text:
Are you sure?
This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
com – How to Start and Market an Online Business
Published: 2010 Categories(s): Non-Fiction, Business & economics, General, Internet Marketing, Home-Based Businesses Tag(s): "Starting a business online" "internet marketing" "making money online"
How to Start & Market an Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher
Contents Introduction to GuruGrounds.com.. 17 About Gurugrounds.com and What We Teach. 17 Things You Should Know About GuruGrounds. 17 Who We Created GuruGrounds For. 18 Course 1: How to Start an Online Business. 20 Section 1: The Various Internet Business Models. 20 Why You Should Start An Online Business Now! 20 What Type of Online Business Is Right For You?. 21 The First Steps. 22 Section 2: Getting Started With Your Online Business. 22 How to Think Like an Entrepreneur. 23 Further Examination of Your Business Idea. 23 Identifying Your Target Market 28 Sizing Up Your Markets Competition. 29 Section 3: How to Make a Proper Business Plan. 29 The Importance of a Business Plan. 30 How a Business Plan Should Be Structured. 30 Getting Help with Writing the Business Plan. 31 Thinking Long Term When Writing a Business Plan. 32 Section 4: Funding Your Online Business. 32 The Low-Cost, Tight Budget Method. 33 Finding a Good Investor. 35 Alternative Financing Sources. 37 Buying an Existing Website. 37 Section 5: Serving Your Online Customers with Integrity. 38 The Customer Comes First 38 Policies, Policies, Policies. 39 Keeping Your Word. 41 Section 6: Setting Up Your Office and Workspace. 42 An Effective Floor Plan. 42 Office Equipment 42 Tools of the Trade. 43
Internet Connection. 44 Course 2: Legal Issues and Managing Your Businesses Money. 46 Section 1: Keeping Your Internet Business Legal and Within the Law.. 46 Maintaining A Legitimate Legal Business. 46 Zoning Laws And Restrictions For A Home Business. 48 Obtaining the All Mighty Business Licenses. 49 Section 2: Choosing the Best Business Structure For You. 50 Determining What Organization Will Work Best 50 Sole Proprietorship. 51 Partnerships. 52 Limited Liability Company. 52 Incorporating Your Business. 52 Changing the Legal Structure Down the Road. 54 Section 3: Trademarks and Copyrighting. 54 Why Trademarks and Copyrights Are Important 54 Making a Trademark. 55 Protecting IP's With Copyrights. 55 Getting a Professional 56 Section 4: Accounting. 56 Paying Your Taxes. 56 Accounting 101. 58 QuickBooks and Accounting Software. 60 Hiring a Professional 61 Good Recordkeeping Habits. 63 Course 3: How to Design a Website for Your Internet Business. 65 Section 1: The Right Domain Name for Your Internet Business. 65 Carefully Choosing Your Domain Name. 65 Where to Register the Domain Name. 66 What You Should Do If Your Domain Name Is Already Taken. 66 Why Finding a Good Domain Name Is So Hard To Find. 67 Section 2: User Friendly Website Design. 68 Optimizing You Website for Profitability. 68 What Is Good Website Design?. 69 Flash Web Design. 71 Function, Function, Function. 71 Section 3: Building a Website on a Shoe String Budget 73 Planning For Success. 73 Building a Website On Your Own. 75 Hiring a Professional 76
Section 4: Hosting Your Website. 79 The Terms You Need To Know When Seeking a Hosting Service. 79 Finding the Best Host 80 Section 5: Creating User and Search Engine Friendly Content 81 Effective Internet Writing. 81 Writing for the Internet 81 Motivating Your User to Take Action. 83 Search Engines Friendly Words. 85 Section 6: Launching Your Website. 85 Testing, Testing, Testing. 86 Course 4: How to Operate Your Online Business. 88 Section 1: Ways to Monetize Your Online Business. 88 Selling Physical Products. 88 Selling Your Skills and Services. 92 Information Products. 93 Selling Ad Space. 94 Affiliate Advertising. 95 Multiple Streams of Income. 96 Section 2: Marketing Affiliate Programs. 97 The Ins And Outs of Affiliate Programs. 97 Joining an Affiliate Network. 99 Avoiding Scams and Staying Legitimate. 100 Section 3: Selling Information/Digital Products for Your Online Business. 101 Creating an Information Product 101. 102 EBooks. 103 Creating a Webinar. 105 Section 4: Payment Options for Your Internet Business. 105 Credit Cards and Merchant Accounts. 106 Alternative Payment Methods. 108 Protecting Yourself from Fraud. 108 Section 5: Shopping Carts and Ecommerce. 109 The Variety of Shopping Carts. 109 Hosted Shopping Carts. 111 Purchasing Shopping Cart Software. 111 Custom Made Shopping Cart 112 Section 6: Inventory. 112 Using EBay to Find Out What People Are Buying. 113 Doing Your Research. 113 How to Price Your Products. 114
How to Handle Your Inventory. 115 Section 7: Keeping Up with Demand and Filling out Orders for Your Online Business. 116 Systematizing the Process. 116 In-House Delivery. 117 Outsourcing Fulfillment 117 Shipping and Handling. 118 Keeping Things in Check on the Back End. 120 Course 5: How to Deal with Hackers and Fraud When Doing Business Online. 122 Section 1: The Risks Associated With Internet Security And Doing Business Online. 122 Your Legal Responsibility as the Merchant 122 Securing Your Website. 124 Seals of Approval and Displaying Certificates. 124 Section 2: Having Your Website Hacked and How to Protect Your Data. 125 Denial of Service. 125 Protecting Yourself and Your Business. 125 Saving and Backing Up Data. 126 Course 6: Storefronts and How They Work. 129 Section 1: Using a Storefront for Your Online Business. 129 The Essential Features of a Storefront 129 Recommended Storefronts. 131 Section 2: Amazon aStore And Other Storefronts. 131 Marketplace. 131 Pro Merchant 132 Astores. 132 WebStores. 132 Section 3: Yahoo! E-Commerce Store. 133 Yahoo Store Functions. 133 Getting Started With Your Yahoo Store. 133 Yahoo Plans. 134 Yahoo Fees. 135 Section 4: Using EBay for Your Internet Business. 135 Starting Out On EBay. 136 The Benefits of Running an Auction. 137 EBay Store. 137 Course 7: Getting Your Brick and Mortar Business Online. 141
144 Managing Your Inventory. 162 Section 3: Marketing Your Internet Business Online. 141 Connecting Your Online and Offline Store. 163 Email Newsletters. 142 Section 2: Getting to Know Your Online and Offline Customers. 168 Getting Customers to Stay On Your Website. 162 Marketing Strategy. 167 Section 4: Increasing Your Conversion Rates. 144 Section 3: Common Problems with Getting Your Business Online. 166 Marketing In the Offline World. 159 Interacting With Your Community. 154 Blog Platforms. 152 Earning Money. 152 Getting People to Read Your Blog. 143 What the Online Shopper Will Expect From You. 165 Search Engine Advertising. 143 Comparing the Online and Offline Shopping Experience. 154 Course 9: How to Market Your Internet Business Online 101. 149 Marketing To the Younger Audiences. 145 Course 8: Selling To a Niche Market 148 Section 1: Finding an Untapped Niche to Sell To. 163 Automation and Creating Systems to Simplify Your Life. 168 Giving Customers What They Want Before They Know It 169 Making Your Website Buyer Friendly. 157 Conversion Rates and Other Formulas. 158 Section 2: Having a Good Reputation on the Internet 159 Writing Articles. 148 Section 2: The Children and Elderly Niche Markets. 144 Dealing With Returned Products from Online Purchases. 149 The Over 50 Market 151 Section 3: Blogging about Niche Markets. 142 Deciding On Inventory. 170 Simplifying Shopping Experience. 171 The Dangers of Assuming What Your Customers Want 171 6 . 157 Section 1: Increasing the Number of Sales for Your Online Business. 157 The Basics to Marketing Your Website.Section 1: Deciding That the Time Is Right to Move Your Business Online. 148 Finding a Niche.
195 Social Networks. 203 7 . 181 Section 1: Getting Your Brand Online and Spread Across the Net 181 Marketing Process. 187 Color Selection. 174 Using Your Data to Make Changes. 200 Section 2: Creating Your Social Media Network. 172 Section 5: Web Analytics and Tracking Your Customers. 202 Preparing Your Style. 177 Where to Place Keywords on Your Website. 199 Popularity Sites. 200 What To Track. 199 Aggregators. 174 Section 6: Search Engine Optimization and Ranking High In Google. 196 Bookmarking Sites. 200 Section 3: How to Set Up a Social Media Marketing Plan.Converting Viewers into Buyers. 194 Section 1: What Is Social Media?. 191 Course 11: Social Media Marketing. 177 Moving Up In the Rankings and Finding out Where You Stand. 175 The Most Important Aspects of SEO. 175 How Search Engines Work. 201 Create Your Message. 197 Microblogging. 200 Research Your Target Readers. 194 Understanding and Exploring Social Media. 190 Section 6: How to Find an Expert Marketer. 182 Section 2: Making Money on the Internet 183 Affiliates Assistance. 186 Section 3: Branding and Marketing For Your Online Business.. 181 Developing Your Site. 198 Media Sharing Sites. 189 Section 5: How to Write Excellent Web Copy. 176 Submitting You Website to the Search Engines. 194 Blogging. 173 Trends. 185 Joint Venturing. 188 Site Layout 188 Section 4: Connecting and Integrating Your Multiple Sites. 178 Course 10: How to Build You Presence Online.
217 Writing A PPC Ad.Developing Your Profile. 206 Linked In With LinkedIn. 214 Comparing the Big Players. 214 Lesson 3: How to Create an Excellent PPC Keyword List 215 Google Keywords Tool 215 Choosing. 208 Answer Questions. 216 Destination URLs. 225 8 . 208 Participate In a Discussion. 209 Section 5: Networking Your Business Online. 221 Section 6: Understanding the Law When It Comes To PPC. 217 Structure of PPC Ads. 213 Section 1: Understanding What PPC Advertising Is. 215 Match Types.. 210 Course 12: PPC and the Basics of Online Advertising. 222 Managing Content Network Campaigns. 206 Making MySpace Yours. Organizing and Working With Keywords. 208 Microblog to Success. 219 Having A PPC Budget 219 Keyword Bidding. 204 Reviewing Your Content 205 Planning a Routine. 205 FaceBook Finesse. 218 Test for Successful Ads. 216 Keyword Tracking and Changing Your Keyword List 217 Section 4: How to Write Ads That Convert and Make Money. 207 Bookmark like a Pro! 207 Share through Multimedia. Tools. 205 Section 4: Top Social Media Sites and How To Use Them. 204 Selecting Your Sites. 223 Course 13: Basic Guide to Blogging and Podcasting. 222 Section 7: Tips. 221 Click Fraud. 213 PPC Pros and Cons. 220 Schedule Bidding and Spending. and Tricks of the Trade for PPC Advertising. 213 Section 2: The Big Players in PPC Advertising. 218 Section 5: How to Budget and Bid for Keywords. 209 Section 6: Non-Intrusive Internet Marketing. 213 Search Engine Relevancy.
232 Avoiding Writers Block. 246 Section 2: How to Become a Trusted Email Sender. 263 Emails and Text 264 Emails and Links. 234 Lesson 5: Building Community and The World Of Blogging. 249 Section 3: How to Build a Quality Email Subscriber List 251 Collecting Subscriber Information through Email 252 Collecting Subscriber Information through Website. 227 Blogging Tools. 257 Completing a Subject Line. 238 Other Social Marketing Sites. 228 Other Blogging Options. 238 Submit To Digg. 265 Section 5: How to Create Valuable Email Content 268 Valuable Offers. 247 Avoiding Spam Complaints. 260 Basics of Email Layout 261 Email and Images. 237 Posting On StumbleUpon. 255 List Building with List Brokers. 246 Section 1: Setting Up an Email Marketing Strategy.Lesson 1: Choosing a Profitable Topic to Blog About 225 Choosing Your Blog Topic. 253 Collecting Subscriber Information Person. 254 Collecting Subscriber Information with Print 254 Incentives for Signups. 239 Preparing a Script and Recording Your Podcast 242 Encoding and Uploading. 243 Course 14: Effective Email Marketing. 225 Find Your Competitors. 255 Section 4: How to Create an Effective Marketing Email 257 Filling Out the From Line. 268 9 . 231 Section 3: How to Write Like a Professional Blogger. 227 Section 2: Starting a Blog for Your Online Business. 235 Lesson 6: How to Promote Your Blog Posts. 230 RSS Feeds. 229 Setting Up Your Blog. 239 Section 7: Basic Guide to Podcasting. 233 Section 4: Networking With Other Bloggers. 259 Branding Emails.
. 273 Section 7: Increasing Your Emails Deliverability. 303 Tools To Find the Best Keywords. 277 Course 15: Guide to Web Analytics. 292 Referrers. 288 Hits Aren't Everything. 286 Setting up Your Server for Log File Reporting. 292 Understanding the Referring Analytic Terms.Effective Calls to Action. 295 Course 16: Ranking High In Google with Good SEO. 284 How Reporting Tools Work. 283 Section 1: Getting Started With Web Analytics. 287 Section 2: Keeping Track Of Your Internet Businesses Traffic. 300 Tools of the Trade. 283 Privacy. 294 Determining and Applying Benchmarks. 302 Understanding Your Target Market 302 The Long Tail Theory. 292 How to Use Referral Data. 298 Section 1: Increasing Sales with SEO. 293 Referring Keywords. 283 Understanding What Can and Can't Be Done With Web Analytics. 289 Keeping a Close Eye on Your Referrers. 289 The Most Important Traffic Metrics. 305 Making It Easy For the Search Engines to Crawl Your Website. 295 Key Performance Indicators. 270 Section 6: Tracking Your Results with Email Marketing.. 298 How the Search Engines Determine Relevancy.. 303 Picking Out the Best Keywords. 298 The Purpose of Search Engines. 299 Black Hat SEO. 302 Section 2: SEO and Effectively Using Keywords. 285 Deciding Which Reporting Tool to Go With. 300 Keeping a Tab on Your Results. 293 Section 4: Determining the Quality of Traffic with Analytics. 291 Section 3: Referrer Metrics and Analytics. 305 Roadblocks to Getting Noticed By the Search Engines. 306 10 . 286 Creating an Account with Google Analytics. 294 Bounce Rates. 304 Inspect the Competition. 305 Section 3: Common Problems with Search Engines and SEO..
11 . 323 Section 9: SEO Experts and What They Can Do For You. 309 Optimizing Your Site Structure for Search Engines. 316 Description Tags. 324 Finding the Right SEO Expert 324 Realistic Expectations. 312 News. 315 Writing for the Web. 323 Seeing What Your Competition Is Doing. 318 How to Find Writers.The Firefox Web Developer Toolbar. we would charge $1 Billion dollars.. and can be applied at various levels. this book is sure to help you out. this book in no way guarantees that you will make millions. 317 Make Writing a Routine. 326 Disclaimer Whether you are looking to expand your knowledge base. 315 Title Tags. 318 Section 7: Techniques for Link Building and Getting Backlinks. but we aren't. 308 Duplicate Content 308 Broken Links. 309 Section 4: Optimizing Your Site for Search Engines. The information is worth your time and money (even though this is for free). 319 Link Votes. or are starting scratch. 320 Quality over Quantity. 317 Write For Customers Not Search Engine. 314 Brainstorming Ideas. 311 The Other Stuff Google Will Blend In. 317 Headlines. While the information within is vast. 323 What to Avoid. 313 Section 6: How to Write Quality Web Copy For SEO. and if was to be sold. 319 Linkable Content 319 Easy Places and Ways To Get Backlinks. 310 Trust 311 Section 5: How to Capitalize On Blended Search Results.
The information contained within including but not limited to all logos.com By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Introduction to GuruGrounds. is not to be held accountable.This book is packed with thousands of useful methods that can be applied to any niche. more and more people have realized the viability of doing business online. 12 . While there have been many cases of fraud and negligence. This may seem as a complicated process. you are already on your way to success. content and information is copyrighted by Carbon West Digital. with the update of technology and security. but success depends on your ability to apply the information to your specific topic. but by reading this book. be sure to read additional content which may be more targeted towards your specific market. Introduction to GuruGrounds.com For 20 years the internet has consistently proven itself to be an effective place to conduct business. tables. In addition to reading this book. The advice and situations discussed within this book may not apply to every situation and any recommendations made by this book. the internet has become one of the togo methods in creating and running a successful business. Due to the internet's ability to constantly change. 2010.
We made an effort to research. Things You Should Know About GuruGrounds This site covers everything you MAY need to know but doesn't mean you will need to apply everything to your business. To help you with that. Who We Created GuruGrounds For This site wasn't written for the person who's never touched a computer. to verify with a second opinion (three heads are better than one).com and What We Teach After witnessing firsthand the difficult process of starting and running an online business. we decided to combine our years of experience and create a guide that helps you with all aspects of starting and marketing your online business. Use this information as a reference when creating your business. a lot of learning and hard work. launching your business is still a fairly complicated process. Not only do we cover the ONLINE aspects of running a business but we also talk about the OFFLINE experience such as basic accounting principles. you can skip chapters if they don't pertain to your business. entrepreneurial. Because we try to cover every aspect of online business we encourage you to first learn as much as possible and then with the information you've gathered. then we suggest at least skimming the section. legal aspects. If you are better informed on an area of the book. taking some basic computer classes). you may want to think about hiring a professional (or at the very least. If you aren't sure where the power button is. Of course learning only our material is not enough to get rich so you will have to do your part and remember running an online business requires persistence. You should be individual who is self motivated. specific to your niche. we felt that a guide was needed. While the internet has adapted to the times. we are also benefiting as well. You don't have to read everything. and managing physical products. and passionate about your business or product. While we are providing this content to help others make money.About Gurugrounds. If you feel that you possess 13 . narrow your focus on a specific type of business. catalogue and bring together all the aspects of online business into one condensed package for learning. Consider this site a reference/encyclopedia for running an online business.
14 . Course #1 Starting an Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 1: How to Start an Online Business Section 1: The Various Internet Business Models Before you start an online business you should know what your options are. you should still understand the basics of web browsing. it is up to you to walk through it. we can only open the door for you. This section will briefly go over the different types of E-Business models.any of these qualities. email and navigating the internet. There are many different E-Business models out there and they each require a different skill set. But remember. For those of you looking to get started. Our ultimate goal is to provide you with the tools required for you to succeed. this package of information will definitely be the ultimate reference guide when looking to start and expand a new or existing business venture.
for many niches. You can create a website for free and the cost of hosting and maintaining it are getting cheaper and cheaper. There is very low overhead and with that there is the potential of achieving financial freedom and making really good money. The great thing about all this is that physical location is not an issue. The demand. online business has become safer and more productive. People are becoming more and more comfortable purchasing online. alone are expected to reach $335 billion by the year 2012 (According to studies done by Forrester Research). But now. so you can work from home! You're not limited to the people in your geographical area. The internet makes it easy for someone with no startup capital to start a business and start making money. and in the online world they aren't limited by location. there's always room for more. Many businesses will take years before they reach their peak in sales.S. And because you'll be self employed. You should choose a business that you're passionate about and be sure to choose something that you'd be willing to stick with for a long time. you can work when you want and as much as you want. There are over 238 million internet users in the U. will pay off in the end. What Type of Online Business Is Right For You? The next step after deciding if you want to start an online business is to find out what kind of online business you want to run. conducting business online was risky and unpredictable.S. Even though there are business's that only take advantage of short term trends and do very well. they are cheap and easy to use so you can start right away. Online retail sales in the U. with more people online than ever before (and those numbers are predicted to increase for many years to come). Even if your niche has a lot of competition. thereby allowing novices to compete with the bigger companies. the majority of those business's never 15 . Carefully choosing your business. In the beginning. still out ways the supply. Ecommerce applications are becoming more accessible and easier to use.Why You Should Start An Online Business Now! The internet is maturing and becoming a more stable place. Thinking In the Long Term Not all businesses will become giants like Amazon or eBay. In regards to the tools required to start an online business. You can sell to virtually anyone on the planet.
you'll have the time to learn. either through drop shipping or by shipping out your own products. Identify your business model. By choosing a business that will last into the long term.reach their full potential for that market. Content site: Information is a commodity and can be sold online in the form of an information product or you can distribute it for free and receive income through advertisements. Keep in mind that both types of customers require very different business models. 16 . If you know what you want you're more likely to get it. skills and past experiences and decide which business model is best for you. Think tortoise and the hare. you can also sell your services. develop and take over in your chosen market. The Many Faces of Online Business All online business models generally fall into two categories: business to consumer and business to business. Shopping cart apps and accounting software are two examples. Service Business: You don't always have to sell a product. The First Steps So you've decided to start an online business but now what? Here are some steps to help you get started Make a commitment to yourself. Some people are willing to pay a large amount of money for an app/program. When setting goals you should write down exactly what you want on paper. Clarify exactly what you want. Knowing whether your customers will be from a business or from individuals will allow you to create a better marketing plan. Take into consideration your hobbies. If you're going to start an online business you'll need to be committed to it. Here are some of the ways you can create revenue online: Etail: if you have a brick and mortar site and you offer your products online. especially if it will save them money and time in the long run. In some cases your product may be applicable to both business and individuals. you have an etail site. Storefront: A strictly online store where you have no actual physical business but you sell products online. Applications and programs: People are always looking for an app/ program to do some task for them. This is not something you can do halfway and be successful at.
By the end of this SECTION you may realize that your plan is not even feasible. This will prevent you from getting overwhelmed and it will keep you focused. your plans still have a long way to go. You still need to identify your customers. where they click. • You must perfectly understand who your customers are. where they come from and much more. and accounting are just a few examples of the commonalities between a traditional business and online business. products and/or services. Getting an outsider's opinion will help you work out kinks in your idea. • You must be able to think like a customer so you can better understand their needs. taxes. There are tools you can use to analyze the habits of your customers. talk to your friends and family up about it. Even though you have a clear vision of what you want. Now that you've figured out the holes in your business idea it's time to further develop their bulletproof business idea. How to Think Like an Entrepreneur Running an online business is very similar to running a traditional brick-and-mortar business. Make a timeline. After developing a clear vision of exactly what you want. legal issues. • You must understand that the smallest change on your website can create dramatic results. You can see how much time they spend on your website. In order to be successful with an online business. To become a good netrepreneur there are some skills you'll need to acquire. Customer service.Consult family members and friends. • You must be able to respond to fast and dramatic changes. The Internet is constantly changing and you must change with it. privacy and 17 . Write down all the steps required to achieve your goal and set a date to them. what time of the day they come to your website. Further clarify your business idea. Section 2: Getting Started With Your Online Business This section will talk about turning your ideas into a reality. you must make the effort to understand the new trends. The term netrepreneur is used to describe someone who conducts business online. If this is the case you'll just have to take a step back and rethink your idea.
Ask them the following questions: • Would you ever use this product or service? • Do you currently use any products like this? • How much would you be willing to pay for this type of product or service? • Would you use it often? • Where would you normally find this product or service? • Would you ever order this product or service online? It's impossible to please everyone but if you find that majority of the responses are positive then you should consider taking your idea to the next level. You can do this by asking your friends. The following links are just a few organizations that are out there to help small businesses: Small Business Administration www. Also be sure to take a step back every once in a while to have a fresh.gov Small Business Development Center www.uschamber. coworkers. You should ask them the following questions: • Have you ever seen this type of product or service? • Would you ever consider buying this product or service? • What do you think of this idea? • What problems do you foresee me encountering? • What do you think are the pros and cons of this idea? • Do you think of me as the type of person who would sell this product or service? Why or why not? Contact organizations that support small businesses and tell them your idea to get high-quality feedback.score. Further Examination of Your Business Idea Poor planning leads to poor performance.org Woman's Business Center www.sba. 18 . Your first idea is usually not the best idea so it's important to deeply examine your idea for potential problems and concerns.security concerns. At the very least spend a week thinking of your business idea. and the technology and tools that are at your disposal.gov You should also consult your potential customers. objective outlook. new.gov/sbdc Chamber of Commerce www.sba. and other professionals.onlinewbc. Conduct informal research to verify the feasibility of your idea.com SCORE www.
Applying the SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is a popular method used to determine the pros and cons of any idea. 3. ask yourself these questions: • Is there a big demand my product or service? • Is my idea a growing trend? • Will I be able to take advantage of a new technology? When filling out the THREATS category. draw a large cross separating the page into four quadrants. weaknesses. 2. 6. When filling out the STRENGTH category. 5. On a sheet of paper. meaning that they specifically contribute (good or bad) to the proposed business. The upper left quadrant should be labeled as STRENGTHS. opportunities. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are considered external factors since they deal with things outside of your control and factors that are influenced by the environment. The upper right quadrant should be labeled as WEAKNESSES. ask yourself these questions: • How much will it cost to produce or offer my product or service? • Will it be difficult to get suppliers? • Do I have enough experience in this industry? When filling out the OPPORTUNITIES category. The lower right quadrant should be labeled as THREATS. SWOT is an acronym for strengths. Follow these steps to create your own SWOT chart: 1. The lower left quadrant should be labeled as OPPORTUNITIES. ask yourself these questions: • Will I be able to compete with my competitors? • How big are my competitors? 19 . ask yourself these questions: • What are the benefits of the product or service? • Am I an expert in this industry? • Can I get a patent or copyright to protect my idea? • Are my skills applicable to this business? When filling out the WEAKNESSES category. 4. Go through each quadrant and fill out each category to the best of your ability. and threats.
If you can answer YES to the following questions. An Idea That's Right for You For some of you coming up with a business idea comes easy. family and other professionals there is one last step to completely validate your idea. then your business idea is worth pursuing: • Are you interested in this idea? • Does this product or service get you excited? • Are you knowledgeable about this product or service? • Do you have the money on hand to start this business? • Are you willing to change your lifestyle to pursue this idea? • Would operating this business get you closer to achieving your personal goals? • Would operating this business get you closer to achieving your professional goals? • Can you see yourself owning and running this business 10 years from now? • Does this idea pass your feasibility test? How Feasible Is Your Online Business? Once you've done the SWOT test and received feedback from friends. If you are one of these entrepreneurs the biggest problem is not coming up with a business idea but instead choosing which one to pursue.• Are my competitors able to provide the product or service at a cheaper price? • Will my product be in need five years from now? Take a look at each quadrant. A feasibility study is a formal written process to help you determine how realistic and achievable your idea is. do the strengths and opportunities outweigh the threats and weaknesses? Is there anything you can do to offset the disadvantages? There'll always be a few weaknesses and threats on your SWOT analysis but the fewer the better. This is just another step to make sure that all the kinks have been thought out. Essentially the feasibility study will answer these basic questions: 20 . Many entrepreneurs can be considered dreamers as they're constantly coming up with new ideas. Keep working on your idea until all the factors have been taken into consideration.
The more accurate your information is the better you'll 21 . how can I prevent it? The Costs of Business • How much does my product or service cost me? • How much money will I need to start my business? • How much will I need to make in order to make profit? • What other costs will my business have? When you answer these questions make sure you back them up with actual research.• Will people buy my product or service? • How much will it cost to start my business? • How much profit will my business make? • Is my idea worth pursuing? Go through this list of questions to complete the feasibility study: Products and Services • What is the product or service that I am trying to sell? • How will the customers use it? • Where will my customers be able to buy it? • How will my product or service be delivered to my customers? • How will I make my product? • How will I test my product? Management Experience • Do I have any management experience? • Who will manage my business? • What specifically are my skills and credentials? • What skills should I work on? • How much time and when can I devote myself to my business? The Marketplace • How big of a demand is there for my product? • Who exactly are my customers? • What is my target market? • How big is my target market? • Is my market growing or getting smaller? • What is the best way of reaching out to my target market? The Competition • Who exactly are my competitors? • What makes me different from my competitors? • How exactly to my competitors market their products and services? • Is my product or service easy to replicate? If so.
when and where will your market use your product? Your market will most likely be a mixture of different people but find the most common denominator. age group. taste in fashion. The better you know your target market. take into consideration these questions: • Demographics: what are the income.be able to run your business. keep that in mind. Although copying your competitors can be effective in some respects it doesn't mean you'll get the same results. There are a ton of free online resources to help you with this. and taste in music? • Demographics: where do your customers live? Which country? Which neighborhood? Urban or suburban? • Uses: how. Surveys and focus groups "can" be effective but they should only be taken with a grain of salt. the more successfully you'll be able to market to them. Sizing Up Your Markets Competition 22 . Find your biggest competitors and observe their customers. There are companies such as "Gartner Group" and "IDC" that offer market research. gender and occupations of your market? • Psychographics: what are your markets life style. Identifying Your Target Market Your target market is essentially the term used to identify your buyers. Search online for market research relating to your product. What a customer thinks they want is not always what they actually want. they can be pricey though ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars. If you can answer all these questions you are ready to move to the next step. It will also save you time and money if you market effectively to your market. When you identify your market. Classifying Your Customer It will be easier to market if you know what your customer wants. How to Find Out Exactly Who Your Customer Is You must conduct some research to clearly identify your target market. hobbies.
The more you know about your market. learn from it and avoid doing the same if possible. Subscribe to all the email newsletters and promo offers. Be strong where they're weak. Document a list of all your competitors and update it often. competitors and the industry the better off you'll do. Without a destination in mind you'll be going nowhere fast. The Importance of a Business Plan It's important for the same reason as not writing your goals down. Do they do a better job at a certain task? If so learn from them and implement their strategy into yours. 23 . You can use the information you've gathered to define your business and make it more unique in relation to your competitors. Use your competitors pricing strategy as a guide. Knowledge is power so don't let this information go to waste. use the information you've gathered to strengthen your business strategy. Section 3: How to Make a Proper Business Plan People who are starting a business for the very first time will often ask "why should I write a business plan?" and they'll say something like "it's all in my head". the better. flyers. pricing your products for a lower price is not always a good idea. for each competitor you should document information such as: • Their website address • The types of products and or services that they offer (details. commercials) • How often they have sales. You can get entire books on writing business plans so this SECTION will only cover the basics. Depending on the market. offered by your competitors. The more information you have. prices) • Promotional work such as ads (brochures. take it into account but do what's best for "your" business. You don't want to be a copycat so try to stand out. If your competitors have a major flaw in their strategy. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of your business with that of your competitors. this will make it much easier to keep up to date with them. and how big they end up being. Almost all successful business people without exception will tell you that a business plan is essential. posters. If you don't know where you're going you're like a ship lost at sea without a destination.
with a look of their competitive advantages and how you will be able to overcome any barriers to your market. all those will change and you business plan will need to change accordingly. How a Business Plan Should Be Structured A business plan should be no more than 20 pages and you can usually get by with a lot less than that.Your business plan is like a map. These sections should include information on industry trends. 24 . This goes more or less without exception. and it will include information such as geographic location. but it will pay off tremendously in the end. • Marketing Plan: This section is a detailed description of your marketing strategy which will include a pricing plan. and industry sales. The investors want to see that you know what you're doing. • The Industry: This section is an overview of the industry your business will be operating in. bank or other outside source you'll need a business plan to show them. Writing a business plan can be a lot of work depending on how detailed you make it. • Management Plan: This will be an outline of the legal and management structure of you business. If you're planning on getting money from an investor. the major competitors in the industry. and any promotional plans. your target market's wants and how these wants are currently being met. demographics. It's essentially a summary of the entire business plan. this section is written last. The more information it contains the easier it will be to find the destination and goal you had in mind. Most experts on the subject of business plans recommend breaking it down into 7-8 sections as follows: • The Executive Summary: even though this section appears first. A business plan will you keep your finances in order and you'll be able to see what is priority and what isn't. • Market Analysis: This section will cover the primary target market for your product or service. This will include your internal and external management team/resources. • Competitive Analysis: This will be an examination of your competitors. A business plan will change with time because it does not only explain what your business is about and how it works but it also explains where the business is going and how it will get there.
The going price for a business plan writer/consultant ranges anywhere between $1. • Financial Plan: Here you should describe your funding requirements and how the money will all be used. Paying a professional to write your business plan can pay off in the end if you're not sure how to go about it. Before deciding to hire a professional check out the following sites since they may contain all the information you need to write a business plan yourself: • Small Business Development Center www. Getting Help with Writing the Business Plan Your business plan "should" be very specific and a little research will be required. A business plan consultant/writer will word your plan in such a way that speaks to investors.gov/sbdc 25 . What You'll Get From A Professional Business Plan Writer A business plan writer will require a lot of information from you.com Deciding Whether Or Not to Hire a Professional Not all businesses need a professional business plan. The job of the writer/consultant is to translate your thoughts and plans into a cohesive business plan that will be both effective for you and the investors. It can be extremely useful.bplans. You'll also want to describe the inventory requirements and suppliers. Find a business plan for a business similar to yours and see how they've done it. There are a few computer programs and templates out there that can assist you in writing the plan.sba. facilities and equipment of your business.paloalto. If you're initially going to start your business on a part time basis and you plan on starting without an outside investment a solid detailed plan is not needed. You can use this format for any business. and include a description of the manufacturing process (if any).• Operating Plan: This is the section where you describe the physical location.500 to $5. We suggest Business Plan Pro which can be found at: www. Check out Bplans (www. A professional will also help you save time if that's an issue for you.com) for samples of other business plans. you'll want a polished professional business plan. depending on the requirements. They'll add all the essential information that the investors will want to see.000. If you want outside startup capital from investors.
Thinking Long Term When Writing a Business Plan Your business plan is something that should always be kept in mind. With specifics of what each party member is responsible for. Referring to your business plan often will help you deal with any issue that arises and it will guide you in any decision making situations. 26 . Rereading the business plan will keep you on track. especially if you're on a tight budget or you don't currently have a well paying job. A tight budget will force you to think outside the box and leverage all the opportunities that come your way. Ask yourself if the decision will take you closer or further away from your vision. You'll get caught up in the small things and lose sight of the big picture. If you borrow from the bank you'll be faced with paying interest and eventually paying it all back. the easier it will be to start your business. Tight Budget Method The more money you have. Read other business plans written by the professional and ask for references. Section 4: Funding Your Online Business Funding you online business is perhaps one of the scariest things you'll have to do.uschamber. online businesses can be started up for almost next to nothing. Luckily.• Chamber of Commerce www.com • SCORE www. As with all contracts. It's very easy to lose focus when running a business. make sure that all the final terms are in a written contract. This section will cover the various funding methods that will assist your start-up.score. It should be referred to often and changed if needed. The Low-Cost. You want to be absolutely sure that your business will be successful in that case otherwise you'll be paying it off for a while. The secret to starting a business on a low budget is to make a little money go a long way. The Frugal Lifestyle Starting a business can be risky so the safest (but hardest thing) to do is to keep your job while working on your business.org If you do end up deciding to hire a professional be sure that they have experience with your industry and online businesses.
Rent out a cheaper apartment or drive a cheaper car while growing your business. Instead of buying or creating the products first and then selling them. get the money first then create the item and ship it out. It will take you longer to start your business but you'll be in a better financial position in the long run.One option is to work part-time to earn enough cash for the essentials but devote the rest of your time to your business. • Work smart. Making Do with Nothing 27 . weekly. Thinking frugally forces you to be smarter with your money and make the most out of the least. and monthly budget for yourself and follow it to a tee. • Find professionals who are willing to guide you for free. • One effective method is to have a customer pay for the product before you yourself even have it. • Find people who will work for free. There are many people who will do jobs for you in return for a good recommendation. • Focus on the business before investing back into yourself. Every Penny Counts There are many ways to save money while starting up a business. Some people will keep their day job and work on their business at night. not hard. • Create a daily. The key thing is to be financially safe and secure and to cut down expenses so that you won't run into problems. and eBay! Shopping second hand isn't glamorous but it will save a lot. Join a mastermind group and you'll be able to get free advice from other business people. This is a lot easier then you think. This only works with physical products. • Buy what you need and not what you want. thrift stores. • Shop second hand and check out garage sales. Focus on the tasks that will wield the biggest results. Sacrifices will need to be made in order to get your business up to the level where you'll be able to take a step back and relax.
If your idea is good. 28 . Before going out and buying an expensive program. you'll be able to make decisions quickly and on the spot. Assuming you maintain full ownership of the business.com • Free-Downloadable-Software. you'll reap higher profits and you won't have to worry about paying back the investors. Thinking frugally will prevent you from spending wastefully. Most millionaires are millionaires because they spend wisely.com The Benefits of Being Frugal Being frugal does have its hardships. search for freeware (free software) that can do the same thing.com www. It's important that you know your options when looking for an investor.com www. You can always buy the program later. Investors will want to have a say in the direction of your business so if you can fund it yourself you'll retain full ownership. You can search online for similar organizations. Because you don't have investors breathing down your back. it requires discipline and foresight but in the long run you can save a lot of money. investors will invest in your business with the hope that there will be a return on investment or they'll invest for partial ownership.com • MajorGeeks.Bartering and trading are excellent ways to save money. Southern Barter is an organization to help facilitate bartering and trading in your area. Bartering and trading is essentially getting something in exchange for one of your products of services. Most programs offer a 30 day trial period for free which may be long enough to get your business off the ground.tucows. Don't ever buy computer software before trying out the trial versions.com www.majorgeeks. In those cases where a large start-up capital is needed an investor is their best option. Finding a Good Investor Some business start-ups require an initial investment that may be out of reach for most people.Free-DownloadableSoftware. You can find freeware online from many websites. We recommend: • Tucows.
They just want to provide you with the funding and they'll let you run your business.vfinance.com 29 . Investment Angels Angel investors are people who are willing to fund small businesses and young company start-ups. You'll get your money right away with your family and friends.angel-investor-news. it's possible to get a large amount of money by asking for a little from everyone.com Funding Universe www.nbai. Angels usually avoid getting involved in the actual business.com www. They're usually much more lenient then full on investors but they'll still require a good business plan and some evidence to prove to them that they'll get a return on their investment. Often time's people who get loans and funding from family and friends keep the terms of agreement unstructured and loose. There are downsides to getting money from your family though. You don't want to give them too much ownership and then have the company succeed… it can lead to sticky situations. Here's a list of angel networks that you'll find useful.fundinguniverse. Be sure to have proper terms of agreement written that all parties understand to prevent misunderstandings. Also. This can lead to many problems.gobignetwork. angels usually give you more time to return their investments. You'll have to be careful with how much company stock you give up to your friends and family. Approaching family members and friends for money can lead to problems in the relationship.com Go Big Network www.net www. Family members and friends will usually not charge you interest on the loan and you won't have to deal with bureaucracy that's usually found with a bank.net vFinance. Depending on the people you know.Friends and Family This should be your first source of investments since your friends and family are going to be the most flexible when it comes to you paying them back and simply just dealing with them. AngelInvestorNews.com www.com NBAI. anywhere up to 5 years.
2008 edition www.pwcmoneytree.000. They want to see that you have a good track record and that you're able to deal with big loans. Attend seminars hosted by venture capitalist and connect with them online. just be sure to consider the penalties for early withdrawal.com Alternative Financing Sources If you can't find an Angel investor. These loans usually go between $5. Venture capitalists will not give money to start-ups. Research the different venture capitalist firms and focus on the ones that invest in your industry. Check out these two resources to learn more about the venture capitalist industry: • The directory of venture capital and private equity firms. Microloans are just as the name implies small loans. If you're thinking of eventually getting a venture capitalist it's best to make connections now. You'll need a proven track record with an experienced management team. Venture capitalist often invest anywhere from $500.000 or more.com/venture. Home equity loans are another option.000 to $10. Credit cards and lines of credit are excellent sources.000 and $25.greyhouse. your family and friends can't loan you anything and a venture capitalist is out of the question. RRSPs and your 401(k) s are another source of funding. If you want money from a venture capitalist you need to be in a good industry that shows growth.Venture Capitalist Getting a venture capitalist to fund your project will not be easy. Venture capitalists are looking to make a big return and so you should be ready to give up control and leave it in their hands if need be. this can be risky though and so you have to ask yourself… are you willing to lose your home? If you have poor credit. there are still many sources you can tap into. some banks and investors can offer you a high interest loan.html • The money tree report (www. try to find a credit card that will offer reward points for money spent and be sure to get a card with a low interest rate.000 and you can receive them the day 30 .
Although it's not necessary. these kind of owner s will sell the businesses for a cheaper price. Some business owners either don't have time to operate the business or they've lost passion for their business.org Accion USA www. Starting a business can be easy. Buying an Existing Website These are thousands and thousands of online businesses. If starting a business is too much work for you.org Grants and awards are another way to go. Section 5: Serving Your Online Customers with Integrity 31 . Look for a deal where you can put down a down payment and pay the rest in installments. There are the businesses you want to think about buying. avoid these sellers as they're looking to make a profit and they may have used methods to inflate the price of the site. Look for owners that are dispassionate about their original idea. you'll be paying more but you'll have the security of knowing that the business actually works. Other businesses have a lot of potential but the owners don't have the motivation to fully take advantage of it. purchasing one may be an option for you. Many companies and organizations offer grants and financial awards to innovative entrepreneurs. you can use the profits to pay back the installments. There are many organizations out there that offer micro loans and we recommend you check out: Count me in www. If the business is making money. Some people make online businesses with the strict intention of selling it after the initial start up phase.you apply for them. You'll have to do some research to find these though as there isn't any resource that keeps track of them all.accionusa. In the case the owner will continue to own the business but you'll run it until you've paid off the asking price. many of which are quite successful. By buying a business you'll be avoiding all the work of starting it up and all the expenses that came with it. look for a business that already has a steady flow of customers going through. but marketing it and establishing yourself in the market can take a while so buying a website that's already established will save you a lot of time. no longer have time to maintain it.countmein. or owners that are strapped for cash. Some business owners are willing to lease out their business.
Some policies are mandated by the government so be careful when writing it out (you must have these policies written out and kept somewhere). use. 32 .asp The sample privacy policy can be used if you live in the USA and you'll just need to go through and change a few details. Privacy Policy Your privacy policy will state how you'll collect. even in an online business and that is the most important asset in your business. Write about what makes your service special and how you stand out from the competitors. You should also have them on your website to prevent misunderstandings and law suits. You'll also need a privacy policy.The customer comes first. Writing a Customer Pledge The pledge can be as short or as long as you want and it can be specific or vague but it has to be honest. This section will cover good business practice and how to treat your customer right. return policy. Policies A customer service pledge is not the only policy your website will need. The Customer Comes First Good service will go a long way and is perhaps one of the most cost effective methods to retain a customer. The information you gather includes cookies and other tracking data. Policies. You can find a sample privacy policy at: www.org/Privacy/sample_privacy. shipping policy. Mention what you will and won't do for customers and make it clear. and you may need a few others. your customer base. Having a pledge to your customers is an excellent way to not only let you customer know what to expect from you.bbbonline. Explain how you view the customer and how important serving them is to you. but it can serve as a guideline for you and your employees on how to treat them. What you do for the customer is more important then what they do for you. Policies. and treat the information you collect from people.
Here are the rules: • You must ship the product as stated on your website. also legal issues. how you use it. The TOS should indicate how users can and cannot use the site. • You must allow the customer to agree to any delay or to be able to cancel the order and specify the amount of time required to be refunded. There are FTC rules to comply with in regards to shipping and handling. The return policy is made to not only protect you. • You must include a correct and revised shipping date if there is a delay. and any other rule you may require. and who you share it with. The return policy should state: • The time limit in which the owner has before they're no longer able to return the product. will include this during the registration process (a TOS is important if you want to avoid getting sued for actions taken by users). The privacy policy has to be properly labeled and easy to access on your website. • You must ship the product within 30 days after the order has been received. unless an earlier timeframe is specified. It should include information about what information you gather. Many membership sites . The return policy should clearly state the conditions by which a customer is allowed to return a product and how they will be refunded. but also your customer. • You must notify the customer ASAP if you're unable to fulfill the order.A privacy policy for your online business is required by law in the USA and it's mandated by the FTC.where you have to register. who are allowed to use the site. Terms of Services Also known as a "user agreement" or "terms and conditions". Shipping Policy This section should indicate how and when customer orders will be handled and shipped. 33 . Return Policy The return policy should be clear and specific as there are always a few people who will take advantage of you.
minimize the days in which they can try the product. • Exactly what can and cannot be returned. To avoid having people take advantage of your return policy. and Linking to and from other sites. • Will the customer receive cash or store credit? • If you sell other businesses products you must direct the customers to their return policy. • You must get the parents' permission before collecting information and you must explain to them how and what you collect.• You're right to reject a returned item if it shows obvious signs of use. Protecting Young Users If you live in the USA you'll have to follow the rules of the FTC's COPPA which mandates that if your website is targeted to children under 13 you must follow a certain set of rules: • You must have a privacy policy on your front page and have a link on any page that collects information. Not doing what you promise will bring down your reputation and trust among your customers. spam and Email subscriptions. Many of the policies are government mandated so failing to follow these rules. These policies are also there to keep you protected from being sued. • The fees associated with returning and restocking the items. COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) Other Policies to Consider Ultimately. Many websites will include policies for forums and chat rooms. • You must keep all the information private and confidential. 34 . may have big consequences. you actually have to do what you say. exporting and Importing. policies can protect you from being sued and they'll help prevent misunderstandings and issues. Keeping Your Word It's not enough to write your policies and be idealistic. • You should state who will pay for shipping and handling on the returned item. don't take your chances. So do what you say and keep out of hot water.
an all in one device is not necessary (but really good to have).If for whatever chance you are not able to meet the standards when serving a customer: notify the customer ASAP. You can now get computer equipment for a very cheap price. This section will cover the essential equipment. An Effective Floor Plan Whether you live in a tiny condo. or spacious home you'll want to setup an area specifically for working. Draw a layout and make a plan before setting up your office. You want a space made for working. You'll be spending a lot of time in front of your computer so make sure it's comfortable. hardware and layout for an effective workspace. If purchasing the equipment is out of the question due to finances you can consider outsourcing that work and using a company like Kinko's 35 . so don't take this lightly. Now days you can get all in one device that can print. scan and print DVD's/CD's for a very good price (around $150). credit. Fortunately most online businesses can be entirely conducted online without devices so unless you sell physical products and you have to print out invoices. apologize. copy. Even if you don't need an all in one device. it's still probably the most practical purchase you can make. or discount. fax. Also it's best to have your computer/office space outside of your bedroom and away from any distractions like the TV. If you're selling physical products you should consider buying a digital camera to display pictures on your website of your products. Section 6: Setting Up Your Office and Workspace Having a proper work space will save you a lot of time in the end. Will any work related people visit your home? If so you want to make it as professional and clean as possible. Will your business require employees to be at the office? (Unless you're selling a physical product all employees can work from their home) Make a list of all the items you'll need. and printers. correct the issue. Office Equipment Long gone are the days of the $500 photocopiers. and offer the customer a refund. scanner.
we suggest getting windows 7 as your operating system as it already comes with many useful programs. faxing.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ ht- 36 . The Office Computer A personal and accessible computer is absolutely essential if you want to conduct business online. a super powerful $1000 computer would be overkill.com/en-US/ firefox/upgrade. If you're a computer illiterate person that's alright.(now FedEx) or Staples to do all you're printing. you'll be doing simple graphic work.google. you'll most likely be using your computer for more than just business so purchase according to your needs.opera. If you have a slow computer you might want to consider just upgrading it. Also before buying a computer. a spouse or family members then you might want to consider buying a new computer.mozillamessaging. make a list of all the programs you'll be using. A new computer can now be bought for as low $300 and for most online business. If you're sharing a computer with room-mates. Tools of the Trade Getting a computer won't be enough. this should not be a problem. it will be more than enough. Fortunately for 99. For the most part. You'll want a fast and stable computer.com/chrome Email Management Thunderbird tp://www. buying a computer has become very easy.com Google Chrome www. You'll want a computer that at the very least meets all the programs system requirements. Naturally though. and word processing. Most computer stores can guide you on what to buy and they'll even install it for you for a low price. The following list of tools is recommended (you only need one email manager): Web Browsers Firefox http://www.html Opera http://www.99% of you. and copying work. Every netreprenuer will have their own set of tools and programs that they'll swear by.
aspx Media Viewing and Editing Flash Player Picasa VLC media player Miscellaneous WinRAR www.com/ Internet Connection Depending on the region you live in.com/ http://office.adobe.rarlab.foxitsoftware.com/outlook/ http://www.ca/ http://www. Course #2 Business Finance & Legal Issues By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher 37 .videolan.com/ www.microsoft.mail.google. you'll have a different internet service provider (ISP). The average going price for a good internet connection is about $20 $40 per month.google. There's nothing worse than when your internet goes down for a few days while you're trying to do business.microsoft. Don't be lured in by cheap deals.com/en-us/ http://get. You'll want an ISP that's stable and provides fast service.Gmail Microsoft Outlook Document Viewing and Editing Foxit PDF Reader pdf/reader/ Microsoft Office default.com/flashplayer/ http://picasa. You'll also want either a DSL or Cable modem connection.org/vlc/ http://www. Research your options and go for the most trustworthy and stable ISP.
