Digg it UP - Internet and Businesses Online

Customers - Who Are Yours?
What every business has in common is that it needs customers. Sounds a little basic but what do you really know about yours? Do you know who they are, what they like, where they hang out, what they do when they’re not working? And if you know these things, are you targeting your sales message to your best customers? And if you are, are your new customers becoming good customers, buying again and again?In this months issue we start a brand new series all about customers that will help you answer all of these questions and make your Internet Marketing more effective and profitable.Customers – Who Are Yours?Who are your customers? Do you know who your best customers are? Do you know how much they buy, and when they buy it? Do you know how they use your web site?How you gather the information to answer these questions can be a bit of a complex process. The clarification involves discussions between your sales and marketing departments, the web designer that built your web site and an amount of data analysis. Your marketing department should be able to clearly define who your best customers are and this should be backed up by sales data from your sales department. The web designer should be able to engineer a system to track the online behaviour of those customers.What you need to identify first are your particular customer types. Customers fall into distinct categories. There are your most loyal customers, the ones wh

on Junction which connect the affiliate to hundreds of merchants offering such affiliate programs. There are Affiliate Program Managers (APM) and Outsourced Program Management (OPM) who link affiliates to different affiliate programs and also track their performance. These are third parties who act as intermediaries between the merchant and the affiliate.

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

Outsourcing Website Services - Can Your Business Benefit?
Would it surprise you to know that Compaq Computer™ outsources? How about Underwriters Laboratories™? Gateway Computers™? Yes, even the Chicagoland Area Chamber of Commerce™! I have been involved with projects involving each one of these companies. They all outsourced specific portions of their projects. Even Hyperformance Media out-sources specific project requirements! Every business does not know every other business.What I mean is, your business can not know everything there is to know about printing (for example). Therefore, in certain situations, it would benefit your company to outsource this service to some printing specialists. It could save you time, money, and benefits, leaving your employees their time to continue to do what they do best, their job - with minimum productivity loss!In this simple example you can begin to see the many benefits.* You have professionals creating the desired product.* They will do a better job in less time.* No need to buy additional equipment or software.* No set-up, no training, no lost time.* No payroll, benefits, or accounting headaches.* Your employees remain focused on their goals and your business productivity!These are just a few of the many reasons used to justify the outsourcing of some projects versus attempting to do everything in-house.Your business website is a mission-critical marketing too

All businesses benefit, if not rely, on word of mouth advertising and a systematic method to generate referrals. Consider an owner of a gym, for example, who offers one free month of membership to any member who refers a friend; two months may be provided gratis if two friends are referred and so on. In essence, this gym owner is not only helping to retain his - her current list of members by offering an incentive but adding to the customer base through the efforts of others.

Online business owners similarly attempt to increase their visibility and profit by enlisting others to offer lead generation, increased traffic and sales and, as such, reward those who do. Those who promote a merchant's website (known as affiliates or publishers) via the use of websites, blogs, emails, search listings, etc., reap the fruits of a revenue-sharing program provided by the merchant (also known as an advertiser).

Any visitor who visits the affiliate's website, for instance, can see the merchant's offering (labeled as an advertisement), click on it, and is redirected to the merchant's website via an internal link attached to the advertisement. If the visitor buys or performs any required action on the merchant's website, then a predetermined commission is paid to the affiliate by the merchant for referring the visitor to the merchant's website.

Some affiliate programs pay for the number of clicks, visits or leads generated. The calculation of the number of visits, clicks or leads is based on proprietary software of the merchants who track the status of their advertisements on the affiliate's website. This tracking enables them to determine the total commission payable to the affiliate.

Affiliate Advertisement Models

The various models adopted by popular affiliate programs are presented below:

Pay-per-click (PPC) or Cost-per-click (CPC): Here, the affiliate earns a predetermined commission if any visitor clicks on the merchant's advertisement and is redirected to the merchant's website.

Pay-per-impression (PPI) or Cost-per-thousand (CPM): Here, an impression means a single view of the advertisement. Hence, if the merchant's advertisement has been viewed, then the affiliate earns a predetermined commission, generally on a cost-per-thousand impressions basis.

Pay-per-lead (PPL) or Cost-per-lead (CPL) or Cost-per-action/acquisition (CPA): Here, if any visitor from the affiliate's website follows the linked advertisement of the merchant to the merchant's website, and performs a required action like account creation, newsletter subscription, form filling, etc., then the affiliate earns a predetermined commission. Banks selling financial products (for example, loans, credit cards, mortgages), cell phone manufacturers and Internet service providers usually opt for this model of affiliate marketing.

Pay-per-sale (PPS) or Cost-per-sale (CPS): Here, the merchant pays a predetermined percentage of the sale if any visitor referred from the affiliate's website makes a purchase on the merchant's website. This is the most common model and is widely followed by online retailers.

