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Web Marketing Strategies For Home Business Promotion
Sat 30th Sept '00
In this issue:
1. INTRODUCTION
==>Merchant safety tests, GoTo offer update
2. PLACES TO VISIT
==>Web sites for you to visit.
3. TIDBITS
==>Business news and other interesting snippets.
4. TOOLS AT NOW SELL!
==>Useful tools to make your life easier.
5. VIEWPOINT
==>What's your opinion?
6. MARKETPLACE
==>Check out special offers and deals here.
7. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"The Secret to Success"
by Azam Corry.
Scroll to the end for subscription details.
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X INTRODUCTION X
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Hello,
Not an awful lot to report today, so I'll keep it brief.
A couple of weeks ago Mark G. Ryan, co-founder of Commission
Junction launched a new site, The Safety Search. The site is a
directory of leading online merchants, but the interesting bit is
that each site is tested for overall quality, security and
shopping safety.
Of the 600+ online merchants tested, the average score for
back-end safety and security is a pitiful 54.7%. Tests are
performed using SafetyNet 2.0, a new site testing technology
released by The Safety Search after two years of international
development and testing.
Says Mark, "It seems many merchants are still just trying to get
things to work correctly and don't necessarily have the time or
knowledge to protect consumers the way they should. However,
people have the right to know who's doing the least and who's
doing the most to keep your credit card safe while shopping."
I found the range of scores to be quite an eye-opener. Pay
a visit. I'm sure you'll be surprised at some of the rankings.
For example, Office Max currently have the #1 spot, scoring over
85%, whilst Walmart and Hewlett Packard both scored below 30%!
BB
Response to the special GoTo offer I announced last week has been
tremendous. I should have emphasized however that the offer is
not valid for existing account holders - you know too well how
much can be made from $10 at GoTo! ;-)
To get the free traffic you must be opening your FIRST GoTo
account. If you missed last week's issue, don't miss this offer:
BIZ BITS SUBSCRIBERS CAN GET UP TO 1000 FREE CLICKS FROM GOTO!
Sign up with GoTo between now and October 31, 2000
and you will get $10 credited to your account - free!
At $0.01 per click, that's 1000 FREE clicks! Great for driving
visitors to your site or ramping up your affiliate commissions.
There are two rules:
1. You have to use this URL:
http://www.nowsell.com/go/to.cgi?l=goto
2. You must have received at least one click, on any of your
listings (to make the account 'active') by midnight (PST) on
November 1st. You can do this yourself.
Note: It usually takes 3-5 business days for listings to be
approved, so don't leave it until the last minute. :-)
I have accounts at five PPC search engines. GoTo is the best
performer. It brings me more traffic - and sales - than all the
rest put together.
This is due to the extensive partner network which displays
GoTo's search results. It includes America Online, Internet
Explorer Search, EarthLink, CNET, Netscape and many others, not
to mention the thousands of affiliates that offer GoTo search on
their sites. According to Goto, they now reach 75% of all
Internet users.
Here's the URL again:
http://www.nowsell.com/go/to.cgi?l=goto
If you're interested, do it NOW before you forget! (like me ;o)
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 - Have you downloaded Mike Enlow's "Stealth Marketing" ebook
yet? It's 14-chapters on the best and most overlooked ways
to profit on the Internet. Valued at $49, you can get it
FREE from: http://www.NowSell.com/downs/stealth.pdf.zip
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X PLACES TO VISIT X
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http://www.FastCompany.com/
Industry news and reports, career insights and articles.
http://www.LegalDocs.com/
Prepare customized legal documents online. Many documents are
free. Download to file or print to your printer.
http://www.NEDaily.com/
The New Economy Daily. Packed with links to news on business,
stocks, technology and the Internet.
http://www.DirectMag.com
Direct Marketing industry news and analysis. Packed with with
columns and advice
http://www.howstuffworks.com
Hundreds of searchable articles tell you how just about anything
works.