There will be different regulations you must follow depending the type of business you have. We realize that reading and understanding the language used by lawyers can be daunting so to help you learn more about the laws governing your business be sure to check out these resources: • Industry trade associations • Local Chamber of Commerce • Small Business Administration (SBA) Employer Identification Number (EIN) An Employer Identification number or EIN (also known as the "Federal Tax Identification Number") is a 9 digit number that is used to identify a company for tax returns and certain forms. Also the laws are different state to state so be mindful and consult a lawyer if you have any concerns. or your business is a partnership or corporation. loan applications.irs. The laws for online businesses change often so you must stay up to date with the regulations. Maintaining A Legitimate Legal Business Before opening the doors and launching your web business. Getting a Resale Certificate 38 .Course 2: Legal Issues and Managing Your Businesses Money Section 1: Keeping Your Internet Business Legal and Within the Law There are many laws governing how you can run your business. Business accounts. An online business not only has its own laws but also must also follow the laws regarding a non-internet business. To apply for EIN you can call 1-800-829-4933 and agents are available to guide you through the process. review the laws and make sure you're not breaking any of them.do (If you don't want to apply online you can download the form from the website and mail the application). You can also apply online (probably the easiest method) at: • https://sa. Also it is needed if you have employees. and many other documents ask for an EIN but if you don't have one your Social Security Number will often do.www4.gov/sa_vign/newFormSS4.
your work place may be inspected to see if it meets all health regulations. a copy of your business license. Social Security Number.cfsan. This means that you will have to follow certain labeling regulations that indicate ingredients and nutritional data. you will also need to let them know. If you are required to collect and pay tax.html There are exemptions for businesses that don't exceed a certain yearly sales amount. Also prior to getting a permit. this is a bad idea. The following forms should be kept in mind as they are required by the IRS: 39 .gov/~comm/foodbiz. If you use the same account for personal and business you'll have a tough time doing the book keeping. A good idea is to consult an accountant as they can help find the best account for your business. If you are the only employee. If you run and operate a legitimate business you'll need to pay taxes and therefore do proper accounting. Employee Forms and Regulations The IRS is something that we cannot avoid and if you are looking to hire an employee. In addition. you may have to get a resale certificate (you may also need one if you're going to buy or sell wholesale). Exemptions are also given to those who don't make nutritional claims. you may have to pay and collect a sales tax on every product you sell. In order to get a business account the bank will ask for your EID. You can find the website here: • www. you will need to notify them.Depending on the state you live in. Creating a Business Account with Your Bank You may be tempted to just operate your business through your current bank account. With so many exceptions and various rules you may want to consult a certified public accountant. The FDA's website will have information on labeling standards and starting and running a food business.fda. and any additional business documentation. Department Of Health Permit If you sell food products with your online business you will need a permit from the department of health. depending on what you're selling you may also have to follow the regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
check to make sure). The W-2 indicates the total income your employee made and how much you've held back for tax reasons. This form is also used if you barter or trade goods. • Business signs on the outside of your home. Zoning refers to what activities can be conducted in certain areas. consultants. Medicare. In most cases. you'll be allowed to conduct business from home (but again. You're responsible for withholding and taking out their money for income tax. 40 . But before starting your business. • Have harmful chemicals on site. and FUTA (federal unemployment taxes). Your cities licensing and planning department should be able to tell you what the zoning laws are in your area. and free lancers. Due to the fact that millions of people are now conducting business from home. • Require extra parking. • Form W-4: This form is to be filled out by any employees you may have. for people living in a city. • Have a lot of people coming in and out of your home. Some locations are zoned for residential housing only which means that shops cannot be opened. • Be warehousing a large number of items. Some areas are mixed use which means many things can be built there. • Have more than 3 employees working on site. • Form 1099: This form is filled out by you every time you hire someone (not a contractor) to do $600 worth of work or less. social security. • Be selling products on site in person. To get a variance granted to you. you must assure your city council that your home business will not: • Bring a lot of traffic to your street. Zoning Laws And Restrictions For A Home Business Conducting an online business from your home is perhaps one of the simplest ways to go. most cities can give you a variance for online home based business owners. • Have large delivery trucks (company vehicles included) around your home.• Form W-9: This form is given to independent contractors. you should check to see if you're city will allow you to operate from home. • FORM W-2: This form must be given to all your employees at the end of January of each year.
gov/hotlist/license. Obtaining the All Mighty Business Licenses To conduct business you'll need a business license. Usually for online business they are given automatically to you but in some instances you'll have to meet a certain criteria and pay a fee of $1 to $75 (Home Occupational Permit is not the same as a business license). To find out where the nearest location is to apply for a license check out the SBA website at: • www. In some cities you may be required to get a "home occupational permit".html Section 2: Choosing the Best Business Structure For You There are many business structures for you to choose from. 41 . If you belong to a home owners association contact them to see if there are any restrictions in regards to conducting business from home. Also note that these licenses usually expire within 1-2 years. When purchasing your license the city clerk will ask you which category your business falls under. all of which have very specific differences that can change your business dramatically. you can change the structure down the line). Don't take any of this lightly. If your business requires the storage of a large number of products consider leasing an offsite storage facility to manage and ship your products. Your license will be void and the new owner will have to buy a new one. The price range can vary from $25 to $2000 (or more) depending on the type of business you conduct. It's important that you research your options and choose the one that's best for you (but don't worry if you need to.These rules are made to protect the property value of the homes nearby. These rules are also there to protect neighbors. If you sell your business you won't be able to transfer the license. The city issues you the license but depending on your business you may also need a county license. double check with the rental agreement to make sure that you're allowed to conduct business on the property. If they don't have an "online business" category look through the list and find the cheapest and most related one.sba. if you're caught breaking the law you "may" have your business shut down. If you rent out an apartment or home.
It is important to remember that in most states a small fee and an application is all that's required to register your domain name. simplest and easiest business structure to form and operate. Only one person can own this type of business and all you will need is a business license. If you plan on getting outside investors (angel investors or venture capitalist) you must have a stock option. We suggest consulting a certified public accountant. The problem with being a sole proprietor is that you'll be legally responsible for everything that happens to the business and all legal matters. license and various legal documents. The profits and losses of your business must be indicated on your personal tax returns under Schedule C. or tax attorney to figure out which option will work best for you. 42 . You business name will appear on your bank account. How you decide to finance your company will effect which structure you choose. Fictitious Name Registration You can look at operating your business under your own legal name (last name is also fine) or under a different name (you'll have to register a "fictitious" name with your state). You will have to pay Self-Employment taxes (under Schedule SE) and your Self-Employment taxes will include your Social Security and Medicare tax.Determining What Organization Will Work Best Figuring out what system will work best isn't hard but you will need to know what you want. If you want other business to be able to invest in your business your options for the business structure is limited. Another important factor to determine is funding. When you register a fictitious name you become John Smith dba (doing business as) fictitious name. A few questions to ask yourself are who will own and control your business? Will there be multiple owners? Will you accept all the legal consequences of your business? Or will you make a corporation to protect you from the liabilities? While answering these questions be sure to understand that each business structure is taxed differently. Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietorship is the cheapest. You and your personal assets will be liable under this structure for the damages caused by your business Also under this structure you're responsible for all taxes.
When going into a partnership there should be a clear idea of how much money and time each partner will contribute. If you decided to use this structure. One way to bypass paying payroll taxes is to consider your spouse a volunteer but the downside is that they won't get any credit for their social security. If your spouse has an active role in the ownership of the business. also known as an LLC or LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) is a great structure for those looking for legal 43 . Before starting a business all partners should know exactly what's at stake if they don't contribute and what will happen to each member's share of the business if they don't do their part. a good idea is to have the terms of ownership written down and signed to prevent disputes and legal issues. and how the profits and losses will be distributed among each partner. the IRS considers your business a partnership. Your spouse must meet the criteria of being a volunteer otherwise the IRS will fine you. The partnerships that last the longest are the ones where all partners openly discuss all the issues and agree upon a solid deal before launching. write a document indicating what percentage is owned by each person. what each person is responsible for. Partnerships Exactly the same as a sole proprietorship except a partnership can have multiple owners. Some tax advisors suggest your spouse can still be involved in your business since your business income will be indicated on your joint tax returns under schedule C. Limited Liability Company A Limited Liability company. According to the IRS if your spouse works for your business they would be considered an employee in which case you'd have to withhold taxes. If you decide to create a partnership. The IRS considers a volunteer to be someone who does not work regular hours.Sole Proprietorship with Your Spouse Technically the IRS identifies a sole proprietorship as having one owner. There should also be a clear idea of how decisions will be made. According to the IRS your business is still owned by one person.
the stockholders are legally responsible and they are no longer legally protected. Each shareholder in an S corp. If your corporation does not file taxes or record the minutes of your meeting. This is known as double taxation. One important requirement for maintaining a corporation is that on an annual basis you must hold meetings and record minutes for these meetings. The first is a C corp. The second is an S corp. Incorporating Your Business A corporation is considered in itself a legal entity. which has a limited number of shareholders. you can fund your project by getting investors (and corporations) as members. which can have an unlimited number of shareholders usually without any restrictions as to who they are. If you choose to incorporate. A great benefit of this structure is. This can all be daunting at first but it's really not that difficult. The owners of a corporation are its stockholders and the stockholders can be individuals or other business entities. must be individuals (US residents) and not other business entities. is that the corporation get's taxed on its profits and the shareholders get taxed as well. You can take the company public with an IPO (initial public offer). 44 . When applying you'll have to submit articles and bylaws describing exactly how your business will be run and it must be approved by your state. For tax purposes an S corp. must be operated on a calendar year. they aren't as difficult as filing for a corporation. Choosing To Incorporate The great thing about incorporating is that you get legal protection and is a good choice if you plan on getting outside investors. The benefit of this type of corporation is that double taxation does not apply. The Two Types of Corporations There are two types of corporations. One disadvantage to incorporating is that applying for one requires a lot of paperwork and information. there will be separate tax forms which are much more complex then the ordinary forms. Deciding to incorporate has many tax advantages that in other structures would not be provided. To get an LLC you'll have to apply with the state and although it is harder to get than a partnership.protection and having multiple partners. The downside to a C corp.
We'll show you how to register trademarks and copyright. design) which is granted by law. or name it's worth protecting.gov/smallbusinessplanner/exit Consult a trusted business advisor before changing the legal structure of your business. art. logo. software. If your business gets big enough you may want to switch to a corporation to avoid the self employment taxes (changing from a proprietorship or partnership to a corporation is much easier than vice versa). If you decide to switch it back to a partnership or proprietorship you'll have to go through a lot of work. Most business start out as either a proprietorship but down the line someone else may join you and you can switch to a partnership. Changing the Legal Structure Down the Road Ultimately you'll just want the structure that's best for you now and if required change at a later time. You've probably put a lot of work into your business and brand and so you'll want to protect it from being used by others. You must go through many procedures to legally dissolve the corporation before changing its legal structure.sba. If you need new owners for investment reasons you can look at incorporating. Remember. Why Trademarks and Copyrights Are Important A copyright is the right to use an intellectual property (writing. 45 . expect to pay upwards of $1000 for an attorney to fill out the paper work. A corporation has many owners and many legal requirements. If you decide to incorporate yourself you should still expect to pay a few hundred dollars for the filing fees as well as paying an annual fee with your state. if you've put a lot of work into a certain phrase. piece of art.For this type of structure. music. for a period of time (usually the life time of the author and 70 years after). The SBA website offers instructions for those wanting to change their business legal structure: • www. Section 3: Trademarks and Copyrighting This section will cover techniques to protect you intellectual properties (IP) from plagiarism to improper use of business materials.
A patent is the ownership of an invention, granted by the government that prevents others from using it. Once the invention has been patented, it must be disclosed to the general public. A trademark is a distinctive name, motto or symbol that legally identifies a company, brand or product and legally prevents others from using it. Protecting your IP's will give you the legal ground to sue or stop anyone someone unlawfully using your work. While this all may sound very difficult it really is quite simple to accomplish. Making a Trademark The surprising thing about a trademark is that you don't technically have to register it in order to have rights to it. The real benefit of it is to assist you in court if you were ever to sue someone. You can use the trademark symbol on your work whether you've registered it or not. A trademark is characterized by the "TM" and a registered trademark is represented by an R inside a small circle. The prevention of people from using your registered trademarks is up to you. If you decide to register your trademark, you may look at paying about $325. You can register your trademark at the United States Patent and Trademark office: • www.uspto.gov Protecting IP's with Copyrights As with trademarks, copyrights don't officially need to be registered (but it helps for legal reasons). Like a trademark you must pay to get your copyright officially registered (it costs about $35 online and $45 offline) If you have an online business, there are certain rules apply specifically to websites and online content. There are many IP's you can protect such computer programs, databases, email newsletters but you cannot copyright your domain name. One important point to make here is as soon as you change the content of a copyrighted item it's no longer copyrighted. While you cannot change certain items without the copyright also being removed, other items like databases which are constantly changing, can still maintain its copyrights. For those of you writing blogs and online journals keep in mind that although they are databases, they cannot stay copyrighted if changed.
For more information regarding copyrights of online work go here: • www.copyrights.gov/circs/circs66.pdf It would be advisable to consult an attorney if it's important that you protect your product. You register a copyright at the US Copyright Office: • www.copyright.gov Getting a Professional You should consider hiring a professional if protecting your IP's is critically important to your business. US copyright and trademark laws are recognized in most countries but not all. Hiring a professional familiar with international copyright right and trademark laws will help tremendously. A copyright and trademark professional will run you anywhere from $175 to $300, not including the registration fees. To find an IP's professional check out: • American Bar Association: www.abanet.org • FindLaw: www.findlaw.com Section 4: Accounting For most business owners accounting is the least enjoyable part of running a business but unfortunately, proper accounting is the most important part of your business. In the end, you must have proper bookkeeping if you want to run your business effectively. The IRS doesn't take fraudulent inaccurate accounting lightly; you'll want to pay your taxes properly otherwise face their wrath. Due to the high importance of accounting, many business owners outsource their accounting work to a professional as there is much to know. Paying Your Taxes Paying your taxes is unavoidable and when you run a business there are additional state and federal taxes that you're required to pay. Income Tax You must pay income tax on the amount of money your business earns regardless business structure (except for a partnership which only files and information return). Income tax is due every quarter and if you're unsure about how much you're supposed to pay (due to an overdue invoice) you can estimate the amount. Employment Tax
If your business has employees (including you) you are responsible for paying taxes meant for your employees. A payroll tax is the name given to the taxes you pay on behalf of your employees. Payroll taxes include Medicare, social security, Federal income tax withholding, and federal unemployment tax (FUTA). Figuring out the withholding amount is pretty complicated if you haven't done it before (again, it's best to hire an accountant to show you exactly how to do calculate the taxes). You must submit the payroll taxes every quarter and file Form 941 on the last day of the month that comes after the end of the quarter. Here is the payroll due dates: Quarter End Due Date Extended Due Date March 31 April 30 May 10 June 30 July 31 August 10 September 30 October 31 November 10 December 31 January 31 February 10 If you are unsure, the IRS website offers tools and learning material to assist you with paying your taxes. The website also contains information for people starting up a business and how best to deal with taxes. If you are not filing taxes, then expect hefty fines. If your payroll taxes are under $1000 you can get permission to submit your taxes annually. You can file your taxes online (fastest and easiest way to go) but you'll need an EIN (employer identification number) and you'll need an IRS approved vendor to submit your work. Find From 4419 here: • www.irs.gov/businesses/index.html One highly important recommendation is to send you payroll taxes a bit earlier if you're going to do it online as there is a bit of turnaround time. Sales Tax If you're selling or manufacturing products you must collect, and keep track of a sales tax from the customers and submit it to the local, state agencies. Every state deals with the sales tax differently though so you'll need to keep up to date with the rules of your state. Make sure your accountant is aware of all state sales tax laws especially as it applies to online businesses. There is still a lot of discussion among state authorities as to how online businesses should be dealt with so staying informed is a good idea. The Federation of Tax administrators (FTA) website has links to the tax agencies of each state. You can find it here:
• www.tax.admin.org/fta/link/defaults.html Accounting 101 Proper and accurate accounting is essential if you want to run a successful business. It's not the most fun but you'll be able to see how decisions you have taken have affected your business. You'll want to keep accurate records to see how much profit or loss you may have incurred during the month (P&L = profit and loss). Use your financial statement as a guide to show you how well you're doing. Determining Your Tax Year Periods Your tax year is essentially the period of time you use to see a yearly snapshot on the well being of your business. The most common tax years are: • Calendar year: January 1 to December 31. • Fiscal year: An exact year starting at the beginning of one month and ending the following year before that month. Example: September 1 to August 31. This is useful if your business is seasonal or if your business peaks during the New Year which can be a hassle. Calendar year is the easiest method to take for most people. For some businesses the IRS require that you have a calendar tax year only. If having a calendar year is going to be a problem for your business you may file Form 1128 to request changing your tax year with the IRS, but expect to pay a fee. Methods of Accounting The accounting method is the way in which you figure out your income and expenses. You must pick the method before you start business and you're expected to stick with it. You may be able to change methods but only if the IRS approves it. There are two common methods of accounting: Cash basis and Accrual basis. Cash basis is a method where you report earnings and expenses as they come in. According to the IRS you cannot use the cash basis method if: • Your business is a C corp. making more than $5 million annually. • Your business is a partnership with a c corp. as a partner and you business makes over $5 million annually. • If your business is a tax shelter.
• Your business has inventory. Accrual basis is when you report income when you earn it and you report expenses when you owe them (as oppose to when you pay them). The only restriction with using an accrual system is that you cannot be a tax shelter. Balance Sheets A balance sheet is a detailed overview of your business financial status. You will be using a balance sheet regardless of method of accounting. Here are a few concepts and terms you'll need to know: • Assets: Anything of value that is owned by your business. ◦ Cash: the amount of money you have in your bank account. ◦ Accounts Receivable: (A/R) The amount of money that's owed to you. ◦ Inventory: The total value of all the products you currently have on hand. ◦ Fixed Assets: These would be things like land, building, vehicles and equipment. ◦ Miscellaneous: Just as the item implies, anything that doesn't fit into the other categories. ◦ Liabilities: Any debt that the business has is a liability. ▪ Accounts Payable: (A/P) The total amount of money that you owe to others. ▪ Accrued Expenses: These include wages and taxes which are withheld and paid later. ▪ Net Worth: The amount of equity in your company. ▪ Revenue: The total amount of income your money has made recorded over a period of time. ▪ Expenses: The total amount your company has spent over a period of time. If everything is done correctly your assets should equal the total amount of liabilities plus your net worth. Income Statement This is also knows as a profit and loss statement (P&L). This statement takes a look at all your revenue and expenses. It will show you how much your business earned or lost for a specific period of time. It uses line items (a list of items that affect you monetarily to show you a total of both revenues and expenses).
• Accountant: Essentially the same as a CPA except for the fact that they're not certified or licensed by the state. You have many types of accounting professionals.com QuickBooks is like the Microsoft of the computer world. you may consider investing in software specifically designed for your business. With a P&L statement you'll be able to notice trends in your activities and how they affect your business. QuickBooks and Accounting Software QuickBooks is by far the best accounting software you can get for your business and while there are many other accounting programs out there. most small business owners stick with QuickBooks. and get set in the right direction.You can create a P&L statement quarterly but we recommend doing it monthly as you'll better able to notice any problems. Like a CPA they can also file your taxes. The generally deal with taxes but they can also specialize in specific aspects of business. 51 . If you business grows to become quite large with many employees. is to always back up your finances (we recommend backing them up to a secure online space) QuickBooks is made by Intuit. Hiring a Professional You may hire a professional accountant at some point while your business grows and by hiring a professional. It shows you what came in and out of your business.intuit. A P&L statement looks exactly the same as your bank statement. you can save you millions. You can check it out here: • www. There are some online accounting software website you can consider and are quite useful since your accounting work can be accessed from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. they can be more then worth it. These are accountants certified by the state who are recognized by the IRS as someone who can file and submit your taxes. Although they may be expensive. • CPA: Certified public accountant. An important note to make about your accounting . There isn't much reason to go with anyone else unless your company specifically needs something unique.
attorney and enrolled agent can represent you with the IRS and while bookkeepers are hired by most small businesses if you're comfortable doing your own accounting. Use the free bookkeepers hiring test when hiring a bookkeeper. They don't do any general accounting activities. Hiring a bookkeeper is generally not expensive as their fees generally range from $8 to $20.org/testrequest. feel free to. and you can consult them with financial planning. Only a CPA. Most people have no problem referring you to their accountant. A great way to save some money is to make a list of questions to ask the professional before hiring them. They must pass a federal background check.• Bookkeeper: A bookkeeper is someone who you can hire to manage the basic record keeping of your small business. Many large companies will hire one as an employee but for a small business… rarely will you need one. make deposits. represent you when dealing with the IRS. Finding the Best Professionals for Your Business There are several ways to find good accountants. The going rate for a tax professional usually starts at about $125/ hour and you will want to be clear on how you'll be charged for time (some CPA's charge for questions answered by email). They are certified according to the IRS to file/submit taxes. and create balance sheets and income statements each month. 52 . be sure to use the same CPA. accountant. deal with account payables/ receivables. • Tax Attorney: They help you out when you're dealing with complex tax issues. or enrolled agent for all your tax issues. They can also manage the payroll. The first way is to find a trusted successful business person and ask them who their accountant is. • Enrolled Agent: They are federally licensed and trained in state and federal tax laws. You can find the test here: • www. You want someone who will get to know and understand your business. • Tax Consultant: They can be an accountant or CPA or neither and their skills can vary.aipb.php How to Work With a Tax Professional If you decide to use the services of a professional.
If you make any mistakes.org • Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants: www. When it comes to taxes you want someone who's professional and detailed. They don't play favoritism but they can direct you to one who's familiar with businesses like yours.attorney-cpa. you should also look for someone with lots of experience.com • CPA associates International: www. the IRS now considers electronic versions of records legitimate. especially with your industry.org • AGN North America: www. You'll also want to keep your paperwork organized in the event you're stuck with a legal issue.Another option is to go to your local chamber of commerce and have them help you find a professional.org Aside from looking for proper accreditation and good rates. Good Recordkeeping Habits If you slip up on your record keeping for even a month. including CD's and DVD's.naea.org • National Association of Enrolled Agents: www. Paper Work Even though your business is online.agn-na. it can have drastic consequences. The following websites are a great resource to help you find a good accountant: • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: www. 53 . You'll want as much proof as possible.cpaai. Naturally as with hiring anyone you should look for someone who has a good work ethic and doesn't cut corners.aicpa.com • American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers: www. You're allowed to scan copies of your records and keep them on electronic devices. Because more businesses are being created online. the amount of work required to fix it will be costly. good record keeping is of the highest importance for a successful business.aipb. you will still be getting lots of paperwork. It would be wise to get a small filing cabinet to keep everything organized.
The general rule of thumb is to store all your records for up to 7 years but at the very least 4 years. If you are at a loss for a name. You domain name should identify what your business about and while we don't recommend this. you should first pick a good domain name. Carefully Choosing Your Domain Name If you already have a business or if you've already. So you may want to consider choosing a domain name that is appropriate for your market. as there are many companies who specialize in it. 54 . legal situation or lawsuit. You'll want to protect all your records in the event of an audit.Be sure to make multiple copies of all your work and store them in different physical locations. you can outsource it. just try to think about a name that will make it easy for users to find you. your domain name should match your company name. If you're just starting up a business and you don't yet have a name you'll have more flexibility. Another way to call a domain name is a URL or Uniform Resource Locator. If you have a large amount of files to scan and copy. legally. the name can also be unrelated. as closely as possible. named your business. Before selecting a URL or domain name. A URL is the essentially the address of your website on the internet. Course #3 Web Design for Your Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 3: How to Design a Website for Your Internet Business Section 1: The Right Domain Name for Your Internet Business A good domain name is vitally important and should reflect your business name.
Also. Avoid names that people search for often. the shorter the name.icann.net.com There is an official list of domain names that is operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): • www. 55 . A final recommendation when choosing a name is to choose a unique one.). If your website name is unique you should be able to get your domain name registered.namecheap. If you use keywords related to your business.org When registering the domain name be sure to know how long the name will be registered for. A useful way to come up with a domain name is to use keywords to identify what you do. .org etc. the easier it will be to remember. The name should be unique but related so that it's not confused with anything else. What name would be attractive to your market? Are you selling to an edgy younger crowd or conservative older folks? Where to Register the Domain Name Many web hosting companies offer domain name registering services. What You Should Do If Your Domain Name Is Already Taken With the explosion of the internet also came a gold of rush of sorts for prime domain names. Registering a domain name will run you anywhere between $5 to $30. If not there are many ways to compromise and find alternatives. Purchasing a domain name has never been easier and most websites come with ample instructions to assist you in your purchase. The prices vary because the different companies offer different services. .com. Compare the fees and services of the various companies before buying. Such as: • www. search engines will rank you higher which will make it easier for people to find you. Brevity packs a punch.What Makes A Good Domain Name? The most important point about a good domain name is it should be easy to remember and spell (try avoiding words that are easy misspelled). The cost to register your domain name will vary depending on the domain name extension (. You can also find companies that just specialize in registering domain names.
000 new domains being registered daily. Many domain names do not have active sites so sometimes those owners will give them away for free. WHOIS is a feature that some domain names have that allow you to see the contact information of the owners. Your registering company can contact the owner with your bid but expect to pay a service fee of about $50.com to something else.com should be your first choice.net or .Contact the owner directly and if you're nice you can get it for free sometimes. you should have no problem finding a good domain name.com extension. It can be difficult to find a good available domain name but if you're creative. To see a complete list of extensions you can go here: www. The website in which you register your domain name will often give you alternatives if the domain you wanted is taken (often time the suggested alternatives can be quite good). you may want to consider using a different extension such as . Why Finding a Good Domain Name Is So Hard To Find Currently there are about 55 million registered domain names and there are 300. The Domain Name Extension If you're preferred domain name is taken under the .org. If you don't like the alternatives you basically have to start from square one. Keep trying out domain names until you find one that you like and is available. There are many extensions to choose from but .org/cctld/cctld-whois. The internet is constantly allowing more and more domain name extensions so if you're dead set on a certain domain name you may want to just consider changing the extension from .htm Being Creative with the Domain Naming Process 56 .Exploring More Options Hopefully your first choice of a domain name will be available.iana. The best way to do this is to contact the owner or webmaster of the owner. Buying a Domain Name If you're dead set on a domain name and you absolutely do not want to go with anything else and it's been taken you can choose to buy the domain name from the owner.
FaceBook.Most of the simple and best domain names were taken during the initial . at the end of your domain name. ease of use.com You can try thinking outside of the box and coming up with a clever name. and functionality should be your primary goals. don't be afraid to create your own words or use totally unrelated words for your domain name. 57 . Make a list of all the methods of monetization that will be used and number them in order of importance. corp. Section 2: User Friendly Website Design Beginners are often tempted to create elaborate websites with many functions but simplicity. Anything that does not contribute to profitability directly or indirectly should be removed. easy to navigate through. Optimizing You Website for Profitability You should plan your website before creating it. The method that is expected to make the most money should be the highest priority. you'll be wasting resources and time. If nothing is working. Yahoo!. and not pretty you won't make any money.com explosion. and MySpace. ltd. • Ex: www. Regardless of how many methods of monetization methods you can exploit… if your website isn't functional. You'll probably have to be creative when choosing a domain name because your initial choice will most likely have been taken. Niche marketers use this technique. You're making a website to make money so figure out what will contribute to profit and focus on that and cut out the rest. (Think: Google. To get the most profit out of your website you should clearly define the purpose and goals of your website. Try and create a map to help you visualize how your website will work. You can try making you domain name extremely specific. Figure out how each method of monetization will be implemented and where they'll be located on the site.) You can also try adding words like Inc. You'll want to figure out which programs and applications will be needed for your monetization methods to work.howtostartanonlinebusiness. By leaving in elements that don't contribute to your revenue.
Avoid using unique proprietary fonts as not everyone has them and they won't show up on the user's computers.cfm/ how_color_affects_internet_marketing Also keep in mind the font you use. wild colors can be used for a liberal.suite101. Each font in a way sends out its own message.and-How-They-Affect-Your-Customers&id=124569 • http://smallhomebusiness. content and ads. navigational buttons. and hip crowd The layout is the most important element of your website. but more urban and stylish Images can be important and add value to your site but they can also take away. younger. Video and audio is gradually taking over the internet and people are avoiding more and more text based content. 58 .com/article. Layout is the positioning of pages. To see how colors can affect people check out this website: • http://ezinearticles. Conservative people prefer toned down colors and nothing to exotic or bright. Web Design Principles 101 Before designing your site you should first figure out exactly who your market is and then cater to their taste. Stick with the basic fonts: • Arial = common and relaxed • Comic Sans = non serious and childish • Georgia = classy and professional • Time New Roman = Traditional • Verdana = like Arial. Use images cautiously and always ask if they add or take away from your site. What impression do you want to give to your audience? You want them to think you're professional of course but what impressions do you want to give the audience aside from that? The first impression will be made up within the first few seconds of looking at your site. The color or your site will have an effect on the mental state and buying behavior of your customers. By using images. you can direct a viewers attention away or to certain parts of your websites.What Is Good Website Design? A good design will give your audience a good first impression.com/?The-Hidden-Secret-on-Logo-Colors. Bright.
and websites.Having audio and video of you site is a great way to add value to your site but use it cautiously as it can also be annoying. or retro site. popular culture) and if you do. Making changes can show the viewers that you're committed to providing high value to them. Your design will primarily be dictated by the industry you're in. By keeping your website simple and clean you minimize the amount of work required to update it. Choosing Your Design Take a look at the successful companies in your industry and see how they design their websites. intense graphical capabilities. Web design trends change month to month and keeping up with it can be quite tiring. better to give users the choice to play and stop the video. If your business is already established as a brick and mortar business you'd want to use design elements for your website. Flash Web Design Flash is a program used to create animated vector graphics. You should also take into account the type of service or product you sell. If your brick and mortar businesses design is outdated you'd want to modernize the design while still maintaining something from your site. Coca Cola has altered its logo and look many times. It is also important to update your site often. Use photos that won't become outdated (such as fashion. Keep in mind the demographics and keep the design simple and functional. (Flash web design should only be used in specific situations as it is expensive to produce). People ignore elements of your website if it stays the same. style. applications. Also try to avoid video and audio that plays on its own. it may not be directly related to design but people will still see the site differently. info. You don't want your website to look crazy and wild if you're selling Rosaries and Crosses. Also even if you make changes. update them. The exception is of course if you run a news. news. Even just making a few small changes will make your website seem fresh. They were used a lot in web design for their amazing.Also remember that flash websites take longer to load and are 59 . But unfortunately became overused.
most professional web designers suggests not using it. registration/membership capability. Function. If that's the case just ask yourself if using flash will contribute to an increase in sales. This being the case. A function that takes away from the user experience will lower your sales. it will increase your sales directly and indirectly. The ultimate benefit for SEO improvement is flash content will show up in search engines. The user experience is just as the name implies. Function An online business website will contain many applications and functions such a shopping cart. Your job is to impress them right away and continue to impress them if you want them to return and buy. how the user experiences your site and how enjoyable or rewarding they find it. All functions of the site will either add or take away from the user experience. 60 . Users will make up their mind about your site within seconds of looking at it. news letter signups and etc. Your website functions can be categorized into 3 different categories: • Basic functions • Interactive functions • Enhancing functions Base functions: • Your website loads up quickly.used more to display artistry and for entertainment purposes. • Simple but effective navigation. The benefit of a flash website is that it displays the same on everyone's browser and is good for product demonstrations. You may be tempted to use flash to develop your website due to positive past experiences. Adding Function to Your Website Not only must your site provide a positive user experience but your site must also influence the user into buying or taking some sort of action. All aspects of the site should go through the question of "will this add or take away from the revenue?" User Experience Based on initial impressions people will decide whether or not return to your site and whether or not to buy something from you. Function. If the function adds to the user experience.
• Store locations (if applicable). • 24/7 customer support. • Contact information (an email will do).pdf's and etc. • A way for users to comment on articles and posts and products. • An option to download media and appropriate files (.• All links work properly. • RSS and email subscribing. • Language viewing options. • Forums and chat rooms. podcasts) Section 3: Building a Website on a Shoe String Budget Web technology has changed greatly in the last 10 years and it will continue to do so. In this section we'll go into the various methods and ways to make a website either by you or with a professional. Simplicity and ease of use is key. What people want out of a website hasn't changed much..). Planning For Success When it comes to building a website you can't just jump in there and start doing it. • New forms of media (i. • Your website should have a way for users to make orders (shopping carts). • Images and media work as intended. • Member registration option for more content and access to areas of your websites (forums and chat rooms). People want a simple. Sometimes making a website easy to use will require a lot of tech so don't think a simple site is easy to make but making a website has never been easier. and entertainment). you need to plan. media. Difficult to make active at first but it's great if you can get them busy. Interactive functions • A search function that allows users to search for information on your website. the first step 61 . Much like building a house.e. easy to use website that will provide them with value (in the form of information. Enhancing functions • Demos and tutorials for your products or services.
Good sites take ample time to plan exactly what it will look like. You first have to figure out pages you'll need. you should start working on a site map. What functions will you require in order for your site to make money? Answer the following questions to help you decide what functions you'll need: • How many types of products are being sold? If you have multiple categories of products you may want multiple pages. Be sure to 62 . Position all important information at the top of the screen (just like a newspaper does). Your site ultimately has one function: "to make money". • Will you use a shopping cart system? How will customers pay for your items? • Is there going to be a FAQ page to assist users with using your website? • Is there a forum? • Will customers be able to comment on articles. The content you want the user to see should be front and center and near the top. If you have a large site you'll have 1000's of pages so when doing a site map only map out the main pages.before the foundation is creating the blueprints. Users will not scroll down if they don't like what they see at the top so keep this in mind and focus on the top part of the screen. Your attention should go there first (also remember that having an uncrowned page improves loading speed). Guidelines for Good Page Layouts Don't overload the users' senses with too much stuff on any single page. products or other items? • Is there a search function? • Will you create a contact form? Or will you just provide an email? • Will there be media on your website? Once you've figured out which functions you'll need. Simplify all steps for the user (the fewer steps taken to perform an action the better). When a user decides to register do not make them go through any more than 5 steps otherwise they'll lose interest. Don't worry about how each page look yet. • Will there be a members section? If so you'll need a log in and registration page. A site map is like flow chart to show you how each page connects to one another and what each page links to.
A user should be able to access all the main parts of your website from every page. Once your site "looks done" go through all the pages and buttons and make sure they all work as intended. Buying applications and programs before examining the compatibilities is big mistake and can waste you a lot of money as hosting companies may not be able to support the software. Not debugging enough is a common problem with many website owners. Once you get a functional design that works. Good web design is always evolving and can take a lot of time. Many people don't know what they should look for in a web developer so they'll either hire an extremely expensive one or a way too cheap one. Don't spend too much time working on your web design. Many people start working on their website without planning. Avoid implementing too many functions on one page. This will increase sales dramatically. Websites often require large amounts of content and it's up to you to get it done. Remember that simplicity and ease of use for the user should be your first priority. Your website will never fully be done because it can always be improved. This can lead to a lot of wasted time. Realistic Expectations If you've never made a website before it's easy to get carried away and create a grandiose plan. get it up and improve it from there otherwise you'll never start business. Make the navigation global. If you have a web developer making your site be sure to get all the content done in time so your developer has something to work with. Common Issues That Occur While Developing a Website Piss poor planning leads to piss poor performance. Building a Website On Your Own 63 . Be sure to do your research and see what the developer has done before hiring one otherwise you may be disappointed.simplify the shopping experience as much as possible. Focus on the priorities and don't waste your time on trivial applications and functions. Losing focus is a big problem with many web designers.
you don't need to know html to make a website as there are many tools that will create the html for you. There are many forums and support available with these tools so if you encounter a problem you can get the help for free. With a little time and patience you can create stunning professional website on your own.vbulletin. Check out the following site to learn the basics of html code: • http://www.arachnoid. But the great thing about it is. Although you don't need to know html it's recommended if you want to have better control of your website. Once you've made your website be sure to get feedback from web designers by sharing your site on forums and asking for their opinion. Many of these tools support membership plug-ins and shopping cart systems. The following websites are recommended to get you started (we highly recommend WordPress for the beginners): • http://wordpress. We recommend wordpress.org • http://drupal.org • http://www. Some of them you have to pay for but they're well worth it in the long run.com The websites that offer this powerful site creation tool have lots of support. the tools out there are simple and easy to use.com as it's probably the simplest and easiest to use. Entire books are written on html coding and since it's not necessary for you to know we won't go into too much detail here.html WordPress and Other Simple to Use Website Creators There are a few extremely powerful and easy to use programs out there to help you create your website.com/lutusp/html_tutor. HTML HTML is a code that your browser uses to display a webpage and primarily makes the base of all websites now days (and is also quite easy to learn).Fortunately making your website has never been easier.joomla. These tools allow you to easily install new functions and applications all with the click of a button. Even if you're a complete beginner and you've never made a website. By learning the basics of html you can save yourself a lot of money.org • http://www. There are many tools out there that make the process of building a website extremely easy. Long gone are the days of using notepad to write html code. 64 .
Another option more regularly taken is to hire a webmaster to make changes as the website progresses. The benefit to hiring a professional is that you'll save a lot of time. it should be yours. Also a design firm will usually hire many specialists to deal with specific issues of your site. Finding the Best Webmaster/ Website Designer Webmasters and website developers can range in price and skill and cheap doesn't always mean bad quality. Web Design Firms If you have a high budget and your website calls for real expertise you'd want to hire the services of a design firm. The main downfall is you will pay a much higher price tag for a website done by design firm. A website may take a non professional a week to month to complete where as a professional could get your site done in several days. Some designers have it written in their contracts that the website they create for you will be owned by them. If making a website is too daunting a task and you're unconfident in your ability to make a professionally effective website. you can therefore expect a much higher quality website.One excellent place to get feedback for your website is at: • http://forums. A design firm is usually much more reliable and they're better able to deal with large problems. Try to find a professional whose done business websites before and also be sure to see their past work. you can contact the owner asking them which designer they used.digitalpoint. hire a professional. motivation and drive. Make sure this is not the case.com Hiring a Professional If you'd prefer to focus on the business and marketing and not the web development you should outsource the work to a professional. Once the designer finishes your website. If you come across a website you really like.elance. Websites like Elance are excellent places to find web designer for a good price: • http://www. Freelance Web Designers 65 .com Make sure your designer has experience.
A freelance designer costs much less than a full firm. Make sure they make what you want and not what they want. A good place to start is to create your content before going to the developer. You can also look at asking the developer to send you daily status reports to ensure that their working. They usually tend to work much faster and much more efficiently. Many web designers like to take ownership of their work. Make sure you own the website and all the content. Let the designers give you input but if their ideas don't fit in with your business vision don't use the idea. Also make sure to have a guarantee that the site will work and function as intended. Although some designers prefer to be paid by the hour we suggest you hire someone for a flat fee. be sure you have written in the contract exactly what must be done in order for the designer to get paid in full. The benefit of hiring a good freelancer is they have personal shortcuts and ways to simplify their job and are much better for smaller simpler projects. The project should be broken down into parts and each part should have a due date. When hiring a designer. Be aware that the designer may ask for a lot of your input. Make sure it's spelled out who owns what after the job is complete. so it's difficult to put a price tag on creating one. such as photos or videos and any written material. 66 . Ways To Speed Up The Website Development Having a clear and concise plan upfront will save you money and time when hiring the developer. Making Sure You're Not Paying Too Much Each website is different and they each have their own issues when being created. so answer their emails and don't be lazy with correspondence. Protecting Your Business Idea Web designers should have an idea of how your website should look and work. A good way to keep your developer in check is to create milestones that he or she needs to meet. Also the designer may need access to your hosting servers to manage databases and upload your website (be sure you can give them access to it right away). Be very clear with the designers telling them exactly what you're aiming for. This includes media.
A hosting service is a company that will host your service for a cost. Database Management Systems: Just as with scripting languages most hosting services support the common database systems so this shouldn't too much of an issue. But it is cheaper to use the services of a hosting service than to host your website yourself and hire a server technician. hosting fees can go anywhere from $10/year to $10 000/month depending on the scale of your website. Avoid using the less common database management systems. You can host websites yourself from your own computer but if you do. Section 4: Hosting Your Website Hosting refers to having your website being online so that others may see it. PHP. Disk space: Basically how much space you get on the hosting services servers. If you use an obscure uncommon language this may be an issue. You're usually charged extra if you exceed this limit. you may have to pay much more so don't overdo it. you'll need a lot of know how to deal with the problems. Having a high limit is important if your website has a lot of media or file transferring going on. If you decided to go with a hosting service. 67 . Many hosting companies have a lot of experience to counter all the problems your website may face. Scripting languages: By scripting languages we mean html. If your website offers media bandwidth is even more important. MySQL and SQL are the most common types. Although it's good to have a little slack in terms of having more then you need. Data transfer limit: There is usually a limit on how much information can be transferred in total per month. If you're just starting a business it's best to start small and cheap and the upgrade your hosting services as required.Once the website is completed ask for a copy of the website on disk or some other form of storage. This is important if you expect to have a lot of people on your site at the same time. Most ecommerce websites will need no more than 500 Megs. Java Script and etc. Bandwidth: This refers to how much information can be sent back and to your site at any one time. This isn't so much of an issue now since hosting services now support most languages. The Terms You Need To Know When Seeking a Hosting Service You want to know exactly what you'll need and not pay for anything more.
They should provide phone and email support. Also you can check out the facilities. you also need a good sales pitch to convince the customer to actually buy it.com • http://hosting. If the SSL is not shared you'll need to get an individual SSL certificate from: • www.com • http://www.com Operating System: Each server is run under a certain operating system although this isn't much of an issue except for certain technical situations.com • http://smallbusiness. Support: Don't ever use a hosting service that doesn't offer support.fastdomain.lunarpages.verisgn.yahoo. Backing up your databases and website is something you should periodically yourself as well.com • http://www. Don't go with no-name companies. Finding the Best Host Since physical location is not important on the internet don't feel the need to find a local company.justhost.E-commerce support: If your website is going to have a shopping cart is sure that your host can support it.com • http://www.bluehost.com • http://www.com Section 5: Creating User and Search Engine Friendly Content When running a business it's not enough to have a good product. 68 .hostmonster.com • http://hostpapa.hostgator. Make sure the hosting service is well known and look for reviews of the company. The only benefit of finding a local host is that you can get one on one support with an actual person.com • http://www. Backup's service: You'll want a hosting service that will backup your website periodically (if not daily) otherwise it's possible you can lose all your information and essentially your business. Also be sure that the host has a shared SSL certificate (Secure Socket Layer) to ensure that all data being transferred is secure. This should be a no brainer.com/webhosting • http://www. Here is a list of hosting services we recommend: • http://www. You want a trusted reliable hosting service.inmotionhosting.webhostingpad.
You want to write something that your readers can connect and relate to.Web copy is the written sales material used to motivate a user into taking action. product descriptions and other written content should not exceed 500 words. The goal of the writing for your website has several objectives. When writing content for the internet you have to get the attention of the reader. What sort of things motivates your customers to buy something? What are they looking for? Your customers more often than not are looking for a solution to their problem. Writing for the Internet If used effectively. you must clearly indicate that your product is the solution to their problem and that's its worth the purchase. Effective Internet Writing Good internet writing and good literature are two very different things. 69 . Search engines such as Google search your website for keywords and then rank you into their search engine according to the words they find on your website. Make your headlines interesting and packed with emotion. The articles. Use simple words and sentences that everyone can understand. What action do you want your users to take specifically? Understanding Your Reader When writing for your website you have to know exactly who your customer is and what they're all about. When writing good literature. Another great way to keep the reader engaged is with the use of questions and thoughts that reader can relate to. Before writing you have to ask yourself what the goal of the writing is. you will need to be highly descriptive and detailed. Also try to be clear and simple with your writing. With good internet writing. If you want to rank up high in Google you'll need to know what they look for. Anymore than 500 words people will not read. What are your reader's motivations and fears? By understanding them you'll better be able to write to "them" specifically. brevity packs a punch. words can move readers into action. get the user to take action and to get attention from search engines. Readers will often skip articles if the headlines aren't interesting.
The attention span of an internet user is extremely short so here are a few methods to keep them focused: • Make each paragraph really short. • Use images to draw attention to certain pieces of information. Make sure you display your product in the best light possible while still being honest. Your home page is the most important page of your website since it's the first thing everyone sees. you've lost a customer. Your content should look so good that the user would want to read it. It's How You Package It The saying "like selling ice to an Eskimo" fits this concept quite well. If your homepage is not able to take them to the next step. Ultimately your goal is to make every user a buyer but what's required to make each person a buyer? A good place to start is your homepage.You must answer the needs of your buyers. Consider each page as having a purpose to move the user into a certain direction. Naturally your product should be the best you can offer but if you don't present it well no one will buy it. For information on some of this research go here: • http://www. Also be aware that internet users have become expert skimmers. The packaging not only applies to your product but also to the way you package your written content. • Highlight certain keywords and phrases.poynterextra. It's Not What You Sell. Every piece of written content should have an objective. Each piece of content should be catered to the user's needs and desires. A lot of research has been done to see exactly where people look when they open up a webpage. • Make lists and use bullet points. • Increase the font size to draw emphasis to it.htm Your content should only contain elements that will move the user in a certain direction everything else should be taken away. • Make certain keywords and phrases bold. • Use hyperlinks with certain words and link them up to other pages of your website. Sorting It All Out Go through each page of your website and figure out what the goal of each page should be.org/eyetrack2004/index. 70 . Use the techniques mentioned to make it more conducive for skimming.
There are some basics that you should know.Deciding Which Action Takes Priority There are many actions you'd like customers to take so you must decide which action takes priority. People act based on emotions and not logic. Here are some words you should use when writing your content: • • • • • • • Act now Affordable Amazing Breakthrough Clearance Discover Don't be left out 71 . You should tell them what to do otherwise they won't do anything. Put focus on the actions with priority by placing them higher up on your webpage. You may want the user to subscribe to your email newsletter first and then check out your product demo and then buy the product. free are just a few examples of attention grabbing words. web copy and marketing. Marketers and people involved in sales can go to school for many years to learn this fine art. Your most important content should be front and center. If something feels right they'll act on it even if it doesn't make sense. There are many books on the subject of selling. • Lead the customer. • Use words commonly used by your market. Make a list of all the actions your users can take and rank each one. Motivating Your User to Take Action There are many ways to motivate a reader to do something. The writing you use should: • Solicited strong emotions and feelings. "BUY THIS NOW!" is a good example. listen. • Your words should grab the attention of the reader. Words such as: Stop. Do this in the beginning and lead them towards concluding that you provide the answer. Even for simple products people use emotions to determine if they should buy it or not. • Make it clear that you know the user's problem is. The more you can connect with them the better. urgent.
