Weblogs or blogs for short, can be developed around on nearly any and every subject. And not only for personal use, blogs can also be used effectively as business tools, for business of all sizes from Fortune 500 to home-based operations.

Many have found that a blog is similar to a personalized money churner for their websites and businesses. In fact blogs can function as stand-alone websites with a full assortment of features; such as, automatic archiving, comment posting, pre- and post-dating entries, survey tools, remote capability, easy management, RSS feeds, subscriber box, statistics, IP banning, Google™ Adsense capability, sidebars, full color templates, assorted marketing means like SEO tools and much more, depending upon the blog and hosting set up.

Blogs actually have a variety of practical applications for both businesses and individuals using them for personal use. Some popular applications are:

1) Content management system (CMS) – With good blogging software, you can manage the content of your website in an efficient manner. For example, with good a blog content management program, you can add multiple authors and even pre- and post-date entries, loading them in advance in order to take time off for a vacation.

2) Organizational Updates and Calendar of Events – Blog software also sorts your posts chronologically, giving the latest entry first place for enhanced readability, even allowing posts via email. Plus you can incorporate a calendar to quickly find and click posts on each date that bears an interactive hyperlink.

3) Customer Relations Board – A blog can also serve to increase credibility and help boost your customer relations. Web visitors can post comments and questions on the blog and even use its knowledgeable base of posts sorted by categories as a public relations tool.  Your blog will also allow your customers to find information quickly and easily with a search tool.

4) Sales Booster – You can use a blog to describe your products and services, listing them by categories and incorporating multimedia into the posts: digital photos, video and audio tutorials, PowerPoint slide show manuals, Adobe PDF guides and more. Invite visitors to subscribe to the blog for product and service updates, specials, coupons, an award points program and more.

5) Media Center – Post your press releases, digital photos, company history, executive resumes and article clips on your blog to boost the public relation efforts of your company.

6) Interactive Education – Educate your prospects and customers with your blog. Discuss not only your products and services, but your industry. Keep readers abreast of industry development and news. Invite feedback and reviews from your blog readers and industry professionals.

7) Community Development – Focus on developing a community of any size and invite participation from your blog readers. Invite file sharing, uploading digital photos and video clips, for example, with critiques and reviews.

Service Providers – Blogs can also serve as service providers by sharing news and relevant and detailed technical information about your products and services in a timely fashion.  For example, add one inside your member area, and once members log in, they can click your blog as an updated knowledge database that discusses issues linked to specific dates so they can immediately catch up since their last log in day. Plus they can read through your categorized entries to problem solve tech issues and more 24/7 at their leisure and own pace.

9) Internal Communication System- You can set up a private blog; for example, for your own members or company workers and associates for intra personal communications.  Display the latest information there and invite feedback and interaction, even adding surveys.

Hence, blogs can definitely be used in a variety of applications for both business and personal functions. They can serve as interactive tools like discussion boards and message forums or focus on any number of other software features to help a diverse audience interact via a common platform.

The top 8 ways to promote your website free or at next to no cost:

1. Post links on other web sites. In addition to trading links, you can also trade banner ads.

2. Include your web site URL in your e-zine. When people read each issue you can remind them to visit your web site.

3. Share your web site on message boards, e-mail discussion lists and chat rooms. When people know about your web site, they will regularly and search and look for new products to buy.

4. Write articles and submit them to e-zines, web sites and magazines that accept article submissions. Include your web site address at the end of the article.

5. Give away an electronic freebie with your web site address in it. Allow your friends to also give the freebie away. This will help increase your web site’s exposure.

6. Participate in message boards and forums. Post answers to other people’s questions, ask questions and post appropriate information. Include a predefined signature file (with your web site URL) at the end of all your postings.

7. Post your ad on free advertising sites. You can post it on free classified ad sites, free for all link sites, newsgroups that allow ads, free yellow page directories, and more…

8. Include your web site address in your email signature. You may be sending a lot of emails already each day, so take a minute and add your web site address to your signature file so people know about your web site.

