The Quest For Home Business Success

By Wendy Betterini

When most of us dive into our first home business venture, we are filled with visions of wealth, comfort, security and freedom. We have a general idea of where we'd like to end up financially, and we work hard to get there. Some of us make it there quickly, while others may take a little longer. But at what point would we consider ourselves to be "successful?" Once we're earning a million dollars a year? Once we can afford that mansion we've had our eye on? Once we're wearing designer clothing? Of course, success means different things to different people.

Perhaps to you, success means earning a little extra money to help with household extras. To me it might mean earning more. To someone else, success might have nothing to do with money at all. They might strive for professional or personal accomplishments. The meaning of success can vary from person to person, as can our beliefs about what it takes to truly be successful.

I had an interesting experience last week. I submitted a request for work at home success stories to be featured on my website, and the response was quite surprising. Not one response. That's right, zero! I submitted this request to several popular work-at-home communities, and I purposely placed no restrictions on what "success" meant. I was quite surprised by the lack of response. Are there NO work at home successes out there? I don't believe that for a minute; I know there are many, MANY people working successfully from home. So why wouldn't they want to be featured? What could prevent them from believing they qualify as a "success story?"

Income - Many of us don't feel "successful" until we're raking in massive amounts of money and can afford to buy whatever we want without glancing at the price tag. While money is certainly one measure of success, it isn't the only one. Most of us have an idea of how much we'd like to be earning from our home businesses, but does it mean we're not successful until we reach that point? Of course not! We can be successful regardless of how much we earn. Just because you are earning $500 a month instead of $50,000 doesn't mean you're not a success. In order to earn $50,000, you must first earn $500!

Status - If we haven't quite reached the "level" we're striving for in our home businesses, we may not allow ourselves to feel like a success. "Once I get 1,000 customers, then I'll be successful," we say. Or once we get 100,000 subscribers to our newsletter, or hire our first employees. Whatever status we're trying to reach, we place requirements upon ourselves and won't consider ourselves successful until we meet them. The problem with this is that home businesses (or businesses in general) are not static. We don't just "get there" and then call it
good. We will always be striving to gain more customers, recruit more agents, sell more products, earn more money, set goals and reach them. We will always be pushing ourselves to do more, be more. This is a good thing!

Perfectionism - We are so much harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else. Does one little thing keep you from feeling like a success? Perhaps you're earning as much as you want to with your home business, but there are also things you struggle with. Like organization, finances, or coming up with new ideas and seeing them through. Rather than thinking of yourself as
successful, you allow those little things you don't do perfectly to hold you back. You berate yourself, "I would be successful if it wasn't for my messy filing system!" or "Will I ever learn how to do this right?" No one is perfect. We all have things we're good at, and other things we're not so good at. Accept that about yourself. It's really not important to do everything so perfectly. We can only do our best and have fun with it.

Modesty - It's true that no one likes a braggart. Perhaps the people who read my request didn't want to appear boastful or conceited by submitting a success story. While modesty is a good thing, is it possible to carry it too far? Does being modest mean we can't take pride in our own accomplishments? Does it mean we have to hide our success? No. There is a very big difference between sharing our success and bragging about it. Braggers try to make themselves appear better than others and put themselves up on a pedestal, while people who share their success in a genuine way strive to inspire others. By sharing our successes, we encourage people to make their own success stories! We demonstrate that it is indeed possible to be successful working from home. What a gift that is!

You may be surprised to learn the actual definition of Success: 1) a favorable result; 2) the gaining of wealth, fame, etc. Most of us use the second definition more often than the first. But
take a close look at that first definition. A favorable result. How easy is it to attain a favorable result? Very! Just because your results may not be as large as you'd like them to be doesn't mean you're not successful. If you've attained ANY favorable results, you are a Success!

The most important aspect of success is believing we deserve it. So many of us struggle with worthiness issues. Some of us were told as children that we'd never amount to anything; we
internalized that message and continue to carry it with us to this day. Others might be afraid to try because we've never felt quite "good enough." As soon as we start working toward our goals, self-doubts come creeping in and our inner critic starts harping at us: "Who are you kidding? You don't have what it takes to be successful. Just give it up and get a real job!" So we sabotage ourselves, create obstacles to block our way, and continue our never-ending quest for success.

The truth is, we will only be as successful as we ALLOW ourselves to be. The human mind has amazing power. Whatever we consistently tell ourselves is what we will create in our lives. If we don't believe we deserve success, we will avoid it (even though we trick ourselves into believing we're working toward it). If we tell ourselves we're not good enough, we will act in ways that prevent good things from happening to us. The good news is that this also works in reverse. If we tell ourselves we're successful, we will be. If we keep affirming that we're good enough, strong enough, capable enough, we will be. Think about the significance of that. It means it's ALL WITHIN OUR CONTROL. Whatever we want to be, we can.

Don't be afraid to embrace your success, no matter how small you perceive it to be. Remember, any favorable result equals Success!

About The Author:

Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer, web designer and owner of http://www.CreativeWorkAtHome.com, a resource center for home business owners and telecommuters. Visit today for information on how to make your work at home experience successful.

Can I Be A Success Online? Part 1

By Tim Brocklehurst

So you want to make your money online now huh? Great. There are plenty of ways to do it. AutoSurfs, MLMs, form-filling/surveys, Affiliate Marketing, HYIP's and the good old fashioned way: Your own product on your own website.

I'll explore each of these ways in the course of this series. So if they sound like gobledy gook to you now, fear not. Its estimated that every day over 250,000 people make the decision to start earning money at home on the Internet. That's a lot of people who don't have a clue what these terms mean either. Everyone's got to start somewhere.

For most people, a reasonable course of action when choosing an online business, is to bring up their favourite search engine (if they've even got one yet) and type the words "work from home". The number of sites that come up when you enter such a term on Google alone is 1.9 Billion. Compare this with "find a job" (425 million) or "new career" (458 million) and you get an
idea of where Internet Marketers are directing their efforts.

OK. So the good news is, if there's plenty of supply you've got plenty of choice. But how do you go about choosing the one thats best for you? How do you know which one of those 1.9 billion
work from home ideas gives you the best chance of success? Lets face it, you could live until you're five hundred and you still wouldn't have read them all.

And perhaps you've got your own idea, perhaps you've used The Internet enough to have identified a niche area, a business idea you want to exploit. Either way, you're entering new
waters and its best to be prepared. Even if you're convinced by your own idea, it is still adviseable to watch, and even join, one or two of the work-from-home offerings so you can learn
about the ways in which business can and can't be done online.

