Moving Ahead Blog

Save Money, Energy and More with 3 Home Improvements for Your Home-Based Business

Diana Barnum — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:04:07 GMT

Here are 3 excellent home improvements that are easy to make and cheap to buy that will save you money, energy, (inside and outside) flooring and more:

1) Draft Stoppers - seal out cold, seal in heat.

2) Abzorb Mats - saves BIG time on high traffic flooring areas, inside and out (garages, basements, pet areas, under appliances, etc.)

3) Hurrican Socks - -even if you are not in a hurrican area, these absorb big time and are handy to have around.

Learn more home improvement ideas and see how much you can save!

Business Vehicle Leasing and other Financing Options

Diana Barnum — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:53:10 GMT

With gas prices on the rise today, thinking about ways you can save. One thing to consider is business vehicle leasing and other financing options that may be available to your home based business.

When you consider possible dealer incentives, manufacturer rebates, leasing and other financing with low interest rates and payments, you could save much more with a new vehicle than pumping more into your old one over the long run.

Do the math and see!

What Should I Use RSS For?

Diana Barnum — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:29:29 GMT

Most bloggers want to know why they should use RSS. The best reason to use RSS is to boost your blog’s traffic. When you use RSS you can get listed in search engines and RSS directories. This can boost your traffic immensely. You will be shocked at how much more traffic you will get when you utilize RSS for your blog. In addition to adding it to the search engine, you will likely get a higher position on the search engine as well.

Another reason to use RSS is to keep your blog information fresh and interesting. You can use RSS to update your site with new content without writing it yourself. You can use RSS feeds that automatically update your content for you. With RSS, every time this happens, search engine spiders will automatically be updated that you have new blog content.

When using RSS, your blog content will be out there for others to publish it as well on their sites. Of course they will have to give you credit, but they will be able to put it on their site. Some people are alarmed at this in the beginning, however overall it provides you with loads of exposure you otherwise would not get. Having people access your blog from other sites will only improve your traffic on your site as well. So, this part of RSS can be a wonderful advantage.

Using RSS can take a little research. To get started you will need to figure out exactly where you want to begin. There are companies that specialize in helping you get started. Once you know what you are doing however, you will see that using RSS can greatly improve the success of your blog. To test the theory, try using a search engine to find your site. Type in the title of once of your posts and see what happens. If RSS is working well for your blog you should have no problem finding your blog in the search engine results.

If you want to offer the latest news headlines on your site you should certainly consider using RSS. If you want to offer your blog for other sites to use, you should also consider using RSS. If you simply want to build traffic within your site or want to have a more organized way of containing your information and content, RSS is also a great choice. RSS can be scary because it seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, you will likely enjoy using it and watching your blog become more and more successful.

What Is RSS?

Diana Barnum — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:26:00 GMT

You have to know what RSS is before you can utilize it. RSS is commonly called Really Simple Syndication although its more technical name is Rich Site Summary. It basically stands for publishing updates to web-based content on a regular basis. The whole idea behind RSS is that data can be shared and distributed. Web page content or news articles are often part of RSS.

In many ways RSS is similar to email. It collects and delivers the shared data. If you have chosen to receive RSS, you will receive this data. News publishers will often collect syndicated content and then they will publish it. When thinking of a blog, you can use RSS in the same fashion.

A web publisher, or a blogger, can utilize RSS to provide updates to those interested. They can utilize news headlines or other postings in this process. RSS can also be used to send out new content to the blog’s readers. It is a great way to let people know when you have something new out there.

Elance Tips of the Trade for Buyers and Service Providers

Diana Barnum — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:11:53 GMT

As both a long time service provider and buyer at Elance, here are some tips of the trade.

1. The more time you put in up front, the more time you will continue to put in. So if you are communicating back and forth explaining, asking questions, etc. too much, you’ll do so afterwards and the project is not a good fit. Stop and more on. You need to asses the situation. More than likely, either you are too needy, you are not communicating effectively back and forth, or the person you are hiring is not qualified or has no instruction from you (like a video tutorial).