Also see “EDC Gold and How to Make Money Online”

If you are looking to join the EDC Gold or Easy Daily Cash program, read this valuable article first! To succeed in any business opportunity you need a mentor – someone that is willing to take the time out of his or her life, and John can help you.

Once a social platform for college students, the 40 million active membership site facebook is the latest buzzword in social media marketing. However, most members are extremely online savvy and they smell blatant advertisements from miles away. It is important to know some basics and gain experiences in utilizing the site and interacting with its members before you start planning your facebook marketing adventure.

1. Create a profile. The first step is to create a profile. Sign up using your real name and upload some pictures. If you do not have an email with a top-level edu domain, by default you join a regional network based on your zip code or international address. Later, you have the option to join your company’s network and change your regional networks. You can change your networks twice in a 60-day period.

Always upload a profile picture. If you don’t upload a picture, facebook places a default question mark icon. It is a good strategy to show your face in facebook. Don’t use group pictures for your profile because others may have difficulty identifying you in the group pictures. Don’t use logos, your cute cat or dogs’ pictures, or a picture of your expensive car and boat.

You don’t have to fill all the profile information. Fill only the information you are comfortable sharing with others. If you want to find dates using facebook, fill up the relationship status feature of your profile accordingly. Don’t change the status often because others will notice it and doubt your trustworthiness.

2. Make friends. The site can find active facebook friends for you using emails in your address books of a few free web email providers like yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc. Once you get a few friends, new friend requests will pour in from your friends of friends. You can also search for friends and send requests. Work on creating a network of 100 to 200 friends. Don’t make friends with celebrities because in most cases these are fake profiles setup for marketing purposes.

3. Upload pictures and videos. Start uploading some interesting pictures and group them in albums of travel pictures, baby shower photos, bachelor party scenes, etc. Pictures help people connect with your life without meeting you face to face. Always upload a number of related pictures or themes.

Create a random albums and put all your random pictures in the random album. Tag your pictures to identify people on the pictures. When you tag your friends in your pictures, they show up in their wall. You can also share your albums with others outside facebook. You can upload personal videos using your browser or mobile phone and directly record videos to facebook.

4. Use friends’ walls and never post on your own wall. You have a wall in facebook for others to write notes. Don’t write in your own wall. Write in your friends’ walls. Your friends will write notes, share videos or links in your wall. You do the same in your friends’ walls. When a friend posts something on your wall, reply to the post. If you find the posting annoying, politely ask them to back off and clean up your wall.

5. Join a few groups. There are all sorts of organic groups in facebook. These are groups of people with similar interests. Find a few that interest you and join them. You can create your own group but first find out if one exists on the same topic. This is an excellent place to be creative and get support from a bunch of people for your cause.

6. Create events and invite people. If you want to host a party, this is the feature you will use. Create your events and invite others to join. You can make an event public for your friends to see or private for the invitees to browse. Under my event, you can browse your friends’ public events. You will immediately know who are your fake friends because they did not invite you to their gala dinner they are hosting.

7. Send notes and share links. You send notes to your friends. Depending on the topic, you can send a note to a few friends or to all friends in your network. Don’t send chain letter notes because people find these repulsive. Your notes show up in your friends’ news feeds or on their walls. A tagged note shows up on the wall, otherwise, it is found in the homepage news feed. Use share for sharing links, even though you can use this feature for sharing notes. Share that link of a cheap travel-booking site you have found while surfing the net with friends planning their upcoming vacations.

8. Visit your homepage everyday. Besides your profile page in facebook, you also have a homepage. You homepage displays collaborative news feeds of all your friends, event and group invitations, friendship requests, friends’ birthdays, etc. If you want to know what is going on in your facebook friend circle, visit your homepage everyday.

The other features of facebook are poke, marketplace, facebook mobile, and hundreds of applications that enhance the facebook experience. As the facebook awareness grows, online marketers have started pounding the facebook door to gain a foothold. Future articles will discuss different ways to market your products and services to facebook members without insulting their intelligence.

Setting goals for your mlm company are important, but they are nothing if you don’t follow through with them. Setting the goals is the first step of the process while doing it is the ongoing process. Here are 7 things you can do to reach your mlm goals.