There is a methodology I teach which helps people decide on which way to turn, if indeed they should turn to any of them. It uses a simple set of questions, no more than 5 in each set, and as long as you are honest to your core, your answers will steer you in the right direction.

The first set is 4 quick questions that you should answer without giving too much thought to. Just read them each and give the first answer that comes into your head - give your
instinctive answer.

It is important to be instinctive because once you've embarked on your online career, it will be your instinct that will direct you. Don't take time theorising about what you think the right or wrong answer should be, just give the true answer. That's the only way you'll get a useful result.

These four questions should be answered in order with a score between 1 (minimum) and 5 (maximum). No zeros. Write your answers down and keep them safe.

Here they are:

1. How computer literate am I? (Not at all - 1. Exceedingly - 5)
2. How is my self-discipline? (Terrible - 1. Excellent - 5)
3. How positive is my outlook on life? (Miserable - 1. Excellent - 5)
4. How much can I afford to fail? (I can't - 1. It really doesn't matter - 5)

In part II we'll analyse your results and move on to the next stage in the process. In the meantime, enjoy researching and see if you can get a good feel of what's out there.

About The Author:

Tim Brocklehurst is founder and CEO of The Freedom List, http://www.thefreedomlist.com an online course and resource area for budding Internet Entrepreneurs. He is also author of 5 Steps to your own Profit Website available at http://www.5stepstoprofit.com

How Keywords Affect Your Rankings

By James Mahony

This article explains a few things about SEO, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.

We all want to know how keywords affect our rankings, but to find out we'll need to do a little work. Many say keywords are the key to good search engine rankings, although they aren't at
all the only factor.

If you need a tool to help you decide on your keywords, try Overture's Search Term Suggestion Tool - it allows you to test your keyword rankings by showing you statistics on recent searches for them. It's a great tool when you have no clue which keyword you should choose, as it can give you a list of terms that were recently searched on.

Keyword Density.

Keyword density refers to the number of the keywords contained within your text relative to the amount of text there is. Preferred keyword density ratios vary between search engines, but you should generally try to keep them between two and eight percent (major search engines prefer the lower end). Keyword analysis tools can help to optimize a web page's keyword density. These tools are good if you're not sure of what you're doing, as they're very intuitive and explain things as you go.

Counting the Keywords.

Many SEO experts will tell you that the keyword density of your text isn't a very important factor, and that you should be careful not to overdo it. So is there a limit? How many times should you use your keywords? SEO experts won't be able to answer these questions for you, because no-one's really sure of the answer. The best answer is that it changes regularly, and you can never be sure - you have to experiment to see what works for you.

Location of Keywords.

When testing the effects of keyword location, we found that pages with the keywords at the top and bottom of the page ranked higher on Google than pages with the keywords in the middle.

I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Many other search engines also give keywords more or less weight based on their location, but keep in mind that each search engine's algorithm is different. Here's a list of how most search engines prioritize keyword positions, from most to least:

1. Domain name.

2. Page title.

3. Headings (i.e. H1, H2, etc.).

4. Body text (the first 2 to 3 KB usually counts more).

5. Meta tags (especially description).

6. Links (including keywords in the URL or link text of links to you).

7. Alt text (the 'alt' descriptions for your pictures).

Really, though, keyword density is one of those areas where you'll have trouble on your hands if you try to second guess the search engines. Be cautious.

As your knowledge about SEO continues to grow, you will begin to see how SEO fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important
too.

About The Author:

James Mahony is the founder of http://www.searchmama.com - A site dedicated to Search Engine Optimization http://www.searchmama.com
http://www.thedomaintycoons.com
http://www.articlesforwebsitecontent.com

Can The Average Person Really Make A Living Online?

By Douglas Rogers

Can you really make money online? The answer is a resounding "Yes!"

First, though, you need to understand how this game really works.

The right mindset is crucial to your success.

You've probably come across numerous business opportunities already. I know you're actively searching for information. I hope you haven't become jaded already by the con artists out there who make false promises.

The fact is you can profit significantly and, yes, even quickly once you learn the right way to do business online. So, approach this article with an open mind.

What E-Commerce is really all about

There's nothing magic about the Internet. It's really just another medium of communication. The difference between doing business online versus doing business in a brick and mortar
establishment is this:

1. Your potential customer base spans across the globe if you so desire. You aren't limited by your location.

2. Your business operates 24/7. You can still make sales even when the workday ends.

3. Your overhead is significantly lower than it would be in a traditional business, and the barriers to entry are lower as well.

4. You can create non-traditional businesses which will have no parallel in the offline world.

As an online entrepreneur, you also enjoy a wider range of options in number of products you sell, their method of delivery and your profit margin after expenses.

Sounds great, right? It truly is an ideal situation for the small, home based business owner; but don't quit your job just yet.

An online business requires just as much focus and dedication to get off the ground as any other business, so forget about working at home in your underwear right off the bat.

The first thing you need to do is investigate your options. What type of business can you start online? Which businesses are the easiest to set up?

If you already possess some business knowledge and common sense, you're off to a great start. The real challenge comes when you start translating this knowledge to match the rules of online commerce. The game is played a bit differently on the internet than it is on the streets.

Newcomers often have difficulty sorting out the differences between business models versus business strategies.

Here are some of the most common online business models:

1. Selling tangible goods (ie, Ebay)

2. Selling information products (intangible/downloaded)

3. Affiliate marketing

It takes a certain personality to thrive in any one of these. Let's take a look at the traits associated with each.

The Seller of Tangible Goods

This type of entrepreneur usually possesses previous experience in the retail industry, though it is not totally necessary to have previous experience in order to succeed. However, an inexperienced online retailer faces the biggest learning curve.

In order to sell tangible goods, you'll need to learn the ins and outs of wholesale for product sourcing. You'll need to learn how to set the optimal price point for your products to remain profitable and competitive. You must deal with shipping and returns.

If you run a one-person operation, it will be near impossible to ship products in the necessary volume. In this case, you'll need to find companies which can "drop ship" your product. Drop
shipping is a fulfillment service.

This sounds ideal - but be forewarned. Most real wholesalers have minimum order requirements and will not ship single items.

Drop ship wholesalers who do ship single items often mark up their prices and you end up paying at least 10%-15% above the true wholesale cost. This isn't a small price to pay when your
objective is competitive pricing. Even a small mark up can kill your profit margin.

If you choose this route, be prepared for a lot of hard work! Online retail requires persistence, patience, strategic planning and a high degree of risk.

The Seller of Intangible/Information Products

Information products present an good opportunity for small, home-based business owners. Your costs of development and overhead are low, while your potential profit margin is high.