2. From what I've found among the water cooler gang at Elance, it may look like 'bait and switches' occur, especially with USA teams, for the following reasons: too many people want USA help, for many reasons - -like you get much better quality with USA content writing - -however, the buyers get too needy and greedy, most often. Instead of just ordering, they ask hundreds of questions up front – and during the course of the project - and expect the service providers to reply to them - -for free, of course, with no payment whatsoever. For example, before and even after a deal is already made, they ask things like:

- what is the best way to write my content for SEO?
- once your write my sales copy, how will you help me get testimonials for it?
- which will convert better?
- how do I make graphics to go with the content?
- where are the best articles directories to submit my articles?
- will your low fee of $5 per article include distributing it to dozens of places, manually, plus following sending links once each directory approves it?
- will you take my calls 24/7, even on Sundays, and talk for half-hours and more - for free - about Internet marketing strategies so I can learn more?

...etc. there are many, many questions these people ask AND believe they deserve replies to; i.e. free training. Now not all these people are from the USA, but many are, and it's sad. They’re basically trying to cheat the system, manipulating the providers into doing and giving freely, similar to eBay buyers who hold feedback over the heads of auction winners. [Difference is, though, that Elance will help out and help stop the crap.]

So in summary here:

a) Communicate professionally, with respect for the service providers and their work, or don't post projects.

b) Don’t push the envelope. Focus and order accordingly, not asking the service provider to teach you all there is to know about their field of focus. Learn on your own or via other avenues. Service providers are there to do paid work, not teach, unless you pay for this, too (“consulting” would be needed in a package like that).

You wouldn’t ask an auto mechanic how each car part and system works. Don’t do this of Elance service providers either. Order what you need and let them work. If they can’t end the project and move on. Same as you would with your car, seeking paid training from a local tech school or community college, etc.

3. If you hire a helper for a very low rate (and even if you don’t), hire someone else to edit and / or manage projects. You need to basically order what you need or hire a coordinator to take charge of this step. If you are not interested in teaching, even to this coordinator or manager, state that as well, hire someone experienced and move on once your find the person cannot do the required work. Dig deeper to find someone who fits the bill for your needs and projects. There are millions of people out there.

4) Get and read the “4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris (in print at Amazon). He shows what the 13 major mistakes people make. Plus he has a lot on outsourcing in this book.

5) Some people are at too needy a stage for Elance. Most of these are new people, have little money, and feel rushed to make it big online – quick and easy. Don’t attempt to go this route with Elance. Elance actually grows as the web evolves, for both service providers and buyers. Unlike eBay, for example, where many go to manipulate and get anything they want for under $1, Elance has encouraged the system to pay better rates, give more to the buyer with help, etc.

Example: pick up the phone for help from Elance. Then do it with someone from eBay. Enough said. Elance is there, for buyers and sellers. Show respect for their system, don’t try cheating people, and do act professional.

If you are at a needy stage, seek a part time job for income and / or help in other ways, legit ways at that. Recognize if you are needy, too, as there’s no shame in it. Once you recognize it, tackle it head on and come to grips with your own reality. There are many avenues out there for help, online and off. But you have to face this step before moving ahead.

@ copyright 2008 Moving Ahead Communications. All rights reserved.

Create a Membership Area for Free

Diana Barnum — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:32:24 GMT

If you want to be better off financially, try operating a member site with at least one form of residual income – i.e. where the income keeps coming each month.

A membership site (or Content Management System (CMS)) is the best way to organize your content and charge a recurring income.

But stop looking at the membership site systems that charge you hundreds of dollars for setup and monthly fees. There are tons of high quality open source CMS solutions.

Goto:

http://www.opensourcecms.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=388&Itemid=143

Record Interviews with Experts for Free

Diana Barnum — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:01:34 GMT

At some point you will probably want to hold teleseminars or just simply record phone interviews with experts in your idea subject area.

Most use a service that charges them a fee per call – sometimes a flat rate or sometimes based on the number on the line.

Some marketers use a free software product called Skype to make free phone calls. The problem is that Skype doesn’t allow you to record the phone call.

Now… there’s a new free software product called Gizmo that let’s you make free phone calls AND record the call. Perfect for marketers holding teleseminars or doing interviews.

Goto:
http://www.gizmoproject.com

Download the free software, install it on your computer and then purchase the number of minutes you want.