The more times a certain word or similar word shows up on your website the more relevant you're considered for that terms. If you place the keyword too many times on your website search engines consider it spamming and will remove you from the rankings.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Dramatically Easy Effective Fast Free Free trial Half off High-profit Improve Instantly Limited time only Listen Little-known Low-cost New No obligation Now Powerful Profitable Proven Quality Reduced Revealed Revolutionary Risk free Save Secret Stop Unleash While supplies last Search Engines Friendly Words Search engines look at the words and phrases on your website and how many times they appear on it. Search engines rank you for a certain keyword based on how relevant you are to that word or phrase. 72 .
search engines can take up to a month to scan your website and index you. Don't worry too much about any of the problems you see at first as no one else will find your website. Search engines place extra value on the words that are in the header so place keywords and phrases into those sections. Testing. Hosted and Uploaded Once your site is up and running you'll want go through all the pages and test out all the functions to make sure they work. • Test out all functions of your website. Use commonly used keywords and phrases related to your product throughout the content of your website. Although it's sometimes impossible to make it look exactly the same in every browser it should be close. Testing Websites will look slightly different on every browser. Section 6: Launching Your Website Once you've designed and developed your website and created all the content for it and found a good host you'll then be ready to take it to the next step. Launching your website is big milestone in any business and it can be quite exciting. you won't be getting any traffic anytime soon. One important point to remember is while your site uploaded. • Test your website in all the main browsers to look for discrepancies. Don't overly use keywords as human users may find it odd and distracting. There are many steps involved in launching a website and it's very easy to get excited and lose track but remember one step at a time! By launch we mean revealing it too the world. If you just leave your website as is.The goal is to make your website appealing to both the human users and the search engines. Fortunately you can use websites out there on the internet for free to test everything out for you. • Test your website in each operating system. Testing. They take screen shots of what your site 73 . There are about 5 main things you'll want to test out: • How your site looks under different screen resolutions. • Check to make sure that all links work properly.
effective systems have been created and discovered to help you manage this type of business better. new ways to monetize and make money have come about and developed. Ask them to click and use every button and function and ask them to report any problems. The secret to be successful online is finding the most effective way to make the most money.looks like in each browser. Course #4 Operating An Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 4: How to Operate Your Online Business Section 1: Ways to Monetize Your Online Business As the internet evolved. But it does require a lot more work and overhead costs. This business model has been around since the beginning of time… It works! 74 . you just have to find what's best for your business. Every online business is different and so there is no right or wrong ways to monetize. Fortunately because it's been done so many times by so many people.org Ask your friends and family to test out your website. Selling Physical Products Selling physical products is a great and stable method of making money online. under different resolutions and in different operating systems: • http://browsershots. Slight changes in your website and the way you promote your products can either make your business fail or bring you more customers then you can handle. You want your website to be displayed correctly and working for all viewers otherwise you'll lose sales.
75 . time spent and etc. You don't want to go into business running blind… losing profit without knowing why so do the math and create a fool proof plan. There's a little math involved but it pays off in the end. The profit margin is how much you make per product sold. you have a profit margin of $3 per sale. Producing Your Own Products Some products can be sold for much higher then what they're actually worth (in terms of cost to produce). Poor planning leads to poor performance… keep that in mind. You'll have to take into account all the expenses required to acquire and distribute the product and not just the buying price. • Will you be able to price your product in such a way that you'll be able to cover the overhead and product expenses while still being competitive with the industry? • How much profit would you like to make per month? How much will you need to sell every month in order to reach that amount? • How many visitors will you need to bring to your website in order to make the desired amount of sales? • How much will the marketing costs to bring in the desired amount of sales? Write down how much you'd like to make and then write down how much you'll need to spend in order to make that amount in profit.How to Make Profit Buy low. transportation. marketing and etc. Finessing the system though will decrease overhead costs and in turn increase profit. shipping/ handling. If your product costs you $7 to sell but the product is priced at $10. answer these questions: • What much does it costs to purchase or produce your product? • How much will the overhead costs? Take into account storage. To help you figure out how much you'll be making on a certain product. employee salaries. maintaining it and distributing it… you'd make a profit. If you can sell something for more than the cost of getting it. For some products you'll have a tough time selling because other competitors have managed to find systems to bring down their overhead costs which allow them to price their products at a more competitive price. sell high. You have to look at fuel costs.
People are always looking for unique items to set them apart from others so having a unique product can definitely pay off. this minimizes competition. They buy goods and then sell them online. You can either sell items on your own website or on a website like eBay. fashion accessories. Buying Products to Sell Them Online Most internet business runs on this principle. crafts. Although it can be difficult to make a living selling second hand items. Many book collectors and sellers use this method with a lot of success. second hand stores. If you have one type of product that you're selling it may be a good idea to create your own website to sell these items but if you're selling a large variety of items you should use a service like EBay to sell your items since they have a diverse market going to their website. paintings. If you have the skill. Even if your product is just used by a small portion of the population (such as nose ring jewelry) you'll be able to tap that market without too many competitors. Some people will go to flea markets. and art pieces can sell for a large amount if you market it right. Even though your product may be obscure and unique you can still make a good profit since you are the only one selling that type of item. There are many website out there that cater to the artist and allow you to sell your products on their website. They then sell these items on EBay for an excellent profit. Naturally your products must be of a high quality and worth the price tag. Your products should be original and unique. and garage sales looking for rare valuable items that the seller was unaware of. The only downside is that they take a small percentage of each sale.Creative items such fashionable clothing. This system works great if you can find a good supplier that sells items for much lower than the usual market price. You'll have to know your stuff though and spend a lot of time looking around. sculptures. Buying Wholesale Items in Bulk 76 . Some devoted to this method are able to manage a very good living. creativity and know how to make your own product… you "can" make a good profit from them. They market and you just have to produce items. This is called niche marketing.
To buy wholesale you'll need a state-issued reseller's certificate or a Federal tax ID number. When you buy wholesale you're usually required to buy your products in bulk. warehousing inventory or storage. Only certain companies allow for drop shipping so you're somewhat limited with what products you can sell. you just have to worry about marketing and selling. Drop Shipping Drop shipping has come long way on the internet and it's become a system that is well developed and easy to use. When selling a physical product you'll most likely need to devote one area of your house to storage for inventory. If you're buying a large amount you may want to rent out a storage unit or warehouse. Drop shipping companies will only bill you once the item is sold and the items are usually priced wholesale on your part… so the profit comes from increasing the price to your customers. Making profit buying and selling products can be extremely difficult but if you have the right product and system in place it can be very rewarding. You only pay once you've made money. Drop shipping is when you sell a company's products. The customer thinks the product came from you and so you're the one taking the credit. No down payment or startup capital required. The problem with selling physical products online is that you'll have to worry about shipping and handling. but the items are kept at the companies and warehouse and they deal with the shipping and handling. The most attractive benefit to drop shipping is that you don't have to pay anything until you've sold the item. 77 . returns and exchanges and warehousing all from your home… and if not your home a workplace you'll have rent out which will cost extra. So you're basically just a storefront for the drop shipper. The benefit of this system is that you don't have to worry about shipping or handling.If you decide that going to flea markets is not your thing you can try buying wholesale.
Not all drop shippers have return policies so if you guarantee the customer full money back return policy… the money is coming out of your pocket! Depending on the products you sell. motivational speakers. This can be extremely lucrative depending on the service and how you market yourself. Many freelance artists work online doing logos and design work. the biggest issue with your customers will be your credibility. techies. there are many that have bad shipping and handling records so always check their what their reputation is first… do your research Another downside to selling for a drop shipper is that you don't have complete control. the profit margin might be quite small. This is a good system if your services can be done from your home but you lack customers in your geographic area. Carpenters.You'll have to look around for a good drop shipping company. You have no say in how or when the products are shipped. you can market yourself online. The internet knows no distance and so your customers can be international. consultants.com/wwb/main_Products. The users want to see your credentials and experience before hiring you. They prefer to read multiple sets of information from 78 .worldwidebrands. Making Yourself Look Credible When offering your services online. You can find reputable drop shippers by purchasing a product sourcing membership with: • www. Web users today have gotten smart and they no longer take claims at face value.asp Selling Your Skills and Services Some of you who are skilled and talented may choose to advertise and market your services. writers. Many services can be done for a customer right from your own home. If your talent is locally dependant (you having to be at the customer's location) you should obviously specify travel costs and availability. no matter what skill you have. If you're a professional in this day and age regardless of industry you'll want a website just to compete with your competitors. When you're doing business on the internet you'll be facing many competitors all competing for credibility and legitimacy.
This is another way to show you have experience. The bar is much higher for convincing users of anything. magazine.multiple sources to find the truth. or media file and your product only needs to be made once. • Stories and case studies that illustrate how you've helped someone or a company helps. You want to be seen. or third party… show it off and let people know! When selling your services you should market yourself everywhere applicable. TV show. You should never lie but saying you're a certified _____ makes you automatically more credible. a program. • Be sure to indicate any awards you may have received. 79 . • Users want to see that you've been around for a long time. • Client testimonials are an excellent way to increase credibility. • You should display a list of all your big clients. Since its digital the customers are only buying a copy of the original file and there's no overhead since there are no physical products to manage. this method makes the most profit. With this method you're selling information. whether it's expert predictions on the stock market or a program that will save your business 1000s of dollars. • If you've been mentioned or appeared on another website. Information Products This is a method where you sell a digital product. It's recommended you social network. Here are few things you may want to include on your website to establish credibility with the users: • Users want to see you on multiple websites throughout the net. If you don't have time to market yourself you can always hire a marketing expert to do the work for you. Consider yourself a brand and work on making yourself big. They'd have a tough time hiring the services of someone new to the industry. • They want to see your certifications and degrees on your website. use YouTube and other video sharing sites to promote yourself. People are willing to pay a lot of money for this type of product. Because there is no overhead.
There was a big trend for sites to have annoying banner ads and pop ups to sell you stuff but that trend is waning and going out.com/adsense/ • http://www.casalemedia. The most common system is for you to join an ad network like Google AdSense where you place a small code on a certain page of your website and Google places relevant ads on that page of your website. There are many ways to put ads on your site while not being annoying.valueclickmedia. The current trend is to place ads that have value to the customer and make their experience more rewarding. TV shows. a media file.A paid membership site can also be considered an informational product since the user is paying for the information found inside. and it's pretty much seen everywhere you go. Selling Ad Space This method has been around for a long time and is used in magazines. so if you have a travel website the ads will be travel related and of interest to the users. Here are just a few ad networks that we recommend: • http://burstmedia. If your website gets a lot of traffic you should consider putting up some well placed appropriate ads to increase your revenue. Analyzing the Numbers 80 .google. newspapers. There's still a time and place to be using banner ads but they should only be used in specific situation. or a program. When using an ad network such as Google AdSense you make money every time someone clicks on their ad Ad networks typically place ads that are related to the content of your website. Most digital products come in the form of a PDF EBook.com It's recommended that you use multiple ad networks in conjunction for maximum revenue. This is the most lucrative method to make money online since it requires such little overhead and it's the direction the internet is currently moving in.com • http://www. There are limits to how many ads you can place on a single page that is determined by the ad network so be sure to follow their TOS (terms of service) closely.com • https://www.
fitness. CTR = Click Through Rate. PPC = Pay Per Click. If their product is $100 you make 75$ for every sale that came from you. We suggest you check out the following sites. You need a large amount of traffic if you want to make good money selling ad space. You can easily find an affiliate product that your customers would like and then you can either send out a newsletter or write a review of the product containing your affiliate link. A CTR of 3% is considered average. If your average CTR is 2% and the average PPC is about $1. If you wanted to make $200 per day you'd have to get 10 000 hits per day. The average PPC though is just a few cents. you make $2 for every 100 hits. you must also display the ads effectively if you want people to click on them. How much money would you like to make per month from ad revenue? By calculating R (revenue) = (hits x CTR) x PPC you'd be able to figure out how many hits you'd need in order to make the desired revenue. money. you just market the product and the other company deals with the rest. markets. Some affiliates programs offer commissions as high as 75%. An affiliate is someone is who advertises. Affiliate Advertising You can sign up to become an affiliate for a company.More ads do not necessarily mean more money. and directs customers to someone else's product and if the user buys the product the affiliate get a commission. When someone clicks on the ad on your webpage you make a small portion of money (assuming you're using an ad network like AdSense). Affiliate networks are places for you to easily sign up to other companies affiliate program so you can sell their products. Affiliate advertising is an excellent way to add value to your customer. This is the percentage of people that click on your ads.com/ads/affiliatenetwork/ 81 . If you have 1000 hits a day you'd make $20. market their product and make a commission on every sale. You don't deal with inventory or shipping and handling. There are many affiliate networks that simplify everything for you. Every ad has its own PPC. The PPC can vary from 1 cent to as high as $60.google. That money you get is the PPC of the ad. travel usually pay more than any other niche. • http://www. health. Ads related to debt consolidation. Naturally you should only place affiliate links that are appropriate to your audience for maximum revenue.
primaryads.azoogleads.com • http://www. You may want to create a resource page and link your audience up with your affiliate products that can be of use to your customer. 82 . Section 2: Marketing Affiliate Programs Affiliate networking and marketing has taken the internet by storm and its here to stay and it makes up a large part of the most successful online companies.com • http://www. The hardest part is trying to integrate all the monetization methods while not taking away from your main product. You'll have a back up to make sure you keep on getting money. If you add a new form of monetization it should add to your site and not take away.com • http://www.com • http://www. People do not want to be bombarded with ads and affiliate links that are obviously ads.valueclickmedia.darkblue. You want to integrate your ads and affiliate links into the content of your site in such a way that it adds to your website. Multiple Streams of Income The secret to the most successful sites is that they all have multiple streams of income. there are a lot of scammy affiliate programs out there on the net.com • http://www. Having multiple streams of income can be a great save in the event that something goes wrong with your main source of income (your product). Beware though.com • http://www.clickbank.com Having an affiliate program is also an excellent way to market your own product.com • http://www.cj.com • http://www.primaryads.• http://www.affiliatefuel.clickxchange. The affiliate networks listed above allow you to add your own product so that people can sign up to advertise your product.com • http://www. The ultimate goal of your site is to make money so you want to fully utilize your websites potential at making money… while still providing an excellent user experience.linkshare.
Naturally you should only go with products your customers would like. 83 . The Ins And Outs of Affiliate Programs Becoming an affiliate is easy. There are affiliate networks where you can find affiliate programs but many large companies and vendors also provide their own separate affiliate program. Most people's initial experience with affiliate networking may be negative… there are a lot of scammy people out there doing bad sales but when done right… it's seamless and not visible. They wouldn't be doing it if wasn't working. just follow these steps: • Become a member of an affiliate network • Find the affiliate program that your customer would like • Advertise product on your site • Direct traffic to the affiliate owner's website. Amazon and Best Buy use affiliate programs to make money. Merchant: An entity providing the affiliate program for people to join up to. Publisher: The entity that wants to become an affiliate. Creative's: This is the advertising material that either your or the merchant provide. There are many affiliate programs out there offering what seems to be total crap and yet they're total money makers.This section will clarify and help you get a footing with how affiliate programs work and what you should know about them. just advertise your website and with enough traffic you'll be making a nice steady income. Affiliate Network: A network where affiliates and merchant come together to offer and join up to affiliate programs. Even large brand names such as Wal-Mart. Affiliate Terms You Should Know Affiliate: An entity that's paid money to promote someone else's products or services. Advertiser: Same as merchant. These are the people selling the products and items. Because the affiliate program you choose should be related to your website you don't have to directly market the product. High quality products do not always sell the best. Since you image is on the line decide carefully what products you'll offer.
PPI: Pay per impression. A lead is someone who joins the merchant's newsletter. CPM: Cost per 1000 impressions. Some merchants will offer you a small amount of money if you get someone to take an action that doesn't involve a purchase (signing up to a newsletter for instance). ROS: Run of site.Tag: The part of a link given to the affiliate to keep track of the fact that the user came from you. Joining an Affiliate Network 84 . PPS: Pay per sale. CPL: Cost-per-lead. CPA: Cost-per-action. Same as CPA. CPC: Cost per click. CR: Conversion ratio. COOKIE: A file that is used to remember information about a website user that is to be used at a later time.000.000 impressions. There is usually a button that the user has to click on to move to the next page or they must wait a few seconds for the ad to forward them automatically. You can't drag or move an InVue window. The CR is the percentage of clicks or views needed to achieve something like a sale or lead. Interstitial: This is a type of ad that's displayed between the page you're on and the page you want to go on. EPM: Earnings per 1. PPL: Pay per lead. or fills out a survey or takes some sort of action that could possibly lead to a sale down the road. EPC: Earnings per 100 clicks. Required URL: This is the affiliate location where you send your users. your ROI would be 100%. PPA: Pay per action. They are not separate windows but instead exist as a part of the website being browsed. PFP: Pay for performance. InVue: Ads that are like pop-up ads but they appear in the front blocking the content behind it. If you invested $500 and your earned $1. RON: Run of network. Qualifying link: The link used to direct users to the affiliate program so you can earn a commission. ROI: Return on investment.
Check the company's background history to make sure they haven't been in any legal trouble. 85 . They're willing to go to any lengths to get it.bbbonline.gov You should always investigate the programs you sign up for by doing research of them online. Avoiding Scams and Staying Legitimate There are many people out there all wanting to make money. You must have a website which will be reviewed by the network and you usually will need an EIN or SSN. There are several requirements you need to join an affiliate network. You don't want to become affiliated with a bad company. Always look online for reviews of the company and what other affiliates think of them. It will make you look bad. Make sure the company has a good reputation and has good service records.org If you do come across an illegal or fraudulent program you can report it with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at: • www.The signing up process is straight forward. This isn't fool proof of course but if their bad… you'll probably read about it. Legal but Not Nice Affiliates Even though the affiliate program is legal it can still be shady and untrustworthy. You can check with the better business bureau at: • www. Ignorance is not a defense in court so be careful what you get yourself into. Read the terms and conditions of the affiliate program carefully and always know what you're getting yourself into. It might be legal in their country but not yours.ic3. Affiliate networks want to see that you're legitimate and that you're not out there to scam people. Avoid affiliations with companies that don't offer money back guarantees. just follow the directions provided be the affiliate network. The process can take anywhere up to 10 days. There are many rules governing how things can be sold and what can be sold. Illegal Affiliates Just because it's online doesn't make it legal… duh! Check to see which country the affiliate program is based out of.
either through cell phone. there is a lot of money to be made in the field of information products. Consider the idea that making an informational product is a great way for you (the creator) to learn more about a certain topic. Everyone is connecting to the internet these days. • The companies that have slack requirements are usually worth avoiding. there is no overhead save for the cost of hosting. interactive program or eBook for users to learn from. People are always looking for new skills to better themselves and move up in the world. Sometimes people are just looking for a simplified and condensed chunk of knowledge so that they can learn it faster. people know this and are often willing to pay for it. is still very small. Go with companies that check your website and have strict rules on how you're allowed to promote them. • Never sign up with an affiliate that requires a fee for you to join them. A large part of the internet is still untapped and the competition. lap top or home computer… You have a massive market to sell to. Since an information product is for the most part entirely digital.Avoid: • Avoid companies that don't have contact information or are difficult to learn about. Information products are just as the name implies… it's information packed into some form of media. Section 3: Selling Information/Digital Products for Your Online Business Knowledge is power. Because of this. Even if you have no expertise in a field you can still make an information product. There is no shipping or handling involved in the purchase. You want open trustworthy companies. If someone purchases your informational product they're essentially just purchasing a digital copy of your product. Creating an Information Product 101 86 . • Avoid companies that don't offer support for their affiliates. Much of our society today around the world has moved and is moving to an information based economy. in many niches. iPhone. The information product industry has exploded in recent years and it continue to become bigger and bigger.
health. Do this with several books and try adding your own sections. Choosing a niche market is often a good idea since you'll have no competition to deal with. and travel usually do quite well but don't discount other topics… there are new markets popping up all the time. • Organize the information into a clear concise teachable manner. Make sure all you information is current especially if your topic is regarding legal issues or finances. Regardless on topic there is someone out there willing to pay for it. Check out the table of contents for a book related to your subject and see how they break it down. Topics that people have a problem with (such as relationships. Finding Topics That Sell If people hire consultants or professionals to assist them on a certain topic… it's probably a good topic to cover. After breaking down the topic into teachable parts you should organize the parts by what should be learned first and leaving the more advanced knowledge for the end. Anything related to health. Research Once you've picked your topic you need to break that topic down into parts. If you know a second language. To create an information product you just need to: • Find a topic that people are willing to pay money for and that you're interested in. Although you being knowledgeable on the subject are not essential it's recommended. Research. money. 87 . • Make money. You don't want to just copy another product. Research. you want to make it even better and more valuable.Creating an information product can be fun and rewarding but time consuming. • Distribute and market it. relationships. What are you knowledgeable at? You may need to do some further studying but if you know a little it's a good start. money) are excellent topics. then that should be considered a body of knowledge.
• The ending should be a summary of the whole book and any final thoughts. 88 . EBooks are preferable if you have scientific. EBooks are composed of images and text. Try to think as if you were someone who didn't know anything about the topic… what do you need to know first? And what's the best way to learn it? EBooks EBooks are digital books and with certain formats such as . EBooks make great additions to any audio book or video you sell. • The beginning should be discussing the problem and why the user bought the product. It can add a lot of value to the sale. When teaching someone you need to start out with the basics and then move up into more and more complex ideas.At the very least your information should be on par with the competition and obviously… make sure all your content is original. Although eBooks still sell well in this current day and age… it's having less and less of value as video media is taking over. Organizing Your Information Most books and information products are structured in a certain way. PDF's also give you the option to password protects your file which will help slow down piracy. A PDF is good because you can lock the content and prevent people from editing your work. PDF's are supported by almost all computers and is the standard format for businesses around the world. legal.pdf's you can create bookmarks at each chapter or heading to make it easier for readers. or financial document as you're able to show information in a more structured manner. Creating an EBook PDF = Portable Document Format. • The middle should be all about the solutions. You can write your document in any word processing program although it's recommended that the final format is a PDF document.
Creating a Webinar A webinar is essentially an online seminar. iTunes. The most common method is to sell your EBook directly on your website. audio.com Marketing and Selling Your E-Book Many people use EBooks as an incentive to get people to subscribe to their email. subscribe now to get your free eBook!).txt. and ClickBank. EBay no longer allows for the sale of digital products so you'd have to burn the eBook on to a CD or other storage device.There are many programs out on the internet that will convert . sold by Adobe.com allow you to list and sell your eBook off of their sites. • You can also attach the eBook into an email that will be sent to them upon payment. a PowerPoint presentation and chat features to your audience. . lulu. just be sure to store your eBook on your server in a secure location and direct the customers to the location of your eBook. Once the user has purchased an eBook from you.adobe. EBay. Not all topics need webinars but for some… they're almost essential.doc. Adobe offers a website that can create PDF's for you. Your browser will give them the option to save or open the document. (Ex. Amazon. With a good webinar program you can deliver video. Most payment systems support an auto message to be sent to the customer upon a successful payment. you have several ways of distributing it too them: • Once the user has purchased you eBook you can send them a download link to your eBook. Having a webinar is a good way to increase value. You can attach the eBook to the email or send them a link to the eBook. It can be found here: • http://createpdf. If you're teaching martial arts or teaching how to apply makeup… a webinar is one avenue you should consider taking. 89 . text. Many people do not like to read. and other formats into PDF. The most commonly used PDF creator is Adobe Acrobat. If you plan to sell your eBook there are many websites that can help you with that. they prefer to watch and listen.com.
You can record webinars and provide them for download later on and your webinars can be live or recorded.microsoft. Although the majority of people would prefer to use credit cards… you should still offer other methods. Credit Cards and Merchant Accounts You'll want an option for the customer to pay with credit cards. Then on a certain day they do the webinar live. Ultimately the more you can give your customers the happier they'll be.com/go/demo There are many programs and utilities coming out specifically for creating webinars. What most webinar creators do is market and advertises their webinars months in advance. Check out the two following links: • · http://office. There are a small percentage of people who refuse to use credit cards… they make up a small percentage but you should still give them other options to pay for your product. Fortunately the internet has developed to the point that you can get a payment system up and running in a few hours and start accepting credit cards right away. Once the webinar is recorded you can offer it to the webinar attendees or sell it to new users. Windows LiveMeeting and WebEx have excellent resources to assist you in making a webinar. Merchant accounts allow you to directly deposit a customer's money into your own bank account.webex.Webinars are now possible due to the proliferation of broadband which allows lots of information to be sent to the user simultaneously.com/livemeeting • · www. You can either use a third party service like PayPal to deal with the credit cards or you can get a merchant account (recommended). Section 4: Payment Options for Your Internet Business Almost everyone has a credit card now that they can use for internet shopping. Many banks now offer ecommerce merchant accounts that simplify the job for you but keep in mind: 90 .
com/aboutonlineapp. Here are a few direct providers that provide merchant accounts: • www.cardservicesales. • The gateway should allow you to view your transactions and information. Here are the payment gateways we recommend: • www.com • www.networksolutions. A direct provider will be a cheaper option then the using the bank. Check out what they have to offer.merchantwarehouse.firstdata.com 91 . Your merchant account provider will most likely have a gateway ready for you. You don't want to be spending money on something that you'll not be able to use… do your research and make sure it will all work in the end. • Your gateway should provide 24/7 support. If you'd like to choose a different gateway.asp • www.net • www.verisign.• Having a merchant account will cost you extra since the bank does not process the credit cards (it works as a middle man with the credit companies). There are many features your payment gateway can add to your account such as recurring billing and such.onlinedatacorp. find one that accepts all the major credit cards: • Visa • MasterCard • American Express Make sure your gateway is compatible with your shopping cart software. a few days at most. You can also get merchant accounts with the direct provider (the company that processes the credit cards).com • www.com/linkpoint • www.merchantaccounts. • Banks are very strict and rigid with approving accounts. your bank and your website.com Payment Gateways The payment gateway is the process that communicates digitally with the credit card company.authorize. Your gateway should: • Be sure your gateway sends the money to your bank account often and not once a month.paymentech.com • www.
you'll eventually receive a fraudulent charge-back from one of your customers. 92 . You'll most likely be charged for: • Processing your application. • You get charged for not making a monthly minimum. EChecks allow a customer to transfer funds directly from their account to your account and they cost about 25 cents to $1 per transaction. • Transaction fee which can be 2-4%. Look around and check out your options.com Electronic checks have somewhat of a foot hold in the online world. • Setting up your account.paypal. PayPal can be used for all transactions if you don't want to pay too much for the merchant account. This is the most common type of fraud that the online business owner will face. Electronics checks are also knows as ACH processing.com • www. • Customer charge backs. Alternative Payment Methods Giving your users more options is not always a good thing but it is in terms to them paying you.Merchant Account Fees Unfortunately there's no way to escape this… you'll be charged a small fee for every transaction among other things.paybycheck. PayPal has many features that simplify the shopping and selling experience. Here are several ECheck providers: • www. Not all merchant account providers will charge you all the fees mentioned above.ichex.com Protecting Yourself from Fraud If you do business long enough. You can find it here: • www. PayPal supports shopping carts and it gives you a lot of control in terms of how you sell things and how customers shop. Having several payment options will increase your sales by 20% in some cases… that's a lot of money! PayPal is perhaps one of the most popular alternatives. Decide what's best for you. • Terminating your account. • Sending you your statement.
You want a shopping cart that offers as much control as possible. To minimize the risks of fraud you should use the following security features: • AVS: Address verification. Shopping carts can simplify your life tremendously with large product catalogues. If you have 1 or 2 products you can go without using a shopping cart. You can always use company like pay pal. The Variety of Shopping Carts There is a huge variety of shopping carts available to you. create buttons and add them next to the product on your website. • CCV: Card code verification.Stolen credit cards are an issue many owners will encounter. You have to know exactly what you want before getting a shopping cart and you'll have to do some research to find one that's right for you. fonts. Section 5: Shopping Carts and Ecommerce Shopping carts are not essential but they do make your website look more professional. Shopping carts are definitely wanted if you have a wide range of inventory or your products change periodically. the user must enter the 3 numbers seen on the back of your credit card. The shopping cart can be split into 4 sections: • Back end • Front end • Integration • Marketing Back End The back end (or back of house) is what you see and deal with as the administrator. the address associated with the credit card must match the address given to you by the order. Each shopping cart application can have 100s of features. and images. 93 . and import and export inventory lists. You want a shopping cart that gives you a ton of control from the back end. • Filters: Filters can screen for suspicious order and block out IP addresses that have made a large amounts of credit card purchases in a short amount of time. You should be able to change the colors. The credit card companies are always taking more steps to protect both the consumer and merchant from fraud but it's a constant battle.
Integration Integration refers to the coding side of things. Shopping.com. 94 . Shop. You want to make it easy yet appealing. You want options and control with your shopping cart. • Gift certificates • Search tool • SEO friendly (SEO = Search Engine Optimization) • Product ratings and reviews • Product commenting • Polls and surveys • Social bookmarking/networking • Incentives (buy one. • Discounts • Sales and Specials • Send out email regarding sales to your email list. You want a shopping cart that is compatible with your site and is easy to install. and Shopzilla. leave and read comments. Find a shopping cart company that offers good customer support. Test out the front end yourself and imagine being a customer. There should be buttons to view their order.Front End This is what the customer sees when viewing your site. get one free) You want a shopping cart that fits your needs and then some. The shopping cart should be stable and not have errors pop up and your shopping cart should be able to connect with your accounting software. The most important thing for the customer is being able to go through the process of purchasing your item quickly and easily. Dealing with money issues with clients can be a real head ache.com Yahoo shopping.com. Marketing functions for your shopping cart include such items as: • Coupons • Recommending similar products to customers • Data feeds that can communicate with websites like Froogle. Marketing A shopping cart that supports marketing functions is extremely important and makes a good bonus. review your product. The front end should have a good amount of options for the customer.
They can run you $25 to $200 per month. It will cost you anywhere between $300 and $5000.1shoppingcart.Hosted Shopping Carts An alternative to hosting. Many companies don't sell you're the software but instead lease it out to you in which you only own the license to use it. You just have to worry about keeping the inventory and store up to date. Even thought the shopping cart is hosted on a different server you integrate it into your own website.mivamerchant.goecart.asp • www.pdgsoft.com • www.shopfactory. If you decide to go down this route be sure to get an outsourced shopping cart company that offers round the clock support. you won't have to deal with the technical issues.com Make sure your payment gateway is compatible with the software you use otherwise you'll have to pay a specialist to program it for you. You won't be tied down by limitations and you'll have more control of your own store. There are free and cheaper options but you get what you pay for and so the cheaper options are not recommended… they'll give you and your customers a lot of head ache. Here are the best hosting shopping cart companies we recommend: • www.com Hosted shopping carts can be expensive so make sure it's worth it for you. Even though good software is expensive you'll save money in the long run. installing and programming your own shopping cart is to hire a company to host it and deal with it for you. Although you'll have to pay a small fee.com • www. Purchasing Shopping Cart Software Shopping cart software has been around for a long time and it's become quite developed. Outsourcing your shopping cart can be cost effective since you won't have to deal with the problems.com • www. Here's a list of the best shopping cart programs on the market: • www.com/shopping-cart-features. Custom Made Shopping Cart 95 .shopsite.
Because it would be custom coded you'll have problems with integrating it with your payment gateway and other programs. Your inventory is not just about the items you have for sale but also the way you price them and what type of variety you have. styles). According to pulse there is a lot more demand than supply with a certain items (hint hint… lots of opportunity). A custom shopping cart should only be considered if absolutely necessary or if the cost is not an issue for you. It can take month or more to developed and test out.000. EBay Pulse is a resource for eBay merchants and it keeps track of the major trends occurring in eBay. It can cost you easily over $10. Pulse will indicate the top items being searched. By seeing how well certain products do on eBay you'll get a better idea and a more realistic picture of what you can expect once you start selling your product. Million of transactions are occurring daily over EBay and they have supplied its merchant account members with a wide variety of tool to assist them in selling.ebay.com 96 . Fortunately this subject has been studied and researched greatly and so finding out how to price your products is easy.This is not recommended as it would be very expensive. you can consider this as a viable option. Not only is this approach expensive but it's also time consuming. Using EBay to Find Out What People Are Buying EBay is by far the largest e-commerce site on the web. it may be a backend thing that helps them sell but also see what they do with the front end…you can learn a lot. sizes. the biggest stores. You can find eBay pulse at: • http://pulse. and the items that are being most watched. Down the line when your company starts making large amount of money. Section 6: Inventory This section is primarily made for those selling a wide range of products but it can also apply to informational products and people selling just a few primary products. It's often a good idea to have several varieties of the same product (different colors. Check out the top sellers on eBay and see what they do to be so successful.
If you have money to spare you can hire the services of a market research company. 97 . Their reports range in price from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars depending on how much data you'd like. Not only can research be used to validate your idea but it can be used to give you knew ideas and point you in a new direction in regards to marketing.95.com • www.com/news/research/ • www. You can find it here: • www.terapeak. We recommend the following resources for market research: • www. The price you set should be based on the following factors: • The demand of your product.Terapeak is another excellent tool offered by eBay but it has a monthly fee of about $24.com • www.com/signup Terapeak offers a free trial and we highly recommend it.ecommerce-guide.emarketer. The price you set can change the image of your business so you should price the items in accordance to image you want to give out. There is plenty of research data available for free on the internet (just make sure it's recent). • The expenses incurred by buying and selling the product. If your market is the upscale type you can go for a higher price without too much difficulty. If you want a warehouse image you should price your items at a more competitive price. • How much profit you'd like to make. • Your position in the market (if you have control you can afford to charge a little more). You want to keep track of the numbers and see what works and what doesn't.com How to Price Your Products Once you've done your research you should have a good idea of how in demand your products are and what the average going price is for your product. • How your competitors price their product.forrester. Doing Your Research Research is everything in business.jupiterresearch.
Marketing Your Self as a Low Price Leader If your shtick and marketing plan is advertising yourself as having the lowest price items you'll want to: • Provide many choices • Offer a lot of sales • Find new and different products to sell. How to Handle Your Inventory Depending on the type of business you plan to run. More is not always better. By cycling your items you'll be able to see what items sell the most. This is the lowest you can possibly go without losing money. Niche 98 .You should calculate all the expenses incurred by your product (the pricing floor). Keeping A Limited. Offer them many sales/coupons and discounts and they won't be able to say no. although cheap to make can be worth a fortune… like art) Pricing your items can be a fine art but as long as you stay within a certain acceptable range. You can price items based on the perceived value of the item (some items. The secret to maximum profit is finding that perfect number where you don't price it so high that you lose buyers but you don't price it so low that you make too little profit per items. cycling your inventory and changing items is a good idea with this type of person. you'll need a certain amount of inventory on hand. By focusing on a niche you'll have an easier time tapping that market. • How many types of products do you plan to sell? • How much of each item should you have on hand? • Do you have enough room for all the merchandise? The business with the largest array of products has no correlation to how successful that company will be. Low price shoppers are looking for good deals and the quality usually comes secondary to price. Keep a close eye on how and when your items are being bought. Specialized Inventory This is probably the easiest method to take when selling online. Low price shoppers are always looking for a good deal on an item. people will buy the product from you. There are many questions you need to be able to answer when it comes to inventory. If you detect a pattern you may be able to capitalize on it.
If you have a bad. If you expect a large amount of orders you may want to consider outsourcing your fulfillment orders to another company. if the item takes too long to be sent to the customer and not packaged the way they expected it… you'll most likely never see that customer again. Try to find a niche that doesn't have too much competition but has a big following. When dealing with a niche market people want to trust that you know everything about the subject and that your items are the best out there. Keep in mind that no matter how good the user experience was. filling out the customer's order is the most important thing you'll have to do. This section will talk about way to simplify the job of filling out orders. inefficient system for packaging and sending items out… you'll be in big trouble when the orders start coming in. By joining these groups. Getting your first order can be very exciting as it validates your business idea and is proof that your business works. You should think about and plan how you'll deliver the products before you start business. you can make a name for yourself very quickly. You want to make it as simple as possible while still fulfilling the needs of the business. You should have a clear idea of exactly what steps each item goes through from where and when it's bought or manufactured to how and when the item is packaged and delivered. Write down all the step that 99 . Section 7: Keeping Up with Demand and Filling out Orders for Your Online Business Second to actually getting the sale. If you expect 100 orders a month on the other hand… you can probably do it yourself without too much trouble or time spent. Systematizing the Process Ultimately the goal of your business is to make it run itself. Niche markets have small communities and usually have social networking groups. With niche markets you should focus on acquiring the highest quality and most unique items.markets are usually willing to pay much more for an item since the item is typically much rarer. A niche market would be something like ladies perfume or Japanese tea pots.
There are many companies that handle the shipping and handling for small businesses and you don't have to be a multimillion dollar company to be outsourcing this task. If you get a rental storage you can send your product orders directly to the storage and the rental company can load the product in your storage (expect an extra fee of course). you may want to consider renting a storage space or warehouse. take a close look at how things are done and try to find ways to simplify and automate it for maximum efficiency. Items such as books. CD's. 100 . Once you understand the whole system. This approach is good for those people who like to have control over how their items are shipped. These companies that specialize in fulfilling orders are called "fulfillment houses". If you have a company that ships the products to you. naturally take up much less space and storage should not be a problem. Make sure you find out how the fulfillment house packages and delivers the products and check to see how often and how fast they ship out their products. The space required to store your products depend on the product. If you get a lot of orders and you're doing business out of your house… you can always hire an employee to assist you in doing the work. Outsourcing Fulfillment If your website sells a lot of product you should consider outsourcing your fulfillments to a company that specializes in doing so. You'll always want items on hand to ship and you'll want to order a new batch of product before your current batch runs out. Many Fulfillment houses offer extra services such as customer service and reporting. Since companies that specialize in large fulfillment orders are efficient and effective… getting them to do it is much cheaper then you developing your own system. DVD's. In-House Delivery For small businesses this is the cheapest and most practical approach. it should be clear enough that others will be able to understand it and run your business. If your product is large and takes up a lot of space. check out how long it takes so you know when to order a new batch without running out of product.needs to be taken on paper.
strategicfulfillment. and orders into an efficient system. You're putting your reputation into their hands. Shipping Labels and Postage 101 .com • www. There are many types of fulfillment companies. Find the one that works best for you.efulfillmentservice. You should always include the option for express delivery. Check out: • http://ups-scs. you must do your research. Options will let the customer know exactly what they can expect and it gives them a little control which makes their shopping experience more enjoyable.caleris. We recommend you check out the following companies: • www.webgistix.An alternative to big fulfillment houses is that you can also pay someone to fulfill all the orders for you from their own home. Be sure to indicate clearly exactly how you ship the items and how long customers can expect to wait before they get their product.fulfillmentworks.com/logistics Be sure that the company you hire is professional and strives towards good service. Amazon. Factor in the fact that you won't be needing employees and the time saved. Finding the Best Fulfillment House for You As with any purchase you make. The costs can vary for each company so be sure it's worth it for you. some completely handle all your orders and others only deal with packaging and delivery. Many stay at home mothers do this since they can look after the kids while working.com • www. supply. Shipping and Handling Some customers are picky with how items are shipped to them so it's good to give your customers options when it comes to delivery.com • www.com • www.com UPS offers a service to small business that coordinates all the shipping. delivery.com is an expert when it comes to offering customers shipping and handling options.
With the shipping companies you can create an account and have access to forms so you can print your own labels.endicia.pitneybowes. UPS and the US postal service are just some of the companies that do it.usps. When making your labels online. The only prerequisite of having a company picks up your items is that they all need to be labeled with postage (which you can do online).With the explosions of internet businesses came many advances in web business technology. FedEx. If you set up a business account with the shipping company they'll come by on a regular basis to pick up your items. International Orders There should be an option on your shopping cart for international shipping. most shipping companies will have the forms required for international destinations. Keeping Things in Check on the Back End Keeping your back end in check should be a big priority for any business owner. you'll want to invest in an accurate weight scale as the weight is a requirement with the shipping companies.com • www. No matter how good the front end looks… if the back end is in disarray… nothing will work. International shipping is somewhat expensive hence you should charge your customers more during the customer buying process.com/shipping/label. You usually have to give them your Visa number and they charge you per postage. 102 . When shipping internationally you'll have to fill out a customs forms and several other forms (for most shipping companies). Most shipping companies can pick up your items in under 2 hours. Delivery Many shipping companies can now pick up your items.com • www. Many shopping carts systems can now create a print ready shipping label for you to use on your packaging.stamps. There are many companies that now allow you to create printable postage.com • www. As a side note. Here are some companies that offer printable online postages: • www.htm Most big shipping companies now allow you create your shipping labels and postage.
The best technique is to place the most commonly bought items in the most accessible location and do not place items that look identical next to each other (16gig and 8 gig iPods for instance) as you might pick up the wrong one. the hackers and criminals are always finding new ways to exploit and bypass security systems. $650 million is the total amount of losses reported by customers.2 billion in losses to business owners per year.The best way to keep a well functioning back end is to create systems and develop good habits to prevent things from falling apart. Despite the advancements of internet security technology. It's your responsibility to protect yourself and your customers from these crimes. Course #5 Security and Your Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 5: How to Deal with Hackers and Fraud When Doing Business Online Section 1: The Risks Associated With Internet Security and Doing Business Online Internet fraud accounts for more than 50% of all reports to the FTC. Your Legal Responsibility as the Merchant 103 . Create shelving units and label the shelves accordingly. Shelving System This is pretty straight forward and there isn't any secret to this and if you outsource your order fulfillment this won't be issue for you. Fraud and internet crimes account for more than $1.
Protecting yourself and your customers can save you a lot of money in the long run. Charge backs occur often but you can minimize the amount of fraud by: • Use AVS (address verification system) to verify that the address on the order matches the card holder's address. Credit card thieves tend to max out the card as fast as possible. Credit card companies will more often make you pay for any losses incurred by the customers. • Ask for the cards verification value. How you protect and secure your customers information should be indicated in detail on your privacy policy page. Your shopping cart software will usually do this for you. • Keep records of all the transactions. • Contact customers if they made large orders. As a merchant you can dispute any charge back by calling the credit card vendor. Its considered fraud if you send out the correct product to a customer but the customer claims it's the wrong one.As the merchant. or if the customer believes you didn't deliver the product the way it was supposed to. Be prepared to provide them with evidence that you're properly checked to make sure the card was authentic. used without the owner's permission. If you send out the wrong product to a customer (accidentally) it's not fraud but you would have to pay the charge backs. Credit card users can dispute purchases made with their credit card number. it only has to happen once to put you out of business. Dealing with Charge Backs Charge backs are the most common form of fraud. 104 . (FCBA) The Fair Credit Billing Act allows customers to dispute a credit card charge if their card was stolen. On all visas there are three numbers that are on the back of every card and 4 numbers on the front of every Discover card and MasterCard. Even though you may never be attacked or the victim of fraud. you're entirely responsible for securing your customers data. • Check the charge back policies of your credit card vendor. Securing Your Customers Information Customers want to know that their information is safe with you. 90 million credit cards were stolen in 2007 which led to $3.6 billion in losses to internet businesses.
Seals of Approval and Displaying Certificates People want to trust you before they buy from you. SSL is a method of communications that encrypts (codes) the information being sent from and into your website. You can get the license from either VeriSign or your hosting company. Some seals of approval require you've been in business for more than a year. Applications for some seals of approval can cost you several hundred dollars so you should consider getting them later on when you're business has found some success. For more recourse on ways to protect your customer's information check out the following links: • www.org Securing Your Website There aren't too many options when it comes to securing the information transferred from your website. These policies are enforced if you're a larger company (more than 20.000. Although people don't directly look for certificates. The SSL software is then installed on the host server and your website will then be secured. Displaying certificates and seals of approval are just one way to increase the customers trust with you.gov Failure to comply with the security standard can leave you with a fine as high as $500. Your host can activate your SSL or you can do it yourself (it's slightly technical mind you).95 and several thousand dollars. For information on the policies regarding privacy security check out the FTC websites at: • www.000 transactions per year).There are certain regulations and standards that need to be met when protecting data. SSL licenses vary in price according to how secure you want your website to be.merchantriskcouncil. Under the SSL protocol the information your customer shares with you cannot be accessed by deviants. Of all the options. 105 . High end SSL certificates use 256-bit encryption and the lower end ones use 128-bit encryption.merchant911.org • www. To use the SSL system you have to first acquire a license to use it. If you're a small business the policies are self regulated.ftc. it's a good thing to have and it shows the user you mean business. The price for SSL can range between $29. the most commonly used and recommended method is to get a SSL certificate.
Any random site can be attacked and even though you may have the problem fixed within a day or so. Smaller business websites have a higher chance of being hacked since small business owners put security at the bottom of their list of priorities. If you get attacked report it to: • www. They'll have an expert deal with the issue right away.crime-research. We suggest you avoid using Internet Explorer and use a safer browser like Firefox.guardianecommerce. In this section we talk about the defensive measures and what to do in the event of an attack. it will leave a bad impression to those trying to visit your site. Just because your website is small doesn't mean hackers aren't interested.The following companies and websites offer seals of approval and certificates: • www.ic3.truste. It is important to remember that hackers are very resourceful and can enter your computer through many ways. 106 .org • www.bbbonline. Hackers use Trojan horses and keystroke loggers to get information and data from you. Protecting Yourself and Your Business This should be common sense to everyone but always use a firewall and antivirus program on your computer. Knowing what to expect and knowing how hackers work can prepare you for when it happens.net • www. DoS attacking tools are now easy to come by.privacysecure.org • www. A DoS attack occurs when the hackers put so much demand on the site that no one else is able to use it. Denial of Service DoS = Denial of service A DoS attack is when the hacker prevents your website from being viewed or accessed by you and your customers.com Section 2: Having Your Website Hacked and How to Protect Your Data Internet attacks can cost companies millions of dollars.org If you experience an attack contact your host service providers immediately.gov Computer Crime Research Center: • www.
We highly recommend you use the following addon: • http://noscript. Check out the website: • http://www. Hackers often create fake emails (pretending to be sent from a legitimate source like Amazon or PayPal) and they try to get you to click on a link and enter your visa number.mspx • http://www. For Firefox you can also get an add-on that prevents scripts from running in your browser. You want more than one backup. We recommend the free version of AVG internet security.online-tech-tips.com/windowsxp/using/security/expert/ honeycutt_spyware. The following methods are effective ways to back up your information: • External Hard drive • USB memory stick • Storing the data on a partitioned part of your hard drive • CD 107 .There are many free firewalls and antivirus programs out there and often times they work just as well as the expensive ones. How often do you back up data on your own computer? Losing your information can be extremely costly so make sure you back up your information regularly. Hosting services usually back up your website daily in the event that their servers crash.microsoft.com/computer-tips/how-to-protectyour-computer-from-hackers-spyware-and-viruses/ Saving and Backing Up Data You've probably spent a lot of time creating your business and nothing is worse than losing all that data.net Always be careful with your emails. Protecting your computer is more or less common knowledge nowadays but if you're new to the internet you can find many resources online. it can also break down at any moment. Without warning your computer can malfunction and you can lose all the data. Computers are not always predictable and although it may never malfunction for the many years that you have it. ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA! You should back up your data using several methods.
com • www.sugarsync.com • · www. eBay.elephantdrive.carbonite. There are many options to choose from.onlinestoragesolution. Having a storefront can vary in price and some can be a bit pricy but others are entirely free.net • · http://mozy.com • · www. Storefronts such as Amazon.com • · www. There are many online services offering online data storage.allmydata.com Course #6 Setting Up an Online Store By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 6: Storefronts and How They Work Section 1: Using a Storefront for Your Online Business Storefronts are an excellent way to start selling right away.com • · www. and Yahoo have developed ways to simplify your job and make it easier for you to sell more on their sites.flipdrive.adrive.• DVD • The cloud (the internet). The following websites offer good online storage: • · https://www. but after you weight the options and decide on a storefront you will soon realize their ease of use.com • · www. The advantage of storing data online is that it's accessible globally and it's stored offsite. The Essential Features of a Storefront 108 .storegate.box.com • · https://www.com • · www.