You will need a new skill set if you choose this path. Primarily, you will need to learn good copywriting skills and how to sell people on what they desire, not on what they think they need. It's relatively simple to entice a visitor to purchase, say, an MP3 player when they're already looking for one. This doesn't require convincing sales copy.

An information product, though, does require good copy. You're asking your potential customer to invest in a product they aren't familiar with - something they can't see or touch or play with like a tangible product.

Information marketing is very much "all in the mind". It rests on your ability to stir up people's passions and secret wishes. If you pride yourself on seeing "the big picture" and have the heart of a teacher or communicator, information marketing could be the right choice for you.

The Affiliate Marketer

Being an affiliate marketer can be the Ideal business for most people. They make a living selling products they do not own. Profits come from commissions paid on sales that they refer to other merchants.

A good affiliate can reap an enormous full-time income marketing a whole suite of products that he does not own. He doesn't pay for product creation, doesn't have to ship anything and doesn't deal with customer service issues or returns.

One major skill an affiliate marketer needs to develop as is the ability to generate highly targeted traffic. You also need to learn how to capture that traffic and do a bit of extra selling before they hit the merchant's site.

If you don't capture the visitor's e-mail address, they're gone for good - and you'll get stuck trying to generate volumes of traffic over and over again just to capture enough "luck of the draw" sales to get by. It's like throwing your ad budget down a hole.

If you want to make money online, there are two ways to go about it. The first is trial and error, spending hundreds of hours in front of your computer, buying e-books and struggling perhaps a year or two before you make a dime. The second and best way is to learn from someone who has already achieved success online and can coach and guide you every step of the way.

But beware, there are many out there who will sell you garbage e-books and courses full of ideas on how to make money on the internet, but most fall short of giving you an easy to follow and workable plan. Especially if your a newbie to internet marketing.

I know first hand about this because I spent a full year struggling to make money on the internet. I bought almost every so called Guru system out there only to be let down and was still left struggling to make money. But my determination to make a living on the internet paid off and now I produce a fantastic full time income for my family solely from my online affiliate business.

Whether your a newbie or have been struggling for some time, you can achieve online success too if you don't give up and learn the right skills from a proven Internet Wealth Building Coach. Just stay focused, proactive and stay positive - and soon you'll be well on your way to making outstanding money online!

About The Author:

Doug Rogers is an Internet marketing coach who has helped the lives of many acheive success with there own Internet business. To learn how you can be a part of an Inner
Circle Success Group and try a Proven, Fail-Proof System for online success. visit: http://www.superbsystem.com

Successful Website - Secrets

By Jerry Goldfarb

Does your business have a presence on the Internet? Is it doing well? Did you know that the most important factor effecting your business on the internet is your web site? No matter how good your product is, no matter how low your product is priced at, success on the internet depends wholly on your website. If the website is not professional looking, the chances of your
success are slim.

This article assumes that you are conversant with HTML and includes a few tips on designing a professional looking website.

* The home page should load in the browser in less than 8 seconds at 56.6 Kbps connection. The customer never waits, costing you precious business.

* Search Engines are the agents that bring traffic to your site; about 80% of web traffic comes through search engines today. To make your website friendly to search engines, make sure that proper META tags are included in each of the pages. Before you edit the site or make one, make sure that you understand how to optimize the website.

* Choose your backgrounds and colors carefully. Dark colors and interesting backgrounds take the focus away from the content. Maintain the color and background theme throughout the site.
Colors have an effect on the mood of the visitor. Choose carefully as per your requirements.

* Choose not to use animation on you site. Animation causes slow loading speed and also looks unprofessional.

* The home page should contain relevant information on what you are offering. If the visitor cannot find the product or service at the home page, you will lose him forever.

* Avoid using banners. If you need to use them, keep them limited to 1 per page.

* Always display contact information on every page of your website. Also keep the response times minimal, within 48 hours to promote better relationships.

* Make sure all links and images are working properly on the website. Check for grammar in the content. A professional website should not have mistakes in it and should contain a logo on each page. Make sure that a visitor can get from the start to the end of his destination within 4 clicks.

* The navigation should be simple and easy. Keep all navigation links together.

* Java and frames should be used sparingly, to speed up loading times and to ensure search engine friendliness.

* Finally before uploading, check the site loading different browsers. All browsers are not made equal.

* Keep your site up-to-date and change content every fortnight. The regular visitors should have a reason to come back.

For more information and tips, visit http://www.cobbwebdesign.com/.

About The Author:

Jerry Goldfarb

For more information and tips, visit http://www.cobbwebdesign.com/.

Where Are Your Articles Being Published?

By Bill Platt

There are a few article directory software programs in the marketplace. Some are great, some are good, and some stink to high heaven, for the writer and for the website owners.

In an ideal world, all article management software would be easy- to-use for the webmaster. Also in an ideal world, the submission process would be fast and easy for the writer. But, this is not an ideal world.

In today's article hungry marketplace, there are literally hundreds of websites where you can submit your articles.

Three Types of Article Directories

There are three kinds of article directories:

* Stand-Alone Directories of Articles Available for Reprint
* Stand-Alone Directories of Articles Available for Reading
* Article Directories Inside of a Website, with Articles Available for Reading

With these different kinds of directories, you will find different categories of webmasters. This distinction is more important than you think.

* Corporate Owners
* Independent Online Business Webmasters
* Hobbyist Webmasters

Personally, I own two article directories. One has nearly 2500 articles in it, and the other has nearly 5000 articles in it.

Both of mine are of the first type, Stand-Alone Directories of Articles Available for Reprint. But, I am not a corporate owner.
I am an independent online business webmaster.

The reason why the type of owner is important is that the type of owner will determine where your articles will be published today AND tomorrow.

Corporate owners have a bottomless supply of web server space available to them. In the corporate category, these directories are the most important:

* http://www.ezinearticles.com/

* http://www.goarticles.com/

* http://www.ideamarketers.com/

* http://www.uniterra.com/

Directory Owner Budgets

Most new article directory owners have a small budget for web hosting, and therefore, they have a limited amount of web server hard drive space.

Most of these new directory owners have jumped into their website with both feet hoping to cash in on their Google Adsense revenue.

After a few months, the truth will crash them into the wall.

On http://www.articles4reprint.com/, I have more than 4500 articles live. I have another 1000 articles pending my approval. Generally, it takes 30 seconds to approve one article. So, the
articles currently pending on this site will require an investment of another 8.5 hours to bring up-to-date. One day a couple of weeks back, I spent 19 straight hours approving articles on this site. I am not going to stop taking submissions to this article directory site, but it does require a lot of my time to maintain.