Call Recording

At the bottom of the call control drawer on your Gizmo, you will find three buttons: Record, Hold and Mute.

After a call has connected, you can press the rec button, and Gizmo will begin recording the call. The file is placed by default on your desktop, but you can specify a location in your software options/preferences. The file is a .wav file and should be playable from any media player like Quicktime or Windows Media Player.

When you begin recording the call, the other party will hear an announcement, “Call being recorded.” You will not hear the announcement. When you finish recording, the announcement will tell the other party, “Call recording stopped.”

If you want an MP3 rather than a WAV file, you can import it into Audacity and save it as an MP3.

NOTE: Recording calls is legally restricted in certain countries, states and localities around the world. It is your responsibility to understand and comply with any laws that may apply to you or the person you are calling.

Take Charge of Your Time and Internet Marketing Operations

Diana Barnum — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:13:39 GMT

How soon should a Help Desk ticket post a response? Should online companies have a Live Help presence 24/7? Questions like these come up often among internet marketers.

The answer is this:

1) Be as pro-active as much as you can.

2) Also be prepared for some online shoppers to be more lazy and / or greedy / opportunistic ...or whatever you want to call it, lately, too.

As a result of many late night discussions with internet marketers at internet marketing events and on phone conversations, etc., communications show that there is a need by low-paying internet marketers to want too much free stuff to the point of wanting sellers of practically anything at all to take buyers by the hand and spend all kinds of free time, effort and more “doing it for them.” The “demand” for free consulting and free service work can make your head spin out there.

Pro-active tips for avoiding this are:

1) Clearly state on your sales pages or FAQs or somewhere, your policies. If something is not meant for people who need hand-holding, clearly state that. Even state if it’s not for first time buyers (i.e. if you have not purchased this before, do not buy here).

2) Clearly state that you have a Help Desk for basic install and operating questions. For consulting, doing the work for them, etc. there’s an hourly rate or other type fee.

3) Clearly state your hours of operation. And those who abuse your systems, give the boot ASAP. Do not tolerate harassment. And don’t think the customer is always right, or you’ll have no end to headaches with these abusers. You do not want your 24/7 staff, like phone answerers, being abused. That’s not right. Customers are not right in breaking laws; for example, with harassment issues.

4) Clearly state that you have automated systems in place, but that technology and the web evolve and some may be down once in awhile. In those cases, they need to complete a Help Desk tick and await a min. of 24 BUSINESS hours (not weekend) and do give complete contact info, not a help desk link only. Add a postal address, phone, real name, etc. If you want, include a 24/7 emergency phone number, but let them know (a) if help is needed during the weekend, off hours, etc. there’s an emergency fee (b) it’s based upon availability.

This way you can have a life.

For example, no contractor will rush to your home on a holiday or weekend to fix you’re A/C during the summer, let me tell you, for free. Internet marketers need to stop trying to play gods to cheapskates 24/7, killing themselves, their livelihoods / families, etc. in the meantime.

Internet marketing is part of the business world so plan accordingly. Seek help from the Small Business Administration for help as needed, and on popular internet marketing forums, for specific internet marketing help.

Classified Ad Sites Site SL Page Rank Alexa Rank Remarks

Diana Barnum — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:57:28 GMT

Here are the largest sites online to place free classified advertising.

http://classifieds.yahoo.com Alexa Rank: 1

https://www.google.com/base

http://classifieds.myspace.com Alexa Rank: 5

http://expo.live.com Alexa Rank: 8

http://www.craigslist.org Alexa Rank: 28

http://adlandpro.com Alexa Rank: 1,298

http://www.backpage.com Alexa Rank: 1,876

http://www.usfreeads.com Alexa Rank: 3,121

http://www.oodle.com Alexa Rank: 5,501

http://www.adpost.com Alexa Rank: 6,906

http://www.FreeAdvertisingForum.com 12,025

http://www.sell.com Alexa Rank: 13,471

http://www.InetGiant.com Alexa Rank: 21,082

http://www.adquest3d.com Alexa Rank: 22,252

http://www.recycler.com Alexa Rank: 23,996

http://www.chooseyouritem.com Alexa Rank: 19,569

http://www.domesticsale.com Alexa Rank: 24,207

http://epage.com Alexa Rank: 24,834

http://free-advertising-blog.com/index.php Alexa Rank: 26,048

http://www.ClassifiedsForFree.com Alexa Rank: 40,792

http://postaroo.com Alexa Rank: 43,471

http://www.TheFlyer.com Alexa Rank: 134,577

http://www.ClassifiedAds.com Alexa Rank: 143,204

VFlyer - submits to: Oodle Edgeio Google Base Vast

Others www.vflyer.com

This directory gives hundreds of sites and even gives the PR of many of those sites:

http://everydaybusinessonline.com/adsites.htm

SL Site Page Rank Alexa Rank Remarks

1) www.craigslist.org 8 47 The pioneer of free classifieds. English only. About 450 cities. Recently craigslist has registered the domains craigslist.ca, craigslist.co.in, craigslist.co.th, craigslist.es, craigslist.co.uk, craigslist.com.ph, craigslist.com.mx, craigslist.com.cn, craigslist.jp, craigslist.ch

2) www.backpage.com 6 2340 Popular in USA. Also has 3 Canada cities.

3) www.kijiji.ca 8 30,192 Popular in Canada. Available in local language. The largest classified network. Other sites of this network are kijiji.com, kijij.in, kijiji.co.jp, kijiji.fr, kijiji.be, kijiji.de, kijiji.ch, kijiji.at, kijiji.it, kijiji.com.tr, kijiji.cn, kijiji.com.tw.

4) www.gumtree.com 7 975 Popular in UK, Australia (gumtree.com.au), South Africa(gumtree.co.za), Ireland(gumtree.ie), New Zealand(gumtree.co.nz), Hong Kong(gumtree.com.hk), Singapore(gumtree.sg), Poland(gumtree.pl), USA(newyork.gumtree.com)

5) loquo.com 6 2,249 Popular in Spain. In Spanish and English language. Loquo's vacation rentals section () is very popular.

6) classifieds.myspace.com 7 6 Mostly popular as social networking site.

7) expo.live.com 7 5

8) www.adlandpro.com 5 3431 Classifieds and social networking

9) www.usfreeads.com 5 4261

10) www.oodle.com 6 10,050 Accepts XML feeds for bulk submission.

11) www.adpost.com 5 9933

12) www.freeadvertisingforum.com ? 31,660

13) www.sell.com 6 24,388

14) www.InetGiant.com 4 26,756

15) www.adquest3d.com 5 76,455

16) www.recycler.com 6 28,649

17) www.chooseyouritem.com 5 31,495

18) www.domesticsale.com 5 35,045

19) www.epage.com 8 40,443

20) www.classifiedsforfree.com 4 31,133

21) postaroo.com 6 76,006

22) www.TheFlyer.com 5 196,733

23) www.salespider.com 6 31,208

24) www.ozfreeonline.com 8 80,028

25) www.ClassifiedAds.com 5 93077

26) classifieds.yahoo.com 8 1

27) iSell.com 6 119228

28) base.google.com 7 3

Press Release Points to Ponder

Diana Barnum — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:54:39 GMT

1. Your press release should sound like news, not an ad.

2. You should only send your press release to the media related to the topic of your press release.

3. Keep your press release one page in length.

4. Your header, contact information and release date should be at the top of your press release.

5. Use short sentences and double space your lines.

6. Your header and first few sentences should grab the readers attention.

7. You should tell a story and mention your business, product or service in the body of the press release.

8. Proofread your press release many times. Look for grammar and spelling mistakes.

9. Write a press release about the new products or services you're offering on your web site.

10. Create a press release about the results of an online survey or poll you have completed.

11. Submit a press release about a trade show or seminar you're hosting.

Popular Press Release Themes

You can write about:

 No cost online classes you are teaching.
 Launch of your new web site.
 An award that your business or web site has won.
 A free newsletter, report, ebook, ezine or other item you've just published – along with how to get a copy in the last paragraph.