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TAKE CREDIT CARDS ONLINE, HANDS FREE!
Confused on how to accept credit cards at your website? Click
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EVERYTHING for you. Increase YOUR sales by as much as 317% or
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X TIDBITS X
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EUROPE AND THE IT GAP
As the internet growth rate in the US slows, Europe is still very
much on the upswing in new users coming online. eMarketer, in its
forthcoming eEurope Report predicts that by 2003, the number of
Western Europeans online will grow to nearly 105 million,
accounting for 34% of the adult population. http://emarketer.com
/estats/dailyestats/europe/20000921_europe.html
INTERNET IN ASIA -- HYPER OR HYPED?
According to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, many Asian countries,
especially China, are in a period of hyper-growth, which will
soon result in very respectable e-commerce development.
Deloitte's Report on the State of Electronic Commerce in Asia
estimates there are currently 78 million internet users in the
nine countries studied in the report. These countries are: Japan,
China, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and
Singapore. http://www.emarketer.com/estats/dailyestats
/global/20000919_china.html
INTERNET FEVER GRIPS INDIA
While there will be 1.5 million active adult internet users in
India by year-end 2000, this figure represents only 0.2% of the
country's adult population. eAsia analyst Eddie Cheung wonders
how much the growing number of cybercafes will do to fuel the
country's e-commerce.
http://www.emarketer.com/etopics/articles/20000922_india.html
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTAMAS IS AN e-BOOK?
Although Andersen Consulting optimistically predicts that e-books
could be a $2.3 billion market by 2005, booksellers like
BarnesandNoble.com are currently struggling to convince holiday
shoppers that e-books are the gift that they never knew they
wanted. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/
dnflash/sep2000/nf20000922_898.htm
THE SWEET SMELL OF ONLINE SUCCESS
When an offline florist takes her business to the web, refuses
venture capital and eschews the expensive bells and whistles that
are quickly becoming a dot-com stereotype, the result is a new
economy firm that's old-style profitable.
http://www.latimes.com/business/smbiz/20000920/t000088860.html
NOTAMAZON.COM
While experts feared the internet would cause the demise of small
retailers, the opposite seems to be happening. A recent survey
reveals that mom-and-pop business are succeeding online by not
competing with internet retail behemoths like Amazon.com, but
instead by creating and keeping to their niches.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/22/technology/22CYBERLAW.html
ONLINE BANKS MUST TAKE SECURITY MORE SERIOUSLY
Online security breaches have been big news lately. And while
Western Union's damage control during their website fiasco was
excellent, financial institutions need to take more and better
steps towards ensuring security. http://www.businessweek.com/
bwdaily/dnflash/sep2000/nf20000919_066.htm
DOT-CUTS
http://www.emarketer.com/enews/bizbits/bizbit.html
* CMGI majority-owned net marketing firm Engage will cut about
13% of its workforce and record a charge to consolidate its
business.
* CMGI-owned entertainment site iCast laid off 30 workers (more
than 10% of its workforce).
* Online home furnishings store HomePortfolio closed its
e-commerce business. The company will reinvent itself as an
application service provider for the furniture industry.
* After less than five months in operation, SanDiegoGrocer.com
shut down its website, disconnected its phones, closed a
warehouse and laid off about 50 workers.
* Nationwide food-ordering website Food.com is letting go of 100
employees (about half its staff).
* Internet delivery service and retailer Urbanfetch cancelled its
unprofitable movie rentals service and is holding a liquidation
sale. Interested parties can try to pick up used DVDs for as
little as $5 apiece.
* Secure digital music distribution services provider Supertracks
laid off 40 employees (about a third of its workforce).
* Xenote, which gave away keychain attachments allowing users to
"bookmark" music from the radio, will cease operations on Friday.
YOU'VE GOT DISTRACTION!
Forty-four percent of e-business workers are distracted at work,
compared to only 27 percent of traditional workers, according to
Pitney Bowes. One-third of Net workers report feeling overwhelmed
by the volume of messages they receive each day, while less than
2 in 10 old economy workers report feeling the same way.
http://www.thestandard.com
THE OLD 80/10 RULE?