Perhaps I am exceptional. I will spend the hours required to approve articles, but will the next person?

I started this site with a basic account. I have had to upgrade my web hosting package three times to be able to continue accepting articles to the site. Will the next person make this kind of commitment?

The payoff for operating a website like this one is the Adsense revenue developed from hosting such a wide range of content on the website. In the case of the http://www.articles4reprint.com/
website, I am currently generating only $40 per month on my Adsense account. Will the next person consider this a fair trade of time for money? Likely not.

I Know This Is My Business, But Don't Take My Word For It

At various times, I submit articles to various directories. The distinction of "at various times" is actually important. Websites that were accepting direct submissions from me six months ago are no longer accepting submissions from anyone.

Writers want to believe that they can just crank out hundreds of articles, generating hundreds of links back to their websites. Sometimes they can, and at other times, they cannot.

It comes down to this. Every website where I submit articles has a human moderator at the other end of the transaction, and they have the right to choose what materials they will use and what materials they will not use. Each webmaster can also consider whether the time required for the approval process will help their bottom line.

These big article directories no longer accept articles from anyone. Also shown is the last date an article was added to the site.

* http://www.article-emporium.com/ - December 2005
* http://www.articletime.com/ - December 2005
* http://www.learnthis.info/ - August 2005
* http://www.family-content.com/ - May 2005
* http://www.certificate.net/wwio/ - April 2003

Many smaller directories have also stopped taking articles. In most cases, the websites show that they accept articles, but you never realize that they are not printing your articles until you
look or until you hit the Submit button on the Submission Form. Or, you can continue submitting to them, never realizing that you are wasting your time, until you go to search the website for your articles.

http://www.articlefinders.com/ says that they have a monster backlog and they are not taking new articles until they get caught up.

http://www.marketingtroll.co.uk/ seems to indicate that they are still accepting articles, but they have not published a new article since May of 2005.

Folks, I could go on forever. I could literally show you hundreds of directories that seem to be accepting articles, but they have not published any new articles in months or years.

Generally, Mailing Lists on the Major List Servers Deliver Better Results

Article distribution email groups on Yahoo and Google generally provide good results, but they fall into disuse almost as frequently as web article directories.

Here, I will show the subscriber count of the Article Distribution Group, the last time an article was published through the list, and the URL for the list.

1003 - September 2003 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArticlePublisher/
560 - September 2001 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArticlePublish
2002 - December 2000 -

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/articles_archives
752 - June 2005 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreeWrites
474 - December 2000 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The-Article-Depot
465 - August 2003 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WriteQualityContent

The following article distribution group is active, but there is no moderator to review your posts:

1390 - June 2005 -

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReprintArticles-Paradise

(the only people who can submit to this list are those who were not moderated at the time the list owner disappeared.)

In Conclusion...

If you are distributing your own articles to a house list, check back from time to time to make sure that they are actually using your articles. Always verify your results. Don't waste your time
submitting articles to people who will not even look at your articles.

About The Author :

Bill Platt is the owner of http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl

Get Traffic Jams With Referral Links On Your Website

By Anton Cheranev

Are you running an Internet business and looking for a way to boost the traffic to your website? Would you like to increase your opt-in subscribers, get more referrals, quality leads and receive valuable feedback? Well you can, through the fastest growing marketing tool available - referral links. Referral links may cause traffic jams on your website, but in a good way. Internet businesses need website traffic in order to be successful. The more referral links to your website, the more visitors stop in to look around. The math is simple. Referral links plus visitors equal purchase and profits.

According to a recent online study, over 50% of Internet users have visited websites through referral links. Referral links can bring the best website traffic jams when the referral is coming from a reliable source and can mean a world of difference when it comes to converting a website visitor to a customer. The whole purpose to having referral links is to drive visitors to your website and encourage them to stay long enough to see what products or services you have to offer them.Then it is up to you to convert that visitor into a valued customer.

Most business owners greatly depend on their website to generate a substantial part of their income. Some website business owners depend on the success of their website to supplement their income while some depend on their website for their entire income, whether it is making direct sales or by generating leads to spread interest in your website's services or products. As with many website businesses, visitors are more likely to zip through your website without reading your site or making any purchases. This happens most often when the website has no eye-catching images or information. This is a common problem among website business owners and can be very frustrating. So, the million-dollar question is this - How do you turn your visitors into customers? The answer to this question can have a tremendous affect on the success of your business website.

Turning your website visitors into customers is a "Conversion." When someone visits your website and does not provide any realbenefit, such as making a purchase, inquiry, or subscribing toyour newsletter or any other effects that may become a sales lead. You must convert these visitors into customers by offering them exceptional deals or incentives. Simply put, you must make them an offer they cannot refuse. After all, you have invested a great deal of time and money into getting your website up and running. Now you must invest the time and effort into getting your target audience to visit your website and opt-in to receive future specials and updates. You must think of every visitor as being a potential customer, it's up to you to convert them, drive them in, and keep them coming back.

Website business owners often measure their success in terms of conversions, not just increased website traffic. Converting a visitor into a customer that makes a purchase of products or services will create a profit. Businesses need to create profits in order to survive or else there would be no business. More customers are more relevant to business websites than mere
visitors are, although visitors may eventually become a customer. Not only should you, as a website owner, focus on driving more people to your website, but also you need to focus on getting the right people in there. You need to find your target audience and go after them with everything you have. Lure them to your website by showing them that you have what they are looking for, what they need.

You want those potential customers who will likely become sales leads and create a profit so you can have a great Return on Investment (ROI) for all your money, time and effort you have
invested into creating your website. This is why providing referral links on your website is so important. As a business website owner, you need to generate your own traffic and promote your website business to the best of your ability. Although referral links may only account for a small portion of website traffic, they do have a big conversion rate and they are a very wise investment of your time.

About The Author:

Don't pay a dime for any ebook, marketing course or software program until you've read this
groundbreaking document... Get everything you need to make money online including over 30 time-saving, profit-producing, influence-expanding tools and software programs absolutely *FREE*... Check Out :
http://www.myinstanthomebusiness.com/dotcomology.html

How To Take The Pain Out Of Publishing Your Ezine

By Silvia Hartmann

99% of all ezines are not "being a reporter" on current events; that is the first and most important thing to understand.

This means that you don't have to be publishing your ezine one day before the "deadline" of when you've decided you'll be sending it out, and going into a great tizzy over the whole thing.

Most ezines are highly topical and related to a business, a market or futher products and services of one kind or the other, and their function is to keep customers in touch, as well as to convert interested parties into customers.

