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Internet Marketing Strategy For Home Business Promotion
Mon 11th Dec '00
In this issue:
1. INTRODUCTION
==>I'm sorry ... I forgot, New Web Builder course.
2. WINDOWS TIPS
==>Three original tips from Tom Glander.
3. TOOLS AT NOW SELL!
==>Useful tools to make your life easier.
4. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"Why Is My Site Not Working?"
By Rob Spiegel.
5. BONUS ARTICLE
==>"Downline Builders - Make Sure You
Know What You Are Getting Into!"
By Rob Spiegel.
Scroll to the end for subscription details.
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X INTRODUCTION X
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Hello,
Would you believe it ... I've been so engrossed in work over the
last few days that I completely FORGOT about this issue! A couple
of hours ago it suddenly struck me, "Hey ... it's Monday! Aargh!
I forgot to do Biz Bits on Saturday!"
And so I now find myself writing this to you off the top of my
head, with nothing prepared. Oops! :-) I've not even done the
PLACES TO VISIT section. So, instead of the usual links are three
original tips for Windows users, which I hope you'll find a
pleasant change.
They're from Tom Glander, 'non-tech techie' author of the highly
acclaimed Windows for Newbies, and Registry for (more advanced)
Newbies, published by The Newbie Club:
Click Here
Aaaah ... that reminds me of something you might like to know
about. The Newbie Club released a four book package called 'First
Website Builder' just under a week ago.
Written in newbie-speak by Joe Robson, Tom Glander and Joe Barta,
plus newbie Dianne Reuby, it shows you how to create, write,
design, automate, backup, promote and publish your Web site. And
how you can even do it all in just two days as Dianne did, using
only free programs and graphics.
I've not read it. Shame on Tom and Joe - it's a Windows only
package (Joe assures me that a PDF version will be available in
the new year). What I can tell you however, is that it's
receiving a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Joe, the
marketing half of the team, tells me sales are beyond even his
expectations. You can get a free trial at:
Click Here
Incidentally, if the name Joe Barta sounds familiar, he's the
author of a very successful HTML course which has been used by
thousands of newbies around the world. That course is his
contribution here. It's inclusion makes for an exceptionally
complete package.
[If you're one of the few not interested in The Newbie Club, my
apologies for it featuring here twice in two weeks. It wasn't
planned, just the way things worked out :-)].
I've also given you two articles again this Week. This *is not*
going to become a regular thing. I just couldn't decide between
the two. Partly because one will possibly appeal more to some
readers than the other, and because they both raise issues that
many people don't fully appreciate.
It just so happens that both are also by the same author, Rob
Spiegel. I've probably broken some unwritten law of ezine
publishing there, but who cares! And no ... I'm not short of
articles!
OK ... I'm off. Sorry for forgetting you for a moment, but I have
been REALLY busy. Honest! :-)
BB
Tell me what YOU think! Send your feedback, comments, what you
like, what you hate, etc., to me at: mailto:azam-nowsell.com
TTFN
Azam
PS - Isn't it time you benefited from corporate status?
Now there is a Professional, yet personal Online Business
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"Top Search Engine Positioning Secrets!"
Step-by-step, Michael Campbell shows how to get to the top of
search engines AND hold your position once you're there.
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X WINDOWS TIPS X
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How to set up a your universal command post:
One of Win98's most powerful hidden gems is a universal command
line. From here you can launch programs, open folders, go to Web
sites and more. Right-click on the taskbar and select
Toolbars/Address. When the Address box shows up on your toolbar,
click and hold on the word Address and drag it to the top of your
Desktop. Right-click on it and select Always on Top. Now, when
you maximize applications, they'll expand between your Address
bar at the top and your taskbar at the bottom.
Brought to you by The Newbie Club. Visit the site for loads of
FREE picture based tutorials and the new First Website Builder:
Click Here
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How to properly remove programs from your computer:
Windows 95 (and 98) has a little program that helps you
delete applications safely and CORRECTLY. Why correctly?
Because a lot of new software leaves entries in the Registry,
and unless you uninstall your programs, the excess code gets
left behind. Not so tidy. So when you want to delete an
application, follow these steps:
1. Click Start.
2. Choose Settings + Control Panel.
3. In the Control Panel window, double-click the Add/Remove
Programs icon.