1. Envision your dreams

The best way to stay motivated with your mlm company is to envision what you would like life to be like. If you can be faithful to your dreams and stay true to your goals you will have a better chance at accomplishing them.

2. Hang around successful people

There is a myth that you are who you hang around with. If you can surround yourself with successful people you will pick up tips, advice, and an overall attitude that you can and will succeed with your mlm company.

3. Listen to motivational tapes

If you continue to pound it in your head that you can do it and you will attain your goals you will. Listening to motivational tapes and attending motivational speakers will help you gain confidence in yourself and become fearless of the task that lies ahead of you.

4. Become an expert at what you do

In order to accomplish your mlm goals you have to be able to succeed in different facets of the business. By practicing your presentation and going over your approach to prospects you will be less nervous and more confident when the time comes to talk to the prospects.

5. Avoid all bumps in the road

You are going to come across people saying you can’t do it or you gave it your all. To accomplish your dreams and have success with your mlm company you have to put these people and their words behind you. These are simply distractions and bumps in the road that will try to get you off course. Stay focused on what you want.

6. Keep your priorities straight

Having a successful mlm company requires your full attention at all times, not half the time or some of the time. If you want to have success and want to have a fulfilling life with network marketing you must keep your priorities straight.

7. Go over your goals EVERY DAY!!!

You should get in a habit of reviewing your mlm goals on a daily basis so you know exactly what needs to be done. Every time you accomplish a goal, cross it off the list and move on to the next goal. Your list is not set in stone by any means, so if needed don’t be afraid to add to the list. If you know what your goals are and see them repetitively, you will be more apt to achieve them.

These are just a few of the things you can do to assure yourself of attaining your mlm goals. Everyday you will come across negative people with negative comments. However, if you can maintain a positive attitude and envision your dreams you will find yourself on the right path towards an accomplished mlm company.

Why would anyone want to make money online? Well, firstly you can work from anywhere in the world that you can get an internet connection. Secondly, you can create an incredible income even if you only have a few hours a day. So if you want freedom, flexibility and want to make money, read on…
So, how do you actually make money online?

Here are some of the most popular and proven ways to make money online, in no particular order:

1. Make money on eBay
2. Make money with blogs
3. Make money with Online Surveys
4. Affiliate Marketing
5. Google Adwords
6. Google Adsense
7. Your own website

Some of these methods require some internet knowledge, while some are suitable for a total beginner. Some will produce an immediate income while others may take months or more.

For instance, blogs and surveys are ideal for the beginner, and surveys can produce immediate income. A blog is like an online journal. Surveys simply require you to share your opinion.

Your own web-site on the other hand requires some expertise and will usually produce income in the longer-term. However once your site does start making money for you, it’s like having your own money-printing machine!

Google Adsense is where you enable adverts to show on your blog or website, and you get paid every time someone clicks on the ads. So, if your blog or website become popular, and you are getting thousands of visitors a week or a day, you can make a great income doing pretty much nothing! (You did the work previously setting up the blog or site and now you can reap the rewards).

Google Adwords is where you pay for your own advert that will appear down the right side of the page when people do a google search. For instance, let’s say you are selling health products and need more customers. If you have your own website, however simple, you can create an advert that will appear on Google’s search results when someone does a search for health products. You pay every time someone clicks on your advert. Let’s say Google charge you 20 cents a click, and for every 30 people that click you get a sale of, say, $40. As long as you are in profit with the results, it can be well worth doing. However, I strongly recommend that you follow the experts with this method, else you could waste a lot of money. Read my ebook before you get involved.

Affiliate marketing can work well with Adwords. This is where you send buyers to other people’s websites and get generous commission on any sales made. The sales are tracked by way of a coded link. You don’t need to buy stock or send items to customers, the website owner does all that. This can be a superb way to make money once you understand it.

Selling on Ebay is another way to make money online quickly. You don’t need to sell stuff from your loft, you can sell whatever you are most interested in – so, if you love sport, why not look into selling sports-related items. If you make jewellery, sell that. If you love dogs, sell dog-related items. Again, there are tricks of the trade that will make the difference between ebay success and failure.