This gives you a constantly "rolling" audience of old hands and newbies, and an ebb and flow of subscribers and unsubscribers.

There are certain evergreen topics in any context that you can always write about, and write about over and over again, from many different angles, and it will always be interesting and well received.

This is the key to successful ezine publishing.

It's not so much about "news", but about enjoyable content - and that can be as old as the hills, including a 2000 year old quote from a Roman senator; if it is interesting to your target audience, it is applicable, and it can become an ezine article.

With that understood, the production of an ezine can change, and it can become far more manageable.

Tip 1: Prepare a number of issues in advance so you have at least 3-6 in hand and ready to go, all the time. That's what columnists do so they don't go mad and explode from the stress of constantly trying to beat deadlines.

Tip 2: An ezine does NOT need more than ONE GOOD ARTICLE, tip, suggestion etc. In this day and age, people do not sit around with email as though it was the Times Magazine. Too long and too much content, and they'll put it aside for later, and later never comes as you well know with your own email.

Tip 3: As you're the publisher, you can have a flexible schedule. Base your ezine on something manageable, weekly, bi-monthly, but be flexible within this to suit yourself and take things like public holidays, major events in your market like the SuperBowl or the Olympics into consideration.

Tip 4: You can have a "news space" in your ezine which you can fill with news, or leave blank and just send out the prepared column you have already waiting to go. You don't always have to
have some amazing news item in every newsletter, that's way too stressful (and probably even too much for your audience!)

Tip 5: Make it as easy for yourself as possible! Don't go mad over mail merging or complicated html formatting if it's a challenge - it isn't necessary. There are people having fantastically successful newslists and ezines who stalwardly send in plain text, without any bells and whistles, but the content is good and it's appreciated all around.

Tip 6: Remember your floating audience and go back to basics every third newsletter. Advanced subscribers never mind going over the basics again, and it's essential for the new subscribers. So this may be YOUR ezine No. 266, but how many people were even there for the first 100?

Tip 7: If you are planning to have a commercial newsletter that carries advertisements, include advertisements right from the start and as a matter of course. It is the easiest thing to add a short advertisement for a book on http://amazon.com/ with your own affiliate link in the "ad space section", even if you have only 3 subscribers at present. Then, it is there, and later, when you have 3 million subscribers, you can rent out a space that already exists without disturbing your recipients or changing the format.

Tip 8: On that topic, pick a format and stick with it. That makes it MUCH easier to prepare and send newsletters on a regular basis and takes the stress right out of it. Something like: Personal greeting - Advert - Article - News - Advert, for example. That way, you just need to fill in each one and that's easy. Customers also LIKE a format they can trust and it relieves THEIR stress, just the same.

To sum up: Make it easy for yourself with pre-prepared, ready to go, ready formatted ezines that just need a "season's greeting" or a short topical comment to make them right up to date. Have a number of them in hand so you can take a holiday when you want to; keep it short and sweet and stick to a simple formula.

That's what the professionals do and if you do the same, you'll find having a top quality, interesting email newsletter or ezine that goes out on time, a breeze.

(c) Silvia Hartmann 2006

About The Author:

Silvia Hartmann is the author of MindMillion
and the creator of the amazing 60 Second Wealth Booster series
to increase intelligence, reduce stress and exercise the
wealthy brain. You can take part for FREE at
http://MindMillion.com/60/

15 Tips To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

By David Riewe

There are many factors that make blogs much better than normal WebPages including the speed at which blogs are indexed, ability to submit to blog directories & normal directories, pings and track backs. All these little things can help drive more traffic to blogs. Here are 15 popular techniques you can use:

1.) Create at least four keyword posts per day. Most of the top blogs such as Boing Boing, Daily Kos, and Instapundit (with literally tens of thousands of visitors per day) publish an average of 30 small 100-150 word posts per day according to "Secrets of the A-list Bloggers: Lots of Short Posts" by http://TNL.net

2.) Submit to My Yahoo! When you submit your own RSS to My Yahoo it is indexed by Yahoo.

3.) Submit to Google's Reader. When you submit your own blog RSS to Google's Reader the Google Blog Search will index your site.

4.) Add a relevant link directory to your blog and trade links like a demon possessed! Although it may take more time than simply submitting to a search engine one time, this method is perhaps the best way to drive traffic to your site. Use software such as Zeus to speed up the link trading process.

5.) Use ping sites like ping-o-matic. Ping your site every time you add a new post.

6.) Submit your blog to traditional search engines such as AltaVista, and MSN.

7.) Submit your blog to traditional directories such as DMOZ. Directories (particularly DMOZ) increase relevance with Google. DMOZ is very picky, but what do you have to lose by trying?

8.) Submit to as many RSS Directories and Search Engines as possible. This is a simple but repetitive process that can be done with software such as RSS SUBMIT.

9.) Comment on other blogs. Do not just leave short, lazy comments like "I agree." Leave well thought out replies that will force readers to wonder "who wrote this?"

10.) Use track backs. If there is a blog that you refer to or quote and it is highly relevant to your subject, leave a track back. It increases your link popularity and may even score a few interested readers from the linked site.

11.) Go offline. Use newspaper ads, public bulletin boards, business cards, even stickers to let as many people as possible know your blog exists.

12.) Ad a link to your blog in your e-mail signature block.

13.) Use Groups (Usenet). Find a relevant group on Google groups, Yahoo groups, MSN groups or any of the thousands of other FREE group services and find like minded people and talk with them. Make sure your use your blog URL like it is your name.

14.) Use Forums. Forums are one of the best places to go for advice. Go to forums and find problems to solve. Make sure you leave your blog name, but be tactful about it; some forums get annoyed with those who selfishly drop a few links to their own site and leave.

15.) Tag your website. Tagging is a new idea that has erupted across the web. Sites like http://Del.icio.us, Technorati and many others have a social feature that allows you to place your article under keywords or "tags" that everyone interested in that tag can see.

Although these are some of the most popular ways to drive traffic to your blog, do not limit your self to tips and lists. Use your imagination and you will come up with thousands of ways to drive traffic to your blog!

About The Author:

David Riewe - Internet Marketer and Publisher
http://www.free-online-course.com

Convert Leads Into Customers, And Customers Into Super-customers!

By Kirsten Hawkins

A simple definition of marketing is "the getting and keeping of customers." To sell your product or service, you must have customers. To increase your revenues, you must have customers, and you must turn those customers into repeat super-customers.

The easiest way to do this, both on- and off-line, is through a content newsletter. There is no doubt that content sells. Useful content builds trust and credibility, and over time turns your
customer from a stranger to a friend.