4. Under "The following software can be automatically removed
by Windows..." select the application you want to remove.
5. Click Add/Remove and follow the instructions to remove the
application. It will show you dialog boxes to assist you in the
process.
Brought to you by The Newbie Club. Visit the site for loads of
FREE picture based tutorials and the new First Website Builder:
Click Here
-----//-----
How to start your programs in their minimized state:
Assuming you've already placed a shortcut in the Startup folder,
right-click the shortcut and select Properties. Click the
Shortcut tab, click the down arrow next to Run, and select
Minimized. Click OK, and from now on, starting Windows will
launch that application and then send it directly to your
Taskbar.
Brought to you by The Newbie Club. Visit the site for loads of
FREE picture based tutorials and the new First Website Builder:
Click Here
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X TOOLS AT NOW SELL! X
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Promotion Tools: Click Here
* Keyword Research Tool
* Meta Tag Maker
* Free Automatic Search Engine Submit
* Rapid Manual Search Engine Submit Tool
* Position Analyzer to check site rank in the SEs
* Link Generators
* Multi Search Tool
HTML Tools: Click Here
* Multiple Pop-up window code generator
* Multiple MouseOver image generator
* Frames code generator
* Simple CSS template
* 216 Web color palette and codes
* HTML Special character codes
* Useful cut & paste Javascript, and more
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"Why Is My Site Not Working?"
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By Rob Spiegel
Comedian Paula Poundstone tells the story of her handyman
extolling the virtues of Internet shopping. She said, "Ok, I
need a watch for my daughter, find one on the Web." Meanwhile,
Paula runs out buys her daughter a watch and comes home while her
handyman is still clicking away, looking for a kids' watch.
Here's another Web story. I'm giving a workshop in Internet
marketing. I ask a few of the attendees what they're selling
over the Internet. A woman volunteers that she is distributor
for a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. "I have a whole line
of nutrition and beauty care products," she says proudly. "But I
don't know how to get people to come to my site." The MLM that
supplies her has provided her with her own site. Of course the
company has also provided sites with the same mix of products to
every other home distributor.
I asked whether health and beauty information was plentiful at
the site. As it turns out, the site is simply a product catalog.
The extent of the content is product descriptions with some
introductory copy about the strength of the manufacturer.
These two stories go to the heart of where people run into
trouble when they try to make a business work online. Using
business parlance to describe each one of these problems, in the
instance with Paula's handyman, we have a sales channel without a
value proposition. In the second story we have an
undifferentiated product mix. In plain speak, it's easier for
Paula to find a watch at Wal-Mart and the product list of
vitamins and beauty products offers no unique items nor any
compelling information about the subject.
This brings up one huge point that has been a recurring theme of
this column: To succeed online, you have to create niches with
specialized products and information. People don't shop on the
Internet because it's a fabulous shopping experience. Online
shopping is fun enough, but for a great number of people, the
mall is even more fun. People turn to the Web to purchase goods
for the following reasons:
* You can find a greater selection of products
* It's more convenient than driving across town or sending for a
catalog
* You get information on the subject along with the product
presentation
* You can buy from experts rather than under-informed clerks
* Sometimes the best price is online
* You can become part of a community of fellow enthusiasts
The story of Paula's watch and the vitamin site fail in all of
these criteria for Internet retail success. In order to find and
keep customers online, your site needs to exceed expectations in
most of the items on the above list.
This collection of reasons people buy over the Internet is far
more important than how a site looks or functions. Design and
functionality are both important factors, but a motivated buyer
will put up with a disorganized site that looks amateurish. A
buyer will not put up with a site that has common products and no
reason to visit beyond its ho-hum product list.
In an earlier column we discussed a number of financially
successful niche sites. A site expert visited these sites to
view their design and functionality and found all of them were
substandard in one quality or another. Every one could have
benefited from appearance and organization enhancements.