There are e-books available which show you how to create your own web-site and you can also get free websites when you buy information packages on the web (for examples of this visit the recommended businesses via the link below). I make money in all these areas because I think it’s a great idea to have more than one income stream. After all, why limit yourself?

I go into detail about exactly how to make money online with all 7 of these methods in my free e-book (see below).

My best advice is to do what I did and copy those who are already making money online as I demonstrate in the e-book. Why? Well, you can avoid wasting lots of time and money this way. I spent 18 months trying to figure out the best ways to make money online and the result is, many methods can work but not always as fast as you may wish. So, you can get started with the methods that make immediate cash and then progress into other methods if you want to earn more.

Some people make six figures A MONTH online, while others just want a few hundred a week. That’s the great thing about making money online, you can build up to whatever income you want, and let’s face it, there aren’t many jobs that offer you that!

Creating your own small business website can be a scary thing to do. It requires some planning to get it right and make Google sit up and take notice of your site at first glance. Small business website search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the keys, but all too often, astute business people leave the creation of their websites up to a family member or a friend who happens to know something about it. This is strange, for they wouldn’t dream of letting the same people build their bricks and mortar store or office.

Of course, getting an expert who fully understands small business SEO to build your website is not likely to come cheap, but it may be the best solution if you are starting out from scratch. However, this article is aimed at those small businesses that already have a website, but are disappointed at how poorly it performs. If you’re frustrated because your website appears on page 42 of the Google search results, and no one is visiting your website, here are 7 things you can do to quickly improve your results.

1. Create an Effective Website Title Tag, Description Meta Tag,
and Keywords Meta Tag

The most important part of any website page (in the eyes of the search engines) is the title tag. The title is enclosed between the opening title tag: and the closing title tag: . It is located in the head section of an HTML document, or web page. You should use your page’s main keyword in your title. Try to use your main keyword near the beginning of your title, and perhaps again near the end. But always strive to make your title readable, and not obviously keyword stuffed.

Your description tag plays an important role in SEO for your local small business. This tag is used by most of the search engines in their listings, so you need to spend some time getting this right. The description tag looks like this: and it is also found in the head section of your web page.

Something brief such as, “Acme Incorporated, Makers of Blue Widgets,” gets the message across, but you could do much better. Try to list benefits rather than features, and use your main keyword in your description as well. Keep your description reasonably brief, but not too short. Something like, “Acme, Inc., Makers of the Strongest, Most Powerful and Affordable Widgets on the Planet” is better.

Like a headline for an ad or sales flyer, your description may take time to develop. Start with a list of all of the benefits your product or service offers and then try to write 20 different descriptions for your site based on those benefits. Test your descriptions by reading them to your customers, employees or others familiar with your business. You’ll find out which description resonates most strongly with your potential prospects – and that’s good for the search engines and for your sales.

The keywords tag, again found in the head section of your web pages, looks like this: . The keywords you choose for your page are important, because they tell the search engines what should be found on the page. Google and all the other search engines present search results based on relevancy – how relevant your web pages are to the keywords and phrases your prospects are searching for.

Keep your keyword phrases to less than seven and don’t repeat the same words. For example, if you have two keyword phrases, which are, “blue widgets” and “bright blue widgets,” you should only include unique words after including the first “blue widgets” keyword.

Curious to know what your Title, Description, Meta and Keyword tags currently look like? Here’s a simple tip – just go to any page of your website, then click on “View Source” or “View Page Source” from the “View” menu. There you’ll be able to see exactly what your tags are telling Google when they crawl your site.

2. Optimize Your Website Copy

Your website copy consists of the words on every page of your site. Try to make it interesting and informative. One simple way to arrange your articles, or informative pages, is to use a simple three-step format. Begin with an introductory paragraph that tells your visitor what you are going to tell them. Then in the next two or three paragraphs, tell them. Finally, wind up the article by telling them what you just told them.