USE THEM! The following tools are the main ones you want to look out for: • Option to display multiple product images • Forms and tools to allow users to customize their purchase (not just shipping options but also color. less known storefront. • Import and export tools (so you can upload large amount of inventory).Although you'll more than likely stick to the 3 main storefronts (Amazon. and Yahoo) you may decide to use a smaller one because it better suits your business. Before using a storefront you should thoroughly check out their website and make sure they have and offer: • Fast loading speed • Fast Payment processing speed • A high amount of data storage • Data security • A high limit on how many products you can sell.). If you decide to go with a smaller. Since storefront providers get a cut out of the sales they'll usually have a lot of tools available for you. style and etc. • An administrative back end that offers you a good amount of control. be sure that they have proper marketing tools. • 24/7 support • Editable templates. Marketing Tools When looking for a storefront. make sure they have the following elements: • Shopping cart • Payment processing • Free hosting • Reliable • Tools to assist you in marketing. eBay. 109 . Storefront Reliability Reliability is made up of many elements and is perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects when choosing a storefront. • Digital product delivery support (customers are able to access the digital files upon payment). styles. and themes to make your storefront unique. If your storefront isn't reliable you can be in for a lot of frustration and wasted time.
nz/e-commerce/ • · http://checkout. • RSS feeds • Affiliate support Administrative Back-End The back end is the part you (the business owner) see.instinct.com/ • http://www. • Email subscriptions. • Analytics software so you can keep track of users. and auto responders. and has a lot of experience and power that has enabled them to create an excellent storefront service for entrepreneurs. Amazon has several services that they can offer to entrepreneurs such as: • Marketplace 110 . etc.com/ • http://www.com/payloom/ • · http://storefront. • Payment system with various payment gateways (PayPal. • The tools to support coupons.52 billion in 2008.google. This is where you set up the website and have control of all its features. FedEx or DHL. The best storefronts give you oversight and features like: • An inventory management system • QuickBooks integrations (so you can upload all your accounting data to QuickBooks). • Integrated delivery systems to communicate with UPS. MasterCard.yabdab.).prestashop.com • · http://www. gift certificates and promotions.com Section 2: Amazon aStore And Other Storefronts Amazon made roughly $19.e-junkie.com/ • http://www. Recommended Storefronts The following links are the most recommended storefront.shopify.paypallabs. they vary in price and we suggest you check them all out: • http://www. • Utilities to control the SEO aspects of your storefront. newsletters. Visa.co.ebay.com/ • · http://www.• Cross-selling/up selling tools that automatically recommend similar items to the customer when purchasing a product.
A Pro Merchant account costs $39. (The Amazon website will have information on what percentage they take depending on the product).99 a month. One benefits of having a Pro Merchant account is that Amazon will not charge you transaction fees upon selling an item. With a normal account your items will be kept up for 60 days after which Amazon will remove the product. There is no fee if your item doesn't sell. The amount Amazon keeps from each sale can range from 6% to 20% depending on the product. out of each sale. • Better security and fraud protection. This account is ideal if you're selling more than 40 items a month. Pro Merchant Pro merchant accounts are much like the EBay Power Seller program. Aside from waiving the transaction fee the other benefits include: • Mass listing importer and exporter that allows you to post 1000s of items quickly. It's important to know how much Amazon will take away so you can better price your product. There is no start up costs with Amazon marketplace and once registered you can immediately display and sell your products. Astores 111 . Amazon allows you to list your products but they will get a small cut. Amazon may review you depending on the type of item you sell in order for your business to be approved.• Pro Merchant • WebStore • aStore Marketplace This is the fastest way to make money with Amazon and this option is preferable if you plan on only selling a few items. But remember. A Pro Merchant is essentially an enhanced version of the normal merchant account. Amazon allows you to sell new and used products but whenever a user purchases your items. that individual will pay Amazon and Amazon will transfer money to you to ship the product. • View reports on how much you're selling and other account activity. • Your postings won't expire after 60 days.
Unlike new start-ups and storefronts. expect it to be secondary and supplemental to your main business. With an aStore you only make about 15% per sale.99 a month but Amazon will still receive 7% per transaction. instead you sell amazons pre-existing products. WebStores The Amazon WebStore is essentially the storefront that is based off of the platform that Amazon uses and is extremely powerful. You can add the aStore to a website you already have or you can create a website entire for the aStore. One of the greatest benefits of the Amazon WebStore is that it's well known. you can be sure your Yahoo store will work smoothly. Yahoo Store Functions Although there are many levels and pricing plans with the Yahoo store. secure and it comes with automatic trust and security. With an aStore. the following functions are given by default to the basic plan: • Shopping cart software • Sales reports • Inventory tracking • Unlimited bandwidth and storage • Up to 500 sub domains • 1000 business email accounts • SSL security • Credit card verification system • Automatic backups Getting Started With Your Yahoo Store Once you've set up your account you can login at: • http://smallbusiness.aStores are entirely free. you don't need you own products. You can sell your own products or you can sell products found on Amazon. Yahoo has developed many tools and programs to help assist you with marketing and selling.yahoo.com Once inside go through and edit the following sections: 112 . You can make a living with an aStore but don't count on it. Section 3: Yahoo! E-Commerce Store Yahoo! has been around for a long time and so it's a trusted and reliable company to use. Having a WebStore will cost you about $59.
The great thing about Yahoo. The Starter Package has all the basic features except for the advanced tracking. it is actually loaded with great tools. Whether you're just starting your business or you're making a million a month. • Export your orders to your UPS software. • Automatically send your order information to your databases and applications. Yahoo has something for everyone. and reporting tools which a small business doesn't even need. With the Standard Package you'll not only get all the features of the Starter Package but you'll also be able to: • Receive orders by Fax in addition to just email. 113 . • Have track able links for affiliates. is it has structured all their packages in accordance to what a business will need depending on how big or small it is. This is the page where you enter all your products and product details. The Yahoo! Standard Package is for those businesses that are already established. • See what searches are most popular among your customers. • Support gift certificates and coupons. Once logged into your account you'll also see a catalogue manager. The catalogue manager allows you to upload and export your entire catalogue of items all at once.• Store manager • Webhosting control panel • Domain control panel • Email control panel The store manager section deals with how your website will be viewed and how it will function for users. Yahoo! has the following plans: • Starter Package • Standard Package • Professional Package The basic Yahoo! Starter Package is ideal for people starting a new business and while it says "starter package". Yahoo is also great because you can start with the simplest plan and work your way up to the better plans as your business grows. Yahoo Plans Yahoo! has made plans for every level of business.
it has developed tools and programs to help assist you in selling your items and running a store. For an additional $10. Yahoo! Professional Package will be able to handle all of your customers and their specific demands Yahoo Fees A Yahoo! store can be somewhat pricy but it's well worth it. There's an initial start up fee of $50.75 per month. If you're making over a million in sales a year.95 per month. Yahoo provides Who Is protection which prevents people from finding out that you own the website. It's important you do the math as upgrading your account can save you money despite the monthly recurring fees: • Starter package: 1.75% Yahoo! has other services that you can use to enhance your business. There are also transaction fees that vary depending on the type of account that you have.The Professional Package is an excellent option once your business is established and already receiving some success. Yahoo! also provides a search engine advertising program but the price varies depending on the advertising campaign. It costs about $0. Many people use EBay as way to test out how well their items sell before they create their own dedicated website (as it costs next to nothing and it's easy to use).95 per month.0% • Professional package: 0.95 per month. Section 4: Using EBay for Your Internet Business EBay has been around for a long time and it has a good track record. you can get an extra 20 email accounts. • Standard package: 129.5% • Standard package: 1. as there are often good discounts being provided. EBay started out as an auction site meaning that people would bid on the items but EBay sellers can also offer set price purchases for those 114 . Aside from the initial start up fee Yahoo! charges you on a recurring basis as follows: • Starter package: $39.00 but a good tip is to look for promotions and deals from other websites like PayPal.com. • Professional package: $299. Due to EBay being around for so long. EBay also has many options for you to either sell your own items or sell their items for a commission.
Take note of the following information: • What keywords did your competitors use? • Which category did your competitors place their items in? • How do they advertise and pitch their items? • How can you be different? • Are the items being sold quickly? • Is there a lot of demand for your type of product? The Benefits of Running an Auction Depending on the type of product you have. You can also get a merchant account with your bank so you can accept credit card payments. one of a kind items • Expensive items 115 . Starting Out On EBay After you register on eBay there are several tasks you'll want to do. We recommend you have a credit card and bank account that you strictly use for business so that you can follow all the transactions better. EBay works in conjunction with PayPal (EBay connects with PayPal for the majority of all transactions) so you will want to get an account with PayPal. but this has a monthly recurring fee. check out your competitors on eBay to see how they price their items. search for your type of items and organize the results by what sold the best and for the highest price. Be sure to fill out all the information in your EBay account. Once you have sold some products. including the "about me" page so that customers can see what you're all about.users not wanting to bid. running auctions may be preferable to having an EBay store. When you first start out in EBay. The way people price items on eBay can be a bit different from traditional businesses so before selling your items. you'll have to sell your items like an auction. EBay will offer a store account. Your best bet is to use an auction type store as it costs very little money and there are no monthly fees. In order to sign up for PayPal and EBay you need a credit card and a bank account. Setting a set price and selling your items in the traditional sense requires a special account. When doing research on your competitors. You should definitely consider doing auctions if you're selling: • Unique.
leave feedback to the buyer.• Collectors items The benefits of running an auction are: • It's more interesting to people (it gets noticed more). Feedback EBay uses a feedback system that's used to represent how trustworthy every user is. EBay Store An EBay store is a storefront and you may see that many EBay auctioneers will also have a store to sell their goods. An EBay store is great for those selling large quantities of items. Other sellers and buyers will see the comments and feedback score. Both sellers and buyers have feedback scores. the products you sell in you store can remain up forever. Unlike an auction which expires after a certain amount of time. If you advertise your products from outside of the EBay website you can earn extra cash by referring the users to EBay. 116 . Feedback scores are given after the transaction. the seller. so they know that they're business will be good. • Auctions sell items faster because it creates a sense of scarcity. With an EBay Store there is a function that allows you to export all your sales information from PayPal and EBay into QuickBooks. (If you're going to have an eBay store it's recommended you focus on a niche and not sell a wide variety of products). By using an EBay store. you'll have access to various templates which will assist you in marketing your EBay Store. Also you will have access to an email newsletter function. the buyer fills out a form scoring your service and you. • Having an auction is a great way to test the waters and lets you see how much people are willing to pay for such an item. To help you will statistical information. With an EBay store you can sell your items at a fixed price. If you want to have a successful EBay business your feedback score must be as high as possible. the better score the more trustworthy you'll be considered. • Auctions only costs you a small initial fee as oppose to a monthly fee. EBay Stores have built in analytics that allow you to see which pages are viewed most and other user information.
There is also option to control such things as: • Marketing • Promotions and deals • Logos. To become a power seller you must sell a minimum of $1. Also a great feature is that each template is customizable. If you become a power seller these tools will help assist you in making more sales: • www.channeladvisor.com • www. getting it isn't as simple as just giving them your credit card and purchasing the account.000.95 and $299.95 and so we recommend it's always best to get the basic plan and move up as your business grows. graphics and branding • Store design Power Seller Power sellers are EBay users who sell a steady amount of items on a recurring basis. Go into the "Manage My Store" part of your account and you'll see that you have many options and controls for you to customize your store. Being a power seller has its benefits and best of all it's free! EBay normally incurs a fee from you posting but these fees are reduced with a power seller's account.com • www.000 per month for the bronze status (there are many different levels each with their own benefits). Setting Up Your EBay Store Once you've gathered a feedback score of 20 and have the EBay store account acquired you will need to set it up.com 117 .marketworks. There are several third party tools you should check out. You can add custom pages for your policies page. When it comes to store design there are many templates offered by EBay. In order to get an EBay Store you must have a feedback score of 20 or a PayPal account with a good history. The greatest status you can have is that of the Titanium status which requires your total sales to be above $150.auctiva. While you are paying to acquire an EBay Store.An EBay Store can cost anywhere between $15. shipping page and etc. They've earned a high feedback score and are in good standing order.
com Once you become a power seller you'll have access to the Resellers Marketplace. Getting online doesn't hurt and should be considered by all business owners. • Compared to opening up a new store offline. advertising online to people within your region is an effective way to market. chances have it that you'll do fine online. Make sure you have a reason to get online. Some businesses don't need a presence online. Never create a website for your business just because everyone else is doing it. Getting your business online can: • Help you expand your brand and store name to an international market.• http://solutions. If you are going to create a website for your business. having an online is a cheap way to expand your presence. marketing online won't be difficult. Also if you already have a brand well known offline. if your market is not the type to look for you online. Course #7 Setting Up Your Business Online By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 7: Getting Your Brick and Mortar Business Online Section 1: Deciding That the Time Is Right to Move Your Business Online If your business is successful offline. then there's no point in getting online. wholesalers or even liquidators.ebay. • Even if you don't plan to sell anything online. make sure it's of a 118 . The Resellers Marketplace is a market that allows you to buy items in bulk directly from manufacturers.
you want to look professional on and off the internet. If you have a good designer. Every business is different. this goes without saying. If your website does not match your offline store. When moving your business online.high quality. It's important to have a clear idea of who your market is and exactly what your image will be. You want your website to match your offline business! How to Manage Your Inventory If you're going to be selling online. be sure to create a complete list of your entire inventory along with descriptions and details. Connecting Your Online and Offline Store Your website and offline presence should match and be congruent. Deciding On Inventory If you've been running a traditional brick and mortar business for some time you're probably well aware of what sells and what doesn't. the designer should match your website up with your vision. Making a quick website is not enough. Don't have a flowery website if your store is edgy and hardcore. users may be confused wondering if they're dealing with the same company. You need a clear public identity for your business and the actions your business take should be congruent with it. Also speak to 119 . Having a special launch for your website is not essential and can be counterproductive as indicating that your website is new is often times less appealing then a website that has been around for a long time. each with their own ways to manage inventory and stock. You probably have a good idea of what your customers are looking for and who your primary market is. How you decide to fulfill orders is something you'll need to take into account. you may want to consider outsourcing. Once deciding to have a website expect about a month for the website to be up and running properly. Once your website is up and running be sure to add the URL to your marketing materials. Ultimately it doesn't matter when you decide to launch your website. your business will need to be able to fulfill those orders. If you need assistance with order fulfillments.
It's important to make the distinction between the two as they will have slightly different shopping habits. it's best to have a picture of your product for the users to see. Customers who come to you store are perhaps looking to see the product for themselves. When you shop at a store a customer will expect: • That their purchases will be more secured (in the sense that you see where your money is going). • They can test the product before the buy it. The suppliers of those products will often have photos but if they don't. 120 . How a customer decides to buy a product online is different from the decision making process that goes on when buying from a store.your suppliers as they may be able to ship your products from their warehouse. • Familiarity (people are still uncomfortable with online shopping). Be sure to check out your competitors online and see how they price similar products. Also. but when they decide to buy online they're often looking for something different. You don't have to sell all your products online but you may want to sell just the highest selling products. The selling price of your product will probably be different from the price you have in your store. • By shopping at the store they avoid shipping and handling costs. There are many photographers that specialize in product photography and the cost of their services can vary. • Customer service with a real person. Comparing the Online and Offline Shopping Experience The online and offline shopper have different expectations. Some products are easier to sell in the real world then online (since the user can't interact and test the item out). When selling online. By shopping online the customer is able to: • Research their options and products quickly. you'll need to get a photographer to come in. these are people who really want to know what they're getting. Be sure to indicate and present the information the users want to see. Fundamentally your online and offline customers are the same. Section 2: Getting to Know Your Online and Offline Customers There are differences between online and offline customers. just because a product sells well offline doesn't mean it will sell well online. • The customer gets the product right away.
Also getting your business online will initially require some work but once you have a system in place. • 24/7 shopping • Variety of payment methods. • Various delivery options. Connecting an online and offline store is not simple and requires an expert more often than not.com 121 . • Information regarding your return policies Section 3: Common Problems with Getting Your Business Online Because you already have a system in place to run your traditional business. an online shopper needs information as to how things will be done. • Customer reviews. comments and testimonials. creating a website and selling online requires that you change your system around. When offering a product online you should include: • An accurate product description. The following websites can help assist you with integrating your online and offline stores together: • www. • Saving time and travel expenses to acquire the product.• Compare prices with competitors. Managing Your Inventory If your business deals with a lot of inventory you are more than likely have some sort of system to keep track of the entire inventory. If you're going to put your business up online.coresense. What the Online Shopper Will Expect From You Unlike running a real business. Getting your business up online is still cheaper than creating a new location. • Contact information. Shopping in real life is self explanatory but online. • The convenience of never leaving their home. the revenue will outweigh the cost of operation. the possibilities are endless. • Check customer comments and reviews. • Tap a global market for hard to find items (they're not limited by geography). • Various payment options. you'll need a system that can keep track of your entire inventory from offline and online sales.
If your business already has a return policy with a system able to manage it then this may not be a problem.fedex.• www. Many shipping companies now have tools that you can implement into your website to allow customers to track their orders.vcommerce. Be prepared to be taken advantage of. Your return policy can be customer centric in which the user can return the product without difficulty.com • www. Dealing With Returned Products from Online Purchases You'll eventually get a few local customers coming to your store to return a product they purchased from you online.epicor.ups. Dealing with returns can be difficult since it's very easy for people to be fraudulent. More than likely.dhl.com • www. Outsourcing the fulfillment process is one solution to deal with this problem.com • www. Often times a receipt is required in order for a customer to return the product. you'll be selling more products because of your online presence and you'll therefore need to taking into consideration stockings and sending out more orders to suppliers.com • www.com Allowing Your Customers to Track Their Orders You'll without a doubt get customers calling in or emailing and asking how the delivery of their orders is going. The following companies offer product tracking: • www. If the user purchased the item online a different system is 122 . if you decide to use this type of policy.netsuite.com Fulfilling Orders Does your store have enough room to deal with packaging and delivery? Will you need to train your employees to handle online orders? Will you need to hire a full time employee to deal with online orders? Initially fulfilling orders can be done entirely in house but as your online presence grows you'll have to consider and create solutions to deal with this part of your business.
By focusing on a niche market you'll have 123 . systems. Course #8 Targeting Your Audience By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 8: Selling To a Niche Market Section 1: Finding an Untapped Niche to Sell To A niche market is a smaller segment of a larger market. and procedures required to deal with it. Remember to attach a receipt and a form indicating your return policy.required. expect to have the occasional angry customer but expect a much easier time not having to deal with the training. An example would be something like Japanese tea pots which are a niche belonging to the general tea pot market. To simplify your business you may choose to have a no return policy.
• Bad service can lead to bad word of mouth. and test some more! Try selling a few items on EBay to see what people are willing to pay. Finding a Niche Niche customers are extremely knowledgeable of their niche.com/blog/330000033. • Execute: After you've thoroughly tested and found it to be viable. When looking for a niche. The following sites are helpful when looking for a niche market: • www.smallbiztrends. industry trends. • Investigate: Check out the competition. test. Niche markets exist in every industry and they aren't hard to find. you're ready to go all out. and look for the next big thing to a segment of society. and see if it's a viable idea.html • www.com/news • www. fads. If you decide to go into a niche market you'll have the benefit of having: • Defined customer base. • If the niche is good.thestylephile.less competition focusing on that tight market. You'll have a smaller customer base but you'll have less competition. Even if you're not passionate about a niche you can still study it and demonstrate your knowledge to customers. they exist right in front of us. Plan and plan some more then execute your plan. annual sales. Pay attention to trends. • Customers: Research the competition thoroughly and find out exactly who they are.com 124 . The disadvantages of going into a niche market are: • Smaller customer base. there will usually be a community for it.com • www. • It's easier to market. • Less suppliers of your niche product.iconoculture. Are they big spenders? What do they want and how do they want it? • Hypothesize: Before you go all out on storefronts and purchasing products for resale… test. in which case you can expect a lot of word of mouth marketing. Being passionate about the niche you pick will help greatly.ecommerce-guide. there are many niches that still haven't been tapped. go through the NICHE process: • Notice: Niche markets exist in every industry and for the most part.
they have small allowances.trendwatching. According to a recent study: • There are about 21 million teen internet users. • Tweens: 8 to 12. they have bigger allowances but still rely on their parents for online credit card purchases and important items. • Teens: 13 to 17. Beanie Babies. The younger audiences are much more computer savvy and adept at searching the internet.• www. Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) make up one of the fastest growing markets. game. It's best to release the customizations and options over 125 . • 11 million teens use the internet every day. Nike shoes etc. If you know how the market works and how to market to then. Brand names is important to this age group and being "cool" is important. They can get you a high rate of returns if your product (whether it's a website. The majority of them are still not allowed to use credit cards but their parents are more willing to purchase things for them. but they also get things from their parents. • About 9 million teens regularly buy things online. The secret to keeping them interested is to be always coming out with a new version or new product under the same brand (think Pokémon. Keeping the Younger Market Interested Kids are usually the first to get excited over a new product but they're interest can die off quickly. or otherwise) catches on in the market. They emulate their older counterparts and they start to avoid anything "childish". they don't have money but their parents do. skate board decks. Trends among children and youth are volatile but explosive. Marketing To the Younger Audiences "Younger audiences" can be split into 3 categories: • Kids: 7 and younger. you can do quite well.). physical.com Section 2: The Children and Elderly Niche Markets There are plenty of opportunities in the younger and older markets. Having customizations for your products is an excellent way to keep kids interested.
Making small changes to your website often keeps it fresh and stops it from getting stale. The over 50 market are not avid computer users but about 36 million of them have internet access. The "for parents" section should essentially be your privacy policy page written in a more understandable manner. Also try to create accessories and things to go with your other products. You want to reassure the parents that your website and the product you offer is safe. moral. The Over 50 Market The over 50 market makes up roughly 1 third of the US population and they have unique needs and desires.time and not all at once. The COPPA rules essentially state that you can't request any information from a child under 13 without notifying and getting permission from their parents first. If your website is targeted towards kids you must follow the regulations set out by COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). The myths of the internet not being safe are quickly going away and so more and more old people are willing to buy online. When it comes to marketing to the younger crowd. and not a bad thing for the kids. word of it will spread around quickly. For your website have polls. you're ultimately selling to their parents. For the most part teens are not going to ask for the parents' permission and they're pretty independent when it comes to online surfing. you want to sustain their interest for as long as possible Try adding new products often but spaced out long enough that it keeps interest. if you have a good product. Policies and Guidelines Your website should always have a privacy policy page with a link to it clearly placed and easy to find. surveys. always include a "for parents" section if your website is targeted towards the 17 and lower crowd. and other interactive features. You have to demonstrate to the parents that your product will be of value to their kids. Research has shown that the over 50 markets have the following traits: 126 . School is essentially a place for kids to interact and socialize. Your product has to be appealing to the kids but also to their parents who control the money. Keep the Parents in Mind As a general rule of thumb.
• Peer influence makes up a big factor in their buying decisions. Verdana.• Brand is not as important to them. The technology used to run and create blogs can also be used to create full on websites due to their ease of use. If it's possible. It's important to have good contact between the text and background so stick with a simple white background with black text. In regards to font choice. if your product works and does the job… that's all that matters. • They like deals. use the sans serif fonts like Ariel. In regards to layout and navigation you want to make it as clear and as simple as possible. customer testimonials. You can use color in headers but avoid it in the main text. The over 50 market typically have problems with close range vision which means you have to take steps to make it easier for them. this will make it much easier to read. Also avoid using too many colors. Helvetica. Tahoma or Calibri. Links in the text should be colored with a strong color so it's noticed. the older 50 crowd are not as adept at internet browsing as the younger folk. 127 . There are more and more tools coming out constantly to help blog more and more. coupons and getting the best bang for their buck. Web Designing For The Older Markets This is often overlooked by web designers. For the normal text use a text font size of about 12-14 and 14 and up for headers and captions. Make the navigational buttons larger and clearly identifiable as a button. • They like to research and investigate the products before they buy them. The button hit space should be larger than the actual button to make it easier to hit. Section 3: Blogging about Niche Markets Blogging technology has come a long way since its arrival and there are a lot of people making money with blogs. Try to avoid light blues and greens as these colors are harder to see. stick to a simple clear palette. • They want to know they're getting their money's worth. and research papers should be accessible to them. you want to make it intuitive so the user doesn't have to look hard for what they want. promotions. add extra space between lines of text.
a place for you to share your knowledge with readers. Blogs can be very formal and professional but the ones that do the best are the ones that are casual. Allowing people to easily subscribe to your blogs RSS feed is an excellent way for people to stay connected with you. and informative. The way you make money through blogging is by getting a ton of traffic and advertising. inviting. Your "Schtik" Before writing anything you should develop the persona that you want to present on your blog. There are blogs that charge people for the information contained within but for the most part their free. You want to provide value to a certain segment of society and reach out to them and get them to become avid followers. friendly. Set out a vision of how you want to be seen and write from that perspective. What are you passionate about that other people would be interested in learning about? Go through the same process as creating a traditional online business to find a topic. or media. your product is information. With blogging. You'll want to post interesting things that evokes a reader to participate. An excellent resource to promote your RSS feed is: • www. a hub of links to interesting sites on the web and much more. Naturally you'll have competition with other blogs so keep this in mind when choosing a topic. Getting People to Read Your Blog The number one most important key to successful blogging is providing value. Blogs can be personal journals. one of the great things about blogging is that people can comment and add to the content.Blogs are excellent ways to expand your reach.com Posting often will keep your blog fresh. if you decide to run a blog you'll want to have at least 2 or 3 posts per week (AT THE VERY LEAST!) Finding a Good Topic to Write About You should choose to write about a topic that you're passionate about but at the same time is wanted by a lot of people. by letting people connect with you on a more personal level. entertainment.feedburner. It's important to be honest and "real" but how you really talk is not always what other people want to hear. When 128 .
the best and biggest blogs though typically have multiple contributors. think of it as having a conversation 1 on 1 with someone. Blog Platforms There are about 10 big blogging platforms but only 2 are worth talking about. It's well supported online and so if you have any problems it should be easy to fix. Providing links to support your post is often a good idea. With Google Ad Sense you earn money every time someone clicks on one of the ads provided by Google.org but depending on what you want and need. Also be sure to write grammatically and always use spell check. Another effective way to make money blogging is by writing product reviews. people have low attention spans and if they see it's a big post. Google is just one way to monetize your site. You'll be in full control over the design of your blog theme. Blogger. but they all general involve advertising. When providing a link.com are both excellent. just doesn't jam pack your posts with them. Internal linking is good SEO. Blogger and WordPress. This platform is very easy to use and excellent for beginners.Com Blogger is owned by Google so it's well integrated with the other Google applications. Content Most blogs only have one writer administrating the whole site. they won't read it. try linking back to another post on your website. Write new posts on a consistent and often basis. We personally recommend using wordpress. We suggest creating an account with both Blogger and WordPress so you can see what they're all about. Try to get the readers involved by asking questions and getting them to comment and add feedback. Earning Money The most common method to earn money from a blog is by using Google Ad Sense. blogger and wordpress. Pack each post with nothing but information. refrain from long sidetrack stories. Each post should be no more than 500 words. a successful site utilizes multiple methods to make money.you write. the more the merrier. 129 .
It's by far the most supported and feature rich blog platform out there.com. So when people go to www.com and a wordpress.wordpress. WordPress.yourblogname.com they'll end up at www. There are thousands of themes and layouts you can choose from but requires a bit more tech savvy skills for full utilization but it's still good for beginners.yourblog. Wordpress.com blog with a normal URL name by purchasing a domain name and forwarding it to your blog.org provides the engine and platform to run your blog on your own hosting service.com.WordPress There is a wordpress.org is extremely powerful and is highly recommended by us.org. It supports powerful tools and features to help you get more traffic and run certain functions. Wordpress. it's much more powerful and has many more features. Course #9 Marketing Your Online Business By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher 130 .yourblog. You can have a wordpress.com hosts your blog for free but your blog URL with be like this: www.wordpress.
when looking to expand. By understanding the math you can calculate how much traffic you'll need in order to make a certain amount of income.Course 9: How to Market Your Internet Business Online 101 Section 1: Increasing the Number of Sales for Your Online Business Building a website is a good idea. To calculate the amount of traffic you'll need to make a certain amount of sales. • The price of your products. If you make $10 profit on each item sold and you make 20 sales per day you'd be making $200 which is arguably enough for a decent living. If you find that you're converting 2% and your website is optimized for sales. Assuming you get 1000 visitors a day with a 2% conversion rate you'd be making 20 sales a day. This section covers the best way to find out how much traffic your website is getting an also discusses importance to knowing your sales/ traffic ratio (how many visitors you need before you make a sale). you also have to market it. divide the amount of sales you want by your conversion rate. • Traffic = Sales / Conversion rate • Conversion rate = Sales / Traffic • Sales = Conversion rate x traffic You conversion rate is influences by the following factors: • The amount of qualified traffic you bring in (users who are likely to buy). increasing traffic is the best way to boost sales. • The quality of your website. Conversion Rates and Other Formulas Conversion rate is essentially how many people out of a hundred buy your products (represented as a percentage). Conversion rates vary from site to site and depend on the product and website (conversion rates can be as high as 20% for some websites). A 2% conversion rate is a good number. but simply setting up a site is not enough. One thing to keep in mind is that more traffic doesn't always mean more sales. According to research the biggest factor in converting a viewer into a buyer is: 131 . so if you get it this high. you can be considered to be above average.
Section 2: Having a Good Reputation on the Internet Having good public relations on the web is critical to success. The Basics to Marketing Your Website The best advice to marketing your website is to be consistent and targeted. • Multiple payment options. 132 . you may want to consider selling yourself and not the product. Having your link up on a big named website can bring in 1000s of visitors. Not only do you want to "look" good.• Trust. Having a lot of content on your site can increase your rankings in the search engines and it can get the visitors to stay on your site for a longer time… although be careful as having a lot of content can stop users from buying. Your market most likely has a community presence on the web and you have to reach out and get yourself known among that community. People have a preferred method of payment and if you don't give them their preferred option they probably won't buy from you. the user want to see that your website is professional and secure. With ad words you pay a small price to Google every time someone clicks on ad for your website. There are many people who do affiliate marketing as their main source of income and therefore they're excellent marketers and can bring in a ton of traffic for you. If you have an informational product where you teach people. Lots of people may visit your site and be interested… but not enough to buy your product. Ranking high in Google and other search engines can have a dramatic effect on your business. Google ad words and other keyword advertising have proven to be worth it (in most cases). Study your SEO and work on your rankings. Having a large email list is a great way to get those people on the fence to become customers. Having external links heading to your website will not get visitors heading to your website but it will also increase your search engine rankings. Sending out quality emails regularly will keep the users interested and hopefully get them to buy. Having affiliates drive traffic your way is excellent. you also want to "be" good to your community and market.
The most popular websites and individuals are the ones that offer the most value to customers and other people. If you decided to write a review. you may be missing out on some benefits. your trustworthiness will go through the roof. Writing Articles Demonstrating your knowledge of a product or niche is a great way to boost trust and your value. Bad publicity is bad. be sure to try and mention your name and website (without trying to sell the reader something).Offering a lot of value to your markets community will let people know that you're a congruent. but can help if you're selling something controversial and in certain situations. 133 . For example a great website to post to is About. trustworthy person but be aware of the image you're presenting and actually showing people.com. bad publicity is not a good thing. This is a website exclusively made for articles and reviews but your writing must be of a certain quality in order for you to post there. It will allow people to write comments and reviews on any of their products although you may not consider this a good place to submit your reviews. If you don't participate in your markets community you'll have no "web cred" and you'll just be another website. Try and find the website your customers frequent and post your articles and reviews there. Another great site to use is Amazon. But try and avoiding having your articles posted on websites that will bring down your image. There are many websites out there that you can use to share and post your articles. If you're selling a product you should consider writing product reviews for your market. Also for those of you that think bad publicity is always bad. Article Directories and Places To Write Reviews Aside from your own website you should submit your articles and reviews to as many applicable websites as possible. Another great tip to remember is if you're following your market you should know where your customers go for advice.99% of all businesses. If people in your community see that a lot of people are saying good things about you and that the information you give out is solid and accurate. it actually is! Amazon gets a ton of traffic and so you'll surely be seen. otherwise for 99.
be sure to write articles that your market would be interested in and once it is completed. Think the easier the better! When writing a review. simple writing that's easy to understand. People like to read user friendly.Writing Reviews The great benefit of writing for the web is that you don't need to be a world famous writer. There are forums on the internet for just about every subject so be sure to submit and become a member of as many forums as possible. direct them to supplementary content on your site or another's site. you can submit the same article to multiple article websites. If you are providing something of use. Lists (Don't go over 10) are popular and step by step guides almost always do well. Articles can vary in types. Here's a really important tip to keep in mind: Always check for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Writing Articles People are always looking for useful and valuable information. If a user really wants more in-depth information. why not get the credit for it. Articles should be no longer then 500 words. be sure to include these elements: • First impressions • Pros • Cons • Personal experience • Rating • Recommendation • Website address or link to your website. Web users have short attention spans and they prefer to have their information super condensed and to the point (avoid unimportant knowledge or side stories stick to the subject). Articles should have: • Introduction • Summary of what the article will be about • The information • Summary of what the article was about • Conclusion Distributing Your Articles 134 . Just as with writing a review you should always include your name and a link to your website. When writing.
goarticles.ezinearticles.com/submit.articlesbase. they are more likely to buy from you.amazines.com/submit • www. The following websites are excellent places to submit your articles: • www. The key is if you act like an expert people will treat you like an expert and if people see you as an expert. It's not given to you by a higher authority or anything like that. If you have created some really good content. It's never good to mislead the public so make sure you actually know what you're talking about.com/register.php • www. they can send a lot of traffic your way.Once an article is finished. There are many ways to interact with your community and you should take advantage of every method possible to get your name out there. Not only will participating in your community bring you more customers.html • www. blog writers and other websites will use their article or link to your article.articlemarketer. you'll want to submit it to as many directories as you can. Also always be sure you understand the terms and conditions associated with submitting your articles to a website. Some article directories take ownership of the article once submitted. Section 3: Marketing Your Internet Business Online 135 . If the blog or other website gets a lot of traffic.com/submit-articles.php • www.com/members.isnare.php Interacting With Your Community Getting your name known is essential in business. it will also connect you with other business owners that may be interested in doing a project with you. To start demonstrating your expertise. By including your link at the bottom of the article you'll increase your rankings among the search engines and while you may not get too many visitors directly from the articles your ultimate goal is just to get your name out there. participate in your markets community as an expert and people will remember you that way and offer as much good advice as possible whenever you can. Marketing Yourself as an Expert Being an expert doesn't mean much and is not an actual "official" title given to someone. An expert is essentially just anyone who knows a lot about a specific field.com/ulogin.cfm • www.
what do your customers want to know you for? Email Newsletters We have all heard about newsletters and know that they have been around for a long time. don't count on it. Newsletters can be used to share tips. coupons. and trustworthy. word of mouth is a huge factor in digital marketing. articles and many other things. Even if you're a small business. The true secret here is. friendly. Lots of money can be made this way if your 136 . if you market yourself right you can become a huge business overnight. With the prevalence of social networking and fast communication your marketing can go viral and you can become a hit overnight. Creating Your Brand Your brand is the image and impression that you want people to see when they encounter your business. and while many may argue that they are on their way out. To truly reach that point. your marketing strategy should encompass all the major parts of online marketing. Marketing Strategy Having a marketing strategy and sticking to it is essential. If you stay consistent and committed long enough you may reach that tipping point where the popularity of your site explodes through the roof. Although there may be a chance of becoming an overnight success. Newsletters are not only an effective way to keep people coming back to your site but you can also make a lot of money through newsletters. You will want to send out an image to your consumers that you're professional. The secret to online marketing is leveraging and making a little bit go a long way. All marketing material should be congruent with your brand image otherwise people may get confused. A steady commitment and continuous persistence will eventually get you where you want to be.Unlike traditional forms of marketing. If you find a good affiliate program you can write a review of it and send it out to your email list. marketing your site requires steady commitment over a long period of time. Ask yourself. marketing online can be much cheaper (practically free) and you're able to target your market much more effectively. promotions. they are the best tool to keeping in touch with your audience. advice. You must be persistent. As in the physical world.
You'd think that there isn't much to email newsletter but entire books have been devoted to the subject. People get a ton of spam emails and they don't want anything of non value being in their inbox. (David Deangelos double your dating newsletter is perhaps the greatest example of this). If you're sending it out weekly or monthly it should be sent on the same day at the same time every time. since people really just want to know what you're saying. your emails should be sent out consistently at the same time all the time. You can get anyone you trust to write the emails You can send out your emails daily. Your newsletter is what will get the unsure buyers buying so always show your best face when sending out a newsletter. you don't have to be the only writer of your newsletter. you should personally write the newsletter. Plain text emails can also have links but they can't have images. Newsletter Formats Emails can either be sent in the plain text format or HTML format. Always be on the lookout for the newest and freshest content to add. Your emails should be of value to the customer. If you are exceptionally busy or just terrible at writing. weekly or monthly.readers trust you (people have gotten really good at detecting advertising so don't ever make anything you do look like an advertisement). be sure not to break any laws. A great way to avoid readers considering your content as spam is to express how often you'll send out an email before the user subscribes. just make sure the content stays fresh and that you're not annoying people with your newsletter. 137 . If your business is such that people want your personnel expertise. Plain text emails can be viewed by all email programs and spam filters are less likely to junk mail them. Many newsletters out there consist of customer questions with the owners answering each question. would I read it? By including a subscribe button on the front page of your website you can hook the users into hopefully becoming customers down the road. Deciding What to Write For Your Newsletter Your newsletter should contain the most interesting information you can find. always ask yourself. Also. There are many guidelines and rules when sending out newsletters.
you'll be saving yourself a lot of time.com Never write your email directly in the email program (you may send it out incomplete by accident). Always write it in a word processing program then copy and paste it into your email program. This is also a regulation made by the FTC and government authorities so don't forget this! When you're dealing with several thousand emails. time that you can be spent on more critical and important tasks.exmarketing. Auto responders are programs that automatically send customers emails.delivra. A great way to reduce your email looking like spam. If your email list becomes really big (more than a few thousand) you may want to contact your ISP (internet service provider) or hosting company to notify them that you're not a spammer.com • www. By cutting out routine tasks and leaving a program to deal with it. To simplify your newsletter needs there are a lot of companies that specialize in newsletters. Automation and Creating Systems to Simplify Your Life If you're running an online business you'll undoubtedly have a million and one tasks that you'll have to deal with on a regular basis.jangomail. videos and links and are much more visually stimulating but they should be avoided since they don't always display correctly to the user. Fortunately technology has come a long way and a lot of your routine tasks can be handled with a program. Some ISPs will ban you if they suspect you're spamming so be careful. It can be 138 . you should add to all emails an option at the bottom to unsubscribe.constantcontact.com • www. Check out the following companies: • www. but not all email management programs can handle sending an email out to many recipients.HTML format can have images.com • www.com • www.campaigner. it can get quite tricky (ex: when you have 100 people unsubscribing daily). Distributing Your Newsletter Distributing your emails properly will be highly useful to get your information to all your contacts. If a customer subscribes to your newsletter an auto responder can send automatically add the users email to your email list and it will also send out a welcome/informational email to the customer.
If someone types in "computer speakers" and you request that your ad be shown for that keyword. 139 . • Automatically send out newsletters for you on a timed basis. The more specific the keyword the better your results ("cheap computer speakers on sale" would do better than "computer speakers"). If you are tight on money. • Open up all the programs and web pages you use with the click of a button. They offer many tools that assist you to market effectively. MySpace. MSN. Because you can tie in your website with certain keywords you can be sure you'll get qualified traffic coming to your site. Every time someone clicks on your ad you'll have to pay a small amount of money. Google. Another great option is having a FAQ page (this can save you a lot of time). There are many free programs out there that can automate just about any routine tasks. Google ad words are the leader in search engine advertising. • Add friends automatically on FaceBook. Your ads not only have to be tied into certain keywords but they can also be geographically focused so the ads will only display if the searchers IP is located in a certain area. Also try having premade emails that are ready to copy and paste. If you find that you're getting a lot of similar emails you should write an email that can be used every time you encounter it. and Yahoo Are the largest search engines and they all offer search engine advertising. There are program that can: • Submit your articles automatically to article directories. Search engine advertising can be extremely cost effective if done correctly. you should add that question to the FAQ with an answer. If you are looking for the best. you can have budgets so the search engine will only display your ad until your budget has been exhausted. If you find yourself getting asked a lot of questions.used to send out emails in response to different requests but don't overuse it. If there's a routine task that's commonly done by most people there's probably a program to do it for you. Work smart not hard. Search Engine Advertising Search engines can display your ads for certain keywords at the top of the page of the search results for that keyword. your ad will get displayed near the top of the page so that people will see it. and twitter. Customers will find it very annoying.
If your ad is displayed on someone's site to 100 people but only 4 people click on it you'll have a CTR (click through rate) or 4%. Each person that clicks through the ad would then be worth 50 cents ($10 x 5% = 50 cents). • Click through rate (the percentage of people who click on your ad from the external site). You should know the following numbers: • The profit margin on each product (The selling price of the product minus the expenses incurred by the product). If your pay per click is less than 50 cents you'll be making a profit with pay per click advertising. The following methods are good offline marketing methods: • Business cards • Custom letterheads • Boxes 140 . you'd be making a higher profit. When it comes to pay per click advertising you want to focus on having a really good conversion rate to make each click through visitor be worth more. If In the example above the conversion rate was 10% each click through visitor would be worth $1 and let's say the pay per click on your ads range between 20 cents and 50 cents. If you have a profit margin of $10 and you have a conversion rate of 5%. you'd be making 1 sale for every 20 people that visit your site.You should only use search engine advertising if your conversation ratio and profit margin is high enough to make your profit when deducting the pay per click costs. It's always good to have a business card on hand in the event you meet a fellow online business person or someone with a lot of contacts. Knowing When To Use Pay Per Click Advertising Pay per click advertising is not always cost effective but there are formulas to figure this out. You pay money each time your ad is clicked so the goal and hope is that you'd be making more money per person then the cost of the click. • Your conversion rate (the percentage of visitors who become buyers). Marketing In the Offline World Although marketing offline is not as cost effective is should be considered as an additional method to making money.
If you have written as much as you can. If 141 . Stickiness = How long the average user spends on your site. Another option is to setup a forum on your site. Even though you want to focus on the user buying your items you can still provide content that will push them in that direction. make sure you allow customers to write comments and their own reviews of the products.• • • • Flyers Invoices and Shipping orders Brochures Company vehicle Section 4: Increasing Your Conversion Rates An important word to remember is. Although stickiness is not the primary factor in having high conversion rates. Creating Original Content Your website should always be changing even if it is only minor changes. If your website becomes full of content you can consider removing older content to make room for new. Getting Customers to Stay On Your Website The best way to have customers stay on your website is to offer them interesting and original content. You can also provide a chat or forum for people to ask question and discuss your niche. try providing videos is a great way to keep viewers interested. If a user sees that nothing has changed and they've read all your content. the user has no need to stay on your website. If you have posted some good content. Your website should always be getting new content in order to keep it fresh. The longer people stay on your website the more likely they'll be to buy something from you or take some form of action. it definitely helps. Each website has its own level of stickiness. User generated content can help tremendously. Forums are difficult to make busy so you'll have put some effort into it and participate in your own forum as much as possible to start. FaceBook for instance is much stickier then your banking website. You can write reviews for your products or create videos demonstrating how to use them.
Pay close attention to what the trend setters are doing. Also.com • www. It is important to keep a close eye on what your customers are doing as it may indicate to you many things. Watching Your Customers Every Action Web analytics and logs allow you to see which page your customers frequent the most and what they buy.goarticles. Look for the "next great thing". There are a ton of websites that offer free content for other website. Always pay close attention to what your competition is doing. comments or reviews for your site (for free).com • www.com Giving Customers What They Want Before They Know It Having a successful business is not only about giving the customers what they want but also anticipating what they "will" want.com • www. you don't want to be left in the dust while your competition is offering the newest product and stealing your customers. User Generated Content User generated content is a cost effective way to get new content to your website. you should cycle your information. try and change special sales and promotions and add/replace new items to the front page. Watch carefully for what your customers are asking for and try to give them what they want before the masses want it.isnare.you realize that you have run out of things to provide.articlesbase. 142 . Anticipating your customer's needs can make you a lot of money since you'll be one step ahead of your competition. You have to study the trends in your market and supply products to meet those trends. Usually it will be a small minority of trend setters asking for something before the masses start asking for it. Check out the following websites: • www. If you have changed various site features and have no other ideas. sometimes there is more hype for a product then is actually warranted so be cautious.ezinearticles. User generated content is when the users of your website write articles.
it may indicate that the product is priced too high. • If you're professional. • They don't feel the site is professional or trustworthy.com is perhaps the best example of how you should allow customers to buy items from you. The biggest deterrents to the customer buying are: • The high cost of shipping and handling. • If you're trustworthy. You must convey as much trust and professionalism on the first page of your website. Making Your Website Buyer Friendly Online shoppers look for a few things before deciding to purchase from some they're looking to know: • What your website is about. • If you have common purchasing systems with a variety of payment methods. The shopping experience should be simple and easy and not cluttered or distracting with sound files. Users are also looking for simplicity and ease of use. This is often the case in most businesses. Avoid using too many bells and whistles. Users will decide if they'll ever purchase anything from you within the first few seconds of being on your website. or the review and sales pitch is weak. Purchasing an item shouldn't take too many steps to complete the order. 50 to 90% of all shopping carts are left without purchasing the items inside. Amazon. code malfunction.If customers are going to one product page often but not buying. If your sell products your website should have a way for customer to access their shopping cart and account from every page of your website. video files and annoying flash banners…. Focus on those products and push them harder. KEEP IT SIMPLE! Simplifying Shopping Experience According to studies. 143 . You may notice that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your products. Everything on your site should make sense and the navigation should be understandable by everyone. If you find that the customers are only buying a select few items you may consider offering more products like that. • Their unsure on how to complete the order (they can't find the right buttons or it's not clear).
• Use an SSL socket to protect their data and make it obvious to the customer that you use it. If people say they'll buy something in a focus group and are then offered the product immediately after them saying they'd buy it. Never assume that something will work without proper research to back your assumptions up. • Allow the user to access their shopping cart from any page. • Offer FAQ page and make it easy for users to find. Finding out What the Customers Really Want Finding out what customers really want may sound simple. don't always pick products "you" like. Customers will usually say one thing but mean another. but there are a few things you should be aware of. One important point to make here is . The results retrieved from focus groups and feedback letters are not completely accurate and should only be used as guidance.To get more buyers considering taking the following actions: • Make the buttons clear and easy to find. • If you use a third party to handle the credit cards an SSL socket is not important. Everything should be designed and created with the user in mind and any of your decisions should be based on research and not assumptions. 99% of them will refuse to buy the product. but never assume that just because a lot of customers request an item that they'll actually buy it. The Dangers of Assuming What Your Customers Want Just because your website looks good to you doesn't mean your customers will like it. 144 . You should ask for feedback from your customers but never take that information at face value. The best way to find out what the customers want is to offer them products and see what they buy the most. Feedback can be used to see trends and to give you ideas for what to sell next. but naturally you will be more focused on what you want. • Allow customer to add or remove items to their shopping cart. • Let customers know you protect their data. • Make it obvious what the next step is for the customer. Customers Come First I'm sure you've heard "customers come first".
The following phrases are common way to create scarcity: • "Order now while supplies last" • "Supplies are limited! Order now" • "Sale ends in 10 hours!" • "Offer ends on July 1st " • "Offer only available to the next 100 customers" If the customer always thinks the offer will be there. Programs such as Google analytics can track a lot of information from your users such as: • What pages they go to. The three most common methods to create the illusion of scarcity are to: • Limit the length of time for the offer. • Limit the supply of the item being sold. they won't.Your store is not about what you want. you may know a lot about what good and what's not. If you're passionate about your type of business and the product you sell. then they won't be motivated to act right away. it's about the customers and what they want. 145 . but the customers may feel differently and they'd rather go for the inferior product. Always make it clear to the customer what they should do next. • How long each user spends on each page. Deals and Promotions and the Power of Scarcity Deals and promotions make the purchase appealing since you're adding more value to the product (artificially). By limiting the deal or item you are making it more scarce which makes the customer much more inclined to buy. Offering them deals. promotions and special sales is the best way to get your customers to take action. • Put a limit on how many people can take advantage of the offer. In order for them to take action they may need a little motivation. • Where they come from geographically. Section 5: Web Analytics and Tracking Your Customers Analyzing exactly what your customers are doing is an excellent way of knowing what you should be working on. Converting Viewers into Buyers If you don't tell the viewer to take action and buy.
