the global certificate authority) Flashbooking is able to guarantee instantly confirmed and secure online bookings. Thawte is a system which encrypts all the processed data and guarantees that this will not be read, used or modified by other parties.

Online bookings also mean that your holiday is just a click away, that you can get all the information needed to book online, that you can save time and money! The customer service is always available to suggest you the
perfect accommodation for your trip. A Skype account has been recently added in order to give more assistance to our travellers and backpackers needs. Flashbooking accommodation database is easily available online and comes completed with all relevant information about hostel location, description, contacts, prices, instant real availability, customer ratings, facilities and pictures. In particularFlashbooking provides a large selection of cheap or low cost accommodation offers in Florence where there are plenty of low cost solutions for backpackers in budget youth hostels, bed and breakfast Florence, family run guesthouses, cheap hotel deals.

Travelling safely on a budget, often means having your credit/debit card with you and some coins in your hand for daily needs. Flashbooking helps you saving money with a special promotion that allows travellers to earn money and credits of 1,5 euros by inviting other friends to subscribe and receive the monthly newsletter, rich of information about hostel and hotel deals. For each friend that sings up, our travellers get 1,50 euros: it is possible to earn up to 40 euros! These credits are immediately registered in the user`s personal online account `My Booking` and at the reach of 40 euros they are automatically deducted to pay your online hostel reservations!!!

See Flashbooking database of selected accommodations worldwide and help us enlarging the hostel offer by reporting the contacts of some accommodations, lodgings, BandB, youth hostels and budget small hotels where you personally stayed. In fact, Flashbooking policy tends to privilege small and family-run hotels in order to promote an alternative tourism respectful of cultures and different societies.

Recently, Flashbooking staff and management have decided to put at travellers` and partner hostels` free disposal some useful tools as some pocket travel guides, written for giving the essential information about the most visited cities in the world. Especially created for a quick visit, a week end, a city break, these free pocket guides are printable and downloadable online. The staff efforts concentrate on making them simple to read and with a nice format and full of essential hints on where to go, things to see, shopping and markets, quality places reasonably priced where to eat or hang out in the nights, budget hostels and cheap hotel deals to book, emergency numbers and more.

Freshly issued is the Free Pocket City Guide of Florence that contains, in just 9 printable pages, all the essential information and very good suggestions about this famous Italian and Tuscany Art Capital as its renown leather shops and flea markets, Uffizi Museums, Academies and Art Galleries, budget Florentine restaurants and cheap lodgings, classic itineraries in the Chianti Tuscany hills or in Siena, transports and a lot more. Free for anyone who wish to book and go and rich of colour pictures, the Florence Travel Pocket Guide is at your disposal inFlashbooking.

If you also have a personal website or a travel blog, or even manage a youth hostel or a hotel accommodation, and are interested in the travel city guides, you can collect all of them and put at your visitors` disposal.
Other city pocket guides of top European cities are: the London guide, the Rome guide, the Amsterdam guide, the Paris guide, the Prague guide, the Barcelona guide and more coming on soon!

Last but not least, the Flashbooking philosophy can be summarize in a few lines: `Those who love travelling light, those with a sense for adventure, those who love flexibility in their trip, those who like meeting locals and
travelling slow and low… THOSE ARE OUR TRAVELLERS!`

So mates, we are looking forward to finding you THE budget accommodation that meets your needs and pocket for your next trip!

This article was written by Michele De Capitani with support from Youth Hostels and cheap hotels deal and Mrs Vera Bonaventura. For any information on how travel insurance, please visit our website to download your free travel guides for Florence City in Italy.