An online newsletter is easy to begin--all you need is an autoresponder. I use Aweber for my newsletter (http://aweber.com/?203081). You can advertise your newsletter on your website, on forums, on your business card, in articles you write, on traffic exchanges, and in your email signature. If you faithfully do these marketing tasks, your email list will grow over time.

You must provide useful and informative content in your newsletter. If you want subscribers to read it and (eventually) buy from you, do not offer them junk. I define "junk" as opt-in spam. Don't fall into the habit of sending out advertisements veiled as "articles." Don't send only solo ads. Instead, research topics for your newsletter and write quality articles. Subscribers who are impressed with your newsletter will buy from you. But it will take time to build trust. Trust is not built through junk.

There are three phases to this process: 1) Get a lead; 2) Convert that lead into a customer; and 3) Convert that customer into a super-customer. Your newsletter will help you accomplish all three tasks.

If you sell or market a product or service, and you are driving traffic to your website, you typically have only one shot at capturing the interest of a prospect. If I go to your site and click away, I may never come back. You need some sort of follow-up system. A newsletter is the perfect vehicle for follow-up.

If you are sending targeted traffic to your site (any other type of traffic is a waste), visitors will be interested in the content of what you are offering. To keep their interest, and to keep your name in front of them, offer a f-re-e newsletter. Even a simple, once-a-month newsletter will do.

If they sign up, you then have a chance to build a relationship. This is done through your content. Many people don't buy something the first time they see it, but as they come to know you and your product through your newsletter, they become more willing to purchase. Over time, just by offering a newsletter, you can convert more leads into customers.

You turn those customers into super-customers also through your newsletter. If the product or service they bought from you was quality, you have built even more credibility with them. Perhaps now they will make repeat purchases, or join a membership site you offer, or even become an affiliate for your product or service.

But the key is to offer useful, informative content. If the premier issue of your newsletter is nothing but an ad similar to your site, you will lose that lead. Build relationships through high-quality content, and you will convert leads into paying customers into paying super-customers.

Remember - no list, no money.

About The Author:

Kirsten Hawkins is an online marketing specialist from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.pageranksite.com/ for more great online marketing tips and webmaster resources.

Internet Time Management

By Rene Graeber

The Internet is taking over man's normal way of living, so therefore when we consider time management, we must also consider the World Wide Web.

It used to be to manage time; we had to consider family, friends, work, and ourselves.

Now we have to consider emails, websites, advertising, marketing, and other key factors that are including in businesses today.

At one time in our lives, we went to work for eight hours and returned home.

Now we go to work and it is never determined what our workload will include.

Time management is critical for saving us from headaches, heartaches, and other types of pressures. When we manage our time accordingly, we seem to function well in society and at
home.

The flood of data that passes us each day via the Internet has changed the entire outlook of time management in the last few decades. When we go to work, we often have to sift through a pile of emails, sorting to find out which ones matter the most.

Sometimes we may stumble upon emails that surprises or interest us. This is not good!

Time management means to spend your time wisely, and if you are sitting around reading an interesting email, where is your time going?

The fact is most advertising are slicks that draw us into a world of fantasy. We often stare into the hands of something that lures us deeper into its web, and if we decide to act on the slick, we often find ourselves regretting the stupidity of acting.

Don't find yourself saying, "I regret this action." Rather find yourself saying, "Darn it was a wonderful day." Life is way too short to waste precious time. When you are drawn away by flaky advertisings, your time is consumed, and your job, family, friends, and you suffer.

Surfing the web is another source that can take our time and toss it out the door.

When we are surfing the web, many interesting topics may confront us. Or, sometimes we see pop-ups that distract us from our intentional goal. Pop-ups for the most part are consistent fakes that interest the human eye, in an effort to distract us from the real world.

The interesting topics on the Internet can benefit us in many ways, but if we are at work, our main focus should be work. Once we finish our job, and other tasks are not scheduled on our list, then we can browse the World Wide Net with freedom.

We can also consider the chat room. Some companies make available chat rooms for their employees. This is good if you are using the program for work, but many of us are caught up in
a game of cat and mouse. The chat rooms are so appealing at times, that it makes us want to stay on for hours.

Chatting is a source of communication, which is good, but ifthe time you are spending in the chat room is not making progress, what is your purpose?

To obtain sufficient time management, you need to avoid the areas that consume, and focus on the areas that make you zoom.

About The Author:

Do you want to get rid of your dreadful "time-wasting" habits and start doing things in an organized, efficient manner? Take a few minutes and I'll show you how to quickly and effectively get more done in a week than what most people can accomplish in a month! Just visit this FREE website at: http://www.time-management-tips-techniques.info

Improving Conversion Rates

By David Andrew Smith

You have optimised your website and attracted a large number of inbound links by one means or another. The results of this are that your site now appears on the first page of the top three
search engines, Google, MSN and Yahoo, for your chosen keywords or phrases. You have cracked it! Now you are getting hundreds of visitors a day to your website. Unfortunately very few are staying to browse your site and even fewer are purchasing your products or enquiring after the services you offer.

You must look closely at your site to find the reason behind this if you wish to improve your conversion rates. There are two immediate actions you can take. Have you optimised your site for the search engines or your visitors? You should always optimise your site for your visitors as they will provide you with your income not the search engines. The search engines are simply a means to an ends.

It is better to have twenty visitors to your site 15 of whom purchase a product or service than it is to have 500 of whom only 5 make a purchase. When developing your site keep in mind your potential customers and put text into the site that they will appreciate, like and find informative. Never write your copy with the search engines in mind and those omnipotent algorithms. Algorithms do not make enquiries or purchases people do.

If your copy is attractive and readable and encourages real people to contact you or buy a product then it is highly likely to be equally attractive to the search engines. When writing your copy you should not be trying to 'sell' your product or service with blatant over the top advertising. Be more subtle. You are fulfilling a wish or a need or solving a problem so be
informative. People have carried out a specific search so the need is already there you have to now give them the information they need to convince them to purchase of you. So as always the
content is the key to making sales as well as attracting the attention of the search engines.

You must work hard at getting this content right. The second line of investigation is to analyse your sites visitor statistics carefully Look at each visitor and how they arrived at your site. That is what search terms did they use? What page did they land on? What pages did they navigate through? What page did they exit on? What area of the World or country did they come from? If they made no enquiry or purchase, look at their search phrase, and where on your site they went, and attempt to calculate why they left without making that enquiry or purchase. Was it because their search was not appropriate for ypour actual product or service? Do you not perhaps provide your service to their particular area? Did they miss or could not find exactly what they wanted on your site because of badly designed navigation paths? Or is it perhaps because the text is simply not up to standard?