Pay-per-call (abbreviation not yet formed): This is a new model and is still in its infancy stage. Here, the merchant pays a predetermined commission for each phone call that is received by the merchant from the visitor who has followed the merchant's linked advertisement placed on the affiliate's website. The latest call-tracking technology is used to determine the source and number of calls. Today there are thousands of affiliate programs available. There are "affiliate program directories" that collect and supply affiliate programs. There are also affiliate networks like LinkShare and Commission Junction which connect the affiliate to hundreds of merchants offering such affiliate programs. There are Affiliate Program Managers (APM) and Outsourced Program Management (OPM) who link affiliates to different affiliate programs and also track their performance. These are third parties who act as intermediaries between the merchant and the affiliate.

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

A Look at Make-Up Infomercials
Using a variety of female celebrities, infomercial producers have once again created a huge market where none existed. That’s not to say that make up products didn’t exist. They did. And they were a multibillion dollar industry long before anybody ever thought of infomercials.Starting in the early twentieth century with the advent of movies and their subsequent side affect – beautiful stars! – make up companies have been designing products to make average looking women look better. Or at least think they look better. Make up has been a staple of upscale department stores and high priced boutiques right from the very beginning of the retail business. Even in the early days, make up products had their own departments. Salesgirls were hired who exhibited a youthful, sparkling appearance. They would grab women by the hand, lead them to the sales counter, apply a bit of this, a dab of that and a puff of something else for free and then make the sale. Early products were marketed in the usual manner – for their value in improving your appearance and their price.The first make up celebrities in the pre-infomercial era were not the stars that women were trying to emulate but the heads of the Hollywood make up departments who made the stars look so glamorous. And so the likes of Max Factor, make up master to countless female celebrities (and men too, by the way) and the most successful line of make up products were born. Later on the celebriti

he affiliate's website, for instance, can see the merchant's offering (labeled as an advertisement), click on it, and is redirected to the merchant's website via an internal link attached to the advertisement. If the visitor buys or performs any required action on the merchant's website, then a predetermined commission is paid to the affiliate by the merchant for referring the visitor to the merchant's website.

Affiliate Advertisement Models

The various models adopted by popular affiliate programs are presented below:

Pay-per-click (PPC) or Cost-per-click (CPC): Here, the affiliate earns a predetermined commission if any visitor clicks on the merchant's advertisement and is redirected to the merchant's website.

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

Are Your Sales Stagnant and Smelly?
“Be not afraid of growing slowly, Be afraid of only standing still.”- Chinese ProverbI just love the ancient philosophers! Who would ever guess that the wise words mentioned above also apply a thousand years later to YOUR BUSINESS?Hey life is strange. One minute we are a babbling brook, brimming with fresh ideas and enthusiasm. This usually happens at the beginning – when you first open your business or first become a salesperson.Then gradually, if you aren’t careful – you become complacent and stick with what you have always done. And slowly, sneakily, the leaves, dirt and “crud” as my mother would say – turn you and your sales into a stagnant pool of ICK. You turn from a babbling brook into a smelly, slimy, flat, dull pond that a customer definitely doesn’t want to experience.Not exactly a pretty picture is it? But we have all seen it! In your childhood did you ever kill a goldfish because you forgot to change the water? I thought so.So How Do You Go From Being Pond-Algae To A Rippling River?1. You Need To Inject Some Oxygen. There is only one reason water goes flat. The oxygen has been used up. Have a good look at what you have been doing lately. Which products or services need some OOMPH? Which customers would add some life back to your sales? But why would they buy from you? Do a customer survey and ask your customers what they would like to see from your company

ick (CPC): Here, the affiliate earns a predetermined commission if any visitor clicks on the merchant's advertisement and is redirected to the merchant's website.

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

5 Ways to Increase Your Profit Instantly
From a few years of experience running my own business. I found a few way that actually boost my profit instantly. Many small businesses needed to create a massive cashflow in the shortest possible time. This is a few ways that I practiced.1. Give free giftsGivers get. You can give away small gifts or some of your service for free to build your customer base, to get free publicity. I remember once I was selling some small gifts many years back when I first started my business. There is not much respond. I need to do something about it. I started to give away my gifts for free. In total, I just gave away 25 pieces of the gift. The result in three hours: 300 pieces was sold.2. Direct mailer with namesMany said that direct mailer doesn't work. From my experience, I would say, it depends. First you have to put the name of that person you want to send to. If you address them as "Marketing Director", "CEO" or "House Owner", you are not going to get a good response. Do some work, find out their names, address to them directly. My response rate for direct mailers range from 10% - 20%. Direct mailers do work.3. Add bonusCustomers love bonuses. Add lots of bonuses for your customers, they will remember you. They will be happy when they buy from you, and realized that they can have some free bonus. Preferbably the perceived value of the bonus is greater than the item they bought. It will make this technique works eve

ually opt for this model of affiliate marketing.