146 . There are many programs out there on the internet that can track your users for you and some programs will even track where the user's mouse cursor went.• Geographic conversion rate (what geographic location buys the most). you may consider replacing that item with another product. Using Your Data to Make Changes Once you identify new trends in your website it's advisable to make changes to accommodate your customers. Following the trends on your website are essential to running a good business and our recommendation is Google analytics for following those trends. What you decide to change may not have an effect at all. take a look at the process and make it better for the customer. • What website they came from. If you see that your customers are avoiding certain products that were once best sellers. Trends are accurate representations of what the customers want. You'll want it just in case the change has a detrimental effect on your revenue. With many businesses there is an annual trend where the majority of the business occurs during a certain season or time of the year. • What keywords in Google lead them to you. If your customers are buying a lot of a certain product you may want to start advertising it on your front page. If you notice your customers stop and exit your website mid way through the registration process. you'll better be able to focus your marketing efforts. By understanding what your customers are doing. It's important to realize that making a change may reduce sales. If you are attempting to make changes then you will want to always make a back up of your site before you make a change to it. If you know your business has more traffic during the winter season you may consider putting more effort into marketing during those seasons since there will be more people seeing your ads. Trends By understanding and seeing the trends of your website. It's more accurate than any focus group or customer feedback that you may get. you'll better be able to market and sell to them.
After a search engine has scanned your website it will assign a value to it associate with certain keywords. People now days are using search engine more and more to find what they're looking for. and Yahoo. Typing in a search into Google can yield you 100s of thousands of results and for the most part people will never look beyond the second page. Each search engine uses a different algorithm and how they determine your rankings is always changing and slightly different from one another. They are able to search the internet for websites and new content and they look at certain aspects of the site to determine what it's about. How Search Engines Work Search engines use secret algorithms to rank a website. When a search engine scans your website they play higher value on the keywords used in: • Headings • Font size • Bold • Italics 147 . The keywords the search engines have assigned to you are related to the words found on your website. Ranking high in search engine will not only get you're a lot of traffic but it will increase your reputation and trust to those who found you through them. the search engines will increase your rankings. Search engines not only rank your website based on the content found on your website but also the links going to your site from other websites. Each website has ranking and if higher website with a good ranking links back to you that link back is worth more than a link from a smaller site. If you get a lot of big websites linking back to you. Search engines aren't only limited to Google. websites like YouTube can also be considered a search engine. The section is all about looking good for the search engines so you rank higher and in turn get more traffic.Section 6: Search Engine Optimization and Ranking High In Google SEO = Search engine optimization SEO simply put is optimizing your site so your ranking increases and ranking high in the search engines will get you a lot of traffic.
When creating content DO NOT fill up the content with the main keywords too often… the search engines will consider it spamming and can penalize you for it. If you have unoriginal content that you've taken from another website. Also if the search engine detects that your content has been used elsewhere. Submitting You Website to the Search Engines Search engine use spiders (automated programs that search the net) to find and index new content. No matter how many back links you have going back to your site. There's no way to make your site older but to stay around for a while. but not by much. it will not place high value on your website page. Reciprocated links have a lower value then incoming links. people will do it for you. The best thing is to try to have as much original content as you can (unless your website doesn't offer free information). don't expect good rankings. Having back links on big important websites can tremendously help your rankings in the search engines.• Meta tags • The first few paragraphs of your content • Meta tags associates with images and videos Because search engines place high value on certain areas of your website it's best to place your keywords in those locations. most search engine will place your page into supplemental (since its duplicate). To optimize your website for a search engine you want to use keywords and phrases that people would search for. if you have poor unoriginal content. you'll get more people linking to your site. If you are looking to get back links you can post your link on other people website but if you have good content. 148 . By having good content on your site. If you also link back to the other website… the search engines consider that too be worth less. The Most Important Aspects of SEO Ultimately content is still king. The age of your website will play a huge factor in the ranking of your website. Back links are second to content. There by getting the search engines to associate you with those words and phrases.
Waiting for a spider to crawl and search your site can take several weeks. Submitting your website to the search engines is the fastest way to get yourself ranked in the search engines. The most important search engines you should submit too are: • Google • Yahoo! • MSN search Often times the search engine will request that you submit a site map for easier crawling. Although Google controls the market on search engines in North America, Yahoo Is still king in Japan and several other countries. Where to Place Keywords on Your Website Effectively placing keywords on your website is critically important. There are many places you should consider placing keywords. Your keywords and phrases are the words you want people to find you by in the search engines. If you're selling a financial investment product, you'll want to use keywords related to "financial investment" so that you attract users looking for that. If the search engine associates you with those words or phrases they'll rank you higher up in the search engine for those words or phrases. Search engines will scan your whole website but they'll put more value on words found in certain areas of your website. Meta Tags Meta tags are hidden html codes used specifically for the search engines and while search engines are putting less and less value on them but you should still use them. Meta tags indicate to the search engine what your website is about, what keywords you associate your website with, and how often you'd like the search engine to crawl your site. Meta tags are place right below the <head> tag of your website. Use the following tags and place them in your html code: • <META name = "keywords" content = "PLACE YOU KEYWORDS HERE"> • <META name = "description" content = "PLACE YOUR DESCRIPTION HERE"> Visible Keywords
The most important places to insert your keywords and phrases on your website are in the following locations: • Page title • Page headings • First sentence • Hyperlinks Bold, italic, underlined text is also considered to be of value to the search engines so be sure highlight your keywords. While having strong keywords in your content is very important, having too many keywords is detrimental. You content should be created with the users in mind first and then the search engines. If you place the keywords so many times in the text that it's not enjoyable to read, it won't matter how much traffic you get, because people won't like it. Moving Up In the Rankings and Finding out Where You Stand Using a program like Google Analytics can tell you if someone came to your site through a search engine and it will indicate what word they used to find your site. Moving up in the search engines can take a long time and ranking high is often not something that can be done overnight. Expect several months of SEO and marketing to see significant results in your rankings Remember, content is king so the most important thing to do is to make your site the best you can and good rankings will follow.
Course #10 Building Your Online Presence By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher
Course 10: How to Build You Presence Online Section 1: Getting Your Brand Online and Spread Across the Net A website may be created for a variety of reasons such as providing support, generating business sales or providing research. In this section we are going to take a look at how to set up a website and begin to create some buzz about your site. First we need to understand how to set up your website as well as the process a site must go through. Marketing Process This section we will take a look at the process involved in getting yourself prepared for spreading the word about you and your products/ services. • Phase 1: Organization: You will first need to get your information in order. If you have someone in charge of running and maintaining your website, you will want to get all the materials pertaining to your site (you need to be in charge in case your designer is sick or is fired). This means getting all information such as photos, passwords, backups, everything! You will also want to determine whether you have anything to sell or provide. More information on this will be discussed in following sections • Phase 2: Get Attention: Although this is easier to say than do, you will need to get yourself out to the public. Provide answers to problems, discuss concerns, become the expert. You need to show that you have a purpose on the internet and in turn this will help
increase your customer base, increase traffic to your site, and help you become recognized as someone to "follow". • Phase 3: Expand: Once you have become known on the internet and are making money, you may want to consider adding a sales team or even acquiring a partner; both of which can dramatically increase your sales numbers. This may seem simple enough but remember this isn't a get rich quick scheme. These sections are designed to help guide you along, and the process discussed earlier, is going to be shown in a more detailed manner as we continue throughout the sections. Developing Your Site Before you run out and spend large amounts of money building a site and waiting for customers to come to you, you need to plan how you are going to create and develop your website. First you will need to define your customers and your competition. You need to determine who your target niche customers are going to be, and who you will be competing with to get those sales. For those of you already up and running, you can take a look at the areas your customers are visiting and what types of concerns they may have. If your website is still in the planning phase, you will want to do the following: • Discover the Needs: Why are people coming to your website? You will be providing a service that isn't being provided anywhere else. Write some of these down and keep it for your records for later. • Competitors: If you are providing support for a small niche, you may be able to easily determine who your competitors are. For those involved in a much broader topic, you may want to spend some time performing searches for your related topic. • Making Money: Estimate an amount that customers would be willing to pay for your services or products. Remember, time equals money. If you are spending too much time and not making any money, if may not be worth that time. Once you have determined whether your company, product or information is worth your time and effort, your next step is to set up some goals. You may also want to: • Set up a budget for your website. • Consider how much it will cost to run and maintain your site.
• Consider whether you'll be able to do all the work or if you will need to hire someone to help you. • Consider future options regarding an expansion or the amount of income you will need to generate. • Determine what type of sales you will need to have. If your goal is to achieve $1 million, and your product sells for $100, you will need to determine how many you will need to sell before achieving that goal (10,000 units). While having a website already up and running may provide you with information on traffic and sales generated, you will need to estimate how many of your customers are going to purchase your product. Those that take the next step and purchase something with you may be very little (1%), which provides you with insight as to how much more traffic you'll need to increase your sales to achieve your target goal. If you're having difficulty seeing yourself do the previously mentioned tasks, then this would be a perfect time to discuss your abilities. If you are a tech savvy individual, you may already see yourself performing the tasks easily. If your background is highly unrelated to computers, then you may want to begin considering your abilities and where you will need to hire others to help you out. If you require assistance with your new internet business venture, you'll need to consider how much more money your website will need to generate. Section 2: Making Money on the Internet Just because you have a website and a product, doesn't mean you will strike it rich! Many, if not all, will need to implement different methods in achieving your financial goal. In the following section, we will discuss some of the options you may use to increase revenue The first method is to advertise and promote an affiliate product. Essentially what this entails is having a banner ad on your webpage advertising someone else's product. If someone continues through the ad and makes a purchase on that site and is due to your referral, you will get paid a commission. There is no additional work for you to do. Your first step of course is to find an affiliate product to promote. To do this, you will want to start your search on Google or any other search engine. Your other option may be to use an affiliate aggregator such as ClickBank (www.clickbank.com) or Commission Junction (www.cj.com). Once you have found an affiliate to promote, you will want to register an account and start promoting. It's that simple. Note: you will want to follow the directions provided to get the affiliate URL set up on your site. If
◦ Your first is a cost-per-click (CPC). your next step is to start selling (of course. you may not want to send your customers to competitors! • Banner Ads: This has you presenting a banner ad for someone else's product. and you will get paid according to a specific method. Note: There is also the method of pay-per-click this is done automatically through the program you use and is easier of the two. this method is a payment per 1000 views and can range typically between $4 . you may as well start making some money of it. where whenever a customer clicks the ad. videos. Another useful method is to sell your own products and services on your website. Although this is a great way to keep all the profit and get your name and brand across. ◦ There is also cost-per-page-views (CPM). there are 154 .you are a little lost. It's also important to remember that you are showing ads for other peoples products. Although it doesn't generate large amounts of revenue. For many this is the only type of ads they may use as it is easy to set up.$10 but depending on your niche can result in higher amounts. it may be one of the more difficult methods to use. it still is a great starting point. you charge it to the advertisements owner. If possible try to create your product in an easy to sell format. There are a few methods you can use. If you are able to already generate a large amount of traffic. and we have listed them in the following section: • Google AdSense: This is the most popular method to use. to podcasts. You will have to keep track of how many people click by using a statistics tracking tool such as Google Analytics. or webinars. For those of you with more niche variety. you may be interested in creating a whole product line. ◦ Finally we have cost-per-action (CPA) with this type of advertising. Once you have your site up and running and you've created one or more products. the advertiser only pays when there is a sale or lead made. or even starting an online program. If you are selling an item. you may want to get some assistance from a web designer. This can range from information products such as books or PDF files. You can turn that traffic in money by setting up some ads.
This may include adding a shopping cart feature. several payment options. • Order Form: if you have ever purchased something online. 155 . but these will be discussed in upcoming sections). It may be a regular shopping cart or even a form. There are a variety of ways in getting your message across. Once a customer has decided that they are going to continue making a purchase with you. or even a page that thanks customers for making a purchase. For those who lack the traffic they need to be able to generate a good conversion rate. the higher the likelihood that a customer will make a purchase. extra product information to grow revenue.several other steps. trying to sell them another product by providing a discount. • Sales Account: prior to making any purchases you will want to set up an account with a company that is able to accept payment information. then you'll know that this is the place where you enter all of your information in to make the transaction. where the customer enters the product info. and see what other concerns you may need to answer for them). or selling them something after they have made an initial purchase. Another important aspect of the shopping experience is to answer all the questions a customer has prior to making that purchase. If a customer knows how they have to pay for a product. • Writing content on topics through your blog or on other sites. but your basics should include the following: • Free listings on the major search engine sites such as Google and Msn. coupons. There are a few key essentials when setting up the shopping process. but also being able to make the page look like the rest of your site. • Purchase Page: this is the page where a customer picks their products to purchase. Put yourself in their shoes. • Paid searches for promoting a product or service. This can range from PayPal accounts to credit card accounts. making a purchase. the customer is taking the final step with you. you may want to try selling them additional or supplementary products through up-selling a better product. there are a few options that you can look into using. It is important to remember that the easier a shopping experience is. how long it will take to ship. (Remember. the security of their information. support questions or just making a right decision. support. they will be more inclined to give you their payment information.
• One-on-one help is useful for those who are struggling or those new to promoting your products. but luckily there is 1ShoppingCart which offers all this! Just check them out and learn as much as you can. • Give incentives you may think about providing additional incentives or increasing pay to those who are able to make the most sales or even to those who can recommend a great affiliate. Now that you affiliate centre is all complete. Creating a place such as this may sound complicated and difficult. You will want to write an attractive letter. Of course you will also want to mention the way in which the affiliates will be compensated. it will be one of your most essential tools. Joint Venturing While using affiliates to promote your product may be a great way to let others do the work for you. Setting up a conference call with an agenda is great to get some interaction from your affiliates. Note: you may want to record the conversation as it may come in handy at a later time. So you can imagine how large of a team you will need. once you have your centre and affiliates. it also has you spending most of the 156 . you may look at making a much better offer to that specific individual. Affiliates Assistance Your first step is to create an environment where affiliates can create an account. mentioning your program and where they can get more information on becoming an affiliate. you will want to get your message out that you are looking for affiliates. but to some if may come only after weeks and months of work. A great way to get your product and service out quicker is to think about creating your own affiliate program. you are going to want to train each individual. Here are a few tips in helping you with your training: • Weekly calls are great ways to touch base with your affiliates. connect and share your product with the rest of the internet and also allow them to track how their sales are doing. Lastly.• External resources and offline options are also available to increase awareness • References and testimonials always go a long way All this talk about traffic and sales is great if it comes easy. Note: if an affiliate is very good at promoting your products. This will sound even more complicated as it is important to have 10 affiliates for each member that is producing any sales.
It is also important to remember that you may have information regarding your partnership such as: • Profit sharing and what amount each will receive • Expectations of all parties involved • Dispute resolution and how a formal dispute will be dealt with • Confidentiality and how company specific information is to be dealt with. testimonials and sales letter copy. If you position text or 157 . you will need to bend over backwards for your partner/host and demonstrate how they will benefit out of the experience. but also inspire sales. You will also want to have information regarding your visitation and conversion rates (viewers turned buyers). Section 3: Branding and Marketing For Your Online Business Branding can take a painstakingly long time to develop. A great way to reduce this is to partner up with someone who may already have a large following. This means that you will need to have your sales proof. because he/she has all the connections. Now this doesn't necessarily mean a true business partner. affiliates. Nothing worse than having several hundred or several thousand orders. showing your product is worth their time and effort. Before you can approach someone at a networking event.income on your affiliates. but a partner during a particular event. Finally you will want to be able to show your affiliates performances. you will want to gather a collection of materials for a presentation. You will want to assemble a binder with information regarding sales. You may be required to make a presentation to the host and/or group of staff. What you will need to keep in mind is branding helps customers remember you and your product. visitation information. on forum or speaking to affiliates or clients. Once you have found a venture partner or host. which can't be fulfilled (you will embarrass yourself and your partner). You may have a confidentiality agreement for your partner/host to sign. but it is also their ticket too! You are going to have to do extra work. Keep in mind that your host is your ticket to big money. Remember. yet is critical in helping increase your company and product being recognized. you are going to want to have everything in order. A last bit of useful information is to show that you can fulfill the orders. This could be someone who may provide you with a conference room and refreshments or someone willing to promote your product to their email list (possibly even to a million people).
Before starting to create a brand or logo or anything. So you will want to make sure that your website will be seen by all viewers in the best way possible. you will want to make sure there is consistency among all your web pages. web designers are usually pretty accustomed to designing great looking sites. blue suggests honesty and loyalty. A quick way to get some help on logo creation is search through Google for logo creation or a great recommendation is to use 99designs. color. It all depends on the message you are trying to convey While this may seem as a difficult task. you need to know what your company stands for. while black suggests sophistication and elegance. Once you have determined your tagline. You will also need to determine what type of font you will be using for your site. your company. what do you picture? What do you associate this with? The same applies to your company. Is it looking to be an innovator or leader in the industry? Are you looking to be funny. but also that won't change frequently. Also as we mentioned for your taglines. A logo will help readers remember you. You will want to develop a tagline for your site that matches you company. silly or exciting? Is there something that you can do better than anyone else? Questions such as these help determine what your company stands for and helps you determine what your slogan or taglines will be. If you have the budget. For example. This includes text.com Another equally important piece of information has to do with the layout of your website. People vary in feelings depending on colours presented to them. look at hiring a professional branding company. When I say golden arches. it may convey the message that your company has no idea what you are doing. and your products. To do this. For example. Each colour is interpreted differently and needs to match what your company stands for. your logo needs to match the company's persona and appearance. while Trebuchet is good for essentially anything. Color Selection It is important to speak to your web designer when choosing a color scheme for your website. 158 . Not all users have the same shape monitor or even same internet browser. Arial is traditionally used for headings.pictures poorly. your next step is to looking into a logo. People want to buy from leaders not followers. logo and information layout. Many may say that a logo is not important but let me ask you this.
buttons. The final recommendation is to run some tests for usability on your site. In either scenario. Your site needs to flow from one page to another. While many sites were previously created offline and uploaded once completed. make a purchase! A great way to determine how viewers are looking at your site is to employ the use of a heat map application. This will show you where readers are looking and where they aren't. If there is additional information don't hesitate to add a vertical navigation bar. helping you rearrange and refocus your content. blog. For those looking to use pre-designed templates. Users hate having to scroll. Minimize the use of navigation bars by placing important information within one page. This is a tool which searches through your site and assessing where readers are focusing their attention. A great tidbit of information is if your site is too cluttered (on purpose) then think about adding arrows. doesn't mean it will generate traffic. in any direction. A Weblog or as is more commonly known. Your site needs to entice viewers to remain on your site as long as possible. you will want to have the participants write down any issues or difficulties they have using the site. or it can be to make a purchase. text. pictures and video on a single page. This may include having family and friends use your site. easily and efficiently. Section 4: Connecting and Integrating Your Multiple Sites A website can be created from scratch with your own layout and 100% personal input or can be developed through the use of a design template.Site Layout Just because your page includes audio. This can be to continue searching or reading. is essentially a 159 . Another important point of interest is in regards to the use of horizontal and vertical navigation bars. you can perform a search for website templates on any of the search engines. and of course most importantly. many of today's sites are creating using a blogging platform. You will need them to read and learn about you. underlines or outlines to help readers focus attention on the next step of action to take. where there are any issues. Either method you use will need to reflect your company image and goals. or it may require you to hire a focus group. Performing a search on heat map applications in Google will provide you with a great assortment of tools. Have them do a complete tour through your site and write down.
You will want to demonstrate that you are 160 . but if it is too cheap. With a blog you are able to post information or articles. Thus you are able to present that latest content without having your readers search for the information. you are wasting your time. These are the mostly commonly used tools and of course require that you register an account. On the internet people are sceptical and the only way to earn their trust is to show them that you are worth their business. and there isn't a great enough return. Once you have developed a great headline. This may include adding photos or videos of your product. Your first question should be how much will it cost users to become a member of your site? If it's too expensive they may not register. Blogger. You will need to capture the interest of a reader within a few short seconds. Using a paid membership site may get you excited but there are some questions you will need to ask yourself before you get started. The key to do this is to write passionately about your topic and show your readers that you care about what you do and how others react to that. if there is too much time being spent on the site. then they will continue to read the article. your next step is to create scannable and understandable copy. While this method may be useful to create recurring revenue. One critical area is to create a headline with a hook. and TypePad. Again. This allows users to create a username and password and access content that otherwise would not be accessed. you may also look at adding various plug-ins to customize the use of your site. it may not always be the case. it may have to do with the way in which you are presenting your information. which are added to the top of the page. there are several different tools that you can use such as WordPress.continuously updated website. then it may not be cost effective for you. Another great option is to create a membership site. If your headline is appealing to your readers. Remember time is money! Section 5: How to Write Excellent Web Copy A rule of thumb is content is king! If your service or product isn't selling. This type of site is great if there is a high amount of traffic which will entice users to return on a weekly basis. This also allows readers the ability to make comments or suggestions on the information you have posted. When using the various blogging platforms. Also you will need to look at amount of time you will need to spend on running and maintaining the site. To create a blog.
While this may not apply to About Us pages or your Sitemap. If a customer is not necessarily interested in purchasing you may be trying to get their email. A call to action is where you ask the customer to take the next step with your company. make sure that what you say a product or service does actually happens in real life. For example. then that is what needs to be given. this may lead to their downfall. Here a customer is to be educated on the product and service. letters of recommendation. While many may feel as though they are capable of running all aspects of a business. One largely missed but highly important point to remember is that every single page needs to have a purpose and a call to action. For example. if your product promises users the ability to speak fluent French in 5 hours. or demonstrating where other products fail. they will be taken to a sales page. Once a customer is interested in making a purchase. That may be as simple as registering for a free newsletter or making that $500 purchase. Section 6: How to Find an Expert Marketer Sometimes running a website or even a marketing campaign can be time consuming and tedious. but before they can do that. enough information needs to be provided before they proceed with the action. You may look at testing various words for a call to action or use pictures and video. However many skills you may have. A page without purpose will be skipped over by readers and may make you lose a sale. they need to trust you and your service. but in either situation. and helping to initiate the purchase. answering any questions they may have about the product or purchasing procedures. While using these various techniques is crucial. you may make reference to readers subscribing to your feed or purchasing your product. Depending on your 161 . it does apply to where there are new posts. a call to action requires the reader to take the next step. it is always important to have someone capable of helping you whenever needed. which is better than the competitions.passionate about your product and show viewers how they will benefit from it. It is important to remember. When writing about your product or service. It is at these times where you need to assess what your company is missing. There's nothing worse than purchasing a product that doesn't do what it says it will. none is more important than providing a call to action. when writing a new post. Other great methods are to include testimonials.
Also remember interviewing doesn't necessarily have to be in person. it can be over the phone. Before hiring someone you will want to go through the usual steps. don't forget to encourage and use repetition when speaking with your employee. you will want to keep things in order by setting some ground rules. A few recommended places are Elance. You may also want to ask what the typical turnaround time is for projects that you may have as well as any extra services they may provide. while Craigslist doesn't and just lets your sift through individuals looking for work. or scheduled communications. While this may work for you. RentACoder or even Craigslist. These technicians are able to assist you with essentially all tasks you may have. such as getting a resume. You essentially want to find out as much as you can about the person you are interviewing. and will know the business exceptionally well as it is their form of income. you may expect progress reports. but again it depends on how comfortable you are with sending out work overseas. Once you have someone onboard to help with your various tasks. A little praise goes a long way! 162 . information on past jobs/wages. Again each method has its pros and cons. The other option is to hire a hobbyist who will be paid less but may not be dedicated and involve themselves in other complications. The first two require you to set up an account and pick someone to help you. Once you have determined the level of assistance required. your next step is to find one. For example. but it all comes down to the interviewing and filtering process. but remember its only one individual. You may also look at outsourcing work to other countries. It all depends on your budget and level of assistance. but depends on your level of comfort.budget these individuals may be completely dedicated to your project or more on a hobby basis. You can expect them to be there whenever there is an emergency.
Every time you 163 . It used to be simplistic.Course #11 Social Media Marketing By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 11: Social Media Marketing Section 1: What Is Social Media? Social media is your connection to the world and your customers. Flickr. Even if you are not going to be using social media marketing. but there are others such as MySpace. Today's social media has turned into a multi-faceted process which involves millions of users from around the world. So in these Sections we'll dive into the world of social media marketing and really get to understand what it is all about. and many others. family and colleagues and build a reputation among them. you still need to be aware of what is out there. An example is FaceBook. Understanding and Exploring Social Media Social media sites allow you the ability to connect to friends. made up of bulletin board discussions and forums. We're sure you've heard of this site. These sites are great places to meet new clients and customers and also just get your name out there. Twitter.
A FaceBook user may have a YouTube account. providBlogger Blogs ing content to readers about your WordPress business Social Able to connect and interact with other FaceBook Networks users MySpace Delicious Bookmarking Save you bookmarks in your browser but Ma. Social Media Descriptive Information Examples Allows the ability to enter data. Listed below are some of the websites available and a little bit of information about each. Not only that. Another FaceBook user may be linked to their Twitter account. and when posting a favorite video on FaceBook it will be linked to their Youtube account. or add a bookmark. which provides you with the ability to spread your message more quickly and efficiently. while others have the ability to link to each other. • Building Buzz: building some momentum or getting others talking about you and your company. audio and pictures Flickr Popularity Adding your bookmarks to a site and Digg Sites having others vote on them Reddit Help connected individuals keep up with Aggregators FriendFeed everything It is important that you get to know these websites as they will provide you with the ability to stay connected. Twitter Sites Such as one or two sentences at a time Plurk Media Sharing Provides you with the ability to upload YouTube Sites video. each offering their own unique abilities. Doing this provides you with a great way to: • Product Announcements: great way to let people know about a new product. add a friend. • Feedback: asking your connections to provide some feedback on your new idea or post. Some websites are able to provide additional options that some are not able to. but many of these sites are connected.make a post. you are slowly building up your profile. and when posting on Twitter.gnolia Sites also on a website StumbleUpon Microblogging Allows you to blog on a smaller scale. There are a few different types of social media websites. 164 . it will show up on their FaceBook account.
For our purposes here. this may incline them to do business with you. Creating and running a successful blog is not something you do overnight. • Demonstrate expertise: if you are an expert in your field. Your blog will be a place where you can provide information about a service or product you offer and your social 165 . This is probably going to be the first step you will take when creating a website for yourself or product and key to funneling users to you. your mission statements and philosophy. providing them with information on the products and services you provide. A few key benefits of blogging are: • Talking to customers: this will allow you to talk directly to your readers and allows them to comment on what you are writing. letting readers know all sorts of information about yourself. Social Networks Social networks should be your next step in connecting with other users on the internet. the next section will take a look at these social media sites separately. A great way to just let readers see what your company is all about. the more traffic you will drive as it will increase your search engine ranking. • Get more customers: if customers see you have a blog. your product. • Explain your business: here you can provide them with information on your business. Blogging Blogging is a set of regularly published content by one or several authors that allows users to comment on the entry. Blogs are a great way to get your message out. There are many things that the word blog may refer to such as a program used. on your own website. or just discussing random subjects. then this is a great way to let others know what you know. Blogs are powerful tools for social marketing and a great place to start in building your social networks. we will refer to the aforementioned statement about a blog in regards to regularly published entries.To better explain each category. It is also important to remember that the more content you are adding to your blog. or the writing style or even something as simple as the entries. where comments can be made.
This website is quite simple to use. and Google Groups (http://groups. think again.myspace. and use a variety of applications such as quizzes.com). There are many helpful members that are able to provide answers to pretty much any questions you may have.google. You can perform a search in Google or Yahoo! for your topic. and of course free. videos and audio as well as other pieces of information for your circle of friends to see.networks will be where you can connect with those interested in what you are providing. You can create a profile. add friends. You can also take a look at sites such as Webmaster World (www. FaceBook (www.linkedin.com). which is more directed towards business people. well just about everyone.answers. you can look at distributing custom tools and create discussion groups that target a particular topic.com) was originally developed to be used at a university campus but then expanded to include. You can also do other things such as post pictures. For those of you who are already very familiar with social networks. This site has also been seen as a place where many up and coming performers strut their stuff.yahoo. Using this type of service has some clear benefits such as getting to know your customers. demonstrate your expertise. and utilities. and this is just a little ego boost. • LinkedIn: this site is a pay-for-use website.com) allows you to create a profile and provides you with the ability to connect to others based on similar interests. find and connect with other users and talk to your friends. Most discussion 166 . • Yahoo! Answers: this website is a great place to get answers to your burning questions. (http://www. create discussion groups.facebook.webmasterworld. getting advice from colleagues and of course. LinkedIn (www. send messages. A few websites you may be interested to take a look into are listed below: • FaceBook: we're pretty sure that if you have some previous experience using the internet you may have already heard of this dominant website. This site has been around much longer than FaceBook and provides very similar features. games. • MySpace: another highly used website is MySpace (www. Here you can create a profile.com).com) • Discussion Forums: for those of you thinking that discussion forums have disappeared.
but instead of saving the bookmarks on your computer. taken to sites that are positively rated by other users. we mean up to 140 characters long).stumbleupon. it provides a benefit for your search engine optimization. By doing this. This little application is quite useful in finding similar sites related to the topic you are viewing. The key here is that using social networks is great in spreading the word about yourself. Using a website to maintain your bookmarks is a great way to share with others. a user is able to access his or her bookmarks from anywhere that has a computer with an internet connection.com) • Delicious: using Delicious (www. you are saving them on the website server. Don't overlook these websites as they can really put some money in your pocket if used properly. and discuss the bookmarked topics. Using a microblogging service is very similar to a messaging service. It is also important to remember that with this drive of traffic. Bookmarking Sites Bookmarking sites provide you with the ability to move your bookmarks from your computer to the particular website. review others bookmark choices. and essentially driving thousands of viewers to your website. This type of social media is very instant and in "real time". Microblogs are useful when you are on the go or only have small amounts of information to post (and when we say small. then your content will be spread to other users. where some users make posts every few minutes. your website will be crawled on by search engines. Also by having many individuals rate your website positively. this is a great tool to drive traffic to your website. If many users rate your website as useful. (www. As you may see. think smaller.delicious. your company and your services. Microblogging If you have an idea of what blogging is all about.com) is very similar to using StumbleUpon. and those that you do have to pay for may just be providing you similar information as those that are free. and increase your ranking. Microblogs allow you to make many short blog like posts. 167 . Some websites available are below: • StumbleUpon: is a program installed on your computer and through the click of a button are.forums are free to join.
Another benefit of using such a service, is the ability to follow other microbloggers. Communities can be built based upon interests. This in turn relates to others subscribing to your microblog. You will essentially become a leader of your microblogging pack. Here are a few sites you can check out for your microblogging purposes: • Twitter: before we get into too much detail, we would like to caution you that Twitter (www.twitter.com) can become quite addictive. Now that we have warned you, Twitter is a microblogging tool in which you can enter messages up to 140 characters long. You will be able to follow other Twitterers and you will receive their messages. This service is free to join and like other social media, you are able to create your own profile. • Plurk: this is another great microblogging tool, but a few user interface differences. Signing up with this website is also free. Media Sharing Sites Media sharing sites allow you to upload videos, audio, and pictures as a way to get information across to your audience. Here are a couple sites that are quite popular: • Youtube: is the best site to upload videos and have your audience view, rate and comment on your post. This is also a great way to generate an income as well, as long as you have enough viewers taking a look at your content. Youtube is a free service. • Flickr: this site is a perfect tool for uploading and sharing your photos with your audience. This is a great way to demonstrate a project, product or any other content to your readers. In addition to photo support, Flickr has also been providing video support. These two sites are a great way to get your message across to your audience in a format other than text. These sites may not generate traffic instantly, but does provide you with a benefit of connecting with your viewers in a more intimate fashion. This is a perfect way to build trust with your customers. Popularity Sites Popularity sites have combined the best of two different worlds; bookmarking and social networking. This allows you the ability to submit new websites that then get voted on by other internet users. Those voted on more often are moved up in the ratings and seen by more users. Here are a few sites to take a look at:
• Digg: Digg is a great way to get users to your website, and if it is voted as number one, be sure to have a large server, or expect to be offline almost instantly. Digg has many users resulting in a large amount of traffic to your site; so beware! • Reddit: this is very similar to Digg, but its focus is more towards news, while Digg is targeted towards the funny and weird. Again, having a number one post, will drive many users to your page, but remember this does require some work on your behalf. Posting on these types of sites can drive large amounts of traffic to your page, but it isn't a guarantee and does require you to do some editing and possibly re-editing. Aggregators An aggregator is a tool that provides you with the ability to manage all of your connections, such as the photo-sharing site, social network, and bookmarking site. Posting on one of the following FriendFeed.com or Secondbrain.com, will upload the content to all of your other connections. This is a great way to keep track of all your social networking sites, and still be able to update everything, without missing on any websites. While most aggregators are free, some do require a minimal fee, and expect that you perform some managing. This is perfect as you don't have to worry about missing out on anything, but also reducing the amount of work you have to do. Section 2: Creating Your Social Media Network Social media connections are great to get your information out to the world, but how do you keep track of everything. In this session we will take a look at a few different programs and ways to reduce the time you spend online, trying to determine what everyone is saying about your products and/or stories you want to track. To get everything organized, you will want to get an RSS feed (really simple syndication) set up. This is a great way to have everything sent to you in one program, and then you can choose which headlines to read further into. What To Track You can add blog results from all sorts of websites based on your interests. It is also important to keep in mind that subscribing to all sorts of information, will only lead to more work later. After you have gotten a fair
amount of subscriptions, you will want to go through and be critical of what and who you are following. Section 3: How to Set Up a Social Media Marketing Plan In this section we are going to take a look at determining who you want to target on the internet, and how to get your message across to those readers. We have separated the process into a few simple steps, and even if you are familiar with this section, it may still be useful to quickly skim over the information. Research Your Target Readers Determining who and where your readers are coming from is the first step in understanding how to position your social media plan. When performing research on your audience, there are a few questions that need to be answered: • What kinds of people are you targeting: very simply, you need to know who you want to target. • Why they are participating: you need to determine why those people are there and why they are participating in the community. Are they looking to get something accomplished? If so can you meet their needs? • What sites are they most using: where are the individuals or target members gathering on the internet. • How big is your target audience: you will want to gather as many users as you can. While one avenue may be ideal for some topics, others may not. The key is to use as many different social media sites as possible to get your information out to the public. • How often are your users participating within the group: if you have a small number of audience members and they participate rarely, then your level of participation will reflect their usage. You will want to keep these questions available as you begin researching the different websites available. A great way is to create a table and write your answers in the boxes accordingly. You can easily do this using a spread sheet program such as Excel. To begin your research you will want to first start by browsing through online communities. Below are a few different sites you can take a look at to help you find your audience and some questions you need to answer for yourself: Google Groups, Yahoo! Groups, FaceBook, Digg, Blogs. • What are people asking? • How active are the users?
• How often are the users participating? • How many members are in groups? • How are posts received by other audience members? • How many are writing about a similar topic? • How many questions are being asked and unresolved? • What concerns are being focused on? Researching your audience is critical in understanding what your readers are looking for, ultimately providing you with insight in ways for you to provide answers to questions or concerns that are not being answered. Once you have explored the online communities you may want to use some additional services such as AdCenter Labs and Quantcast. These resources are free to use, but of course are only experimental and can provide useful or useless information. Although the data is useable, it does change and while some searches are useful at one time, it may not be at a later time. AdCenter Labs is a good tool to use if you are: • Running an online store. • You target audience uses Hotmail or Microsoft related websites. • Your audience is easily identifiable by keyword searches. • If you have a tight budget Finally, you may be interested in using a paid data service for gathering data. This method of course should be used if you have a flexible budget, which can be used to gather research. Below are a few sites you can check out for some research help. • Neilson Online (www.neilson-online.com): you can create reports based on demographics and online usage. Highly detailed reports can be used for comparison study. • Hitwise (www.hitwise.com): this site provides highly informative reporting on industries, categories or even specific sites. • Compete (www.compete.com): provides information regarding searches and usage of specific websites. • ComScore (www.comscore.com): this site provides you with the ability to research advertising and usage patterns on specific sites. Using the above mentioned sites are for those looking to spend a few dollars performing research, are on a time strain, require this type of data, or have the training or interest to go through all of the data. Create Your Message
This section is going to be fairly short as it will be combined with the following sections to really get your message across to your viewers. First, think about your company and what it means to you. Then on a piece of paper, write down a few words that you will want associated with your company. Now those words will become your message and whenever you make a post, remember to stay within those words. If you have performed some research, you may want to compare your words to the data you have collected. Does your message fit with research and does it meet the needs of your audience? You can use the research to provide you with assistance to narrow your words and focus your efforts. Preparing Your Style The way you present your message will be your style theme. There are a few different ways you can present your content, and although many users don't fit into one specific category, it is still wise to understand the different standpoints. • Instigator: this person likes to question assumptions and may at time make fun of others. This is the type of person you want to be in your field, as long as you know for certain that you are an expert in your field. You have a fun approach to information but also have a teasing quality about your responses and actions. • Moderator: this type of person, loves to help others and doing so by sharing their knowledge. You search out for those who have questions and concerns, and try and help them out. • Newbie (Noob): this type of person is seen as being new to the scene, but not necessarily quiet. You gather information like a sponge, and also get to know the users. Be sure that if you consider yourself as a Newbie that you let others know why you're there, and how you may be able to help. • Superstar: this type of person, goes without saying, is popular. Everyone wants to be a superstar, but getting there is not an easy venture. This type of person has many followers and when makes a comment or post, has many responders. If you are well known in the industry then this will be your automatic position. These are just some of the personas you may find on the internet, and we aren't suggesting you fake it, but this provides you with some insight as to where your stand in the types and guides you in the way you interact with others on the social media sites.
• Consider size: if you need to reach consumers. allows you to create a profile. • Determine your target market or niche: if you are in a particular field or marketing towards a particular audience. As you're developing your list of sites. • Think of objectives: if you are looking for business connections then you will want to think about using LinkedIn and microblogging sites such as Twitter or Plurk. here are some guidelines to help choose your sites: • Compare your results: take a look at what you wrote down for your research. Although figuring out which one is going to be the best fit for your topic. as it provides you with the ability to connect with other users in a more intimate manner (something which is very hard to do on computers). Slideshare or iTunes. • Make headlines: if you care about search engine optimization or have some important information then make sure to check out bookmarking sites and social news sites as well. 173 . Some of the things you will want to make sure you provide in the profile is the avatar or picture representing you. detailing some information about yourself. while other sites may not be as useful. Some sites are more beneficial for one line of business. then figure out if there are any other large sites that market towards the same audience. and compare whether the answers are met by the site. It is important that you write down some information about yourself. If you want to use media. and some basic contact information. readers or just passersby's then think about using one of the bigger social networking sites such as FaceBook or MySpace. Flickr. it is important to keep in mind whether using a particular site will be beneficial in achieving your goals. a short description of yourself. Each site you use must be useful in doing so directly or indirectly and also help reduce the amount of time you spend on the internet. Selecting Your Sites There are many social media sites out there and figuring out which ones are going to be the most successful can be difficult. some random information regarding your interests. then you will want to take a look at using Youtube.Developing Your Profile Each social media site that your register to.
here are a few things to keep an eye out for: • Grab an audience: if you don't have an audience. a few times a day. You may also want to write about things that invoke some type of emotion in your readers. You will also want to make sure that your website address and contact info will be easy to remember. we will take a look at some of the top social media sites. To do this try answering questions. Once you have a daily routine planned. It's all about how aggressive you want to be and how much information you have to post. write out top 10 lists. What many users don't realize is that information may be delivered directly to those readers. video and graphics. or once a day.Reviewing Your Content Alright. your next task is to keep on top of your communication. you are going to have to review your site and the content within. You will need to develop a posting style whether it's posting every hour. your message may not be heard by anyone. Using an RSS feed will bring all of your new content directly to the reader without any use of the internet (minus the reader downloading the content). You will want to grab their attention somehow. you may want to figure out a few long term options as well. Section 4: Top Social Media Sites and How To Use Them In this section. Planning a Routine Having chosen your social media sites. ease and enjoyment of posting and finally a way to keep track of the results of your postings. and how to do a few social media tasks. use other ways of communicating such as audio. • Ease of contact: nowadays internet users may have several main websites they view for information on a particular subject. will bring all new content to the subscriber. Before initiating a social media campaign. This may include stand-ins while you are away. now that you have determined your sites to get your message across. • Share your information: allowing users to share your content to other sites can increase the amount of traffic your site may generate. and reduces the amount of internet "travel". 174 . The use of an RSS feed. Make sure you have buttons that can quickly bookmark or share your content.
FaceBook Finesse FaceBook is a great way to meet millions of users from around the world and excellent in keeping your friends up to date with any and all of your updates. This site is excellent in providing users with the ability to keep your friends up to date with your current statuses and events. Highly useful in networking with your friends as well as discovering other friends you may have forgotten about. FaceBook also allows you to create groups, where your friends can join and talk about an endless array of topics. This is a perfect way to meet people and make new friends and contacts. (You may also join other groups too!) Also for those looking to just unwind, there is an array of games, quizzes and activities you can do while on FaceBook. Other great functions FaceBook provides you with are things like branding and creating applications. While this may require some additional knowledge or skill on your behalf, it is a great way to get yourself out to your friends, and their connections. Making MySpace Yours MySpace was one of the main social networking sites of its time. Although it still is a fierce competitor, FaceBook has taken a more dominant role. MySpace is highly useful for those looking to attract a younger age group, build traffic to their sites, or (if you are a band) get your band some recognition. Using MySpace is seen more effective for those involved in the entertainment industry or those related to trendy topics. A few key pointers are to: • Customize your page: make it look like you are interested in what you do and want to demonstrate to your audience. • Username selection: needs to be consistent with your brand, company and just your overall presentation. • Linkage: have links back to your website, FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, all your networking sites. • Get Help: if you aren't sure what to do or how to do it, get help! MySpace is the perfect tool for branding. It has great customizability and so it's excellent to get your message across. You can also look at adding multimedia capabilities, such as audio or videos. You don't want to overload your page with this type of content, but you do want to demonstrate that you know what you are doing. Linked In With LinkedIn
If you are a business and serious about getting work done, then be sure to sign up to LinkedIn. This site is exceptionally useful for companies looking to provide a service, create connections with other companies, are providing some form of consultation, or looking to find quality connections. It is also important to remember that unlike FaceBook or MySpace, the connections you make must be in some way related to you otherwise you will be unable to friend that individual. For this reason, all of the connections you make will be quality contacts. Think of this as the site where the connections you make are worth gold. All the other sites are much easier to friend someone than LinkedIn. Bookmark like a Pro! You may have used the personal bookmarking available in your internet browser, now have a try at sharing those bookmarks. Bookmarking sites allow you to bookmark your favourite sites and share it with the rest of the world. There are a few sites you can use to share your websites, such as StumbleUpon, Delicious, Ma.gnolia and Digg. Each of these sites provides similar capabilities, ranging from saving bookmarks in your account, to downloading toolbars to your internet browser. Bookmarking is very simple and can be done by pretty much anyone. If you already have a list of bookmarks on your browser, you can even upload them to your account. (Be aware of what sites you have bookmarked, because you don't want any embarrassing ones showing up on your business profile). A great way to develop bookmarking connections is to follow the top users when you initially signup for a bookmarking service. Of course, the top users need to be from your chosen niche. You will also want to make comments, vote and participate in any of the submissions those top users make. A final suggestion when using a bookmarking service is to add proper tags to the bookmarks. A good tag allows others to find your submission easily. Also make sure the words describe what your submission relates to. And the most crucial is to add more than one tag, because one word may not always describe your submission. Share through Multimedia
If you are looking at getting your message across or just looking to connect, using various forms of media will help increase your rate of success. The first site you will want to take a look at using is Flickr. Flickr is a photo-sharing site, where you and others can comment on photos you or other people post. While this may be a great way to find others with similar tastes, you need to be wary of the pictures you post. While you may want to make a statement, you will also want others to get involved in a positive and useful manner. Another excellent service to know is YouTube. It is very similar to Flickr, but Youtube deals with videos. Anyone can setup a free account, upload videos, add a brief description and let other viewers make comments. While this is useful in getting video content out to your viewers, remember to personalize your profile and keep your videos short (no one likes watching 10 min long videos). Also think about providing a good brief description as well as an eye catching title. Finally, commenting on what others have written is expected if you want to develop your connections. Participate In a Discussion While discussion forums may seem old and out of date, many users still participate extensively in their favourite forums. They have been around for a long time, and many still feel more comfortable using this type of networking. If you decide to use this type of networking, be sure to choose forums which are relevant to your niche. When posting comments or suggestions, do so in a respectable manner, and don't try to spam, as the administrators will kick you out. Using a forum is also great to advertise your expertise and of course your site or social media tools. Microblog to Success Microblogging is the progression of blogging. In a blog, you are able to post an article pretty much as long as you like, Microblogging on the other hand, only lets you post up to 140-character posts. This means that you need to know exactly what you want to say, using targeted words. Using microblogging is beneficial in keeping your followers up to date with what you are doing. One of the top microblogging sites is Twitter but there is also Plurk, FriendFeed and Identi. While this may seem as too simple or time wasting, it really has potential for spreading the word about your content. A few things to keep in mind about microblogging is:
• Profile. Profile. Profile: just like all other sites, setting up a complete and well developed profile is crucial. • To Follow or Not: while there are many different approaches to following, you need to see what the best method is for your niche. While reciprocating a follower may be useful it may just come off as spammy. • Participate: if you find something interesting and related to your topic, post about it. Also if someone makes a post that is interesting, make sure to pass the word. • Spam: you get in the mail and you hate it, so don't do the same with the posts you make. Think about posting at proper intervals and not a ten posts in ten seconds. Answer Questions Ever have a question that you needed answered but none of your immediately family or friends could answer it? Well unless you want to do your own research, then your next best step is to ask a question on Yahoo! Answers. This site is useful for asking or answering questions and helps your search rankings. By answering others questions, you are able to demonstrate your expertise and of course get your name out there. Remember out of all of the information provided, there is a continuing trend. That trend is getting yourself, your brand, and your company out to the rest of the world. The methods mentioned above, not only helps you do that, but also helps you practice what we preach. While this may seem repetitive or dull, it really is the key to your success. Keep it up and you will soon be on your way to the top of your niche. Section 5: Networking Your Business Online When we talk about setting up a network, we might think of an intricate grouping of various individuals all related in some way or other. While this may be something of a difficult task on a face-to-face level, networking through the use of social sites is really quite simple. Depending on the social media site, making friends and keeping in touch can be done in many different ways. From sending a private message to making a public post on their "wall" or "space", staying in touch is a lot easier online. Social media marketing can really only be done by having more friends. While more friends may be less valuable than some friends, it all
depends on how well connected and in touch you are with those friends. Here are a few things to keep in mind when acquiring friends: • Search your interests: finding friends interested in your interests is always a good place to start. • Content is king: you've probably heard this a thousand times, but it really is true. People like to follow and friend people who post interesting content. • Joining others: if there is a following or groups already created on your niche, join in. Then show others what you know (but remember don't repeat what others have said). • Be original: just as we've mentioned above, don't repeat other people. Be the expert you want people to see you for. If you can't say something from a different perspective or angle, don't say it. • Answer and ask: if you aren't sure how to get more friends, then start searching FaceBook, Yahoo! Answers, Youtube, Twitter, or any other sites for questions. Then answer them! If you don't have an answer, then ask a question. The more involved you are, the more your name will come up, when people perform a search! Once you have friends, remember to keep them. Nothing is worse than making friends, and then having them leave you. Besides, if they make some other friends, they may recommend staying away from you because you don't post enough, or aren't a leader in your niche. (Good news travels much slower than bad news, but everyone seems to always remember bad news more often). Section 6: Non-Intrusive Internet Marketing In this last section we explain how to market yourself in a non-intrusive manner. You never want to be the person who shoves advertising in a readers face, but rather be the one talked about and praised on what you do. To try and advertise yourself, we have seen that the best way is to provide something of value. Be it some free information, a self-use tool, or just assistance. You want people to come to YOU and not the other way around. (There's nothing wrong with chasing after readers, but letting them take the last two steps is key). While this may be easier said than done, you don't have to always do the hard part. For example, if you know of a great tool that you use, but not many others use it, think about advertising it. You may not be the final step or making the sale, but people are going to see you as somewhat
they will be less inclined to continue following you. Course #12 Advertising Online By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher 180 . is do present it in an entertaining way. For some. advertising may seem as intrusive in any way you do it. Whether it's with a small animation. or audio intro. If you are ever not sure. just think of whether you would try it in person. You will be seen as someone who is able to keep up to date with latest trends.of a leader. While it may quickly grab their attention. if you wouldn't then don't do it on the internet. if you are seen to be untruthful. While this may be true. Also be sure to avoid misleading or rude behavior when advertising or presenting your content. but also a reliable source for information. something that entertains a reader will always grasp their attention much easier. a great way to ease people into a product or service.