If you think it is a structural problem then you can alter this so that people find it easier to navigate to places on the site that they actually want. It may also be a matter of your content so you can change this.

By constantly monitoring your site's statistics you can dramatically increase your conversion rates, that is, convert more of your visitors into paying customers. Finally do keep note of what you do so that you can accurately monitor the changes you make to find out if and by how much they are making a difference.

About The Author:

David Andrew Smith runs a successful contract cleaning company http://www.wesparkle.co.uk for both commercial and domestic customers in the UK. He has devoloped and maintains the company's website.

Article Directory, Anyone?

By Gina Capatar

Yes, it's the hype of the century; everywhere you turn you'll see and hear of article directories sprouting like mushrooms. There's practically a new article directory site being introduced in the World Wide Web almost every second.

It is probably because of the usefulness of these kinds of sites to the general public, to the webmaster and to people/products needing exposure. An article directory has it all!

Talk about having free resource on almost any topic imaginable. Article directories hoard articles ranging from DIY's, Xbox launches, inspirational quotes, love and relationships advice, beauty tips, iPod's latest, personality quizzes, legal guidance, resource on divorce, gay and lesbian concerns and even on the extremes, issues concerning terrorism. It's like having a wiki of what everyone knows and thinks of.

The usefulness of article directories to the general public is outdone by its worth to a marketer. An article directory is a free and an inexpensive way for an internet marketer to promote his/her product or service by just writing helpful and useful articles and making use of the resource box to promote his/her goods. It can be done by any marketer in just a matter of hours or minutes for some. You don't have to be a whiz at writing, all you have to do is share what you know and that'll be effective enough. A word of caution though, don't waste your time writing Press Releases because your chance of reprint is 0-0.1%. Article directories don't like them and worst, readers of articles hate them.

What about the value of article directories to the people who own them, a.k.a the webmasters? Why are webmasters opting to shift from their usual projects to create an article directory?Simple! Article directories exemplify the best kind of website that Search Engines love the most. Article directories are teeming with fresh content everyday, and they are constantly updated. Not to mention, the keywords crammed into each article are simply divine especially when you are affiliated with Google Adsense. There is no other kind of website that can par with having an article directory.

I have seen and watched the ever increasing popularity of article directories; there was a time when there were just about 20 or 30 article directories found on the internet. Before, only a few took the time to diligently pursue the creation of these directories and only a few were brave enough to pay for hosting and domain services just to become repositories of what people have written about. They were among the first to recognize the benefits and advantages of having an article directory.

Among the first article directories were:

Ezinearticles.com
iSnare.com
GoArticles.com
ArticleCity.com

By now, most likely, they are handling hundreds or thousands of articles submitted everyday and reaping the rewards of being the firsts in the most promising field of article directories.

With all these and probably more, I'll say, "Article Directories, anyone?"

About The Author:

Gina Marie Capatar owns an article directory site containing articles for women http://allwomencentral.com. She has also been a part of http://www.isnare.com where she got ideas to build her own article directory.

4 Ways To Generate A Stampede Of Traffic To Your Website

By Jeff Smith

Whether building or growing your online business, you need 3 basic elements to succeed: something to sell, copy that sells it and traffic generation to drive visitors that will buy.

Weakness in any one of these areas can very severely impact your results frustrating you beyond belief.

These 3 building blocks may not be new for you, but I bet that you have tended to think about them as islands, each of which you must master in order to achieve online business success?

ONLINE BUSINESS SUCCESS ECOSYSTEM

Suppose you have spent thousands having a bang-on sales letter written for your business, and you are able to draw some significant traffic to your site.

You'll sell products won't you?

Of course, however, what happens if your product (or the product you are selling) is not of high quality or is not significantly percieved as offering value?

First, you will get many returns resulting in lower profits, additional service fees, additional support costs and possibly losing your ability to take payment online.

Second, a bad sale, even if not returned, will not gain you additional word-of-mouth sales. In a niche market, this means you will certainly miss out on capturing your market. In a mass market, this means you have significantly hurt your chances for successful press, reviews, interviews and low or no cost advertising opportunities.

Third, you hurt your reputation for all other business you want to capture within your market. High equity business build customer value over time by continuing to market additional products and services - typically higher-end over time. By releasing a less than stellar product, you stop your progress dead in its tracks.

So, as you can see, marketing strong, in-demand and differentiated products IS critical to your overall marketing campaign.

To truly move into advanced traffic generation territory, we have to think about techniques that will consistently build momentum and traffic month after month, rather than one-time traffic spikes that cannot be sustained.

This is important background to these 4 leading traffic generation techniques.

GENERATING A STAMPEDE OF TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE

1. Writing Content

There is no better way to virally spread your thoughts, brand, products and services to a wide audience than developing content. Writing articles, audios, podcasts, blogs, ezines, special reports, rebrandable products, content-rich web pages, are just some of the opportunities that will both bring in new traffic as well as build relationships with your market resulting in more sales and higher value in long-run.

2. Affiliate Program

When I launched my online business back in 2000 little did I realize that within 1-year, over 75% of my traffic and more than 50% of my sales would be generated through affiliates and joint venture partners. Now with over 1,000 affiliates generating consistent, targeted traffic,
my business largely operates in a completely automated fashion. I could literally disappear off the face of the earth for the next 6-months and still see very little impact on sales. Obviously, to build an affiliate army, you must own the rights to your own products.

3. Develop Your Own Quality Unique Products

What does product creation have to do with generating traffic? Actually, quite allot. Even if you plan a business model around selling someone else's products, wholesale selling, or advertising revenue, creating your own product is a MAJOR traffic building technique. Creating high-demand products will build your brand, gain you lots of no cost publicity, attract partners and joint venture your way, build word-of-mouth marketing, open up many new channels to generate traffic (Try Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and eBay to start) and can act as a leveraged stream of income for your business

4. Take Your Message To The Street.

Generating a stampede of traffic often rests on your ability to convince the market that you are someone that needs to be checked out and followed. So, focus on building your visibility through Press releases, joint ventures, keynote speaking opportunities, local presentations, teleseminars, seminars, courses, workshops, bootcamps, book reviews, trade shows, podcasts, radio shows and more...

While these are certainly ADVANCED techniques for generating a traffic stampede to your web business, they are not difficult, require no special skills and well within the reach of anyone looking to break out with their web business this year.