Challenging the long-held 80/20 rule, Cyber Dialogue has
concluded that 80 percent of dollars spent online are spent by
just 10 percent of the adult online population. Top-tier online
shoppers, or those that spend $1,000 or more per year online,
contribute 87 percent of total dollars spent on the Web. Those
same shoppers place 12 or more orders online in a year,
accounting for 71 percent of all online sales transactions.
http://www.thestandard.com
MS TEAMS WITH BOSCH ON CAR DEVICES
Microsoft is teaming with the Blaupunkt subsidiary of German firm
Bosch to create Net-connected wireless devices for cars.
http://allnetdevices.com/industry/news/2000/09/27/ms_teams.html
E*TRADE TRADING ACCOUNTS NOT SECURE
Flaws in the E*Trade system make it possible for a remote third
party to recover user names and plain-text passwords of any user,
according to an online security expert.
http://www.internetnews.com/fina-news/article/0,,5_468561,00.html
FIRST DESTRUCTIVE PALM VIRUS HITS
Until now, every virus found on the Palm OS was benign. Not any
more....
http://www.internetnews.com/wd-news/article/0,,10_467241,00.html
MICROSOFT GETS WHAT IT WANTS
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39066,00.html By
sending Microsoft's appeal to a lower court first, the Supreme
Court not only deals a blow to the Clinton administration, but
gives the software giant a solid chance to reverse the decision.
SLAMMING THE DOOR ON SPAM
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39030,00.html Direct
advertisers, fearing that government regulators might step in if
they don't do something to stop all that spam, propose their own
set of privacy standards.
AFRICA: THE LINUX CONTINENT
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,38749,00.html Linux
users, passionate as always, believe the operating system is a
must in Africa, where the per capita income is less than the cost
of a Windows Office program.
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This week:
~~~~~~~~~~
What is the best form of free promotion you've used?
Send your comments to: mailto:viewpoint-nowsell.com
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Do Your Bit!
If you haven't already done so, please forward this issue
to one or two of your friends or colleagues. Thanks so much!
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Last week:
~~~~~~~~~~
What do you consider is the most important part of your online
business?
Reader Comments:
I've often remarked that my online business is like vegetable
soup--I'm constantly looking for things to add, and letting it
simmer slowly. So asking what is most important is like asking
which is the "best" vegetable in the soup. Here are my votes for
the three most important ingredients:
1. Honor--as basic as truthful, no-hype advertising and as
intangible as respecting customers enough to promptly respond to
their questions;
2. Originality--the days of "clone" marketing are limited--a lot
of people are jumping on the online marketing bandwagon, but when
the parade ends, will you be milling around a dead-end street in
a ghost town or working your established claim?
3. If "marketing" with ads and sales letters is the vegetable,
then "adless" promotion is the spice and seasoning--writing ezine
articles, answering surveys in favorite ezines ;-), message board
postings, sig files, etc.
You don't have to make the same vegetable soup as everybody else.
(My vegetable soup is known for the conspicuous absence of lima
beans). But you do need to make "good" vegetable soup, targeted
to your chosen market. (I don't anticipate a lot of orders for my
vegetable soup from the National Lima Bean Council.)
Thanks for the opportunity to "sound off"! Keep up the great
'zine. [Azam: Thanks Judy!]
Judy Wogoman Publisher,
NetNuggetz Newsletter--25 FREE Biz resources in every issue
mailto:bizansrfindr@netscape.net?subject=subscribebb Fast, free
content at http://sites.netscape.net/bizansrfindr
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"The Secret to Success"
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by Azam Corry
Many people are constantly searching for the secret to online
success. Most never find it. Some go broke trying. Yet each year
the resources spent in pursuit of the 'holy grail' of Internet
marketing continue to grow.
This 'secret' is touted in thousands of places, in thousands of
guises. The hype surrounding the subject is almost impenetrable.