There are many other advertising networks that you can join but Google AdWords by far has the furthest reach. When you create an ad with Google AdWords. you (the advertiser) pays a small fee when a user clicks on the advertisement displayed on their site. and determine relevancy. Google and other advertising providers have had many problems in the past with people using loopholes and blackhat techniques to take advantage of the system… because of this… many ad networks avoid giving details on how the rank. By knowing which advertisements are converting the best you can focus on those ads to build better ad campaigns 181 . you assign the ad with a list of keywords. PPC Pros and Cons PPC advertising can be great if you know how to use it… but you can waste a lot of time and money if you don't use it properly. PPC is not something you just want to jump into. Essentially. you should read up on it before starting an AdWords Campaign. such as a paid search. Search Engine Relevancy Search engines determine relevancy based on a few known key factors: • Key Word List: Do the keywords in the keyword list match what the person typed? • Ad Copy: Does the ad mention what the person is looking for? • Landing Page: Does the ad go to a page that has what the person is looking for? • Bid: How much are you willing to pay to get that visitor? Google keeps the relevancy criteria hidden and secret so that all individuals get an even playing field when it comes to advertising. Pay per click (PPC) – also known as cost per click (CPC) – is a type of paid advertising. sponsored links and partner ads. and it's easy to use. sponsored listings. One huge advantage to Google AdWords is that it allows you to track and figure out which target words are converting the most users to customers. Google then finds Google AdSense ready websites relevant to those keywords and places your ad on their site.Course 12: PPC and the Basics of Online Advertising Section 1: Understanding What PPC Advertising Is For this section we'll be focusing on Google AdWords since it's the most commonly used PPC advertising service.
and can make you lose many potential customers. Your ad campaigns and site both need to be maintained on a set schedule (2-3 times a week). then take a look at the biggest contenders. There are many other smaller companies out there and you may consider them once you've become more experienced with PPC advertising. There's no such thing as a solve all problems solution.There are issues though that many may encounter. • Not enough volume: Are your search words the right words for your niche? Or are you being too specific? • No analytics: you need an analytic program if you want to know what's happening with your site • Setting it and forgetting it: this is a big no-no. you need to stay on top of your business. Some are cheaper but have less reach and some have specific benefits that you might find appealing. Comparing the Big Players If you are really looking at setting up a PPC account. some of those may be: • Not enough budget to spend for your industry: advertising needs budgeting correlated to cost of product. as they have the most bang for your buck (and time too!). • Poorly designed site: update your site and make the navigating easier (this relates to conversion) • Slow page loads: don't fill the site with all sorts of flash apps. Section 2: The Big Players in PPC Advertising Although Google AdWords is the predominant PPC provider on the web. not all computers are up to date. Google AdWords is definitely the way to go. 182 . The only reason why you wouldn't go for Google AdWords is if you're doing business in Japan (or any other country where Google is not the predominant search engine) in which case you'd want to use Yahoo! Aside from geographical considerations and other minor reasons. The big contenders are naturally: • Google AdWords • Yahoo! Google AdWords has the biggest reach worldwide and is the easiest to use. there are several other companies you should take a look at such as Yahoo! and MSN AdCenter.
Everything depends on the keywords and phrases that you use for your ads. Google and Yahoo! are your best bets otherwise. don't take the easy way out. be sure to separate the two to get the desired amount of hits Organize the words into separate groups. remember to keep the words as precise as possible. it's Google's Keyword Tool which can be found here: • · https://adwords. and make the words count! 183 . and Brand) Be specific if you have more of one type of product. The smaller PPC providers are only really needed in specific situations and recommended to more advanced users. jot down some information about what it is you're selling (Color. FaceBook for instance has its own PPC advertising system so if you're going for the FaceBook crowd.ca/select/KeywordToolExternal Just type in a word and an Google will give you a list of suggestion along with estimated average costs. 25 words max. Choosing. separate by car brands. the FaceBook advertising system is the obvious choice. Sometimes going for the obvious keywords and phrases can be a big mistake. One group will not give you all the details required. This section will go into making a keyword list that performs well and will bring quality traffic.google. Style. Also. Remember. and again by make of those brands. Organizing and Working With Keywords What type of product are you selling? On a piece of paper. If your selling ball point or gel pens. This will work if you take time and care to be as precise as possible. Google Keywords Tool If there's every a tool you need when creating keywords.One other factor in choosing your PPC provider is your market. Lesson 3: How to Create an Excellent PPC Keyword List It is important to remember that the keyword list is the foundation of your ad campaign. the amount of times it's being searched for and many other important metrics. Your keyword list should start there since it's the most comprehensive and easiest to use. Size. If you're selling car products.
Destination URLs Once you've organized your keywords by "match types" and ad groups you can help further categorize your information by setting up a destination URL. Basically the URL leads to a specific webpage.The reason you need to be so exact is that using general words will bring in too much low value traffic. no plurals or misspelling. Match Types "Match types" are kind of hard to explain but essentially they're what you use to tell the search engines in what situation you want your ads to be displayed. It's basically linking other words/phrases to your AdWords. you'll get less traffic but the quality will be much higher. Adding most exact destination URLs will improve user experience and they'll be more likely to convert. misspelled. This helps generate more results. By knowing which keywords are performing and which ones aren't you'll know which ones to remove and which ones to keep. If you use specifics. • Negative: basically these are words you don't want your ads to appear with. and uses a variety of words and synonyms. If you're using keywords like "pink iPods" it makes sense to link the ad to the exact page of that product instead of the more general products page. Here are is an explanation of the match types: • Broad: long-tailed words (3 or more). • Phrase: uses the word in plural form and in the exact order. will add other words in front or after your main keyword. Section 4: How to Write Ads That Convert and Make Money 184 . • Exact: the ad only shows up in searches that use the exact same words. the traffic received for that term is likely to be low. If you're selling cars and you use the term "car". Keyword Tracking and Changing Your Keyword List Over time your list of keywords should change but in order to know which ones to change you'll need to utilize the tracking tools provided by PPC provider.
in 185 .In this section we'll take a look at what makes a good PPC ad. Use your most targeted keyword(s) here. there is no point in us telling you it is easy. Some search engines might only search for this part of the ad. There are 4 parts to a PPC ad: • Headline: this is the most essential component of your ad. Other times you may be interested in adding more information such as www.com/ • Destination URL: deliver what the ad says. Firstly. but make sure whatever you are advertising is what the user will be sent to. But if you follow these guidelines. make sure the link goes directly there. on sale. Writing A PPC Ad Writing this ad is not going to be an easy task. Structure of PPC Ads Each component of your PPC ad should be carefully considered. you will have a header limit ranging from 35-40 characters. Depending on the provider you are using. make sure your ad is providing a benefit and a feature.gurugrounds.gurugrounds. Your ad needs to stand out and be compelling and interesting enough for users to click on it. This means that you will have something saying free shipping. It might be better to add http:// or just www.com/contact or www. If it is the website then it is alright to take them to your home page. If it's a specific product. and how to test your campaigns. Think of it as placing an ad in the paper. • Display URL: Test a few options for this one as it all depends on your traffic. Internet users have adapted to overlook and avoid ads so your work is cut out for you. It should also be mentioned that it's easy to make someone see an ad (by making it big and bright) but getting someone to actually click on an ad is much harder. We'll look at such things as the structure of the ad. Make sure you get your message across within 70 characters. it will make things a lot easier (and you won't have to get someone to help you (save your money). You need to be as targeted as possible but within a small space. Make those words count. • Body: Here you will have 2 separate phrases or 2 separate sentences. how to write a compelling ad.
or other goals. because you won't have enough space. if you can't spell. be it revenue. but don't jam pack it in there. Remember this is your ad to the world. Then provide the feature such as colors. amount of clicks. put in some urgency/aggression or call to action. This works much better than having just information on your product. Once your ad has reached 100 clicks review the conversion information and any other data you have been keeping track of and see what steps you need to take next. quality. doesn't mean you can forget how to speak. Secondly. Also don't forget to keep a tab on length of time online. sizes. Ad testing as you will find is a continual process. Test for Successful Ads There's nothing wrong with trying and failing. Having your ad stand out a little bit more. Capitalize the body copy and make everything top notch.stock. Nothing in an ad should be overlooked. you have yourself a winner. But you need to learn from your mistakes and the best way to do that is run some trials (A/B Tests). Be direct and specific but don't try and tell them everything. If it doesn't work then remove and try another test. The slightest changes can make a big difference. Make sure you use your keywords. Just because it's the internet and its fast and easy. Buy Now! Or Order Now! Exclamations help to make you stand out and make users want to take the next step. Don't forget your grammar. will make for better clicks. then great. don't expect business to flow. A finish point or end point can be set at 100 clicks. If you aren't getting the goals you have set up for yourself it's time to take a look at your keywords or the layout of your ad. downloads. If it doesn't then its good to set a finish point. Remember to try and use Dynamic Keywords. Test your ads in different ways such as having different headlines but the same body. 186 . aggressive call to action targets an immediate response while the information call to action is for research and browsing. If you are meeting your targets. Note: Two types of action. If one ad has only been up for a few days and comparing it with one for a month will give you skewed results.
a couple times a week may be your required level of involvement. look at rearranging your words. but if you are in a very targeted niche and have lots of viewers. the cost per click will differ. there will be more money in your pocket.000 product that your PPC budget needs to equal half. Just like you decided to research on how to set up your PPC and your site. The secret to PPC ads is that the cost of the advertising is less than the revenue it generates. Decide if you are going to budget monthly or daily. some say once a week. If you are able to spare more. Best way is to decide on a daily level. Depending on your niche. This will tell you where the money is at and hopefully with these tips. and see what does work. than in your competitors. If you're in a highly competitive niche such as weight loss or debt consolidation you can expect to pay a high price for your ads. Money! And how much you should spend. making changes. not spend it all. Remember. Remember if your budget runs out by the end of the month. you are trying to make money. and it was not successful then change things around. That doesn't mean if you are selling an $60. you need to do the same on figuring out how much you are willing to spend. Section 5: How to Budget and Bid for Keywords Here we talk about the most important factor when it comes to ads. If your PPC is successful. Finally. If you aren't doing so well.Make sure to also keep a tab on your ads. Remember these are only guidelines. Don't be afraid to change your words and edit your ads. But it does mean that you will need to use your tools and research other companies and figure out where your budget needs to be. If you have set a meager budget to test the waters (always a good choice). then research and see if it is worth spending the extra bucks. look at reinvesting and expanding. Once you know the conversion rate you'll know exactly how much money to invest in ads in order to make specific revenue. Research is key here. 187 . remember to check conversion rates. Our suggestion is to gather as much information as you can before throwing your money into something. Having A PPC Budget Your PPC budget needs to meet the cost of what you are attempting to sell. you won't have any ads left.
such as: • Relevancy of the keyword to your ad • Relevancy of the search term to your keyword • Destination URL (where the ad takes the searcher) • Daily Budget • Keyword Bid Amount • Amount of Competition • Relevancy of competitors words to yours One thing to keep in mind is if possible. MSN. We are sorry to say but we can't provide you with the exact calculations performed as those are kept hidden and secret only to their own companies (Google. 188 . Yahoo!). If you are in the US and your consumers are in Europe or Asia. Schedule Bidding and Spending Depending on your product. then don't change anything. you will know there is a time difference. • Keyword Level: maximum CPC you are willing to pay per word. and you will want your ads to display when they are using the internet. Make sure you have enough money for your campaigns. Bidding on keywords of which there are two levels. set the maximum amount for an ad group as a start. Keyword Bidding This is going to be the most complex aspect of PPC advertising. We can tell you that there are known factors that play into this. Cost per click (CPC) is based on the search engines calculations. you will want to know when your customers are doing most of their shopping. the largest amount you are willing to pay for a single click. Then lower as you receive results. One key rule to remember here is that the more generic and broad the terms are the more traffic and times your ads will show up but the quality of traffic will be much lower. • Ad-group Level: must set a maximum bid. but you may not pay that amount (but be ready if you have to). Some words may be more expensive than others. If you aren't making the sales then its time to redraw the plans and figure out what course of action is best for you.Stick to your budget! If you are getting the clicks required and making the sales. This will give you more results and allows you to adjust better than going from bottom up.
you will either get your ad removed or worse have a civil suit on your hands. Following the guidelines will keep your keywords in check and your ads online. The search engines have their own ways of dealing with click fraud and if detected will reimburse you for the cost. If you aren't abiding by the rules. Using others information is also a big no no. Your URLs need to be in good working order. If you see a large number coming from one ip address. and need to take the visitor to your site. The guidelines for trademark and copyright information are put in the information sections when setting up AdWords. you will have to get permission. You can keep track of click fraud by checking your server logs and studying the ip addresses. A few things to watch out for is use of language. There are certain guidelines set by the search engines and if you aren't abiding by those. then you could be experiencing click fraud. use standard typography. 189 . don't expect your ads to show up. false claims. avoid all capital letters. It's all about attracting the right customers. Those selling low cost per conversion and short buying cycle tend to fare better than those with complex and long buying cycles. for the lowest cost for advertising and making enough sales to keep you in business. Click Fraud Click fraud is where an individual or programs go onto a site and continually click an ad without ever having intention of buying or using your service. excessive punctuation or repetition. on your market. Watch your grammar. The site/page needs to be online and not under construction. and don't use generic click calls to action like "click here".You need to make sure that your ads are visible to your customers when you need them to be. Section 6: Understanding the Law When It Comes To PPC Don't be sneaky! Using an ampersand (and) instead of "and" or "2" instead of "to" shortcuts will get you in trouble. as mentioned before. Setting up your budget will also depend. When wanting to use a trademark or copyright.
Demographic bidding also allows you to target individuals by range of age. Tells you the rate and information needed for each keyword Use geotargeting to target a specific area. Some tips to keep in mind for success in content networks: • Create separate campaigns for your search and content networks • Don't use exactly the same keywords and ads in all your search and content campaigns. • Limit keywords to three words (two are better). If your company deals with bikes and another site has similar or bike related content. then your ads will be targeted towards those who live close to mountain ranges instead of those living in sunny/beachy areas. People in a specific are that you chose will see your ads while others won't. You may also look into a click fraud prevention program.Also check to see where the clicks are originating from. • Choose a keyword list that describes the sites on which you want your ad to appear. campaigns. You load your account. If you are experiencing click fraud. Using your budget to market to those that would use your product. 190 . Be ready to show them your server logs and information. ad groups and keywords without having to load pages. the search engine may authorize them to display your ads. make the necessary changes and then get back online and update the account. Tools. and Tricks of the Trade for PPC Advertising Offline editors allow you to see your entire account. Managing Content Network Campaigns A content network or partner network is a set of websites that are affiliated with the search engine that are authorized to show PPC ads provided by that search engine. Section 7: Tips. make sure you contact your customer service department. EASY! Use a keyword traffic tool to expand and develop which keywords to add. You can specify which websites to show your ads and which ones not to. If you are selling a product only for American residents and you are receiving clicks from Russia that may be a warning sign. If you sell snowboards. but make sure to do your research and know what you are getting into. go offline. It basically allows you to make PPC edits quickly and easily.
the question should be "Which program should I use?". But to determining what exactly you'll be talking about must be your first step. Something that you are passionate yet informed about. Take a look at your ability to perform or do things that others can't do. you probably won't stick to it when times get tough. and turn it into a site with quality content to inform people. Choosing Your Blog Topic The first step is to be positive about this experience. • KEEP TRACK OF THE NETWORK SITES Finally the ultimate tip for all websites and this should be a given is USE ANALYTICS PROGRAMS! These programs will help you keep track of everything you will need to run and maintain a successful business. As you may be aware. take a look around you and determine what talents you have. You are going to take a topic you like and know about. The question should not be "Do I need an analytics program?" or "Why should I use an analytics program?". If you are trying to decide what topic to choose. Another great way to figure 191 .• Bid lower on the content network than on the search network. and "How can I use it efficiently?". Course #13 Basic Blogging & Podcasting By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 13: Basic Guide to Blogging and Podcasting Lesson 1: Choosing a Profitable Topic to Blog About To begin your blogging career your first need is to determine a topic. if you aren't passionate about a topic. We aren't going to convince you that you can write and we aren't going to tell you what to write. What we will do is provide you with some guidance and advice on what you should write about and how to write about your topic.
What you 192 . and market it to the world. you need to decide what goals you have planned for your blog. Before you do get started there are a few things to keep in mind. You will want to make sure what your are saying is correct. As mentioned if you aren't passionate about what you are doing. and long term commitment. be ready to be called out on it. then add a little bit of your own touch to the mix. then make sure it is something you are passionate about. readers will not bother to view your content. then this is not for you. • Familiarity is key: writing about a topic you are unfamiliar with. or adding the newest information on the topic. You will have to research everything and get the information you need to work on your blog. This will only become more difficult as you begin getting into more complicated content and hitting road blocks. If you are looking for a way to escape your 9-5 job or make millions from inception of your blog. is going to be boring and tedious. It will require you to update your blog on a regular schedule and you must stick to it. If you are trying to expand your business online. • Set it and forget it: this is the last thing a blog is. it will come out in your writing. Take a look at your hobbies and see whether this would be of some interest to someone on the internet. or it can lead to users questioning your information and credibility. A blog requires dedication. Here are a few pointers that will help determine if your goals are proper for blogging. • Watch for mistakes: if you provide some information on the internet and it's wrong. making the content more appealing. • Be passionate: you need to be passionate about your topic. You could add pictures or videos. There are a million different topics you can choose from and all have ways in creating the content to attract the attention of readers.out what to write about is to look at what you involve yourself with. Now once you have decided on your topic. hard work. your readers will see it right away. This could be putting a funny spin on things. All you have to do is figure out what you are interested in. If you aren't happy with what you are doing. • Blogs need time to succeed: blogs will not explode with new users within the first day and some don't explode at all. otherwise. • Make it your own: if your topic is not the most interesting subject.
This website will also provide you with their ranking score and show you who your top competitors are. • Write a set amount of posts: this will depend on your business or blog and how often you will post. but it is not just going to come streaming in. • Are you ready to be unheard?: usually the first 6 months of your blog is spent speaking or rather typing and posting to an empty room. With these in mind. To determine this information you can use a few of the following methods: • Technorati: this website will perform a blog search and provide you with a list of blogs that are written about the particular search your just made. Here are few examples of realistic goals that you can set for you and your blog to achieve in about 6 months time: • Answering questions: you will begin to have users read your content and what you will want to do is determine what questions are being asked most frequently. Only a certain amount of websites truly generate a large amount of income from advertising on their site.want to do is give yourself a time frame. They either came to you through search engines or your marketing efforts. • Find and send customers to blog: You can expect some people to start taking a look at your blog. Find Your Competitors Once you have found your topic and set up your goals. • Google Trends: this website will provide you with information regarding the current trend of your chosen topic. This is a great way to determine if there is an increased interest in your topic. A good time frame for blogging is 6 to 12 months and this is for realistic goals. You will also want to determine how big your niche or targeted market sector is. then you will need to rethink what you are selling. your next step is to find out what is out there in regards to competition. If you 193 . we are going to have to work on that. Having approximately 60 posts by 6 months is a good target. If you are looking to make a lot of money. setting goals needs to be done realistically. If you are posting on a bi-weekly schedule to your blog and expect to make a million dollars in a year. • Money is not going to be flowing in: you may be in the land of milk and honey. Then you will want to answer those in the 6 month time frame. be sure to use the blog as a supplement to your actual products and/or services. You aren't well known on the internet just yet.
You need to stand out and provide something other bloggers are not providing. how many other bloggers there are on your subject. you will want to research what they are providing and what they aren't. To do this though. very limited options for customization. Once searched. Both have very similar features and can be used by anyone interested in setting up a blog.com Blogger and Wordpress. This will provide you with ways in providing readers with something they aren't receiving with other blogs. But also remember that the likelihood of this is based on what you are providing.are right on time and provide exceptional content. • General search engines: this is the easiest way to determine competitors. The two main blogging applications are Blogger and Wordpress. These are questions that need to be asked. Go to the search engine you are most familiar with and search for your topic. changing the design of your blog and finally posting your first blog. Make notes on what bloggers are talking about. Both blogging programs are: • Easy to use • Do not require additional software installation • There are many prebuilt designs that you can use • No programming skill required A few draw backs for these are: • Non-customizable: these sites are very basic and only provide you with very. (We will 194 . that will get more attention than the rest. you can become one of the internet success stories. Blogging is a process by which you use specific tools to publish information on the internet for others to read and comment on. it will make it more difficult for you to make a space of your own. setting up your account. Note: if there is an overflow of content on the internet and many bloggers talking about the same topic. Blogging Tools There are a few programs you can use and each come with their own specific set of benefits and abilities. Section 2: Starting a Blog for Your Online Business A few things we are going to look at in this session is choosing a blogging program.com are both very easy to use and only takes a few minutes to get set up. Once set up you can start blogging immediately. we need to first take a look at some blogging applications you can use.
There are other options for online blogging. If you do not then you will want to speak to a Web host or web developer to have you all set up. Using plug-ins and other marketing techniques.talk about how you can customize your blogging in upcoming sections) • SEO limitability: if you are hoping to increase your SEO. The basics of Wordpress.org and Moveable Type. For those looking for more options and the ability to customize your blog as you see fit there are two options.com but it does require payment for use. you can turn your blog into a real money maker. so you get what they give you. You also add plug-ins which can make running your blog more effective and run more efficiently. WordPress is a great way to get set up with Blogging. we recommend that you have some knowledge with web servers. We would recommend this platform over the rest as it provides you with the ability to customizing options and is also free to install.com but with a few extra added features: • Customizability: having the software installed allows you to really make the blog look the way you want it to. • Software knowledge: you will be installing all the necessary programs required to run your blog. • Slow updates: All of the coding is managed by their IT professionals. • SEO expandability: due to its customizing nature. you can also look at a range of SEO options. 195 .org are similar to that of Wordpress. You can use free templates off the internet and then redesign them to meet your needs. again you can hire the services of a specialist. this type of blogging will not provide you with options to increase visibility for your website. If you decide to go with an installed version of a blogging platform. TypePad is another solution and provides similar qualities as Blogger and Wordpress. If you aren't sure what needs to be done. you are going to have to do it all yourself (or of course. WordPress. hire someone to do all the work for you). WordPress does present its own challenges such as: • Maintenance: if you need any updating or changes made to your blog. Installing WordPress will also allow you the ability to make it part of your website. Although there are some great benefits.
we'd recommend hiring a professional… you'll save a lot of time and money by hiring someone. If you'd like something more personal and original. then you are looking at a few differences such as cost and level of difficulty.livejournal. then you will want to speak to an IT specialist or web host.org) Setting Up Your Blog Depending on the route you have taken.com) • Textpattern (www. If you decide to go with Moveable Type.textpattern. 4. except with additional features such as ability to manage more than one blog at a time. These are just a few that we have taken a look at but there are at least dozens of options available to you. Basically you are looking at the same features that are within Wordpress.drupal. Download and install necessary programs. We recommend this route only if you have a greater understanding of how to use blogging platforms. you either need to go to the respective websites and sign up for their blogging platform or download and install your own blogging platform. Design your blog. They can manage all the installing and set-up parts of your blog. 5.org.joomla. Other Blogging Options Listed below we have a few other options for blogging platforms. Set up login information.com) • LiveJournal (www. you will want to determine the capabilities you are willing to give your readers. 2. Run a test post. 3. • Joomla! (www. It really comes down to your lever of comfort and knowledge. A few things you should definitely do is: 196 . Designing your blog can be easy since there are many prebuilt template and themes for you to use. while you worry about the content and posting.org) • ExpressionEngine (www. Once you have your design up and ready for use.If you having issues with this. If you have gone with the installed platform.expressionengine. you will want to: 1. Once that is all set up you will want to move onto setting up the look and feel for your website. To hire a professional web designer we recommend using Elance.com) • Drupal (www. Configure server and your website.
feedburner. • Do review comments before allowing them to be published online.pingomatic.blo. letting them know of your updated content.• Do not allow them to post comments as they please. really 197 .com • http://rpc. Another critical customization you will want to make is in regards to pinging.weblogs.php If your blogging software doesn't have a pinging feature. • http://rpc. you can go to www.com/xmlrpc. The individuals posting are regulars to your site and you do want to keep any eye on what they say but not completely review everything they say. you will want to add these websites to help you get started in pinging the internet with your content. anyone can become a critic or a fan.com • http://ping.com/RPC2 • http://ping.blogrolling.technorati. • Do not get mad at what people comment.com/rpc/ping • http://rpc.com/RPC2 • http://rpc. They have a right to their opinions and on the internet. Pinging is where your blogging software sends out a notification to search engines and directories. You want to make sure that you users are commenting on your information appropriately.com/pinger • http://topicexchange.com:10080 • http://rpc.icerocket. • Do not refuse people from posting at all. You don't want links to porn sites or the like being posted for comments.com/rpc.com and you can send out your pings using a single form.pingomatic. Within the settings of your blogging software. RSS Feeds One essential component required to run a successful blog is to have an RSS feed. A form of trust needs to be built on you blog.gs • http://ping. • Do allow registered or trusted users to post without moderation. If you are unsure what RSS stands for it means. You want people to come to your blog to interact with the information you have provided.php • http://weblogalot.syndic8. This is a great way to generate traffic and requires no further action from you.
Also try and avoid writing things like. No need to tell people about it as everyone experiences it one time or another. Go to www. It doesn't necessarily have to be something perfect and doesn't have to make the most sense.simple syndication. 3. using one or more of hundreds of feeds readers. then we clearly have failed you. Telling people how to write their blogs is a task even more difficult. Below are the steps required to setup an account and get you information sent to your readers. 1. Just get onto your blog and type away. The most important idea you should take from this entire section.com 2. There are many RSS feed readers that a user may have. Some may be useful for your blog. but if the style doesn't match your personality and business model. take a break and then come back. is that writing your thoughts out will help you determine your writing style. Verify blog documentation for blog's feed address. Readers can subscribe to your RSS feeds. Paste address into the Burn a Feed Right This Instant field and select Next. What we are going to do here is provide you with some pointers to writing a blog. Replace old feed address with the new FeedBurner address in your blog. and getting the hang of how to write a post. Make it simple. Section 3: How to Write Like a Professional Blogger Writing a blog can be quite difficult to say the least. 4. and from the heart. Just write up an introduction about your blog and what you hope to do with your blog. get your work out there. while others may not. Once that is all set up you are all done. 5. We could sit here and tell you what to write and how to write your blog. Setup an account. conversational. except for your first post. If you are having writers block. The important step here is to make that first post.feedburner. This is a great way to allow your readers to keep track of what content you might have recently published without having to come to your website. The feed reader will provide the reader with your latest content in a simple and easy to read format. 198 . "I don't know what to write about". but you'll need to set up an RSS feed for them to view your content. It is a format which is able to provide the headings and a brief summary or the entire contents of your post.
thoughts will come more naturally. we are going to provide you with some pointers." and "like"." "totally. • Any lists that you may create should be bulleted or numbered • Structure your blog so customers know what to expect next • Major points to be broken apart by headlines. • avoid filler words as it will only increase your sentences. Scanability: as we discussed in our email sections. Blogs allow writers to get their message across. Just spit it out (well not literally). but only apply as necessary. They are much easier to read. then use them. Two ways to keep your blog on track and concise is to follow two simple rules. Don't jumble it all together • Use line spacing of 1. • make lists. Take a look at some of the suggestions below to try and help with making your blog easier to scan.So to avoid any further confusion. There is no need to start getting fancy with words. it helps get your message across better and shows that you are knowledgeable about your topic. Take them into consideration when working on your posts. A good recommended length is about four or five lines. Everyone loves to read a list and it is always simple to understand. Simplicity and scanability. try and use this in limited quantities. Here are some tips to help you keep it simple. If content is all mashed together users will have a hard time reading what you have to say and may stop coming back to your blog. • using too many exclamation points can get annoying. • avoid the thesaurus like the plague or at the very least do not use it. Readers also scan content that they are reading. in a professional manner yet in a semi-professional tone. • Your paragraphs should be kept to a minimum. write something down and if it doesn't make sense then revise it • use shorter sentences instead of a large compound sentence. • write. This is self explanatory. For example. It will help you develop your writing style and after a while. Simplicity: you are getting to the point of your sentence and doing so clearly." "extremely. users tend to scan their emails. • practice. analyze and revise. "really. • use confidence when writing. If you can use simple words to explain something.5 or greater 199 .
200 . This is a great way to keep track of your ideas which may be used at a later time. and if I come up with something. Pretend as if you are presenting the material to a group of friends. • Break time: you could just be frazzled from all the thinking and working you have been doing and it's just time to take a break. ill note it down in there for later). • Read other blogs: find out what the World Wide Web is talking about. (I usually keep a notepad by my bed. • Write ideas down: do you ever have those moments when you come up with an idea but then when it comes down to talking or writing about it you can't remember. • Write for the future: if you are on a roll and have an abundant amount of information then keep on writing. and to meet readers needs that other websites aren't meeting. jumbling ideas together can get confusing and strenuous on the readers eyes Avoiding Writers Block Writers block can happen at any time. then speak to them and see if they would like to write you a piece for your blog. we all deserve a break. • Ask for help: don't have any ideas. see who has a topic that hasn't been discussed. Then what you will want is an idea booklet or page. • Set a date: set a schedule for how often you will post. Again. • Guest bloggers: if you know of someone within your field that has expert knowledge about a particular subject. It's ok. • Talk it out: if you can't write or are tired of typing. then use a recording device and talk out what you were going to write. • Just write: write about anything and in a totally different tone.• Use images to help relieve the stress on the eyes • Allow for one idea per paragraph. Save it and access it when you need it again. there's the perfect way to get some new content out there. • Answer questions: if someone has a question and it's not being answer. you will be more concentrated on developing ideas. but don't turn it into an extended leave of absence. If you run into this problem then here are a few ways to help reduce the impact. If you know that in a few days you have to come up with some content. You will want to organize it so that material can be posted at a later time for when you may get writers block again. don't worry.
Many users have responded positively with Google's Reader but it all does come down to preference. paraphrase or quote another bloggers content and link to them. "Build it and they shall come"? If you have. A blog or website that is put on the internet and is not being connected with other likeminded individuals is already on a path to failure. community centered type of way. instead of going to all the different websites. you need to make contact with those that are already discussing your topic. 201 . There are different programs that you can use out there. • Note: your feed reader will update itself about once a day. because he or she may then promote their own blog or website. If you aren't an expert in your field. The best way to track those bloggers is by using a feed reader. Section 4: Networking With Other Bloggers Blogging is a great way to exchange information. what you will want to do is keep track of those who are. in a user-friendly. ideas and concepts with people around the world. If you are highly trained in your field or have some specialized knowledge. To become a recognized contributor to your niche or subject. • Note: this allows you the ability to collect articles that are highly relevant to your topic and can be used for reference at a later time. then don't be surprised if "they" don't come. Lesson 5: Building Community and The World Of Blogging Have you heard the phrase. A feed reader is a program which gathers content from RSS feeds (really simple syndication) and brings them all to you in a nice and organized format. The feed reader will deliver the headline and some information about the posts. This is a great way to get the important information from all the blogs you are subscribed to and have it all in one application.Try not to find a guest blogger that is doing the exact same niche as you. or those individuals interested in your field. This is very useful as the information is brought to you. To do this you can go to other sites and make comments. but you can have it perform a search to see if new content has been created. The rest you can just delete. writing some new highly relevant content will also get your name out to the world.
For example. • Don't repeat the same comment. buzz off. For example: • Read the full post and then reply. which can get quite complicated if you are posting on several different blogs.com. When talking to someone face to face. Avoiding conflict: using the internet is easy to have message misunderstood. • Read other peoples comments and see whether it's worth your time making a post. He or she thinks you're crazy and completely ignores you 2. all you have are your words. • Linking without relevance. your next step is to make contact. think of approaching an unknown blogger like approaching a stranger on the street. Nothing like looking uninformed than making a comment straight out of left field. more than once. You may have already done this using email marketing. tone and pitch of voice and facial expressions to get your message across. but if you haven't then this is what you need to do. Your first step is to find out who you need to connect with in your field. You can make a conflicting statement but make it in a way that makes a person think. take a look at a service called Commentful. no one is aware of you. • Make a conflicting statement. how do I communicate with those top bloggers without seeming like a weirdo? Good job my friends. If someone has said something you want to say. It's just a waste of your time and the blogger's. He or she tells you to politely. On the internet. Once you have determined who you need to speak with.blogflux. If the information is not important or relevant to what your blog is about. If you just start asking questions one of two things can happen: 1. you will use your body language. There needs to be a response worth the blogger reading it.In this section we are going to look at ways to connect with other bloggers and also look at ways to communicate effectively with them. So your next question should be. The only problem is. This is a big one to remember. don't try and repeat it. You need to 202 . Try using a different angle. Comment Tracking: For those of you looking to keep track of all your replies. here are a few pointers on starting a relationship. don't link to them. Don't just go onto bloggers sites and post random conflicting questions that will irritate people. This service can be accessed through www. Leave comments: now we don't mean going onto a site and just saying something like "awesome post dude".
If your writing isn't up to his or hers standard or are contradicting their values or beliefs. they may decide not to post your content. will be checking their analytics program to see where their users are coming from. they may link back to you to help you out. but you can offer an exchange. • Avoiding jokes will also keep you out of the line of fire. • Determine if linking back to your blog is alright. it's better not to say anything at all. • Take some extra time when writing the post. Here are some things to avoid: • The use of sarcasm. so avoid it. If you don't have something nice or informative to say. It will save you a lot of trouble. You may not be accepted to just write content for them. best to avoid making them. 203 . • Citing for additional resources can help expand your resources list and connections It is important to remember that the bloggers that own the content you are posting. • Do not be nasty. Link to bloggers: if you want to gather attention for your work. If they see that you are contributing to their increase in traffic. Guest posting: just as we mentioned that you invite others to post on your blog. Try to avoid being nasty. It's hard to show sarcasm in text as it is all in the sound of your voice . Remember it's his/hers website. You want to make sure they are comfortable with linking back to your website. as its your introduction to new audience members and can increase your traffic.make sure that you are careful in the way you type your messages so as not come off as a jerk. You will need to get in touch with them and let them know of your intentions. you may be able to do the same on another bloggers website. Unless you can be completely clear with the joke. To use someone else's content. Remember you are representing your company and you don't want to come off as unrespectable. • Creating a link list where you would discuss a few links which provide good content that relates to your topic. • Citing for support for an argument you are making in your post is another great way to link up. You would of course have a link back to their blog. you can link other bloggers content to your postings. Text cannot do this. He or she may also have suggestions for how you may change it. here are a few ways to avoid any problems. Here are some things to pointers to remember when you are guest posting: • Blog owner gets final say.
2. your next task is to get your information out to the public. you will still need to gather readers from all areas of the internet. three things happen. • create an introduction of yourself and about your blog • ask politely if they would be interested in linking up. Manners will get you further in your progress. they'll be taken to a website based on members thumbs-up or thumbs-down preferences. If more users select thumbs-up. Lesson 6: How to Promote Your Blog Posts Now that you have finished writing your post. In most blogging programs.• Write about yourself. This is a great way to generate some traffic. You have posted the content on your blog. Don`t ask more than once as you may irritate the blogger. It is a great little tool but don`t expect to set it and forget it. It updates the RSS feed. Ask politely: sometimes just asking a blogger politely might work. This websites/service requires that an app is installed onto a person's browser toolbar and whenever the user clicks on the StumbleUpon icon. Here are few basic suggestions for completing a good submission: 204 . pinging will provide a message to the relevant websites that there is new content on your site. you should do the same for them. which is then circulated among StumbleUpon users. Posting On StumbleUpon One website you may have heard of while doing some internet research or browsing is StumbleUpon. It alerts relevant websites. • finally make sure to reciprocate your linking. If they link to you. • say please and thank you. you`ll want to continue spreading the word about you posts. This is the perfect time to let readers know a little bit about yourself. You also submit new content to the site. You publish a post on your blog. Use a little bit of common sense. you have links from your website to and from your blog but now you need to reach the rest of the world. As mentioned in earlier chapters. your information will have a higher likelihood of being stumbled upon. but here are a few ways to really get the ball rolling. 1. Even though there are some places that get the updates of your postings. 3.
• Send to friends: send your post to StumbleUpon friends if you think they would be interested in your post.com) • Mixx (www. because your readers may be surfing the internet looking for good content and you want to be one of those pages they view.com) 205 .com) • Plime (www. drastically. then you might want to rethink using Digg.com (www.yahoo.com/) • Fark (www. which would decrease the traffic rate. Submit To Digg Another website you may be interested in using is Digg.mixx. Digg is a great site because if your article is of high quality and of great importance.com) • Sphinn (http://sphinn. here are just a few: • Reddit. if your content is mediocre or only above par.com) • Yahoo! Buzz (http://buzz. If it doesn't appeal to them. Keywords to explain your post.reddit. • Geek alert: if it appeals to those that you may consider "geeky" or "nerdy" you have good content.fark. The only problem is. don`t forget to write a good description about your content as well. your post may make it to the front page and if it does that. you may only make it to pages 2. or is it a funny post? • High-quality productions: make sure that your post is easily read. The find out if your post is Digg-worthy.com) • Ezine Articles (http://ezinearticles. • Good tag usage: remember to tag your article properly. • Description: if your title is descriptive. expect server crashing traffic. Other Social Marketing Sites There are other sites similar to DIGG.plime.• Descriptive title: you should have a title that can explain what the post is about. something bizarre or strange. Quick and easy.3 and beyond. take a look at these suggestions: • Interesting topic: does your topic have something to do with a current trend.
This allows users to gain quick and easy access to your content. Blogging puts your thoughts. Digg. You can again as noted in our other sections. and Ma.us. To be able to create a podcast you are going to be looking at either borrowing or purchasing some equipment (if you don't already own any) and also set up an area in which you can capture great sound quality.icio. There are some benefits of providing a podcast to your viewers such as providing content to customers while on the go. It is all about spreading the word about your information and getting people to notice and remember you. while podcasting puts you on the microphone. We are also assuming that if you can read this. 206 . subscribers and other contacts that you may know about your new posts. send polite emails to bloggers. it helps reduce the amount of content you need to write. Section 7: Basic Guide to Podcasting Have you ever imagined yourself being on the radio and providing useful information about your topic to people everywhere? Welcome to your new favorite form of communication.gnolia. Podcasting allows you to record your voice or any other sounds you may have. and is a great way to get more personal with your viewers. is to connect with bookmarking sites such as del. Some of your basic necessities to create podcasts are: • Microphone: how else are you going to get your voice recorded and onto the computer. podcasting. These are great ways to pass on information quickly to those that are already part of your community. you must have had access or can get access to a computer. If you decide to go ahead and do some podcasting. then be prepared to take some extra steps to provide content to your readers.Other recommendations we can make to get your blog out there. compile it into an audio track and post to your blog and RSS feed. • Computer: this will be your device to record your information. • Software: you will need a program that can record and edit your audio content. ideas and concepts on paper. They are similar to StumbleUpon and are great ways to get more attention. Our final suggestion is to get onto online communities such as FaceBook or microblogging sites such as Twitter.
It is easy to use. Great tool for multiple individuals to record their voices all at once. and is seen on a laptop. but it doesn't allow for more than one user to make comments. but if it doesn't meet your needs and budget.com) Once you have determined your microphone. Once again your needs and budget should be taken into consideration.com) • Logitech: (www. Great way to capture all the sound from your voice.net) • Adobe Audition(http://www.net) • Podproducer (www. Now that you have an idea of the tools you will require for getting your podcasts completed.sourceforge.logitech. When it comes down to microphones. it may make it a bit challenging to drag your laptop around. If you already have a microphone and are comfortable with the quality it is providing then you're already ahead of the game. iTunes or some other service. • Microphone stand: this is the type of microphone that is usually made of plastic and has its own support that holds it up. Here are a few options for programs: Windows PC programs: • Audacity (http://audacity. then it would be pointless. For those of you who don't already have a microphone and aren't sure which to purchase.adobe.com/products/audition/) Max OS X: 207 . we will look at each component separately.bluemic. Its great if you are going to be recording while sitting in front of your laptop but if you need to move around or get things done. the microphone.com) • Samsontech: (www.podproducer. We could make recommendations for $30 microphones to $400 microphones and beyond.samsontech. There are a few brand names that we can refer you to: • Blue Microphones: (www. it may even have proper software already installed. • Headset: this type of microphone fits around your head and is plugged into your laptop or desktop computer. First. we will look at a few options below: • Built In: this microphone is built in.• Broadcasting source: getting your content to your viewers will have to be done using FeedBurner. The microphone is the way that sound will be transferred into a digital format which will be what your viewers are listening to. you will want to determine what type of program to use. our recommendation is to do some online searches and see what the best for your needs is and budget.
If you have a dedicated area to perform your recordings. neighbors talking. • Microphone placement: you will want to move the microphone as far away from the computer as possible and you also want to keep the microphone at eye level for directing your voice directly at the microphone.• GarageBand(www. Read a few sentences of any document with the microphone at different 208 . the location and everything set up we can begin podcasting. The key here is quiet. we are going to need to find a place to set up for recording. And its free! You can't go wrong with free. egg cartons are also excellent in reducing the echo effect. • Appliances: in a quiet area you will begin to hear the low buzzing sound of the appliance. and out of all of them.net) • Logic Studio Pro (http://www. Excellent. cars driving by. • Turn off other programs: if you use any instant messaging programs or programs that have sound effects.apple. you can stick up some blankets on the walls.com) • Audacity (http://audacity. If you are in a large room or sound carries through your recording area quite easily. this will be your best choice. Now that we have found our microphone and installed all our software. as you can see Audacity is available on both Mac and PC. You need a room where there aren't any appliances running or sounds of people walking upstairs or any other types of noise.sourceforge. birds chirping. Other issues to look out for are echoes. now that we have the equipment. Well not just yet.apple. just have the family go out for a bit.com/ilife/garageband) • Ubercaster (www.ubercaster. a phone goes off in the background.com/logicstudio/) There are quite a few options here. What you want to do is run some tests with the microphone in different positions. Try an avoid rooms with appliances completely. • Turn off phones: this refers to cell phones and home phones. This is not very professional and can be very distracting for listeners and for yourself. We have heard many podcasts where in the middle of the conversation. You need a place with complete quietness and if you are trying to do your recordings at home. and those sounds will be heard on the recording. while you complete your recordings. Below we have listed a few tips for setting up your quiet recording area: • Windows: these need to be closed as you may begin to notice.
Our recommendation is to stick between 10-20 minutes per podcast. Our recommendation is to add your logo as the artwork as it will help users remember you from the rest of the podcasters on the internet. you may have a few people falling asleep. Podcasting on the other hand requires you to tell viewers what they need to know. Some editing programs may also allow you to add some artwork which can be used for branding. Speak slowly and clearly. but if you speak to slow. Now you might be wondering how long a podcast needs to be. As you begin to record your information you need to keep in mind two things. encode the data and play it back. and a conclusion. Encoding and Uploading Once you have completed your recording. If you start rushing your listeners won't be able to keep up with you. If you are doing an interview. you will want to encode and upload it to the internet. will just start to bore the listeners. Encoding is the process of compressing a file into an mp3 format. while anything over. the rest of us may want to write down a few key ideas. This process does reduce the size and quality of a file. your main headlines. After editing your recording. Best way to avoid this. This way you will sound comfortable and relaxed but still deliver the content that you want your users to know about. If there are any mistakes or hiccups. Preparing a Script and Recording Your Podcast When you write a blog. Once you have done that. Doing anything less may be too short and come off as an advertisement. you need to write out everything you are thinking about and want the customer to know.levels of sound and height. but the benefits 209 . you will want to have the questions listed out on a piece of paper to make sure you get all the information you need. This will help you determine which combination sounds best. While there are some individuals out there that are comfortable with just sitting down and recording their content. you can re-record the mistakes and then use the editing program to insert your new recording. A great way to sound comfortable but still have some structure to your podcast is write out the start of your introduction. add a title and a date. is to listen to your recording after you have finished.
com: uploading your content to this will get you more views. This compression makes it easier and quicker to upload the file to your blog or website.com. but some additional ways are: • iTunes: you will want to visit iTunes Store and find "Submit Podcasts to iTunes Directory". you are ready to get your written and vocal content out there for all your viewers to see. With all this information. you are ready to start blogging and podcasting. 210 . you will follow the same guidelines provided to promote your blog posts. • PodcastDirectory. To upload your file. With all this information. • Other websites: try finding other sites that allow you to upload your podcast online such as PodcastAlley. we suggest using the add-on FireFTP. It's an FTP program built into the browser… very useful! Now that you have your podcast uploaded onto the internet you are going to want to promote it. you may have to download a transfer application such as an FTP client. To do this. There are many applications out there and any one of them will suffice. we use Filezilla but others such as CuteFTP or SmartFTP are useful. For those of you using Firefox.outweigh the minor quality loss.
email open rates. and interest-specific to a large number of people. An email message is sent and received almost instantaneously and once received the person will open and take steps of using the email. order forms. Of those steps taken. You can also ask people to do certain things with your email or any other information you may send them. It can be personalized. targeted. If you emails are kept consistent in elements and personality. emails forwarded Using emails will not only keep you in touch with people who may not be ready to buy at the moment but may remember you when they are ready to take further action. website. it will naturally develop your brand. email signup forms. business cards.Course #14 Email Marketing By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 14: Effective Email Marketing Section 1: Setting Up an Email Marketing Strategy Using email is a cost-effective way to deliver your marketing messages. feedback may be given back to the sender. emails. receipts. Some ideas to help with branding and provide a familiar look and feel are: • Have logos that look consistent in: signs. completes a survey or replies • Behavioral Feedback: when you track link clicks. Of which there are two types: • Stated Feedback: when someone fills out an online form. It is important to remember that customers will respond more positively to your email messages when they can identify with your brand. 211 .
what to do when email is blocked or filtered. fire walls and junk folders. To avoid such a situation.exacttarget. how to design and layout. improve open rates. physical addresses added to emails.com) • Microsoft Office 2007 (http://office.constantcontact. email addresses.• Include company name in all marketing: email from lines.aweber. privacy statements. • Teach You Best Practices: Best times to send.com) Some benefits of ESP's: • Professional Look: Can provide professionally looking newsletters. email signature.com) • ExactTarget (www. business letters.com) • Vertical Response (www. online directories. • Help With Logistics and Reporting: Storage and retrieval of subscriber information. tracking on blocked and bounced emails.1shoppingcart. classroom-style tutorials. images.com) • 1ShoppingCart (www. • Help with Content: Online communities. 212 . webinars. sending from a verified email address.com) • Aweber (www. tutorials. templates and service: • Constant Contact (www. avoid spam complaints. • Keep Marketing Legal: One-click unsubscribe links. calls to action. acquiring the service of email providers will reduce the loss of emails. your blog.verticalresponse. reports on deliverability.microsoft. It used to be alright to send emails to anyone you knew and lots of people you didn't know. promotions announcements. consultation. • Format message consistently across media: fonts. greeting cards. automated subscribe and unsubscribe requests. contact information. templates. but nowadays there is protection against that such as spam filters. headlines.com) • MailChimp (www. Some benefits of an ESP (email service provider) are: • Improved email deliverability • Database and list management • Email template design • Email message and content creation • Tracking reports • Advice and consulting There are a few providers that can provide excellent email marketing. layouts.mailchimp.
but this will only lead to mistrust and loss of business. • Never collect email addresses from websites and other online directories. It may be easy to use sneaky tactics to gather information. If you are looking at gathering and using someone's email address. • Email complies with any applicable guidelines for sexually oriented content. This legislation separates the two types a person may receive and email for: • Commercial Email: email containing an ad. otherwise it may lead to hesitation for any future business. • Clear email header identifies business and is not misleading. • Email clearly states the email is a solicitation. • Email subject line isn't misleading. be sure to get permission. That includes: • Provide a way for subscribers to opt-out of receiving future emails. Lawmakers have enacted the CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing). • Don't use an email address collection service. • Don't borrow an email lists and send emails to other businesses email list. promo or business content • Transactional/Relationship Email: anything other than a commercial email Make sure that the emails you do send out are CAN-SPAM compliant. Here are some tips to keep you on the legal side of email collection: • Never purchase an email list from a company that lets you keep as a data file. Collecting emails has to be done legally and while some email collection is illegal they aren't always easy to spot. • Your email includes your physical address (website address). 213 . laws have been created to avoid such situations.Section 2: How to Become a Trusted Email Sender Due to the bothersome nature of spam. Sending out email content to people requires you to have some required information. • Don't rent email lists unless the rental company practices are legal. Collecting people's information nowadays can be quite an endeavor. There are three levels of permission you can receive.
physical (add their email to a guest book or signup via paper form). As all things in this line of work. a. ◦ Level 3: Confirmed Permission: this type of permission happens when someone implicitly or explicitly signs up for an email service. confirming their registration. written (they email you and you reply by asking for permission). add a discretionary note advising of possible further emails and ability to opt-out) • Level 2: Explicit Permission: this form of permission happens when you disclose to the subscriber what your plans are for the use of their email address. This does not mean that they will agree to further routine emails. here are a few steps in deterring permission status: 1. An example would be when someone is providing you an email as part of receiving a quote or further specific information. or just having a long list and loosing track of what levels of permission belong to which email. Note: If you are unsure about all emails. its time to discard the email. it requires tweaking to really meet your business model and requirements. If you are unsure. Sort by date: check orders and match to email. then it is best to discard the email 2. continue reading below. These emails might look like 214 . 1.• Level 1: Implied Permission: this form of permission happens when someone is in the course of performing normal business communication. If a customer is aware of the decision they are making such as in a "Sign-up to receive a weekly newsletter" or requests to be added to email list. if purchase made over a year ago. at which point you respond with an additional email. There are pros and cons for each level of permission. incidental (online shoppers can select a box to receive additional information after purchase). through the purchase of another business. 2. it really is up to you to determine which one works best or whether a combination of the three is key to your success. Sort your list by source: where have the emails originated from and are the sources still used. Discard ambiguously named emails: if you aren't sure who it goes to. ◦ Note: This can be verbal (they share email wiht you and you request to add them to your list). (If you do want to continue sending emails. discard it. If you have developed or gathered emails either by using low permission levels.