About the Author:

Discover how to create your own best-selling eBooks, Special reports or books to sell online ...AND keep 100% of the profits. Limited time complimentary access to 7-Part Minicourse will get you started quickly and easily. Visit: http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/

How To Use Web Directories To Boost Traffic To Your Site

By Robert Burko

You just got your website online. Everything is setup and you're ready to go. Excitement is high and the time has come to open your virtual doors to the millions and millions of Internet users around the globe. You put out the cyber welcome mat and declare your site ready for action. But, instead of sitting and watching the users trample over one another to get to your site, you see little to no traffic.

Don't worry! This is something every webmaster goes through and is to be expected. (Well, webmasters in the late 90's expected to launch their site and be millionaires the next morning, but times have changed since those wonderful days!)

But there are some quick and easy things you can do to begin building your 'link network,' which will ultimately help drive traffic to your site. Since the Internet's conception, the notion has been that sites link to one another, while web surfers click from place to place. Thus, the challenge begins: Get your site linked to as many others as possible.

You can start contacting other websites offering to trade links (but be prepared to invest a lot of time); you can buy links (but be prepared to fork out some cash); you can join link-trading programs (but be prepared to get a lot of irrelevant sites linking to you); or you can start submitting your website to web directories.

What Is A Web Directory?
A web directory is a compilation of sites organized by category or topic. Most web directories have multiple levels of categories, progressing from general to highly specific. In addition, a web directory editor will likely have to approve your site, lending it at a certain degree of credibility. Being listed in a directory ensures that if a web surfer finds their way into a specific category, they don't just see your competitors, they see you! And, if they can see your link, they can click it, producing traffic to your site.

A Web Directory Listing Helps with SEO
If you have a website, you undoubtedly know the importance of ranking well in Google and other major search engines. These search engines count links from other sites as votes for your
site, which helps determine your ranking, or position in the search results. There are a lot of other parts of the algorithm and this brief explanation doesn't do it justice. However, it serves the point that links improve your ranking, and that's something every website owner needs to know.

A link in a directory that is spidered by Google (and a lot are) will count as a vote for your site. This improves your ranking, and yet again helps drive traffic to your site. It's important to note that not all directories help with SEO. Sometimes, a web directory will link to your site through a special URL that is often a programming CGI script. If the URL is not a direct link to your site, then the search engines don't count it as a vote. Therefore, it's best to pick directories that offer a direct one-way link to your site. (This way, you get more bang for your buck: traffic from the directory and improved search engine ranking.)

Relevancy Matters
If you trade links with random sites, then you are theoretically building your 'link network,' but you are sacrificing the quality of that network. Web searchers who are looking for information on a particular topic often use resources that link to a variety of sites related to what they seek. This makes web directories the perfect destination.

Since directories are categorized by topics, a person can arrive in the directory and have one-click access to a variety of resources. You definitely want to be one of those resources! Plus, when the other search engines pick up your link, it will count for more since it is surrounded by relevant content, which is most likely filled with your important keywords.

As you build your link network, you'll continue to see increased traffic. And if you use web directories as your vehicle, you are essentially paving more paths to your site. Several good submissions in popular directories will help get you rolling. The best part is that many directories are free, so this jump start won't even hurt your bottom line.

Good luck and happy submitting!

About The Author:

Robert Burko is president and founder of Eliteweb.cc (http://www.eliteweb.cc), an Internet portal featuring a best-of-the-web search engine and a comprehensive search-engine-friendly web directory (http://www.eliteweb.cc/directory/).

What Does Your Website Say About Your Business?

By Tim Knox

Q: My business is very small, just me and two employees, and our product really can't be sold online. Do I really need a website?
-- Robin C.

A: Congratulations, Robin, you are the one millionth person to ask me that question. Smile for the cameras, brush the streamers and confetti from your hair and listen closely, because I'm about to answer for the millionth time what has become one of the most important and often-asked questions of the digital business age.

Before I answer, however, let's flash back to the very first time I was asked this question. It was circa 1998, during the toddler years of the Internet, just after Al Gore laid claim to having given birth to the concept a few short years before.

I was giving a speech on the impact of the Internet on small business at an association luncheon in Montgomery, Alabama. My motto then was: Feed me and I will speak. I have the same motto today, but I now expect dessert to be included in exchange for the sharing of my vast wisdom.

In 1998, which was decades ago in Internet years, the future of electronic commerce or "ecommerce" as it's come to be known, was anybody's guess, but even the most negative futurists agreed that all the signs indicated that a large portion of future business revenues would be derived from online transactions, or from offline transactions that were the result of online marketing efforts.

So, Robin, should your business have a website, even if your business is small and sells products or services that you don't think can be sold online? My answer in 1998 is the same as my answer today: Yes, if you have a business, you should have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt. Thank you, drive through.

Now serving customer number one million and one.

Also, don't be so quick to dismiss your product as one that can't be sold online. Nowadays there is very little that can not be sold over the Internet. More than 20 million shoppers are now online, purchasing everything from books to computers to cars to real estate to jet airplanes to natural gas to you name it. If you can imagine it, someone will figure out how to sell it online.

Internet marketing research firms predict that online revenues will range between $180 and $200 billion dollars in 2003. They also predict that the number of online consumers will grow at a rate of 30-50% over the next few years. These numbers alone should be enough to convince you that your business should have a website.

Let me clarify one point: I am not saying that you should put all your efforts into selling your wares over the Internet, though if your product lends itself to easy online sales, you certainly should be considering it.

The point to be made here is that you should at the very least have a presence on the World Wide Web so that customers, potential employees, business partners, and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer.

That said, it's not enough that you just have a website. You must have a professional looking website if you want to be taken seriously. Since many consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase at a brick and mortar store, your website may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential buyer. If your website looks like it was designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.

One of the great things about the Internet is that it has leveled the playing field when it comes to competing with the big boys. As mentioned, you have one shot at making a good first impression and with a well-designed website, your little operation can project the image and professionalism of a much larger company. The inverse is also true. I've seen many big company websites that were so badly designed and hard to navigate that they completely lacked professionalism and credibility. Good for you, too bad for them.

You also mention that yours is a small operation, but when it comes to benefiting from a website, size does not matter. I don't care if you are a one-man show or a ten thousand employee corporate giant; if you do not have a website you are losing business to other companies that do. Here's the exception to my rule: It's actually better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad.

Your website speaks volumes about your business. It either says, "Hey, look, we take our business so seriously that we have created this wonderful website for our customers!" or it
says, "Hey, look, I let my ten-year old nephew design my site! Good luck finding anything!"

What does your website say about your business?

Here's to your success.

About The Author:

Tim Knox Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker
http://www.prosperityandprofit.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.timknox.com