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

Burgers and Bulldozers: New Franchise Roundup
With hundreds of new franchise concepts being started every year, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the freshest ideas. Here is an update of two new franchises and how they have fared in their first several months of franchising.The Counter - No, this isn’t just another fast food hamburger joint. Besides serving hamburgers, The Counter has as much in common with your local McDonalds or Wendy’s as the World Cup has to do with your child’s weekend soccer game. First opened in Santa Monica in 2003, this trendy update to the classic burger joint serves its burgers with any combination of 10 cheeses, 26 toppings, and 17 sauces. So, go ahead and order that Danish Bleu Cheese Burger topped with dried cranberries and a ginger soy glaze you always wanted.Since 2003, The Counter has received the type of press that most companies can only dream about. After being listed as one of the top 20 burgers in the country by GQ, the holy grail of endorsers, The Oprah Winfrey Show, named it the “Best Burger in the USA.” (An aside on the power of the O-nod, sales jumped from $44,000/mo to $245,000/mo after the endorsement)With all of this success, The Counter did the only logical next step and began selling franchises in early 2006 with a $40,000 franchise fee and 6% royalty.So how is it going? The company has already inked agreements for 60 restaurants in California alone. Next up is expansion into Florida, New York, Arizona and Nevad

Success Stories Abound

Numerous success stories have materialized by participating in affiliate programs. Here's a brief study of several success stories:

Affiliate Program Success Story #1: Jason Calacanis - A Google AdSense Affiliate

Jason Calacanis is the owner of Weblogs, Inc., which is a conglomerate of about 100 independent bloggers. The blogs are based on several topics like consumer technology, luxury goods, automobiles, etc. Industry experts and enthusiasts author all the blogs ensuring that the presented content is exemplary. Authors consistently provide new material, pinging Weblogs when they update their blogs. Jason gives a stipend to all the bloggers along with a portion of the AdSense earnings with respect to their blogs. Collectively, over 60 million page views a month are accumulated by the blogs of Weblogs, Inc.

Jason signed up for AdSense in September 2004 and in about six months time, the AdSense revenues grew from $200 to more than $1,000 to $3,000 a day. This was achieved by successfully using AdSense channels and the link unit ad format where a list of ads are displayed, pointing to corresponding areas of the site.

Jason advises, "Set goals for yourselves around traffic, number of ads shown, ads per page, number of clicks and as you optimize AdSense, the revenue will follow." He has written his success story because his testing was systematic and meticulous; he experimented and tried one or two new things at a time, always aware of the changes that were fueling the site's continued growth.

Affiliate Program Success Story #2: Chris B. - An eBay Affiliate

In May 2003, Chris B. joined the eBay Affiliate Program. He adopted the "natural search" model of eBay, wherein he created websites dedicated to particular products such as the Puma trucker hat, and established a good ranking for his sites in natural search engines like Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.

Visitors who clicked the natural links from those search engines were directed to his site, featuring the related items available on eBay with photos, prices, and listing ending times. From there, the visitors clicked on any product that aroused their curiosity. Thus, they were directed to the eBay site where they could register, bid, and/or buy that product. This way Chris referred traffic to the eBay website and earned eBay commissions.

He makes his living out of these commissions. Chris succeeded because he found out niche products with little competition so that his websites could have a good ranking in the natural search engines. He also made his websites in such a way that they could attract visitors to click on the products displayed and thereby go to the eBay website. In addition, he made a good decision to become an affiliate of an established and prominent company - eBay, and thereby ensured that his websites had a diverse range of products to highlight, leading to a "parent site" with a high degree of recognition.

Affiliate Program Success Story #3: Pedro Sostre - A Commission Junction Affiliate

Pedro Sostre is a brand consultant helping companies to establish and maintain an online presence. He has vast experience working with many companies, including large entities such as CBS Sportsline, the NFL, Motorola, BMW Motorcycles, and Reebok. In 2000, he launched his company, Sostre & Associates, which manages 25 active websites.

He has integrated the earnings per 100 clicks (EPC) model of advertisement from Commission Junction in all his websites – an important statistic that correlates actual sales to clicks/traffic. Knowing the "conversion rate" ensures that Pedro promotes products and services that are in demand, and suggests when to change promotion strategies to increase EPC.

His websites target specialty markets such as travel, cosmetics, audio books, book clubs, and financial services. His websites in this way drive traffic to the numerous advertisers of Commission Junction, and Pedro earns commission as a result. He makes his living based on the commissions generated by his websites.

Pedro says the secret of his success is based on three keys, namely, providing value to customers, collaborating with advertisers, and taking advantage of Commission Junction's sophisticated reporting ca

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It is very important for Small Business Owners to weigh all the facts before making a decision on which Payment Processing Provider to go with. There are many Payment Processing Solutions available for Merchant's to choose from and it can be very difficult to figure out which Merchant Accounts/Payment Processing Systems are best for their individual business needs. Many Small Business Owners end up over paying for their POS Services because they did not have these questions answered. This article will list off the 17 essential questions a Canadian Small Business Owner will want to have answered before choosing a Payment Processing Provider.

So, you want to start a website. Do you start with a hot product, a blog or what? Truth is, you need to figure out what people are having problems with and solve them.

For most people building their own website is not an option at the start of their online ventures. So here is a great way to make a profit online without having to build a website.

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