This may seem overly simple, but it works. Speak to your website audience as you would to a seven-year-old child. Don’t patronize them, but lay it out clearly in simple steps using straightforward language that anyone can understand.

When writing your copy for each of your pages, make sure to focus on one or two keywords per page. If you are selling widgets in all colors and you also sell thingamajigs, then widgets should be on one page and thingamajigs on another. Keep it simple for your customers and the search engines by focusing on one idea per page and your customers will thank you for it, and Google will thank you too.

3. Establish an Acceptable Keyword Density for Your Website Copy

While optimizing your website copy you also need to establish a keyword density that is acceptable to the search engines. Opinions differ, but somewhere between 2% and 5% is probably about right. This means that for effective small business SEO, your main keyword phrase should appear around three times for every 100 words.

Where your keyword appears is important too. Try to use your main keyword or phrase twice in the first paragraph, once in the second paragraph, once around the middle of the article, and once again near the end of the article. Try to start and end the first paragraph with your main keyword if possible, but don’t force it. Always aim for copy that is readable before copy that has perfect keyword density.

4. Create Quality Back Links to Your Website

Increasingly, the search engines are giving added weight to the number of quality back links your website has. It used to be that reciprocal linking was quite acceptable, and it still is, but now Google and the other search engines give higher credibility to one-way back links as far as your search engine rankings are concerned.

And it’s not just any back links either. You need to have quality back links, or back links from sites that are similar to yours. It’s not much good getting a back link from a site about butterflies if your site focuses on racing cars. With Google, it’s all about relevance. You should also strive to get back links from so-called authority sites. These are sites that the search engines deem to be an authority on their chosen subject. They tend to be quite big and to have been around for some time.

5. Use Local Directories Effectively

If you are marketing to a local market, then make use of local directories. How do you find them? If, for example, you are located in New York, then go to Google and search for, “directory” + “new york.” This will return a list of all the local directories in that city. You could even try searching for, “blue widgets directory” + “new york,” if you are marketing blue widgets.

Once you find a suitable directory, submit your website to it. People do search on local directories, so even if your product has worldwide appeal, there’s a greater chance that you will get the sale if someone finds you in a local directory over someone else located in another continent who can deliver just as cost effectively or as quickly.

6. Create a Proper Site Map and Google Site Map

Every website should have a site map. This is merely a directory of all your site’s pages with links to every one. You should have a link from every page of your site back to your site map, and your site map must be updated whenever a new page is added.

A Google Site Map is also a site map, but one that is in a special format that Google can easily spider. It has the great advantage of allowing Google to instantly “see” your site and evaluate it. It can be a very useful tool in getting Google to index your site more quickly than otherwise. For more information on creating a Google Site Map, go to: http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/.

7. Add Fresh Original Content to Your Website at an Acceptably Measured Pace

Your website should never be considered finished. It should always be a work in progress that is constantly expanding with fresh and original content. The easiest way to do this is to add new articles on specific subjects on a regular basis. One article a week is the least you should aim for, but don’t add content too quickly either. Dumping 100 articles a day into your site will ultimately work against you, because the search engines look for organic growth – in other words, growth that seems natural. Since it’s not likely that you were able to write 100 articles in one day, Google and the other search engines will see this as unnatural and will count it against you in your page ranking.

SEO for your local small business is easier than you might think. Getting Google to fall head over heels in love with your small business website is not rocket science. You only need to implement a few simple things on a regular basis, and over time Google will notice and your page rank – and your placement with the search engines – will start climbing.

So, you’ve decided to start a home based business. Congratulations, and welcome to the high energy world of entrepreneurship. I have owned and operated my own home based business since 1994. While is takes some time to learn, one of the fastest ways is to role model someone who is achieving their goals. I learned fast that having a success coach or mentor will help you succeed at much faster pace. One of the biggest thrills of owning your own business is the flexibility of your work time, deciding when to work, go to the beach or spend time with your family. The financial rewards can be numerous. The nice thing about owning your own business is you get paid what you are worth.