Use "From" line to discern if spam or not. 3. accidental filter. If you see the above steps as a laborious process then you might be better off in discarding your list and starting off fresh. But remember. Avoiding Spam Complaints Recipients of your emails must be comfortable receiving emails from you and to avoid getting complaints. Once permission is received your next step is to minimize confusion among subscribers. 4. doesn't trust unsubscribe. Here are a few tips and trick for keeping subscribers up to date with your emails and letting them know what your company is up to: • Email reminders: let them know how you obtained their email address • Email frequency in line with email content: don't overdo it but keep the content proper • Reinforce branding: include logo and keep the same color scheme • Reinforce familiarity: make emails memorable and familiar 215 . permission to send them emails must be given.webmaster@ or info@ and aren't sure who it actually gets sent to. irrelevant or long emails that are frequent may be seen as spam. There are many reasons for a person to consider your email as spam some of those may be: • Don't want it: unwanted marketing emails. Once a list has been obtained you will want to protect that data as misusing the email will be misusing the subscribers trust. Confirm permission to send email: Obtaining emails from subscribers is something you should be proud of. The most important and professional practice is to allow users to unsubscribe from your email service (it is also required by CAN-SPAM Act) The use of the unsubscribe ability provides users with the confidence that you appreciate your relationship with them. Sort by category: determine if a prospect or a return customer. • Can't verify it: customer is unaware of it origins. you don't want to come off as a spammer. • Too Frequent: repetitive. Depending on this fact will determine how you proceed. • Other: can't unsubscribe. always be cautious. accidentally clicks spam.
make sure you send them relevant content that they approved (no sending cartoons to your subscribers. they will spam block you. you will first need to keep track of your subscribers and to do this. and make your emails easy and comprehendible (don't make them work more than clicking open). If you are sending all your emails to someone who only wants one. • Sort list into categories: you will want to do this to send out targeted emails in a variety of groupings. • Get reviews: find out why people have unsubscribed (they may not want to give you any information but it doesn't hurt to ask politely) • Use ESP authentication: if you can get an ESP to authentic your emails. You can use this database to do the following: • Organize and view list data easily. • Make Valuable Email Content: nobody likes to receive boring and useless emails. If they allowed you to use their email. make sure you have something important to say. • Easy signup and clear identity: don't make signups hard (you'll lose potentials). • Include email and signup process: when a new subscriber is interested in receiving emails. It is difficult but it makes sense to agree that having a smaller following full of avid fans and repeat customers is more beneficial than having a large group of low quality subscribers and no buyers.• Send reminder letter: send a periodical letter (with their permission) similar to email reminders. Section 3: How to Build a Quality Email Subscriber List Building an email list can be an arduous task and so determining whether each subscriber you have is a loyal follower or just a migrant is important. or wait until you have more information. To develop a proper list. if you're in the business of funeral homes or tombstone masonry) • Allow customization: if you send out more than one type of email. you just avoided a lot of people sending you to the junk mail inbox. let them know what the process includes and what they will receive. you will want to develop a database. 216 . allow users to subscribe to the email content they want. • Send useful information: don't abuse the permission.
A few things to remember when creating an email database: • More bang for your buck: you don't need to have the most fancy database out there.• Process and track unsubscribers: this will show you a trend. Below is just some of the information you can gather as well as what it can be used for and some examples of each.users. but don't go spending more money on features that are going to cost you more time and money (remember the old saying. zip code This will show you Used to categorize Prospects. preEssential Used to personalize customers expect ferred email adInformation your emails. You definitely do not want to work on a project and realize it will be useless. repeat cusInformation act towards your egories for targeted tomers. mo problems). • Synchronization: if you decide to stick with your own program or use an external providers program. dating will assist in showing you how long they stay with you or unsubscribe. make sure you can transfer or sync your data with your ESP. Category Description Use Examples Information your First name. • Applications galore: if you aren't sure where to start. emails messages advocates 217 . first place would be a simple database application (Microsoft Access has a great set of tools available) or through your Email Service Provider (ESP). Collecting Subscriber Information through Email There are a few types of information you can ask from prospective email list subscribers. you to know. VIP's. If a simple database with a few features will suffice then great. dress. Nothing like getting your hard earned work disappearing in seconds. remember to make sure that whatever program you are using will export the database to other programs. • Look into your list and extract: take the most useful information and reports. • Backups: always keep a copy of your database in a few private places. mo money. • Exportation: finally. coupon Behavioral how audience will subscribers into cat.
Excellent Customer Service. • Ask for info in regular emails. each with its own specific benefit so you can better understand your customers' needs. family Information you are sending relevant info. info.Reveals important Gender. you will need to provide them with a variety of questions. marital Personal info about person Used to send more status. if able to. provide them with: • Priority • Reserved tickets • Early bird access • First-to-know product information • Member-only discounts You need to provide them with an added benefit as they are providing more insight into themselves. This way everybody wins even though you may get additional winnings in the near future. which would quickly decrease their rate of answering or you can ask them questions and provide them with answers that would give you a more targeted response. Ease of Understanding? Some subscribers may only provide information if there is preferential treatment or a prize for providing you with information that others wouldn't provide. Collecting Subscriber Information through Website 218 . preferences info to. You can try to gather all this information at the start but more than likely this will not be the case. To better explain this we have provided an example below: • Open-ended question: "Why do you use our service?" • Closed-ended/Categoric-specific question: Which answer best describes your willingness to do business with us? Good Savings. • Use forms or links to site where they can browse or make purchases. • Use other medias for marketing as trust develops. In these situations you can. to do so you can do the following: • Send short relevant email surveys. You can ask them open ended questions which may take them longer to answer. In an effort to get to know your subscribers a little better. Knowledgeable Staff.
easy and highly effective. let them know the frequency and the information contained within. may be under "Contact Us" or "About Us" or even your last button. Now we aren't saying that every other button or link has to be an opportunity. but close to that. another approach is to essentially swap your readers with opportunities on your website. A person who is in the process of purchasing a product can select this check box and begin to receive emails. • Check boxes: this type of subscription method is usually added as a buffer. here is a list of a few places: • Every page of your website • Email signature • Blog/personal website • Banner ads or online advertising • Other websites • Non-competing friends emails • Online directories Collecting Subscriber Information Person 219 . Remember as discussed in the previous information. You will want to fiddle around with its location to determine.If you have a list already built up from users that have used your service but are looking for more. Simple. but it can be incorporated in less dramatic places. You will also want to make this visible and easy to follow through. that when a customer is going to receive emails. which gets you the most subscriptions. but don't make it stand out like a clown at a funeral. A few options you can look at increasing email subscription is listed below: • Text boxes: those little boxes that have the words "Enter your email" and have submit underneath the area where you enter your email address. • Text links: this type can be added to the bottom of each page or it can be added as part of your email signature. the only issue with this is that it doesn't stand out as much as the others. Those can either lead to a thank you page. • Buttons: a button placed alongside your other buttons. or a page requiring more information. This is also a very simple way to get subscriptions. These types of subscriptions can be employed pretty much anywhere.
• Train employees: if you have employees working for you then have them take down clientele information. but our recommendation is do it with finesse. You don't want to walk into a room and just start advertising yourself (although is has worked before and should only be done if appropriate). or gift card. Get their permission and let them know your intention. • Swap business cards: ask if their email address is on the business card they give you. and add a note letting potential subscribers. Collecting Subscriber Information with Print Using print may seem contradictory when it comes to an internet business. know what information they will receive. it will cost extra per year. Provide an additional benefit outside of your line of business such as a free haircut. • Buy a domain name: create an intuitive name for a website that would then link to your signup page. • Business card incentive: on the back of your business card you can add an incentive for registering for emails such as "save 10% or more". (who isn't interested in free stuff for an email address?) • Added value: this used together with the postcard example. to those that refer others and to 220 . Incentives for Signups Providing an incentive for readers to subscribe is a great way to show your appreciation to those that subscribe. but its whole purpose is to get those every important emails.There are rules out there when it comes down to collecting information from potential subscribers in person. and it only takes a few moments to do. but doesn't have to be too fancy and can be a few pages long. keep one in the car just in case. • Business card basket: if you're at a trade show or convention set up a basket. Here are a few ideas in helping you shine bright and not look out of place. Here are some useful pieces of information when it comes to print sources. • Postcards: send this out with an incentive to return it with their email address. You're paying their wages. but you would be surprised to find out how easy and effective it is when a person has something in their hand to remember you from. • Place a guestbook: this can be done at your store or office.
These incentives can also be provided to subscribers in two formats: • Immediate: free trials. may just be a financial mistake. Make sure that the list you do purchase has emails of individuals that are prepared to receive your emails and have given confirmed-permission. Our recommendation is to collect-where-you-connect.those remaining loyal to you. repeat buyers and referral increase. If this point of quality isn't met. This basically means that wherever you are already in contact with people. The subscriber would only get this information that you would provide advertising for after they have been with you for a time. Using an incentive provides you with two basic benefits: • Increased signups: if individuals feel they are going to get a benefit they will more likely give you information than if you weren't giving them anything in return. If you are using an ESP. but at the same time. VIP access. (ex. • Future: event access that only a member would have to already be subscribed to. it isn't a guarantee that it will pay off at the end. member-only info. 221 . reward points. They don't want to become known for allowing users to essentially spam people on the internet. in person. they may not allow you to use a purchased list . be it the internet. then be ready to have your emails overlooked. If you decide to continue with this route. Customer would get access to a 24-hour sale that would be upcoming in 6 months). or by mail. then make sure to proceed with caution. discounts. List Building with List Brokers List brokers are marketing companies that collect and sell contact information. • Increased loyalty: incentive rewards provides a benefit to subscribers and can cause loyalty. You may have a full list and send the information to the right demographic but end up with negative results. A few things to keep in mind when purchasing a list from a list broker: • Emails obtained: how and when was the email obtained and was explicit permission provided. develop your list through them. You already know who your customer base is and purchasing a list where you hope it will target your market. This route is a great way to get a large list. Also be prepared to pay anywhere from 10-30 cents per email address (this is for only one email sent).
make sure that your email provides a few options for signing up to receive more of your emails. Do you read every single word or do you tend to scan? Like most readers when it comes to foreign emails. You will create an email and then send it to the broker. Also be sure to have a link that will relate back to your website. These questions are essential in determining whether the list you are buying is going to be useful for you or whether its going to be just a waste of money. We will look at examples and ways to present an email and things to avoid when putting together all the components. email lists may be on sale only as a rental. you will tend to scan. This will generate traffic and can further help you with signups and website development. An email needs to be built in a way that will stop readers in their tracks and has them take steps with you. Section 4: How to Create an Effective Marketing Email This section we are going to be looking at the proper way in creating an effective email that will provide you with a brand and bring in the subscriptions you are looking for.• Permission confirmed: determine when permission was provided and how much time had passed from the date of confirmation and any other emails send to relate further info. Quality confirmed permission emails are hard to attain and thus. who then formats the email and then sends it to the list. The first step in creating the perfect email is having a proper header. Finally you will want to know whether the emails that you are looking at purchasing are emails you will get to see or not. • From address: this will be the address from which you are sending the email 222 . If this is the case. This is what you need to keep in mind when developing the email. Think of when you read an email. This means that you will be buying the use of the emails but you will never actually see the emails. If an email was gathered through the individual selecting a interest to car tuning is more useful than using an email from a person that bought a car part online (the purchase may have been bought as a gift). • Subscriber interests: finding out how the interests of the subscribers was determined is also very important. The information included in a header is listed below: • From line: this tells the recipient of your email whom the email is from.
To better understand this part of the email. A few things to include in you're "From" line will help identify you much easier: • Your name: if you are the only one in your business. be sure to leave the entire name as opposed to IBA. which is unique number that provides information from the server you are sending the information from. then use your domain name. If subscribers are able to relate to both. If you have a longer business name. then using both your name and business name will be more useful for your subscribers. "how is your audience most likely going to recognize you".Galaxy Travel) • Representative's name: if there are several representatives in your company that subscribers associate with. then use whichever one is easiest for customers to associate with. and then go ahead and create your "From" line with that information. • Location: if you are part of a large franchise. Galaxy Travel. then be sure to split your email addresses into separate lists by representative. such as Internet Business Academy.• Subject line: this is where you will enter your information regarding the email details • Email server address: this is the Internet protocol (IP) address. • Name and business name: if you are a representative of a large company. • Business name: if you are sure subscribers will remember you easier from your company name rather than your name. then be sure to have your business name. You will definitely want to be associated with a good ESP as this will impact your reputation as well. then your best option would be to add your business name as well as your location. If your website domain name 223 . we will analyze each segment in more depth. (ex. Seattle) • Website domain: if your customers are able to recognize you better with your website domain name over your name or business name. (ex. George Simmons . Filling Out the From Line Here you will want to ask yourself. there is already quite a bit of information presented to the subscriber. this may be the easiest way to have subscribers remember you. As you can see.
Completing a Subject Line This portion of the email gives the reader a hit as to the content within the email. Provide the benefits in the subject line and let them know what amazing results to expect. but if you have other ways that are successful then by all means stick with that route.com". One way to really get your point across is to copy the benefits of the product or service you are providing.uses abbreviations. then you're still best off using your business full name for clarity. Here are a few 224 . The most effective subject lines are those that prompt the audience to open the email and search for specific information.business. You are really trying to create a sense of urgency. Coming up with a good subject line is difficult seeing as how most programs only display 30-50 characters. There are a few options that you can follow through with but of course it is all dependent on how users associate with you best. These are great ways for readers to recognize you. Here are some examples of different emails for different situations.com".com" ◦ If you are sending coupons and that recognizes you better from your company name then you may be able to send them from "coupons@youcompanyname. ◦ If you are sending newsletters and are recognized by your name you may send an email from "newsletters@yourname. make sure that the information therein is honest and relevant to your business as it does need to be CAN-SPAM compliant. you may be able to use your email address in the From line. ◦ If you are sending and event invitation and your customers recognize you by a personal representative then your email should look like "event_invitation@repname. Also when placing information.com". This only allows a limited amount of information to be presented. initials or alternate spelling. making the customer want to open your email and see what the fuss is about. ◦ If you are sending an announcement and users recognize your website domain name then your best option may be "announcement@yourdomain. • Email address: in addition to using your name and business name. Any issues with the honesty of your emails may come back to you and end up in further issues.
and what you can do to make it sound more urgent. A way to really test whether your wording of urgency is doing it's job is to send out the same email with different subject lines. deceive or manipulate your emails. it's your product information. 225 . If you are getting more responses from one email than another. • Poor: What you need to know about investing • Better: What you need to know now about investing • Poor: Car Sale • Better: Car Sale – early entry information • Poor: Consultation invitation • Better: Last chance to register • Poor: Tips for remodeling your home • Better: Tomorrow's tips for remodeling your home today Clearly there are simple ways in changing your subject line from important to urgent and all you need is to think of a word or two that will help increase urgency. If you are a legitimate business. • Using RE: unless of course it's a real response to a previous email. if you are bothering readers with an email make it worth their time and yours. Make sure you are avoiding things that they are using as they will only make sure your emails get sent to the junk folder. Another very useful tactic in determining how to send out your emails is to double check your junk mail folders and see what they are doing. then you know how to send out the rest of the emails.examples of how a subject line may look like. • Vague Trickery: don't try tricking readers in clicking your emails by using openings such as "Hey" or "Check this out" or "Hi!" or "Personal Information". Remember you don't want to mislead. as per CAN-SPAM regulations. • Blank: don't leave the subject line blank. then there is no need to lie. • Excessive punctuation: !!!! or ???? • Symbols: dollar signs ($$$) or asterisk (***) • Capital letters: CLICK TO ORDER NOW • Recipients first name: clearly the reader is not the subject. wanting to get proper information about your products and services.
Have it positioned in the upper left or top centre of your email. you will want to make sure that your communications match your emails. If you are unsure on how to use HTML you will want to direct your concerns to your ESP. • Print and emails: if you are sending out offers via print sources. this will keep the person focused on what was in the offer and will be easier to recognize it. • Website and email colors: another way to determine which colors to use in your email is to look at the color patterns within your website. You also want to make sure that the design is memorable enough so that customers will not forget you even if you send less than frequent emails. be sure that your website has a similar if not exact design. In the position where readers are most likely to see it • Logo and email colors: be sure to use colors from your logo within your email. If that does not work then you will want to speak to a Web designer and have them create a custom look and feel for your emails. If you aren't sure which colors go well together then do a quick search on the internet for keyword "color-matching tools". Using more than two or three types of fonts will only further confuse a reader. 226 . • Website and email offers: if your email includes an offer with a specific design. To brand your email you are going to need to know how to use HTML. To really get the right design of email for your brand. All your communications that you send will need to convey your brand and provide readers with confidence in what you provide. This will keep a more consistency throughout your email. here are a few things to keep in mind: • Logo: make sure you have a logo added to your email.Branding Emails This is probably going to be the most fun part of your email development as you will be using graphic elements to give your business a unique and consistent identity. Branding helps your readers recognize you immediately and help differentiate your emails from the unfamiliar emails they receive. • Fonts and brand: consistent use of fonts throughout your email and separate communications will provide visual anchors. This provides a further integration within a subscriber's mind of your company and brand by reiterating the color scheme. once they are on your website. Again.
A good way to determine how someone reads their email is to run a few trials. You don't want to stray too far from the main design but don't want to have all the information with one design template.• Emails and business personality: your emails look and feel also needs to be consistent with the type of language you will be using. be sure to only make slight changes to the different topics. The tables below show how the majority of users scan emails. A heat map will take a look at your email or content and determines which areas are most likely to drawn attention. they will tend to use the layout as their guide on how to read the content. 12 34 13 227 .eyetools. A good way to figure out how a person will view your content is to separate your email into four quadrants. Once you've selected someone to write your emails for you. Basics of Email Layout When someone begins to read their emails. Using this program will help shed some light on how to design your emails. The main point you will want to keep in mind when creating your brand and developing your look and feel is consistency. For example if you are a seller of party supplies your email text may look childish or exciting something like this: "Party Supplies". To get a few examples take a look at: • www. or use a heat map. If you aren't very good at writing. let them know what type of feel you are striving for whether it be: ◦ Serious or comedic ◦ Formal or friendly ◦ Professional or casual. which many do not have time for. This program will help you when creating content and laying out the information in your emails.com Heat maps will use different components of your email such as colors and shading to determine which areas of an email will gather the most attention. Readers will be able to associate and remember you better if the emails they receive have emails with a consistent layout and design. look at using a copywriter. For those of you with multiple formats of emails.
This may be like making a purchase. make sure that the image is not overwhelming. that it is within the email or directs them to where you want them to perform the particular action. You don't want to add a large picture and have your important information be off the page. Make sure that if you are going to be adding a call to action. Here are a few pointers you should keep in mind when designing your email and also having the most important information in the upper left hand quadrant: • Brand display: you readers are going to be seeing this portion first so having your name. Email and Images 228 . logo and other brand-identifying information in this area will be most useful in helping your audience recognize you easier. (Making users scroll through your email will mean less views of what is really important – the content). • Main headline: adding a main headline won't be only in the upper left hand area. links and graphics. • Next quadrant: once you have made your statement or got their attention. so you will want to make sure that your most important content is in that area of your email. • Strong visual anchors: visual anchors are such things as icons. images. your next step is to show them where to look next. These will help reinforce your readers view of your most important information. but it will grab their attention and having them read your headliner will again provide the recognition you will want.24 Figure 1-1 Figure 1-2 As you can see. bullets. a call to action is a statement asking the reader to do something specific or immediately. the upper left quadrant is the area in which most attention is given to. If there is further information be sure to use navigation links to show them where to read further. • Image sizes: if you are going to be adding an image in the upper left hand quadrant. clicking a link or calling for service. • Email's call to action: as discussed in previous sections.
which directs images stored on a public folder. If you are using your personal pictures or ones you have paid for online. then this resolution is perfect. There are three formats that are the best for most email browsers. If they are likely to print the material then 300 dpi or higher is better. ◦ PNG (Portable Network Graphics): similar to GIF but displays colors more efficiently. you will want to: ▪ Reduce dimension: smaller picture equals less space and less load time. This information is determined by a number and measured in kilobytes (K). Images of less than 50K will be easier to view and load much faster. This will also be your way in providing customers with strong visual cues and help communicate your message better. ◦ GIF (Graphic Interchange Format): this is well suited for images with few colors. Some key elements you will want to make sure that your picture contains is the following: • Browser compliant pictures: an image will be created in a format of which will determine the amount of space that picture will take. To use pictures effectively. 229 . ◦ File size: the size of the file refers to the amount of data your image will use. When adding pictures to your emails you need to make sure that the file you will be using is email compliant. It is also important when adding pictures to remember not to embed or add the pictures as attachments. It is important to remember that although adding pictures is essential to a well-designed email. More dots per inch means a higher quality image. If your readers are going to be viewing the material online. A solution for this is to use an image reference point. ▪ Reduce resolution: 72 dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch) is the best for quality while proportionate to loading time.Images can help make your message stand out loud and clear. This will usually send your email to the junk folder. it does need to be added in proper format so as to allow for all computers with different email browsers to view the content. you will want to make sure that the file can be read by email browsers. ◦ JPG or JPEG (Joint Pictures Expert Group): is the standard for internet and email pictures.
it must be noted that for readers to view your content. then words will provide the missing information. Plain text will seem boring and look unprofessional. you will want to speak to your ESP or acquire the assistance of a web designer.This will require some minor HTML work. At the opposite end of the spectrum. Regular users do not usually go out of their way to update their fonts. • Headline: this will usually be 2 to 4 points larger than your paragraph text and help entice users to continue reading. • Links: this will allows your readers to click on keywords or phrases. Emails and Text The use of text within an email should be no surprise. To do this you will want to place links in the email. too many pictures and HTML can get cluttered. If you are using HTML fonts. (Remember: use sparingly). Emails and Links Once you have created your email design and figured out what information it will contain. but if those viewing your pictures aren't getting the full message. and if you are using one unavailable to them. What you will want to do is to have a combination of text within the email to truly get your message across. A picture may be worth a thousand words. The main components required are listed below. and give your email an overall feeling. but is the way in which your information with be viewed. You will want to add text but within a HTML design format. • Paragraphs: this will provide the important information you are attempting to relay. you need to provide users with a way in taking action or performing some sort of transaction with you. • Fonts: this isn't necessarily its own segment within the email. then that content will not be visible. if you are unsure. This will provide emphasis on words. This will provide reasons for purchasing products from you or buying a service you may provide. it must be available on their computers. The use of links will allow users to: • Visit pages: you can direct them to specific pages that you want them to view • Download: customers can download files or any additional information not in the email • Ordering: allowing users to gain access to your shopping page 230 . brand your emails. directing them to perform a desired task.
These are clickable words or phrases.mywebsite. then making that text the link will provide you with better results than "Click Here" text.com>Insert Link Text Here</a> Most ESP's and email applications have the user-friendly ability of selecting particular text and adding a link to the text. ◦ if the link is going to download a file then add the type of file in parentheses: "More Information on Our Services (PDF)". ◦ if the link is taking a user to your website and they have to scroll through the information. ◦ Name links for analysis: you will want to create links that provide you with some feedback as to what the reader is interested in. To assess this we are going to provide you with a few pointers in creating proper names for the links. One critical part of text links that is mostly overlooked is choosing the appropriate words for the link. then having a "Click for More" link won't 231 . let them know what to expect: "Details on website/blog (scroll to bottom of page)". The first type of links we will look at are text links. • Name links naturally: name the link in a way that will tell users what they will get. If your email provides information on car repair of classic cars.• Skipping: users can skip through the different pages in your email without having to scroll through all the content available. ◦ Name links from content: use links that are contained within your body text. ◦ if your link is going to link to an email address then you will want to make sure to include your email in the link such as: "Contact Us at support@yourcompanydomain. Of course we are using computers. If your information provides renewal options for car insurance. A simple link to a website will look something like the following: • <a href=http://www. ◦ if you are going to have a link that requires customers to perform additional clicks or actions after their initial selection. Doing this would only require you to enter such basic information as the website address and the name of the link. then you will want to name the link providing the first step: "Read step 2 for submitting ticket purchases". which results in a particular action when a user clicks on them.com". so be ready to use a little bit of HTML.
232 . Clicking the logo will bring you to the main page of the website. will make the reader that much more interested. Go ahead. • Link to images: if you are trying to conserve space and load time by having smaller pictures. you can link the picture so that it takes you to the original size image.provide any further information on the reader. they should have an idea as to where they are going to be directed to. Having a "Go to Site" link doesn't provide a benefit and reduces interest. If you need to add a table of contents. try and avoid a table of contents if at all possible. usually at the top of the email and contains the headlines of your content. • Logos to website: this should be a given as many websites are designed this way as well. Another great way to set up links in your emails is to have image links. Here are some key elements to help make your image links more effective: • Make image links naturally: When a user sees the picture. This is a group of links. You may also be interested in adding a table of contents. you'll want to speak to a web designer. Here's an example of a better way: ▪ Shop at our site and receive free shipping. Here is something how your link should look like: ▪ Restoring your 1967 Mustang? Discover more efficient alternatives to fiberglass. Another form of link you can have is navigation links. ▪ Name links with benefits: telling the user that there will be some sort of benefit for clicking your link. 15% off and a complimentary company mug. Remember to let users know that they will be directed to a better or larger copy of the image. make sure the information you are providing to users is useful and not just rambling. Try to only use it when you have a lot of information. There is some additional programming required and so you're lost as to how to do that. try out other websites and see how their logo brings you to the homepage of their website. A user can click one of the links and be directed to the specific information. These allow users to click a link which takes them to a part of the email that they can't see immediately and also provides them with a way of skipping through the email instead of scrolling. Customers can click on a picture and it will bring them to your desired location. Although these may be a great way to organize your information.
Table of contents should help you viewers read your content. Section 5: How to Create Valuable Email Content As your list grows. Although there are great benefits of video. not distract them. • Keep above scroll line: your table of contents should be kept above the scroll line. These can be great tools for providing content while the customer is running errands or performing other duties. You can provide links to video content which enables a visual element for better selling techniques.Some tips in helping you create a table of contents is below: • Heading: just like your body texts have headlines. A link is added to your email and provides a direct link to your website and content. This information can also be hosted on your website as a podcast. or the point where the user needs to scroll down to continue reading your content. Finally you can also provide links to Portable Document Format files (PDFs). Try and avoid being clever with headlines as they may only confuse your readers. although sending emails with attachments can result in having it sent to the junk folder. it becomes difficult to email a full video. The general concept involves copying the link of the website with the content and then adding that link within the email. If your headline for your paragraph is "Top 10 ways in dealing with stress and anxiety" can be added to a table of contents as "Top 10 ways…". Another method to deliver your message is through audio or sound files. As an alternative you can embed a screen-short picture of the video. You can add the same headline from the body text but just truncate the information if it is too long. Customers will not be comfortable with receiving frequent emails that either provide little to no valuable content or emails only highlighting your special qualities. remember to provide information to the readers as to what they should expect on clicking the link. so should your table of contents. • Short headlines: keep the headlines short but to the point. 233 . To avoid such situations you can create links within the content of your emails. • Clear headlines: links should provide users with clear information as to what they will see. Also by providing the link. you begin to wonder what a subscriber will expect from you. Email has the opportunity to provide readers with extensive information.
take a look at some of steps you can take to make your sales. • Promotional content: this type of email would be sent as a way of promoting a new product or service. Valuable Offers Offers can range from promotional emails to gather interest. there still needs to be a strong call to action. ◦ digital photos can be taken using a digital camera and can demonstrate your services to customers. you will need to provide some value offers. images and headlines. A strong call to action does not mean that an individual will make a purchase. ◦ check emails for clues as to what customers are interested in seeing from you. ◦ manufacturers content for your products can provide you with descriptions. Two types of values need to be given to a customer when sending an email. To help subscribers become interested in a product or service you may have. ◦ Coupon cashing: coupons have usually come in print form and redeemed in person. As you provide answers to customers. ◦ testimonials can also be productive in the sense that you can allow customers to provide you with stories of their experiences.Repetitive emails providing nothing of importance will begin to bore the subscriber which translates to low levels of emails being opened. To better demonstrate sending valuable offers. Here are a few key elements that will assist when creating this type of email. Also make sure that you have permission to use the testimonials. a call to action can be a request for the customer to consider a product or become aware of a new service. This can be very useful as it is a powerful tool for motivating customers to take action. Today's coupons are also 234 . which prompts the reader to help meet your goals. keep track of your responses as they can be used to help promote your products and services. But as good as these values may be. ◦ customers descriptions can be provided from those who are using your products or services. loss of clicks and ultimately leading to unsubscribing requests. One of which is an offer that is valuable with the proper actions taken and the second of which is an inherent value or value in and of itself. to giveaways of complimentary products or services to entice the individual to make a purchase.
If you don't have a store then it can give the feeling of a coupon which can motivate purchases to be made. ▪ Incentives and giveaways: incentives are used as a way to try and gather information as to what customers are interested in and what they are willing to purchase. ▪ NOTE: you may also be able to add a dotted line border to the coupon which can later be printed of and used in store. ▪ codes are entered when using an online store to purchase a product or service ▪ links that are included special codes which would apply a discount to a product once added to the shopping cart. A giveaway on the other hand would be provided to a select amount of individuals and entice the customer to do the following: ▪ share information with you such as more personal information and interests ▪ respond to questionnaires and surveys you may have 235 . make sure to add a coupon number or a disclaimer. Here are a few formats in which coupons may be seen: ▪ HTML designed and printable these can be seen on websites and through emails for a real. Even if you have a few subscribers.provided online. ▪ NOTE: this is especially important as you may not realize how quickly a coupon can spread. Even with the disclaimer. the readers you do have may pass the coupon on to their friends who may be interested in your products. Dates and codes can help lower your occurrence of any issues. making your readers aware of the one coupon per person rule. you may want to take a look at the financial loss you may incur if someone does try and abuse your offer. in-person type store. If you are truly content on keeping your coupon usage to a limit amount of readers. An example of an incentive would be a savings or some type of additional privilege.
Effective Calls to Action If you are sending emails to customers on a irregular basis customers may forget you. Another method is to instill a sense of urgency in your readers. Easiest and cheapest form of marketing) ▪ Loss leaders and urgent offers: a loss leader or bait-and-catch design is where you are discounting your product or service substantially to gain new customers or sales that is more profitable. This is a great way to acquire customers that are interested in your product but not ready to invest just yet.▪ forward your information and emails to friends or family. If you are sending emails to customers on a frequent schedule they may become irritated and unsubscribe or not consider your information valuable. • Complete this form • Sign up now • Print this email • Make this purchase • Visit our website • Register online • Visit our location • Save this email 236 . To avoid such situations you are going to need to use a call to action. (word of mouth marketing. Everything you want the user to do must be stated and sometimes the only way to do this is to be blunt or straight forward. Customers are going to be more perceptive to offers that are only available for a limited amount of time. We consider this as stale. To avoid such uninteresting calls to action we have added a list of calls to action that are strong and clear in providing direction to customers. This can range from opening your email to making a purchase. we are sure you have seen generic calls to action such as "Click Here" or "Call Now". A call to action is a statement that motivates the readers to perform a certain action. It is also important to remember that when used sparingly it is more effective than used on a frequent basis. boring and repetitive. By now after using the internet.
Readers are more appreciative of emails with information based on your knowledge and experience rather than emails with offers. try and think of what you want your customer to do. There is such an array of information available on the internet that having your users find exactly what you what them to find. The next portions of information will detail how to create inherent material or how to combine it with various offers. By aggregating information. You are asking the customer to act in a particular way. Providing readers with content that is inherently valuable is simple if you have something worth saying. • Informative content: when you are looking to provide readers with educational material then naturally you will be looking at adding direct facts and data possibly combined with expert opinions.• Purchase this item • Call for information • Forward your email • Find us now • Make an appointment • Order product now • Call us now • Purchase product now • Register for information • Call for service This gives you a sort of idea as to what you want to your readers to do. This can be difficult but with practice and knowing what you want customers to do before hand will help make things easier. Here is an example: • Purchase this great item online before Thursday and receive a 20% discount. you are gathering stories or reports from others and providing that knowledge to your readers. Then combine an action word with the event that you want to happen. Here are some ideas for you to use when creating an informative email. As you can see we have our action words and our information words. There has to be a benefit of opening your email in the first place. From there you can add words to provide the location. (Make sure you have permission to use the information 237 . ◦ Aggregating information is the process by which one collects information. a sense of urgency and an adjective. To create your own call to action. will be very difficult. The examples provided above are just your starting point.
238 . Interviewing an expert in your field is a great way to provide some relevant and motivating content. This is also a great way in increasing the amount of views to your website. presenting the opinions of an expert can again draw further attention to your email and website. ▪ Answering customer questions or concerns is another great way to develop loyalty with your readers. ▪ Don't be afraid to share your opinions with customers. You can have one of your customers provide information about your product or service. This way you don't have to gather evidence and permission from other websites. Here are some ideas for your tips. ▪ Also do not be afraid of sharing others opinions. If you are considered as just another website. this will increase the likelihood of developing loyalty. tricks and advice content: ▪ Start a newsletter that provides information content in a fun and easy to read format. or provide information on how to change your oil. and provide that content through your emails.◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ before posting to your site. Story telling is another great way to provide content. If your readers are aware of your concerns and have similar beliefs. ▪ Try adding one tip or trick in your promotional emails. You are summarizing content from other websites or magazines in your own words with your opinion. an experienced mechanic may provide information on how to extend the life of your tires. Providing a link back to that persons website will reduce any issues with using that content). You will of course have to ask for permission but experts from the field are sure ways in gathering attention. tricks and advice: providing some form of guidance is a great way to develop trust with you clients. Increases length of time spent on the website as well. Tips. Provide opinions to your readers. You can also add a link to your archives where the remainder of your tips are stored. For example. You can find someone within your field that is recognized as an expert.
▪ Telling a story of a customer's experience may make the reader laugh and also helps remember your products or services. ▪ Including links in your emails to videos or other similar content. then including this information within your emails is another great way to provide useful content. You can call it "Reader Submitted Tips" or "Tips by Readers". if you require further assistance. You may also be interested in adding facts or research from other sources such as the internet or books and magazines. you may add stories of your travels abroad.Within your email. ▪ If there are steps that may be used for reference. (Remember to get permission to use their stories in your emails). ▪ As mentioned above. make sure to add them to your emails and remind readers to save them. you can add one step within your emails. If you are a food critic. ▪ Entertaining content: if your readers value a good laugh or enjoy a good story then adding some of this content will help make readers interested in your emails. dedicate an area where readers can ask you questions. (Remember again to get permission from website or video owners) ▪ Writing your own stories is also a great way to convey a message to your readers. ▪ Having customers submit tips or tricks can be used as a section in your email. ▪ Fact and research: you can perform your own research and present that information in your emails. ▪ Instructions and directions: if your products require customers to follow certain steps. These are great ways in developing great content for your emails. then you may want to speak to marketing 239 .
▪ The open rate is calculated by dividing the tracked opens by non-bounced total. and 35 are tracked 240 . You will need to have extensive knowledge of HTML and database programming to track emails. Section 6: Tracking Your Results with Email Marketing A great reason to use emails for promotions and contact is the ability to track the emails. To calculate this rate. if 85 of your 100 emails are not bounced. ◦ Note: it is important to remember that your non-bounced rate is not the exact amount of emails that is received by readers as some emails might be blocked or not received that is not due to the server. then your total non-bounced rate is 85. For example. you take the amount of emails sent and subtract total bounced emails. Here are a few examples of what you might expect in one of those reports: • Emails bounced • Why emails bounced • Who opened the emails • Links clicked • Unsubscribers • Emails forwarded There are a few calculations that you can make to determine these. So again if your total emails sent is 100 and 15 of them bounced.companies or content providers. then your bounce rate would be 0. If your emails sent is 100 and your bounce rate was 15 of them. but if you don't then you will want to speak to your ESP. This may be a great way to get things done if you are on a tight schedule or if you are just looking for help.15 or 15%. • Non-bounce rate total: this is the amount of emails that are sent to the reader and not bounced by the server. Email tracking reports are a great way to determine how your email campaign is going. Here are a few important figures you will need to know as they will explain your readers usage: • Bounce rate: is the rate of emails that bounced or did not get delivered. ◦ Open rate: the open rate is when someone opens an email but also when one of two things happen: ▪ When the recipient enables the images in preview pane or full display or the recipient clicks the link within the email.
to ensure that open tracking is possible. Next you want to take the number of tracked opens and divide by total unique clicks. • Note: your number of click-through rate will never exceed the number of tracked opens. this requires a few additional steps listed below: ▪ To find out this number. Try to do a monthly count as a daily count may be too minor. This might be used to determine sales. ◦ Ask your email recipients to mention your email when they visit your location.12 or 12% click-through rate per open. the amount of clicks in your email are divided by the number of emails opened. Customers can't click links if not opened. Some information cannot be tracked through click rates but requires a different form of tracking. ▪ Click-through rate: this is the number that is from unique individuals clicking on the links within your email.as opened. For example. Also this only present your with unique clicks. If your email contains 4 links and received multiple clicks from 20 users user. ▪ Note: for those that are sending out text-only emails. but most email tracking reports do provide reports on how many clicks each user selected and which links were clicked. • In-store purchases: if you are looking at converting internet users into in-store purchasers then you will need to somehow track those individuals. you want to subtract 20 from the total amount of clicks. You can also provide an incentive or 241 . if you have 50 tracked as open and 6 unique clicks. you will not get these emails tracked until the reader replies. You want to make sure that your ESP adds a blank image in every email. Below we will take a look at a few examples that don't require tracking of clicking. You can keep a booklet set aside to keep track of the mentions. attendance or responses. To determine this figure. your email received 0. then the amount of received emails is 0.41 or 41%. Here are a few ways to do this: ◦ Have the email audience print the email and bring it along with them if they decide to come to your location.
If they reply from the email. then you will want to make sure to note that information down. ▪ You can also ask customers how they found your number. and count each call related to a promotion or service. ▪ If the invitees do not want to bring the email. ▪ You may add a note within the email regarding who recipients should speak with. then here are some useful ways in keeping track of those callers. ▪ Just like those trying to generate in –store purchases have callers mention your email. If you sent out an email regarding "Registration due today" and 242 . you can have guests preregister or reply to your email. then you will know that is a call related to your email. ◦ Promoting products or services can also be used to track customers.gift to mention your email. you may ask about the email. Smith. ▪ Email replies: the easiest way to track emails is well through your email. ◦ When customers enter your store. ▪ If you are looking at a way to count the number of people attending prior to the event. This can be done even if they aren't purchasing anything. then have them mention the email to you at the event. This can be done by you or your employees and kept be kept track of in your booklet. If a customer enters your store in search of that particular offer then your know they have received your email. You will want to count the emails after the event. ▪ Setting up a special phone number for calls related directly to your emails. here are few ways to help you keep track of them: ▪ Ask subscribers to bring the email invitation to the event. ◦ Phone calls: if you are looking at increasing your telephone traffic. ▪ Event attendance: if you are trying to determine how many email recipients you will have at your event. Whenever a call comes in for say Mr.
This will help you determine why they are replying and whether there were any concerns or questions they may have had. they would create a generic email and make minor adjustments for the two different categories. Once you have sent out information to the readers. Using this form of data you may be able to: ◦ Create a database for those individuals. you want to make sure that your call to action remains the same. There are two components here that you want to keep track of here. This will be a great opportunity to speak to the customer 243 . ▪ Keep track of the reply. You may also want to keep track of the result or solution for the reply. received 150 link clicks for hot rod parts. ◦ You will be able to create interest targeted emails to groups of viewers. then you can clearly see what they are responding to. you will begin to accumulate usage data through your link-tracking codes.received an email back with "RE: Registration due today" in the subject line of the email. For example. if the car parts store knew that they had viewers interested in hot rods parts and other interested in import car parts. • Targeted email offers: if someone were to own a car parts store and from their email. Your offers may be different. You will then send more targeted email information to those specifically interested in a particular segment in your business. ◦ Once you have discovered the different categories of interests. they would be safe to assume those individuals are interested in hot rod parts. while one group receives a coupon the other receives a discount. There are different ways in which you can use this data to help determine what steps you will need to take next. you can change your offers specific to the group. ◦ Follow ups: following up with your clients is a great way to develop your understanding of how users interpret your email and provide you with more personal information. The list below is an example of how you can use click-through data for email development. ▪ Keep track of your reply and any further replies thereafter.
▪ Then you will want to create two editions of your email and send it out to your subscribers. you can send a thank you card which makes a perfect transition to another offer for an alternative product. etc. ▪ Testing: this will be essential in providing you with insight to clients reaction of your email layout and content. ▪ To run a successful test. You can also find out why they may have decided not to go through with the purchase. ▪ This can allow you an opportunity to call and speak to the customer. 244 . ▪ Following up with customers can provide you with an opportunity to send a survey. Determine what reasons they had for leaving your business. you will want to randomly select a percent of your email subscribers (10 to 15%) and separate them into a new category in your database. ▪ Finally you can use the follow up to get in touch with your clients that may have unsubscribed. ▪ Once you have determined the email with the highest rate of return (clicks. ▪ This will be a great way to make a second offer to customers that may have clicked your purchase link but didn't continue with the transaction. ▪ For those that did click your link. Here are some pieces of information regarding follow ups with your customers. Here are a few ways to run testing with your subscribers and you don't even have to tell them that you're doing anything. ▪ You will want to wait approximately 48 hours or until you are sure your clients have received the email. This can help gather vital data in their experience with your email.). Find out more about your clients and provide any answers for questions they may have. Then you will want to record the amount of link clicks and usage.and collect information such as telephone numbers and home mailing addresses. purchases. ▪ You can thank your subscribers who may have helped gain you leads or new subscribers.
We also hate to receive boring. Email is very similar in nature. After several tests.send that email to the remainder of your email list. ◦ If you have misspelled the email address. ads or those political ad pamphlets. irritating or expensive mail. Then we will take a look at blocked emails and ways to avoid having your emails blocked. such as a monthly magazine subscription. We all love to receive fun and exciting mail. When an email is sent to a recipient but then returned to the sender this is called a bounced email. This is usually caused due to a technical issue and is 245 . You can also provide a link where a customer is able to update their information if it has changed. Such examples may be due to misspelling of the email or due to unused of email. Section 7: Increasing Your Emails Deliverability Mail has always been somewhat of a love/hate relationship. ◦ Soft bounces: this type of bounce happens when an email is unable to be sent due to a reason that is temporary in nature. • Hard bounces: this is a type of bounce which happened due to a specific and fixed condition. the clear solution is to fix it before sending another email out. but the difference is the ability to block certain content. Because an email can be bounced for different reasons. We will first take a look at different types of bounced emails and ways of dealing with them. ▪ Final step is to wait for results. we will take a look at the categories separately. A bounced email may be due to the server or by the email program. such as bills. (Remember practice does not make perfection but it does bring you closer to your clients needs). ◦ A way to deal with this is to send an email every third month informing the client that their email is registered to your mailing list. In this section we will take a look at ways at maximizing the deliverability of emails and minimizing the rate of bounced or blocked emails. If you are doing this properly and often. you will also become better at designing your links and proper wording to attract attention. you will begin to see a dramatic increase in activity and will provide you further information about your subscribers usage.
These reasons may be temporary or fixed in nature and is a response done by the server or application. The best option is to wait until the matter is resolved or until you are to send out your next email campaign. allowing it to be passed onto the recipient. To avoid these situations. If you are sending out emails that are receiving spam complaints on a continual basis your email may be added to that list. Browsing the web is not a good way to get more clients. remove them from your database (it is most likely a spam trap). Usually these lists of emails are gathered without consent and may contain spam traps. These are all issues that are out of the senders hands. try sending a introduction email to your readers. ▪ A server that is performing the transaction of emails is currently down. At this point the sender would authenticate the email. Emails that are not being received by the sender and not due to any of the reasons mentioned above are due to blocking. ◦ Try to avoid purchasing a list of emails. The application returns unrecognized emails to the sender who then needs to authenticate that they are human. • Avoiding spam lists: this is a list that all senders should try and avoid. • Spam traps: spam traps are essentially email addresses that are trapped and sent to a block list. ◦ If you have just gathered a list of new subscribers. here are a few things that you may encounter and ways to avoid getting blocked. A few things to remember when avoiding these spam traps are: ◦ Don't steal or collect emails of the internet. If you receive an email back from particular emails.not something that can be controlled by the sender. This is used to avoid inbox's being flooded by programs designed to send out spam. If you send an email to any of the spam trap address you ability to send any further emails to anyone will be nonexistent. • Challenge response authentication: this is an application thats generated by a third-party that works alongside the email application. It is also known as the blacklist. ▪ The software used by the recipient cannot accept the email. A few examples of soft bounces are: ▪ Recipients' mailbox is full. 246 .
Now that we have taken a look at bounced and blocked emails. An email filter is designed by the system administrators of the email programs. If that email is unblocked. Trying to bypass these applications are very tricky as anyone using one can set the parameters to block any emails with a certain type of content or words in subject headings or any other settings they desire. you just got one more person to read your content. while the other is not. • Establish a reputation: having a reputable name behind your email address will increase the likelihood of your email being delivered. your email just may get through. Here are some things to look for when choosing your ESP: 247 . Because your email server is mostly unknown. we will take a look at another program which stops a recipient from receiving your emails. Here are some ways that may help your emails get around these firewalls: ▪ Having your subscribers add you to their contacts list may improve your rate of deliverability. An email may be filtered due to words that are contained within the email or even done so by mistake. You will have to change the way you deliver your email to these individuals. may be blocked like the rest. if you are listed as a contact person. This program is called an email filter. Speaking to the IT professional at your subscriber's place of work and having them add you to their allowed sender list will provide you with access to their work email. notifying them that the email has not been sent. The difference here is that an email filter does not send an email back to the sender. To understand and avoid your emails being filtered we will take a more in-depth look at email filtering. ▪ Speak to your subscribers and determine if there is an alternate email address that you could send information to. ▪ This next step might prove a bit difficult but if possible it will allow your readers access to your content even at work. Even though your email may be considered spam.◦ Firewalls: are applications which are designed to filter out spam emails to a high degree. It may be that one email is blocked by firewall. you will want to deliver your emails through a respected and well-known ESP. There are spam emails that are created to look like real emails and if your email has similar qualities.