Yet I can easily find hundreds of sites that present exciting
visual tricks and dazzling operational gizmos. But if these
sites don't deliver a compelling reason for the consumer to come
by and stay awhile, they will not succeed. The buyer experience
is rooted in the principles on the reasons-to-buy list. These
are essentially the same business realities that make for success
at offline retailers. Business is business. The Internet is a
simply a new channel for finding and serving customers. If you
give them compelling reasons to buy, and you can reach them
without spending yourself dry, your site will do just fine.
Rob Spiegel is the author of The Shoestring Entrepreneur's Guide
to the Best Home-Based Businesses (St. Martin's Press) and the
upcoming Net Strategy (Dearborn). You can reach Rob at
spiegelrob@aol.com.
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"Downline Builders - Make Sure You
Know What You Are Getting Into!"
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by Joe Reinbold
There seems to be an ever increasing number of "Downline
Builders" popping up on the Internet. Likewise there has been
also a steady rise in the number of online "Multi-level"
marketing programs. And why not! The Internet is an ideal
marketing medium. It is cheaper than the way we used to market
five or six years ago when I was involved in them by mailing to
prospects through regular postal mail. Plus back then you also
had printing and envelope costs too!
In the last couple of years the downline builders have become
popular as a way to recruit people for one or more programs. What
is a downline builder program?
I want to say right up front that I am not against downline
builders or MLM programs, they are great ways to build income.
But you have to go into them with a certain amount of knowledge
of how they work.
Basically the downline builder is a marketing plan in which
prospects are placed after signing up. The organizational
structure of the plan varies from program to program. It can be a
straight line organization i.e., one person right under each
other or it can be two on the first level, four on the second,
eight on the third, etc. There are so many different ways to set
it up it would be difficult to describe them all here. Many of
them will be set up in the structure that the primary program is,
the one you will end up going into at some point.
The primary concept of the downline builder is to build a
downline before going into a primary income producing program,
thus minimizing your initial marketing costs. It is also hoped
that this downline, as it is built, will at some point follow you
into the income producing program.
No matter the structure, the downline builders are normally FREE.
That is what draws so many people into them initially. The
promotional material for most of them indicates that you can make
X income a month or year by joining up. What many people fail to
realize is that they are not going to make any money by just
being a member of the downline builder itself.
The downline builder is free so there is no income generated with
it. The promoters aren't going to pay you out of the goodness of
their heart, especially when there are thousands of people
involved. At some point in the downline builder process you are
going to be asked to join some income producing program. This is
where you are going to have to make a commitment in most cases to
a monthly payment for some type of product. This is a critical
point in the process and is where "the rubber meets the road" as
they say.
It is at this point where there can be a very large dropout rate
of people in your downline who are not going to pay $25 or $50 a
month to join the main program. Up to this point the program was
free. You could have 300 members under you and less than two or
three percent might stay in with you. When these people drop out,
in most cases the holes will be filled by those further down but
the process will keep repeating itself. Again, I am not against
the process, I just want to point out that it can be frustrating
to you if you don't have a realization that it could occur and if
you went into it thinking you would make a quick buck you may be
twice as frustrated. It will take patience!
Here are some tips that you should consider...
-- Before you join a free downline builder, check it out.
Identify the primary program or programs that you will have to
join down the line in order to start building an income.
-- What is the product or products? Are they the type products
you want to be involved with, want to use or sell?
-- How much is it going to cost you per month before you get into
profit? I saw one popular online program the other day and the
ultimate income program was a nutritional program in which you
had to purchase over $75 in product each month. Find that out up
front so there are no surprises later on.
And whatever you do don't join a downline building program where
you don't know what the final primary program will be. You don't
want to spend a lot of resources building your downline over
several months only to find out that you can't afford the product
or don't like the product!
Remember, the downline builder is just a stepping stone, normally
into a network marketing or multi-level marketing program (both
the same). You are not going to make your income in the free
downline builder, that comes with the income producing program
later on which you will have to pay for. Look them over carefully
and make an informed decision when you do join one.
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Joe Reinbold, webmaster of The Entrepreneur's Home Business Link
publishes a free weekly email newsletter "Home Income Quarterly
E-dition" which is dedicated to assisting online marketers. For a
free subscription just mailto:subscribe@homebizlink.com or visit
his site at http://www.homebizlink.com
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