Now that you’ve decided to start your own business, you might be thinking “How can I become successful, what does it take and what do I have to do?” These seven secrets will help:

1) set up a separate working area in your home. All you need is an area that you can maintain your focus in and get your work done. I remember a person whose home based business was doing 7 figures a year say to me,” Ron when I work I work, but when it’s time for family time it’s time for family time, you have to separate the two.”

2) Set Goals that you want to achieve in the coming year. Make your goals crystal clear, put them up on the wall, and set annual, quarterly and monthly goals. The clearer your goals are the better chance you have of achieving them. Put up a Vision Board in your home office, look at it everyday and see yourself accomplishing your goal.

3) Your third step is marketing. Decide who your target market is, what is the best way to reach them. Determine the best way to attract your target market. Who is your ideal client? Invest at least a week and go to your local library and read some books on marketing to see what the experts are doing. I myself invest in one marketing book at month to keep up to date on current marketing trends.

4) Time management is crucial to the success of your home based business. We all have 24 hours in a day but how you invest them will determine your success at the end of the year. A good thought is to work on your top priorities when you are the freshest, so you accomplish the most towards your goal.

5) Network with other like minded people. One of the fastest ways to grow any business is to promote Joint ventures with people who can introduce you to your best clients. I’ll never forget one of my first joint ventures that resulted in a 6 figure income in 90 days, the feeling and financial rewards are what make owning your own business exciting.

6) Look the part. If you want to be treated professionally, act like a professional. Set up a separate bank account for your business. Have a dedicated phone line and fax line for business. Outsource the creation of your marketing materials so your business has that high tech look.

7) Automation is the key. Learn how to become a prospecting machine. The number one things most successful home based business has are good high quality leads. Have automatic systems in place to help you identify and attract your ideal client. Target marketing is where your profits are at. Focus on adding value to the life of your clients and you will be reward handsomely.

These seven secrets will jump start your home based business in a hurry.

Have you ever thought about starting an internet business? It could really be as simple as opening a Yahoo Store, or on the other end of the scale, as complicated as building your own, professional, dynamic, e-commerce website. Regardless of your approach to internet business, to ensure the success of your business, you need to know of, and apply the following 7 key points.

1) Demand–

Lets say for instance, that you have a really amazing product, and a website that looks like a million dollars–but what if you have no demand for your product? In saying that, you aren’t going to be left with a sword in a gun fight. In the online world, there are many ways to advertise and generate demand for your product. There are the choices and possibilities of advertising in Ezines, joint ventures, affiliate programs, referrals, and even as simple as encouraging word of mouth. Remember, without demand, what do you have? No sales. Where does a business without sales end up?

2) Order–

Its all well and good to have visitors to your website, but they don’t do anything for us unless they become a customer. However, its not as easy as it first appears. Now, once your visitor has turned into a customer, you need to ensure that them becoming an actual customer, is as easy as possible. A straightforward and simple ordering process will do wonders for your business. Less clicks and less time it takes for a customer to complete his or her order, the better it is.

3) Payment–

If there was any part of your business that you would not want to get wrong, it would be this–how payment is actually being transferred between you and your customers. Generally, when taking into account online businesses, the most popular method is credit card transactions. Not only are they an easier and quicker method than most other forms of payment, but it also goes to a psychological level. Credit Cards exude a “buy-now, think-later” attitude. Taking this into account, as a business, you’d be making more profit and sales if you accepted credit cards. However, in saying that, it would also be a wise decision to use alternative methods of payment. After all, the easier it is for your customer to find ways to pay you for your product, you’ll see a more efficient increase both in sales and customer numbers.

4) Fulfillment–

Now payment has been received from your customer, the path isn’t clear just yet. This is a mistake often made by new businesses. Your products need to be delivered, remember! Generally, if you sell digital products, the industry standard is for the product to be delivered instantly; generally through a download link. Your customer expects this, so ensure this is in place. Physical products require more attention to detail; namely physical delivery. Ensure that your customer is informed every step of the way. Communication is essential. If at all possible, send your customer a means of tracking the product through the course of its delivery. Feeling insecure is something your customer should never have to experience.