Listed below are a few ways to avoid being considered as spam: ▪ Watch what you use for information entered in the subject line. email address or first and last name. Using the subscribers name in the subject line is a sure fire way to get you filtered. they will consider your email as spam ▪ Place some information in the from line. This shows that they are interested in keeping a good name for their company and at the same time providing you with a quality name provider.◦ make sure they can provide you with authentication for your email. ▪ Try not to use excessive symbols and punctuations. ◦ ESPs that control their content being sent out by customers is also necessary. This will enable servers to identify you as the sender. whichever the subscriber identifies most with. ◦ Automatic filtering: there is the possibility that emails may be filtered due to system administrators. ◦ ESPs should allow you to remove customers with high spam complaints. They will want to make sure that your contacts are valid and have provided your permission to send them emails. ◦ User controlled filtering: this is a setting that is controlled by the user. This can range from exclamation marks (!!!!!) or 248 . It is safe to say that there is only a small percentage of individuals that are affected. If they don't know you and you have their first name. the ESP should assess the situation and determine the necessary action that needs to be taken ◦ ESP will require quality email lists before sending out emails. Most filters will block your email if there is no from information. There are certain specifications that a user can control in a means to provide additional filtering control. Here you can add your company name. so best thing to do is hope you aren't part of that small percentage. If a complaint is made. Global parameters are set in place and if affected there isn't much you can do for this unless of course you know the IT professional.
but will either be interpreted as yelling. 249 . there is a high likelihood of deletion or filtering.dollar symbols ($$$) or any other types such as those mentioned. They are unfamiliar with the email address and the content. It is easy misunderstood as spam. which is never good. This is a great tool for users to filter content but not so great for your emails. There is no need to use all capitals as it will draw attention. ▪ The use of ALL CAPITALS is another great way to be filtered as spam. unfortunately your email will be filtered out. clicks or additional subscriptions. A few things to keep in mind that technology is constantly changing and updating and can prove beneficial for your needs. ▪ Self-learning filters: these are the type of filters that are set at a broad parameter and are self updated as the user interacts with his email. If the application considers a certain word to be associated with spam. The ultimate goal is to get your email content out to your readers and provide you with additional benefits such as sales. You will want to keep updating yourself with new technologies that ESPs are providing. and your email contains that word. ▪ Emails that have attachments and are considered for marketing use will also scare the reader. or just plain old spam. which in turn results in more of your emails either getting through the filters or running into road blocks. It is important to keep authentication in mind when sending emails to your subscribers.
Understanding What Can and Can't Be Done With Web Analytics Before we go into the details of web analytics and the traffic reports they provide. it's important that you know exactly what it can and can't do. What Analytics Can Do 250 . You should know exactly how this data relates to your KPIs (key performance indicators ex.). We'll take a look at the data Google Analytics keeps an eye on and how to use that information in an effective manner. leads etc. Entire books can be written on web analytics so this course will just cover the most essential and practical applications of the data. There are many programs and companies that offer web analytics capabilities but this course will only focus on Google Analytics (the best option out there for most people).Course #15 The Essentials of Web Analytics By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 15: Guide to Web Analytics Section 1: Getting Started With Web Analytics Web analytic programs keep track of all the traffic your website receives which can then be used to see what your users are doing. sales.
you'll have a better understanding of what keywords to focus on. If you see that people are leaving at the registration page… you'll want to either remove it or make it easier for users. Privacy There are many ways to learn more about your users. • Knowing which of your ads. there are many ways in which the information provided will be skewed. and other marketing pieces brought in the most traffic. you'll be able to: • Understand what your visitors are interested in by knowing which pages are most viewed. Google Analytics does not: • Let you know the demographics or your users. • Provide you with the identity of the users (it's all anonymous).Google analytics can provide you with the following information and much more: • The most popular pages on your website. but only with the user's permission. • Determine the location of the users (accurately). 251 . emails. What Analytics Can't Do For You There are strict laws in regards to privacy that prevent Google Analytics from collecting certain information. • The keywords that a visitor used in Google to find you. • Figure out where users are leaving your site during the shopping cart process. • Tracking conversion goals. • Provide 100% accurate information. • The average amount of time a person spends on your website. • Better focus your advertising efforts since your know which sources are driving the most traffic. • By understanding what paid ads (like Google AdWords) had the best ROI. • E-commerce sales tracking. • The number of people that visit your site. • Which websites your visitors are coming from. Google Analytics will let you know what regions traffic is coming from but not exact addresses. From the information you get with Google analytics.
To avoid any problems with the law: • Provide a clear privacy policy on your site that explains what information you collect and what you do with it. • You must be able to protect the information you collect from users. The tools that use the log file information have to go through thousands of lines of code to retrieve and make sense of the useful data. Log Files Log files are made by your websites server. typically to deal with any problems that may arise. • Sharing analytics data is only allowed if you have permission from the user. If you decide to collect more information on your users. • Retrieving and analyzing data from both log files and JavaScript codes. The information must be kept private unless permission is granted from the users. • Where they came from. The information provided by the users was consensual. Log files collect information such as: • When the visitor arrived.FaceBook users can add lots of information to their profiles which is then used for better ad placement on the part of FaceBook. Log files tend to sometimes provide faulty information since not all analytic tools are able to understand some aspect of the log files. There are strict laws regarding internet privacy and the penalties can be steep. you must let the users know about it and get their consent before you do it. • Retrieving data from JavaScript programs. • Where they went on your website. interests and habit can be extremely valuable since you'll better be able to place ads for them. Always ask before collecting sensitive data. 252 . It must be done with permission. How Reporting Tools Work Google analytics and other reporting tools collect the information in 3 possible ways: • Analyzing server log files. • Sometimes they provide info on when the user left the website. Collecting information such as demographics.
Find the search query attribute in the address bar of your website (typically q= or search=). To set up your site search function in Google do the following: 1. Save Changes. Creating an Account with Google Analytics Google Analytics provides a very easy method to start tracking your websites traffic. Servers can be set up to record more data but it requires a technical expertise that we won't go into here. Click the edit button next to your website. 5. It should be next to the Main Website Profile Information button. Tracking Searches While you're setting up your Google Analytics account. Copy the search query attribute and place it into the Query Parameter field in Google Analytics.• IP addresses • Referring cookie file info • HTTP status code At the very least your server should be recording the basic information. 3. you might as well set up the extra features they have. 2. Select the "Do Track Site Search radio" button. It will probably look like this: • (http://www. 6. Click the edit button at the very top of the page. Log into your Google Analytics account. Do a search for "pickaword" in the search field on your website.com/(random string of numbers and letters)&q=pickaword&(more random letters and numbers) 1.yourwebsite. It will take about 24 hours before you'll see any actual data in Google Analytics. For the most part setting up Google Analytics is very easy as they provide all the info you need to start up. Excluding IP Addresses From Google Analytics 254 . Go to your website in a separate browser window or tab. 7. 4. Google will ask you to place a code in the footer section of your website. After you register your account. 2. One such feature is the search tracking tool that will allow you to see what's being searched for on your site and when it's being done.
Hits Aren't Everything It's important to know exactly what a "hit" is. Follow these steps to add a filter: 1. It's very easy to come to conclusions when looking at your metrics. Tracking the hits your website receives is not important. It's important that you understand what the metrics mean and doesn't mean. A simple website with very few images will get less hits then a website with many images. your own traffic will screw the results of your analytics tools. The Most Important Traffic Metrics 255 . 3. Name the filter and under "Filter Type". Click the Edit button next to your Website. keep in mind that the numbers can mean many things and that it's very easy for the numbers to become skewed. Hits don't mean much in terms of traffic or marketing so don't even bother to look at this metric. Select the "Add Filter for Profile" option. 6. Every time an image or file is loaded it's considered a hit and therefore the more files you have on a single page the more hits that page will get per visitor. It's important that you exclude your IP address and the other computers who work on your site from Google Analytics. Enter the IPs that needs to be filtered. To do this you need to add a filter to your website in Google Analytics that will ignore traffic coming from your computer.If you're working on your website often. Log into your Google Analytics Account. Click the "Add Filter" button under "Filters Applied to Profile". Section 2: Keeping Track Of Your Internet Businesses Traffic In this section we cover the main metrics that are used to understand your sites traffic. unless you want to examine server loads and page load times. 2. 4. 5. A hit occurs when a file is being requested from the server. We mostly cover the metrics used by Google Analytics since it's the most widely used program. select "Exclude All Traffic from an IP Address".
If you have lots of visits but only a few unique visitors… you know that those people like going back to your site on a regular basis. Every time someone goes to your website (regardless of how many pages they went to) it's regarded as a session. or year. You'll see this sort of trend with forums and news related sites. They are a good measure of traffic but they don't necessarily indicate audience size since a lot of visits can be created by a few people. Sessions are a good indicator of how interested people are in your site. By knowing the relationship between each metric and what they could mean… you'll get much more information than if you were to just look at each metric individually. If a person goes to your site many times a day… each time they go on will be considered a session. Sessions Sessions (aka visits) indicate how many times your website as a whole was viewed. Knowing the number of visits is needed to know your conversion rate since the conversion rate is based on sales per traffic. Google Analytics places these 5 metrics on the front page when you log in. This information can come in handy when used right. Unique Visitors 256 . They are vital.There are 5 important metrics that you should know. Google Analytics has a great feature that allows you to see the peak visit time throughout times of the day. Activity is an indicator of activity of the users already there. month. Some Analytics experts pay less attention to sessions and put more focus on unique visitors… but it all depends on the type of website that you have and what your goals are. All of these metrics don't mean much on their own. In order of importance they are: • Sessions • Unique Visitors • Page views • Time on Site • Referrers These 5 metrics should be tracked regardless of what tool you use. it's not an indicator of new users coming in.
The average amount of page views can be high (let's say 10) but if the time spent on your site is low (1 minute) then your users are just clicking through a few links but not spending the time reading anything (only 6 seconds per page). you'll have a better understanding of how well your ad campaign is working. The better your external ads… the more new people your website gets. the number of views each page received. you'll get a good idea of user loyalty. You'll have a better idea of what your users are into. and they can also show you the total amount of pages viewed on your site. Google Analytics offer several ways to look at page views. By knowing how many new people are coming to your site. It will let you know how big your audience size is. You may get a lot of visits but if you only have a few visitors you may want to focus on getting new people. If the number is high.Unique visitors indicate how many individuals have been visiting your site. 257 . They can show you the average number of pages viewed per session. By taking a look at the sessions per uniques ratio. Users who look at a lot of pages on your site are probably more interested in your site then users who just look at a few pages. The time spent on your site is the metric that brings everything together. Keeping a Close Eye on Your Referrers Referrers are other websites that link to you. Page views are a good way to determine what pages are most popular on your site. The higher. Some visitors may view a single page several hundred times so don't confuse more page views with more traffic. you know you're doing well. regardless of how many times they've been on. Page Views Page views have multiple ways to be examined. Ultimately what you want is a high time spent on your site per page views. The average amount of pages viewed per visit is a good measure of how interested users are in your site. the better. Time on Site The average time spent on your website combined with page views and traffic is extremely useful and powerful.
emails. When a user clicks on a link heading to your website. especially when combined with the other metrics that Google Analytics offers. you'll have invaluable data that can dramatically boost your sales and other goals. Your privacy is secured as no private information is provided (99% of the time).Referrer data is incredibly important. Understanding the Referring Analytic Terms 258 . In this section we cover the most important elements of referral tracking and a few ways in which you can use this data. Take everything into consideration. Don't assume that just because you received a lot of traffic from a certain site that those people were interested in your site. your analytics program will make requests to the user's browser as to what website they just came from. Section 3: Referrer Metrics and Analytics Referrers are by far the most important metric that you can have. The website the user came from will be logged in your analytics program The feature in your browser that provides referral information can be turned off if you choose to. search engines that have links heading to your website. If you get a huge spike in traffic from a certain site but the average time on your site has gone down. ads. By knowing which website has sent you traffic. Referrers Referrers are essentially the websites. you'll better be able to advertise and know which one of your campaigns have worked. Referrals to your site can come in 3 different forms: • Search engines • Links from non search engine websites • Links in emails It's paramount that your tracking program is able to detect where a user has come from. you can safely assume that those visitors were not as interested in your content. When combined with the other basic metrics and more advanced metrics like conversion rate.
you'll know exactly which ads are bringing in the most sales. • Avg. Referring Keywords Google Analytics will track what keywords were used in Google by the user that came to your site. 259 . Paying attention to referring keywords can be extremely useful. How to Use Referral Data If you see that you're getting a lot of traffic from one site but the average time spent on your site is really low from those users… that may be an indication that there's a problem with that page and it's not loading up properly. It could also mean that users clicking on that link are expecting something different. • Visits: The amount of people that came to your site through the referral. referral data can be used to see which ads are performing the best. If you're conducting an AdWords campaign. Referrer data is excellent for knowing where to focus your efforts. • Direct: The amount of traffic that came to your site directly by typing in the URL address. you'll have a better idea of what keywords to focus on.There are some terms you should understand in regards to referral data before analyzing referral data. • Bounce Rate: The rate at which a visitor from a referral will see your site and then leave. • Pages/Visit: The amount of pages being viewed by each visitor from the referral. • % New Visits: The percentage of visitors who've never been to your site before. By seeing what keywords bring in the highest quality of traffic. You'll want to focus your efforts on Digg but also create content better suited for Digg users. The most important terms you should be familiar with are: • Source: Where your visitors are coming from. You'll likely be ranked moderately well in Google for several keywords and phrases. Time on Site: The average time the visitors from a referral spend on your site. If you see that a single submission to a site like Digg gets a lot of traffic. If you combine conversion metrics with your referral data.
Determining quality traffic is something that occurs later on. set them up in Google Analytics. You'll want to know what average for your site is and set that as the benchmark. Section 4: Determining the Quality of Traffic with Analytics You can be receiving a lot of traffic but unless it's quality traffic. Determining and Applying Benchmarks Google Analytics give you the option to set goals (or benchmarks) so you can easily see if a campaign is working effectively. Once you set all the goals with Google Analytics. Bounce Rates A bounce occurs when someone leaves your website. Every website is different and so quality traffic is different for every site. Quality traffic is essentially traffic that spends a lot of time on your site and will check out a lot of pages. time on site plus high page views per visit. By setting the avg. time on page benchmark you'll be able to know what page on your site is performing the best. After you've set all of your benchmarks. The bounce rate it the percentage of people who visit a webpage that then leave your site without exploring your site further. You should also set a benchmark for customer loyalty which is essentially how often users keep coming back to your site and how often they buy products from your site. it's just taking up bandwidth and server resources. There are no absolutes. When conducting new campaigns you'll want to get nothing less then what you've set as your benchmark. Find the average for each metric and set that as the benchmark. I like to set my benchmarks slightly higher than average for a particular metric. Benchmarks can be set as high as you want but you should set them realistically. you'll be able to know what referrers are performing effectively. 260 . Take a close look at the page and if you can replicate it with similar content. What you want is a high avg.Knowing which keywords bring in quality traffic will be helpful when creating an AdWords campaign.
it could be because the process is too complicated or there's a trust issue. If it's interesting users will click around and explore your site further. KPI's can be measured in many ways but for the most part they're measured in terms of conversion goals. By knowing that people bounce on a certain page… you'll better be able to diagnose the problem. Warning KPIs are metrics that if they increase are signs that your business may not doing well and they'll include such factors as: • Bounce rate • Cost per sale • Cost per lead • Complaints 261 . Fixing bottlenecks is critical if you want people to do a certain task. People leave mid way during a registration process or purchase for a variety of reasons. they are the metrics that indicate how well your business is doing. If you have an ecommerce site or a site where people have to register. Success KPIs are metrics that if they increase indicate that your business is doing well and they can include such things as: • Conversion rates for sales • Conversion rates of leads • Number of email newsletter signups • Number of sales • Number of leads • Revenue • ROI (return of investment). There are success KPIs and warning KPIs.It's a good indicator of how sticky a web page is. checking the bounce rates of pages leading up to the sale or registration can tell you where people are getting turned off and where there's a bottleneck. If a user looks at a page and then leaves your site… it's safe to say they lost interest. Key Performance Indicators Also known as KPIs.
The Purpose of Search Engines Search engines are essentially what make the internet what it is. This course will cover all the essentials and then some on how to get your site ranked up high on the search engines. For the most part SEO is very straight foreword but there are a lot of tricks and methods that can make a huge difference. You'll need to put a lot of time and consistent effort into it in order for it to work. They allow us to find and connect with others.Course #16 Search Engine Optimization By GuruGrounds – Thomas Timely & Nick Gallagher Course 16: Ranking High In Google with Good SEO Section 1: Increasing Sales with SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process that doesn't happen overnight. 262 .
Spiders/bots: software used by the search engines to crawl the net. Be Cautious Of SEO "Experts" Unfortunately there are a lot of scammers out there promising to build 1000s of backlinks for you for a low price. Common SEO Terms Black hat SEO: Devious methods to increase your rankings in a way that can get you banned from the search engine if they found out.Search engines are important because you want people to find and connect with you and/or your business. SEO makes your website more appealing to search engines by making your site seem more relevant. Google. 263 . You may think Google is the #1 search engine… but only if you live in North America or Europe. The purpose of a search engine is to give you the most relevant web page related to the search term you've entered. natural way to increase your search rankings by making your site more search engine and user friendly and relevant to certain keywords and phrases. Always know exactly what methods these experts intend to use. If the website you clicked on was what you were looking for. Having a high placement in the search engine ranking pages can bring you a lot of traffic if ranked for the right keywords. you're probably going to use that search engine again and again which in turn brings up the search engines traffic and hopefully stock value. Yahoo! still reigns supreme in many parts of the world. Backlinks: External links from other websites linking back to your website. White hat SEO: A non manipulative. A large segment of your traffic is likely to come from search engines. If someone types in your business name. you'd hope that the search engine will rank you high up to the front page so that people will find your website. SERP: search engine ranking pages or the results on page you see when you enter a search into a search engine. Crawl: Search engines use bots to scan (crawl) the internet for new pages and links. Linkbait: Content that others would want to link to on other sites. Yahoo! and Microsoft Live Search are the most well known examples of search engines out there today. if they don't tell you… don't hire them.
They can bring in lots of traffic and rank you high but as soon as the search engine finds out… you can kiss your rankings goodbye. Some methods will get your site to jump up for a short period of time but they won't help in the long term. There are methods to get 1000s of backlinks very quickly and ways to fool the search engines but you stand the risk of getting penalized and possibly black listed. that link is considered to have more value. A backlink is like a vote.Some of the methods used by "professionals" can get you black listed by search engines. If you plan on running a business for several years. headings. trust factors. the written content. White hat SEO is a long process and to rank #1 you'll have to put in a lot of work and time. They look at such factors as title tags. and much. image captions. 264 . don't count on them. DO NOT USE BLACK HAT METHODS! Black hat SEO looks at the loop holes in the search engine algorithm and then takes advantage of them. site age. you'll need backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites. There are no short cuts. You want your site to be associated with a certain keyword or phrase. much more. Good keyword rich content is important but if you want to be ranked #1. SEO is making your site easy for the search engines to understand what your site is about and letting them know that you're relevant to a certain keyword or phrase. backlinks. Black Hat SEO It's very tempting to take shortcuts when doing business but in regards to SEO. just make sure you know exactly what methods they use. URL. and if it comes from a website related to your niche. How the Search Engines Determine Relevancy Search engines use complex algorithms to determine what your site is most relevant for and it then compares your site to other sites in order to rank your web page. So the more votes you get from high valued sites… the higher you'll rank. description Meta tags. file names. Not all SEO professionals are bad of course. anchor text.
Firefox is the preferred browser of online entrepreneurs. They can be found at: • http://siteexplorer. affiliate program or quick rich campaign… it's not worth it.org/firefox Not only is Firefox one of the safest browsers to use but it has thousands of add-ons. SeoQuake provides information like PageRank. SeoQuake is useful in the sense that you can do research on your competitors and you can check out your own site to see what the search engines have on you.yahoo. You can download Mozilla from the following website: • www. It can be found here: • www.Black hat SEO is not illegal and will not get you into trouble. site age.com/webmasters Yahoo! and Bing are not as useful or as powerful as Google but they provide tools that you'll want to use.mozilla.search. It typically takes a search engine several months to find out about your black hat methods. black hat SEO can do you wonders but if you're in it for the long haul… avoid it at all costs. Tools of the Trade If you're serious about your SEO campaign there are tools you should use to help you reach your goals. Yahoo! and Microsoft's Bing provide webmaster tools that can you help you out with your SEO campaign. Search engine algorithms are changing all the time and they're often flawed in some way which allows them to be manipulated.org The best SEO add-on for Firefox is SeoQuake which you can download at: • www.seoquake.com/ 265 . backlinks. Search Engine Webmaster Tools Search engines like Google.google. so unless you're doing a PPC campaign.mozilla. It has hundreds of add-ons many of which can assist you in your business ventures. You can check out their collection of add-ons at: • http://addons. If your business is just temporary. Google Webmasters is an extremely powerful tool and can provide you with a lot of useful resources.com SeoQuake places a bar at the top of your browser that shows information about the sites that you're visiting. and rankings in Google and Yahoo.
266 . you'll see what works and what doesn't. You want to know exactly what's causing any spike or decline of traffic.com/webmaster Keeping a Tab on Your Results There are many options to analyze your results but Google analytics is by far the best. In this section we'll cover how to pick the right keywords to bring in valued traffic from search engines. By keeping track of your traffic. Check your Google Analytics daily and you'll eventually see trends and gain a better understanding of how Google sees your site. The secret is to find the variation of keywords for your niche that are searched for the most in search engines by your target market. SEO starts with your chosen keywords. depression can be both a mental state and a financial state). Google analytics will analyze all the traffic coming to your site and display the results for you in a very comprehensive and understandable manner. Section 2: SEO and Effectively Using Keywords Having the right keywords and key phrases are paramount to an effective SEO campaign. If you don't have the right keywords. There are tools to help you find the best keywords that we'll go into later. Learn to use it and it will help greatly. Make sure your keywords relate to your website and that those words don't have double meanings (ex. Understanding Your Target Market Choose keywords that your target market would associate with your topic. Just understand that you want to choose the words from your target markets perspective.• http://www. It's important to document the steps you take so that you won't confuse a large amount of incoming traffic with anything else. not what you associate with your topic. If you don't know how your efforts are affecting traffic you could end up damaging your site.bing. don't expect much in regards to the traffic you receive from the search engines. Google Analytics is a very advanced tool and has many features that go beyond what's needed.
etc.com/insights/search/ There are other tools out there.The Long Tail Theory The long tail is basically the longer variable key phrases of a given simpler phrase. 267 .yahoo. It can be found here: • http://siteexplorer.com/ One of the best features of Yahoo! Site Explorer is that it allows you to see what websites are linking back to a website (very useful when researching your competition).search. BMW 2 series. Tools To Find the Best Keywords Google by far has the most dominating keyword tools out there on the market… and best of all… they're free! The following tools are provided by Google and are extremely easy to use: • https://adwords.com/Demographics-Prediction/ The demographic prediction tool is useful in that you'll get a better idea of who's searching for those keywords so you can have a better idea of your market. one that we like to use is Microsoft's demographic prediction tool: • http://adlab. the main keyword of BMW has a long tail with words such as BMW 1 series. (Ex.google. Picking Out the Best Keywords The best keywords are ones with a good long tail but because a lot of words can have multiple meanings make sure that the long tail primarily consists of phrases relevant to your subject. Yahoo! Site Explorer is another useful tool that can give you information on a website as it pertains to the Yahoo! search engine.google.) Although you may not rank number 1 for "BMW" you may rank high for "BMW dealerships" and other variables. The combined traffic of the long tail may be more then the traffic coming from "BMW" You'll want to pick key phrases that have long tail attributes.com/trends • http://www.google.microsoft.ca/select/KeywordToolExternal • http://www. The traffic from long tail keywords are generally better customers since they have a better idea of what they want.
those are your competitors. If you installed SeoQuake mentioned earlier in the lesson. Google's AdSense keyword tool has an option to export your chosen keywords into a txt file (which can then be imported into Excel. 268 . We recommend using a spread sheet to keep all this data as it will be easier to manipulate. Although a general but relevant keyword will have lots of competition. Do a search for your keywords in Google and Yahoo! and examine the top 10 or so results. You want a good keyword but you don't want a lot of competition. You can use a Yahoo! Site Explorer to see exactly what pages are linking back to your competitors.com/select/KeywordToolExternal Inspect the Competition Always keep a close eye on your competition… chances have it they're also inspecting you. The easiest way to find out how much competition a keyword has is to type that keyword into Google and see how many results come up. Having a Master Keyword List You should write down all the good keywords along with each ones search volume and number of results. Essentially you want a keyword that is searched for a lot but lacks websites covering it. Having a master keyword list will come in handy when creating content and it's important that you review the keywords every once in a while to keep yourself focused.google. The relevant keyword with the least amount of results per search volume should be added to your keyword list.You'll also want a word with very little competition per search volume. it will hold value in the long run since eventually with enough work you may rank high for it. It can be found here: • https://adwords. Keywords that have low competition but high search rates should be on your list since they'll help in the short term. See who ranks #1 for a certain keyword and try to deduce what they do to get there. you'll be able to get some interesting information on your competition. Study the top 20 or so websites that come up for a keyword so you can see what you're up against.
We'll also go into ways to make your website in such a way that you won't have any problems when it comes to the search engines crawling your site. Sometimes they'll forget to modify or remove it. remove it: <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX. Check out the source code of your website and if you see the following. The most typical reason is a robots. if this is the case. Robots. It's important to always stay on top of the current SEO methods. Having a form like this 269 . When a web developer is building your site. NOFOLLOW"> Some websites are now using registration forms of some sort to make the user fill out before accessing the content.Upon doing research you're likely to find that a lot of your competitors actually have bad SEO and that the only reason they rank high is because of a lack of competition.txt with a disallow command on the whole site. Every search engine is different and the algorithms they use always change.txt' are useful if you want the search engine to avoid duplicate and useless pages.txt already. it means the search engine bots are being prevented from crawling your site. If you have a robots. they often place a robot Meta tag in the code to prevent search engines from crawling your site while it's under construction. Just make sure you don't disallow everything. you'll have no problem ranking high. check it out and if you see: User-agent: * Disallow: / If you see the "Disallow: /" command. so one day you might be doing well and the next you'll be off the radar. Section 3: Common Problems with Search Engines and SEO This section will cover common problems that webmasters will have and some of ways to fix them. Roadblocks to Getting Noticed By the Search Engines There are some things that prevent the search engines from crawling your site.
If you have a membership site. Always make sure you have HTML links somewhere on your page as a way to navigate to other pages. Since search engines are unable to read JavaScript. keep in mind that it won't be crawled.prevents search engines from seeing the content and therefore the site is not indexed. Why You Shouldn't Have Flash Websites Flash is a highly advanced code used to make vector animations and "flashy" websites and apps. Much like Ajax and DHTML. Ajax and DHTML Ajax and DHTML are code languages used to make fancy web apps. Flash looks great but it's not SEO friendly. What many websites do is offer an html and flash version of their website which allows the site to still be indexed. There are ways to build drop down menus without DHTML and in such a way that search engines can navigate them. the content you create with Ajax and DHTML will not be indexed. The problem with having two versions is that only the html version will be indexed and so the traffic you receive will only be directed to the HTML version. the search engines can't read the flash code and therefore the content won't be indexed. Ajax is used to create fast loading WebPages and DHTML is used to create drop down menus and other interesting effects. The most common method is to have your page "degrade gracefully". they use JavaScript to load the content. Having a link to a site map that links to all your other pages is perhaps the easiest way to ensure that your entire site is crawled. Adobe (the company that makes flash) is working hard with Google to make flash crawlable but it's still not there yet. Search engine bots can't use forms or drop down menus. meaning you won't receive too much traffic from the search engines. Making It Easy For the Search Engines to Crawl Your Website Search engines crawl your site by links on your page. Client Side Redirects 270 . You can still use forms and drop down menus but be sure to have a way for the bots to crawl your site.
com/ Have a 301 redirect from "yoursite. This can hurt your rankings greatly. preferably like this: • http://www. You know you have duplicate content if you see a message at the bottom that says: • "In order to show you the most relevant results.yoursite. Another great way to find duplicate content is too copy a sentence of your content and do a search for it in Google.com" to "http://www.html Xenu makes a list of all the broken links it finds on your website.yoursite. Always link to your site the same way.yoursite.com • www. If you like. you can repeat the search with the omitted results included". When a bot is crawling on your site and navigates to a broken link.cnet.html Google sees each version of your website as an entirely separate website and therefore if you get backlinks to each version your site will be indexed 3 times as if they were different but with duplicate content. You'll see all the other instances of where that sentence has been found. we have omitted some entries very similar to the 217 already displayed. Your website has 3 different addresses as in: • yoursite. you can then go through your site and fix all the issues. 272 .that have been indexed. get a plug-in that will simplify all the URL's and make them SEO friendly.com/index. To find broken links you can download a free program called "Xenu Link Sleuth" which you can download here: • http://download.yoursite. Broken Links Broken links are a big no no in SEO.com • www.com/". With the list of broken links. the search engine will lower the value of your site and the bot is likely to stop crawling the moment it finds a broken link. If you have a website that utilizes a database you'll probably get very complex URL's. You want each page to only have one URL all the time.com/Xenu-s-Link-Sleuth/ 3000-10248_4-10020826. Section 4: Optimizing Your Site for Search Engines SEO is all about making your website appealing to the search engines.
The hub pages should be categorized. By creating hubs you make it easier for users to find the content that they want. in terms of page hierarchy… the less value it will have. Your home page should link to these hubs (categories) that will then link to the content. You want your users to find the content in the least amount of clicks possible. The deeper a page is. The home page is the most important and the pages within one click are second and so on. H3.This section will cover how to structure your content and website for maximum SEO value. The best method to push up content is to create "hub pages" that link to the rest of your content. 273 . By linking like with like. Making your site simpler is not only more SEO friendly but it's also more user friendly. Structure your site with that in mind. the H1 tag won't matter. H4 etc tags • Txt content • Links and images If your title tag is irrelevant to the H1 tag. It comes off as more professional. Each page of content should be structured as follows: • Title tag • H1 tag • H2. We also go into techniques to make your website trustworthy. Optimizing Your Site Structure for Search Engines The secret to having a good structure is to have your best content within 1 click of your homepage. It's important to have each page congruent with one another. Try to structure your site in such a way that your main content is accessible through the home page. The hub page can be within 1 link from your home page. Having Rules and Structure It's important that you make an outline of the rules and structure that you'll use for your site. search engines will add more value to the content since it's more relevant and related. so one hub page will link to a certain category of content.
• The type of websites that link back to you. Yahoo and Microsoft have both followed in Google footsteps and have implemented blended search features. The Other Stuff Google Will Blend In Google takes in several different forms of content that it blends in with your search. Consider buying a pre-existing domain name before starting business. • Plug-in and add-ons that you're using. H1 text has a much greater value. Meaning the spacing's. are always the same. Google search engine will see it and take it into account. This is good for you since it's another opportunity to get ranked high. Only have one H1 piece of txt on your each page at the most. Keep in mind that bold larger font text is not the same as H1 text. images and video and other media and mixes it with your regular search… but only if Google feels it's more applicable. You may not get a certain website ranked high but maybe an image or video will do well. The search engines don't like it when you use it too much. fonts. The search engines take into account such things as: • The age of your website.Have all the content be consistent with a certain style. Make sure that each title tag for every page is slightly different and highly relevant to the page. It calculates your trust factor based on a few factors. indents. • The type of software and code your website uses. It takes news. Don't link to sites with a low Trust Rank. colors. bullet points and etc. Section 5: How to Capitalize On Blended Search Results Blended search is a feature Google implemented back in 2007. Many times the webmaster will give it to you for free. Trust Trust Rank is a new concept being employed by the Google search algorithms. It's recommend you have your site evaluated by a prominent security service and place the seal of approval on your website. Security stickers and badges help. They'll blend in: 274 .
Include images in the feed.bing. Make sure it's all there. tags.ca In order to have your feed show up.pricegrabber. If you're allowed… include custom fields to add more relevant information. 275 . Google allows you to submit your feed for free at: • www. When writing a press release. be sure to make it informative and objective. Search engines can't see images but they can see the file name. and Microsoft's Bing all take news feeds from news sites and will sometimes blend them with the searches. so use quality keywords.google. you don't want to be sued. Submit press releases with PRWeb or an equivalent quality newswire.com/productupload/ • www. and context in which it's being used. Update your feed regularly. Yahoo. Images Images don't have has much competition as websites in search engines and so optimizing your images for SEO can be extremely powerful. Google. News Press releases can be extremely effective if used right. A product feed is basically a spread sheet that you can give to the search engines for indexing.com/base Price Grabber and Microsoft require you to pay to upload your feeds and they can be found here: • www. you'll need to make it highly relevant. If you're going to use an image on your website.• • • • • Product feeds News feeds Images Videos Geo search info (displayed on Google Maps) Products Google and the other big search engines now take products feeds. don't make a sales letter! Include images and make it SEO friendly (Good use of keywords and headlines). make sure it's yours or its copyright free.
superpages. Include your video in your RSS feed. Geo Search If you have a location for your business. If you place the video on other sharing sites. Include your location in your Meta tags.yelp. Video Video optimizing is much like image optimizing. Many people may dread the idea of writing but it's an essential skill to have when conducting business online.com You'll also want reviews and ratings on those sites since it's been proven to help. be sure to place a link back to your site in the description section. you'll get more hits from the search engines this way.JPGs. Add a description tag to all of your images.citysearch.Use images that are easy to see as a thumbnail. it's important to include that information on your website and to optimize for that area. context and such. Name the file of the image appropriately using keywords. The best formats for images are as . Google and the other search engines reference other websites for your address. Section 6: How to Write Quality Web Copy For SEO This section is all about writing for SEO. Google can't see video so it relies on the tags. If it's good for your viewers it's good for SEO. 276 . Include your physical address on every page of your site (preferably in the footer). Vimeo and other video sharing sites.com • www. They're the most common file format for images.com • www. Name the file with good keywords and make it relevant. Submit your business to the following sites: • www. this is how they determine your address. It's recommended that you not only host the file on your own website but you also share it on services like YouTube. Place keyword rich captions on all your images.yellowpages.com • www.
Keep up with the news in your industry and write about the current events going on. Don't assume that something is common knowledge. For the most part people on the web just want the information they "NEED" and nothing else. They ignore useless information and focus only on what they're looking for. Brainstorming Ideas Regardless of what kind of business you have. you'll want to contribute some writing periodically. you still need to practice your writing skills for communication sake. Keep in mind that if you decide to outsource… you get what you pay for. The writing style you should use all depends on you industry. you'll want to brand your expertise and participate on other blogs and websites. Keep this in mind and make your content skimable and easy to read. they go hand in hand. Get into the mind of your typical customer and think about what they would want to know or the common problems that they have to deal with. Even if your site is just a sales page.Even if you decide to outsource your writing to a professional. 277 . Write in short easy to understand sentences and avoid overly complex words. Brevity works best on the net. The New York Times for instance has a very educated crowd of followers who don't mind the detailed articles. just because you're an expert doesn't mean everyone else is. Reviews of other products will supply you with an endless list of things to write about. Regardless of what your business is. Keep it simple. write daily! Writing for the Web Writing for the web is different from other media. There are writers out there working for as low as $5 per article and the price can go up to a several hundred dollars per 500 words. People tend to have a much shorter attention span on the net and therefore will avoid reading anything too long and trivial. you'll want to write articles and/ or eBooks for marketing purposes. It's critical that when you write for the internet you keep both SEO and your viewers in mind. People who use the web regularly have become expert skimmers.
If your product has many features don't cram it all into a paragraph but instead turn into a list with bullet points. Typically search engines only look at the first 65 characters in your title tag so place the keywords in the beginning. Just use as many as you can get away with without making it spammy or annoying. 5% keyword density is what most professionals recommend. Having unique keyword tags for each page is essential if you want to be indexed. just straight to the point. Web users are scanners. Think of title tags as headlines. make your content easily readable and appealing to your customers first. The secret is to make it entirely of keywords while still sounding nice.It's recommended you use spaces between each line. Always look for ways to shorten your sentences and you don't need to be poetic. it's much more scannable. Make your point first and then explain it as oppose to starting vague and ending with a conclusion. It should be readable and make sense. Keep this in mind. Description Tags Description tags don't affect rankings but they are used by search engines as the text you see below the title tag in search results. Avoid stuffing keywords into the title tag. You want to say what the page is about first. they should be interesting and make people want to see it.) allows you to edit the title tags for each one of your pages. Because of this write your content as a list. not "readers" in the traditional sense. In regards to keyword density. 278 . Title Tags Title tags are used by search engines to label your webpage in the search engines. it makes it easier to read. You can get more traffic then the number 1 position in a search engine if your title tag is intriguing and attention grabbing. Always place your brand name or business name at the end of the title tag. Joomla etc. Keyword density all depends on the topic and context. Make sure your CMS (ex. People will see what the brand is upon entering your site. WordPress.
Although it's not as important to include keywords in your description tag. As mentioned before. Having a call to action as in "call us at: 123 4567" can be very effective. The purpose of a headline is to grab the attention of the reader and to make them read on. The secret is to have your keywords placed in such a way that it doesn't take away from the user experience but it still conforms to good SEO. 279 . No amount of SEO will help if your content is not good. If it's not appealing to your customers. A great place to get information and see examples of a good header is at: • www. Either way it works as long as it's interesting and convinces you to click on it.copyblogger. you'll get traffic but you won't get sales. Content is KING! Make Writing a Routine One of the biggest commonalities between all experts is that they write about their subject often. For many people writing is something that they avoid at all costs. Headlines Headlines are important for SEO and more important than most people think. Having to sit down and focus to write is not appealing to most people. The header should relate to the title tag and should also be about the purpose of your content on that page. writing is essential to an online business so you have to develop effective writing skills. Writing about your subject forces you to form your knowledge into a cohesive manner. It can bring in a lot of traffic when it's done right. Headlines for your content should always be coded as H1 tags and not just larger bold text. which can then be used as content for your business. it's still recommended since those words will be highlighted if they match the search term.com Write For Customers Not Search Engines Write for your customers first. The description tag should only be a few sentences long and it can either be about the page it's on or your business as a whole. A large part of your focus should be on creating the perfect headline.
develop your writing skills and possibly be creating useable content for your business. you'll enhance your understanding of the topic. Link Votes All websites have a PageRank which dictates how many votes (links) it can give to other websites. By making writing a routine. If you did this daily you'd have 365 articles by the end of the year… which can then be used to create a massive eBook or it can be used for your site. At the very least you should be writing 30 minutes a day. It's recommended that your writer understands SEO and keyword densities.elance. How to Find Writers Some people are either too busy or they just can't stand writing. SEO is not just about link building. This section will go into the various techniques to build links. Practice makes perfect. There are many ways to create back links and some techniques can get very complicated.com Don't be afraid to hire a writer from Asia or a traditionally non English speaking country. The best website out there to connect you with a writer is: • www. An SEO copywriter will cost you more but the quality of the content will be much greater. you're in luck as there are thousands of writers out there for a good price. Many people are under the impression that back links are the most important aspect of SEO. Within 30 minutes you can easily research and write a 500 word article. The links each have a different value 280 . They can be very proficient at writing English and they can do it for a very good price.Even if you outsource your writing to someone else. it's important you develop your personal writing skills because learning how to make a cohesive article or document is critical to many other activities. If you're one of them. Section 7: Techniques for Link Building and Getting Backlinks Link building is about having other websites link back to you. it's arguable but don't ignore the other techniques. link baiting and the various things you have to keep in mind.
Good content should always come first. Make your content so good that people want to see more and pay for more.yourwebsite. This command prevents search engines from counting that link as a vote. The quality of your content should sell itself. Spamming the internet with links back to your site and then stopping doesn't have much value. including number and power of the links it receives from other websites. If the content isn't the most appealing. Getting link backs naturally with interesting and provocative information is the best strategy. Also if possible. A great way to get link backs is to always be original and create new fresh content that hasn't been seen before. do not make your content a sales pitch. try and place a focus on your headlines and make them interesting and provocative. try adding images to your article. while you can to a certain extent. PageRank is determined by how good the SEO of that website is.depending on the relevancy of the pages. try to write something that people would want to share. Providing unique fresh information is the best way to get others to link back to you. If you aren't really sure how to make a boring topic interesting. you may be tempted to go above and beyond to get more buying power. For those of you starting out. Some websites will add a "nofollow" command to the links. quality content must be your highest priority. Making It Easy To Share 281 . It should be the backbone of your link building strategy. Having a consistent number of links coming in is better than getting a lot in a short amount of time. While adding images and great headers will help with your SEO efforts. You can get other websites to link back to your site all you want but if the content isn't there… no amount of links will help.com rel="nofollow"> Linkable Content People link to articles they think other people will find interesting. The more relevant the website is to the one it's linking to the more valuable that link is. One great tip to keep in mind while writing your content is making it easily scannable like a "top 10 list" always does well. 1 or 2 images are ideal. Link velocity is the term used to describe the rate a websites receives incoming links. It looks like this: • <a href=http://www. Provide as much value as you can.
DMOZ. Many blogs will ask for your URL when you comment. Another great way to get your URL out there is commenting on blogs. Join all the forums related to your topic and contribute content to their website.com If you aren't sure where to start. forums are also good places to get link backs. they'll still help in the long run. Although many of these freebies won't be worth much. There are thousands of directories on the net where you can submit your URL for free.somuch.Aside from having excellent content. Many large blogs and websites receive many emails a day asking for link backs and 99% of the time they're ignored.zeal.com • www.Chiff. Also be sure to make your URL's simple and avoid dynamic URL's as they won't get indexed. Be sure to not copy and paste your content to each forum.com • www. Many forums allow you to have a signature which goes at the bottom of your post. Approaching Others for Linkbacks This technique should only be used once since asking a webmaster multiple times can be very annoying. Easy Places and Ways To Get Backlinks There are many places on the net where you can simply submit your URL for a backlink.com • www.clickey. There are many plugins now available for most CMS's that allow people to share a page on the various social bookmarking sites. We suggest the following directories: • www. When posting on forums. you should make it easy for people to share the content. Each post should be unique and genuine. place your URL in there.exactseek. don't ever spam or make it look like you're trying to get a link back.org • www.com • www. 282 . Including an "email to a friend" feature at the bottom of your content is a good way to encourage sharing. • Placing links on your site back to them. Before you ask others for link backs it's recommended you build a relationship with the webmaster first by: • Contributing content to their site. • Doing positive reviews of their site.
so make sure your site is not something that would embarrass them. there's a widget. Offering your product for free to the webmaster in exchange for links can be very effective. Lots of marketing experts are trying to figure out the secret to viral/ link bait marketing. or tool that will be helpful to your customers and other webmasters in your field. But don't make programs your main source of backlinks as the search engines frown upon it if it's used too much. they'll be advertising for you. Widgets. 283 .You want to make the act of them placing a link to you a natural process. If an app is really useful to you niche. • It has images and/or videos. make sure it's useful. be sure to have other forms of backlinks as well.com. Apps and Plug-Ins Regardless of what niche you're in. • It's never just text. Make sure your product and site is of such a high quality that others would want to link back to you. To find a programmer we suggest using Elance. • It's a list. easy to use and easy to implement. Simple apps won't cost you much (under $100). • It's different. The most common commonalities are: • The content provides a new outlook on things. Addons. Make sure the program runs smoothly as other webmasters will hate it if slows down loading speed. Link Bait Link baiting is creating a piece of content that will make other people want to link to it and share it. you shouldn't have to ask for it. expect others to promote it. There are hundreds of factors at play so it's very hard to figure out. Widgets and tools are great since you can add your URL to it and if someone else uses the tool. The webmasters reputation is on the line by linking to you. Just make a description of the idea you want and you'll get programmers bidding for the project. When making an app. Link baiting much like a viral video is not a well understood science but there are commonalities between the successes. • It's never been seen before.
this can get you penalized. Quality over Quantity Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when creating links. as it could get you associated with spam sites. The search engines look for certain signs that could mean you're spamming. then be sure to avoid link exchanges and link networks. instead talk about both sides and let your visitors argue about it in the comments section. Make sure your anchor text is relevant to your home page. although avoid offering an opinion. Also be sure to avoid using programs that automatically submit your URL to thousands of sites. The more relevant it is the better. Getting thousands of backlinks in short period of time can set of their radar so be careful.There are some websites you should avoid being associated with as they can lower your rankings. always use anchor text for a link. What to Avoid Not all backlinks are good backlinks. So if you are trying to build links naturally. The best way to stay out of trouble is to not spam. be sure to add images and add a little humor. Link bait content may not be successful right away but keep at it. Talking about a controversial subject can be good link bait.Follow social bookmarking sites like Digg and notice what makes it to the front page. Lists like "top 10 lists" do really well. Seeing What Your Competition Is Doing Your competition may be your greatest source for finding good backlinks. 284 . There are some programs like Yahoo! Site Explorer which allow you to see which websites link to your competitors. sometimes an article will take off a year after publishing. One final recommendation is to focus on getting backlinks from websites with a high PageRank. instead build links naturally. One good link is worth a lot more than a lot of bad links so try and focus on quality and not quantity when making back links Remember that links with a keyword rich anchor text is much better than a "click here" link and when possible.
com By seeing what your competition is doing. avoid them! If you have found someone you are interested in working with be sure to ask for referrals from anyone you know who's used an SEO expert.There's an excellent Firefox extension that lets you see your competitors backlinks. you can follow in their footsteps and then go beyond their efforts. SEO experts can be worth your time and money but you have to watch out as there are many scammers out there. Also be sure to never use an SEO expert who doesn't reveal their secrets. the anchor text used and other information about the links. An expert can take a look at your site and its links and quickly tell you what do differently. Also when choosing an SEO expert be sure that you two have good communication and goals.com • www. A great tip to help you find a good SEO expert is to avoid any expert who guarantees a high ranking.seomoz. as your SEO expert is someone you'll want to work with for at least several months as SEO takes a while to see any results from it.org • www. There are a few sites that can help connect you with an SEO expert. Communicating over the internet just doesn't cut it sometimes. Check out the following: • www.linkdiagnosis. If the SEO expert ever mentions placing links to unrelated websites.elance. You can find the program here: • www. Finding the Right SEO Expert There are a lot of people out there advertising themselves as SEO experts. Are They Qualified? 285 . SEO is a long and tedious process and may get a little technical. Section 9: SEO Experts and What They Can Do For You This section covers what you should look for in an SEO expert. Their methods should be transparent in case they use black hat methods.sempo.org Look for an expert that you can talk to and work with in person.
SEO is the same for every industry. The pricing for an SEO professional can vary but they typically charge monthly. Google Blog Search is a good feature to see what people are saying. • Are there any extra fees? If they can't tell you something because it's a "secret".Unfortunately with the internet. Always call them to see what they're like on the phone. A good question is to check to see how long they've been around for. avoid them. • Do they have contracts and if so… can you end them early? • Ask them what techniques they would be using for your site. 286 . You should expect regular reports from your professional. By demanding regular reports you'll see exactly what they're doing. For smaller businesses this option is recommended. take it for face value. trust can be an issue so when you check out the experts sites. they probably are. Some of you may just want a consultation with an expert in which case they just write a report about your site and give you recommendations. Questions To Ask Your Potential SEO Experts To get the most out of your SEO expert you should talk with them over the phone so you get a good grasp of exactly what they do. Do a search for the potential SEO experts and see what others have to say. You should ask them: • How long they've been working in SEO. The most important things to look out for is that they're transparent with their techniques and that they have a good track record. Consultants who've been around for a while are likely to be much better. Do they sound professional? Do they know what they're talking about? Don't be so concerned if they've worked with your industry or not. If they come across as professional. Realistic Expectations Good SEO takes a long time to fully implement so don't expect quick results. You'll see prices ranging from $90 per month to $10. but make sure you have an "out" in case they mess things up. • What's their payment process? • What steps they would take with your site (make sure they see your site before talking).000 per month.
and you are the one with the vision of what you would like your online business to be! 287 . Remember you are the boss. It is all about finding out as much as possible about the individual and getting to know what they have worked on. You'll have to do some work and provide them with content and other things in order for them to do their job. then don't be afraid to move onto the next expert. if they can't tell you… fire them. The costs all depends on your situation. and what they can provide you with. If you aren't comfortable with the person you are dealing with. if your site is already optimized they should charge you less.The experts you hire can only do so much. Always ask them why and what they're doing.
com Food for the mind 288 .www.feedbooks.