So dense that even the experienced can succumb. If you are just
starting out online, chances are that you too will be sucked in.
To save you from wasting much time and energy, if not money too,
let me share the truth with you.
The REAL secret to your success is ...
YOU!
The most important criteria as to whether you 'make it' or not,
is simply YOUR ATTITUDE. All other factors are secondary.
It's all about making it happen. And not giving up until it does.
You must be determined to succeed; believing that you can, and
will do so. By it's very nature, such determination makes light
of hard work, and enables you to tap into resources you perhaps
hadn't realized you posses. You only fail when you stop trying.
There is no other secret. There is no magic formula.
There will never be a universal method of making money online
that will work for everyone. Conversely however, believing in
some of the myths propagated is guaranteed to bring nothing but
fatigue. Anyone seeking instant rewards, or seriously expecting
to make 'easy money' for doing almost nothing, will get nowhere.
Without a change of attitude, they are doomed to failure.
Why?
a) Because such things don't exist in the real world. Whilst you
might meet people that appear to be getting money for nothing,
the reality is that at some time, somewhere, they have labored -
and probably very hard - for the fruits they now enjoy.
And
b) Because these people don't want to succeed. Not *really*. Not
with all their heart. If they did, nothing else would matter.
They would be happy to work hard and make sacrifices. They would
feel their goal *worth* devoting all of their energy to, instead
of always seeking a 'comfortable' way.
People often say things like "I'd do anything to be able to live
like him (or her)," in reference to somebody successful. In
truth, most who make such claims aren't prepared to do much at
all. They'd love to eat the cake, but don't like the idea of
going into the kitchen and baking it.
Successful people are driven by the desire for positive results.
They focus on their goals, not the process of attaining them.
Failures are willing to accept poor or mediocre results, so long
as what they do to achieve them is easy or enjoyable.
Successful men and women invest in their future, rather than
wasting precious time looking for shortcuts or a free ride. And
by 'invest' I don't necessarily mean money. Having more cash to
spend won't in itself bring you success. The recent dot com
failures are testament to that. Most spent millions before
folding.
Starting out with little money simply means you have to work
harder, and for longer, before you see noticeable results. Think
of it like savings at the bank: the smaller the initial deposit,
the slower it's growth will be. But it still grows.
Nor is your success dependent on knowledge. It's undeniable that
the more relevant knowledge you have, the faster your progress
should be. However, knowledge must be accompanied with the right
attitude to be of real use. And if you have that, you can attain
the same success starting from ground zero, learning as you go.
Being armed with the right knowledge is like travelling on the
highway. You have the opportunity to put your foot down and
proceed directly to your destination in the shortest time.
Not possessing that knowledge forces you to take the small and
winding back roads. Progress is slower, and you might make a
wrong turn or two along the way. However, as long as you focus on
your goal and keep moving, you will still reach your objective.
And wiser too.
The only formula for success online or anywhere else is
determination, hard work and persistence. No matter how many
obstacles, setbacks, or downright failures you may face along the
way. Realize that only a minority succeed, and that therefore the
majority must be doing something wrong. Don't follow them. To
succeed is to be different. Do the things failures don't like to
do, and success will come to you.
© 1999-2000 Azam Corry "Do it Better, Do it Faster, Do it Right!"
Azam Corry owns Now Sell! A mine of helpful information, tools
and resources for budding Netrepreneurs. Rated 3-star by Go.com.
Recommended by About.com. Visit: http://www.NowSell.com/?Secret
==> If you are doing business online, you'll enjoy his Biz Bits
ezine. Subscribe today at: mailto:BizBits@NowSell.com
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"Submit URLs Fast and Safely from your PC!"
Unlike other auto-submitters, our revolutionary "smart" software
submits and monitors daily like a person, following search engine
rules to assure safe, accurate control. It even scans HTML pages
on your PC, saving you from typing in all those URLs!
Click to Auto-Submit!
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