5) Service and Support–

A good and trusted business will always endevour to provide and utilise excellent customer service support. To a decent extent, your online business customer support will determine whether or not you get repeat purchases, or if your customer requests a refund. The support abilities of your internet business should be efficient as possible; after all, this is the industry standard. At the least, a well-structured and timely e-mail support service should be available to the customer. The more professional your online business becomes, so should your support methods. More advanced methods such as utilising online helpdesks, FAQs, live chats, a ticket system, a knowledge base, will help greatly; these are just examples, there are more support methods out there which you can use.

6) Security–

The internet business world is filled with people who are honest, trustworthy, and are willing to do everything to help the customer. But, on the other hand, the opposite is also very true. And as such, the internet community at large are getting more aware of ways to protect themselves from the internets less desirable people and activities. Namely, E-commerce frauds.

Because of this, it is upto you and your business to ensure that your visitors are protected, and to prove to them that they can trust you. Simple things, such as using a secured server to process your payments, can help more than is seen on the surface. A digital certificate can also help your business, so purchase one if you can. Physical mailing addresses, and even a phone number where your customers can contact you. Whatever you can do to provide your customers with some piece of mind.

7) Community–

Your online business has begun to flourish, and you have now received more than just a few sales–by now you should be thinking about starting a community. A community in any sense is about belonging to something; in this case its no different. Use your customers as a community development team for your product. Use their suggestions and comments to develop and change your product(s). Not only is this an excellent way to increase product ideas for your business, but with every new product release or update, you’ll see an increase in sales ratios, and you will also have built a loyal customer base.

Well there you have it! Utilising and practising these 7 keys will not only help your online business grow and flourish, but will also ensure your customers are happy, too!

An associate program is an online marketing method used by a lot of small and large scale electronic businesses to generate additional sales. The method involves making a deal with another web site whose content is often related to that of the main merchant’s website. Simply put, the associate web site posts advertisments for the merchant web site, and also offers it’s readers links to the merchant website. For each person who purchases items from the merchant via the associate link, the associate gets a commission. From this simple system, associate marketing has grown rapidly to become larger and more elaborate so that today, entire books are written revolving around creating and operating successful associate programs. Here are 7 basic criteria that both merchants and potential publishers should take into consideration when choosing or designing an associate program.

Compensation System – there are different types of compensation, and associate programs often use more than one in combination when making a package to offer to their merchants. The smallest and simplest types get paid a small, fixed amount every time a viewer from the associate page clicks the merchant’s link and gets redirected to it’s website. Others are strictly commission basis and require actual successful sales to earn a percentage. A well designed compensation system should be fair for both the associate and the merchant.

Publisher Type – the type of associate program is very important in marketing. There are different categories, most notably Product Review Sites, Loyalty and Rebate Sites, Comparison Shopping/Online Directories, Cross Merchant Associate Sites, and Personal Forums/Blogs. Choosing the right type of publisher to get as associates can allow a merchant to tailor different marketing strategies to suit.

Program Compatibility – this is a natural consideration to take for any web based endeavor. The compatibility of the associate web site’s programming with the merchant’s web site is extremely important. Imagine if, for example, the merchant web site could not be properly displayed on certain browsers that the associate web site actually supported! To this end, both merchants and associates are advised to make their web sites compatible with as wide a variety of different programs as possible.

Marketing Approach – this is one area where marketing can get a bit sticky. While there’s nothing wrong with advertising through the use of reviews, personal recommendations, and web based graphic ads, some associate web sites use more aggressive marketing methods that may actually give the merchant a negative reputation. For example, rampant spamming and pop ups can get really irritating for most people and can cause both an associate and merchant’s web sites to get registered as “spam” on someone’s firewall. Needless to say, this is counter productive.

Niche and Demographic Coverage – special interest niches and certain demographics are always the target audience of a certain merchant. Because of this, the associate programs chosen should cater to the same groups. This does not need to be an exact match; for example, a publisher of fire arms magazines can approach magazine review web sites, gun enthusiast forums, and the personal web sites of gun shops as viable options to take as associates.

Online Interactivity Options – associate web sites MUST have a certain amount of online interactivity for users. If it exists simply for the purpose of advertising affiliated merchant web sites, an associate web site would quickly run out of traffic going through it. Good associate programs keep the interest of their visitors through various means, like having discussion boards, offering reviews and helpful articles, and publishing downloadable monthly e-magazines.

Multi Tier and Two Way Affiliate Marketing – these two types of associate programs differ slightly from normal associate programs because they extend beyond the regular merchant-associate type of relationship. They actually involve multiple associate websites connected via links to each other. Multi tier marketing is often seen in referral programs like multi level marketing, and in this case associates can also gain commissions by recruiting to and linking with other “lower tier” associate web sites. This provides larger exposure for a product. In two way affiliate marketing, two or more merchants act as each other’s associate programs, so that both offer their own sets of products and at the same time provide links to each other’s web sites.

So you’ve set some goals, you’re feeling ambitious, and you’ve promised yourself that you’re going to follow through. You’re determined to make this year better than the last. And hopefully, it works out that way. But you’ve seen the reality, too. In spite of a sensible plan and good intentions, most people find themselves off course by March. Imagine if you could uncover the cause, stay the course, and get what you really want. The answer lies in having a solid starting point…a strategic plan that really works.

Every year, we meet thousand of decision makers around the country in our consulting and speaking work. Like you, they’re smart, ambitious, and they’re doing a decent job. But, they’re also often frustrated that they aren’t doing better. When we break down the element for them, we find that few if any of them have a good strategic plan they can work from. In fact, most of them don’t even know how to create one.

The following is a mini lesson in strategic planning. We don’t have a lot of space, but here are some important things to know when creating a basic plan.

1. Know the difference between a strategy and a tactic. Strategy is the plan that defines where you’re going. Tactics are the things you do and use to get to the destination. Sounds simple, right? You probably already know this, right? Take a closer look at any list of goals; you will find that many of those goals are tactics. This is the reason most New Year’s resolutions and company goals are off track by March.

2. Be specific. A few words can make all the difference in the direction you take your firm, and the tactics you use to implement a strategy.

Vague statement: We will improve customer service response time.
Specific statement: We will improve customer service response time will drop 29%.
Can you see how a few words change the way you might approach a challenge or opportunity?

3. Engage the aging process. Like great wine, the making of a strategic plan takes time. A strategic plan is NOT built during a weekend retreat! It evolves out of thoughts, research, information, and experiences. Spend some real time developing a strategy so that it’s the right one for your organization. Not having a strategy is hard on a firm. But having the wrong strategy, because you just threw one together, can be disastrous. On the flip side, don’t let the time frame hinder you from doing something, at least. It’s better to have some type of plan to follow, even if it isn’t exactly what you want it to be today.

4. Keep it simple. You can still be thorough without running yourself through the mill. Use the A-B-C approach:

A. Establish what you want to achieve: STRATEGY.
B. List available, realistic ways to make it happen: TACTICS
C. Select options that give the highest rewards for the lowest output: IMPLEMENTATION.

5. Follow the plan. Most plans are developed, and then put on a shelf. When (or if) they’re finally taken off the shelf for referral, you usually have to blow the dust off them. Not good. Senior management is guiltiest of not following the plan. A CEO should be able to clear everything off his desk and follow the plan daily if the plan is complete. He shouldn’t think it is meant for everyone but himself. Think of the strategic plan as the road map you and your organization use to follow your intended path. If you were to drive from California to New York, you would use a map of some sort. You’d refer to it to make sure you took all the turns and exits you need to follow the right roads, prevent getting lost, and get where you want to be. The same with the corporate map.
6.Be flexible. If, during the course of the year, you find that the plan needs some tweaking, you can certainly modify it. Be careful not to switch directions too often, as this will discredit you and your plan in the eyes of its followers. But, make sure that the plan is working in the best interests of the organization, even if that requires a sensible, justifiable change here and there.

Using these tips alone, you should be able to develop a stronger strategic plan…one that will endure through the unexpected trials that arise through the year, also. We hope this year is one full of growth and success for you. Good luck.

© David and Lorrie Goldsmith