16. Create a press release about online products or services you're giving away.

17. Submit a press release about an online business association or club you're starting.

18. Write a press release about a famous person that's endorsing your business.

19. Create a press release about a joint venture you are doing with another business.

20. Submit a press release about a new book or e-book you wrote.

21. Write a press release about an expert who is speaking in your chat room.

22. Create a press release about a fundraising event you're doing at your web site.

23. Submit a press release about a new contest or sweepstakes you're having at your site.

24. Write a press release about major sponsorships you're doing online.

Learn more and discover 101 Ways You can Benefit from Virtual Assistants and learn more about how you can get plenty of help with an outsourcing team, your own cheap articles and other PLR content right away!

Top 30 Ways To Package A Profitable Product

Diana Barnum — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:33:20 GMT

Stop thinking of a “product”… think in terms of “content”. Think about the outline you built and the content you’ve collected or crafted yourself. That content IS your product(s). The way you package and present it is just window dressing.

1. E-Books

Content converted to a PDF file. You’ll see a free way to convert content to a PDF later in this action guide.

2. Books

Content converted to a PDF file and then sent to a printer.

If you want to self-publish your book, you’ll see a great Print-On-Demand (POD) website later in this action guide. You can print just one book or 25,000. It’s a great way to get started with a physical book.

3. Newsletters

Content ‘sections’ (articles) that are either used in an offline newsletter or an online ezine. A book of content could give you enough content for a year’s worth of newsletters.

4. Blogs

Content ‘snippets’ used in an online blogging program. Snippets would be like taking the title and first paragraph or two from an article.

Record yourself (or someone else) reading your book content. Yes, just read it and record it. Voila – you’ve got an audio book.

Later in this action guide I’ll show you how to do this with a free software product.

6. Podcast

Record yourself talking about your subject matter.

You can read part of your book. Like reading sections or chapters of the content.

You can just talk about it. You’ve done the research. You’re now an expert. Just talk about what you know.

You can use the free software product from #5 to record your podcast.

7. Audio Program

Multiple audio CDs in one program.

Whenever you gather content for an idea you’ll always have more content than you can fit into a book or e-book. A one CD ‘audio book’ could become an full blown ‘audio program’ by breaking it into separate CDs for each chapter and adding additional content.

8. Vlogcast

This is just like a blog or a podcast except it’s recording the content as a video instead of text or audio.

Although you will have to invest in a camera (either digital video camera or webcam) the software to edit and package the video is completely free – I’ll tell you about it later.

9. Video Program

Just like the Audio Program except the content is recorded as a video. For example, you could read the book into the camera or you could be recorded teaching the material to a group. Break the content up into sections and place each section on a separate DVD.

10. Workbooks

Examine your content and create a book or report specifically designed to ‘teach’ the material. Present the information in a summarized format and have questions for each book chapter/section.

11. Multi-Media Kits

Put your book, audio book and/or DVD or you reading your book together.

12. Coaching Program

Present your content via the phone or email depending on how you’ve structured your coaching program.

13. Teleseminars

Present your content via the telephone – normally in an interview type format. However, I have listened to a few teleseminars that was just the expert speaking the entire time.

14. Teleworkshops

Present your content via telephone in a “workbook” type scenario. Make it a smaller group with an interactive layout.

15. Home Study Course

Combine books, audio programs, video programs, workbooks, etc. into one product.

Anyone who can create enough content for an e-book has enough content to convert their content into a Home Study Course and have a high-end product to promote.

16. Membership Site

Include your text, audio and video content in a secure website where your clients pay you each month for access to the material.

The great opportunity here is it is residual income that continues each month.

17. Radio Show

With the power of the internet anyone can have their own radio show. You can record the content and have it played at various times or you can do a live show. Same content as a podcast.

18. TV Show

Internet TV (IPTV) is coming very quickly. Just like internet radio – within 1-2 years anyone can build their own TV show on the internet.

19. Syndicated Column

As an expert in your field, you may be asked to submit your articles to a newspaper. Or you can post your articles on your own website and others can syndicate the content via RSS feeds.

20. Articles

Crop your book content into smaller sections – and you’ve got a ton of articles you can use online or offline.

21. Mini Books or Reports

You guessed it… if you have a book with 5 chapters, you could make it into 5 “special reports”.

22. CD/DVD Training

Use your audio CDs and/or video DVDs to create a monthly training subscription service. Think like “Video Professor”. You’ve already got the content created – get clients to pay you monthly for it.

23. Magazine

A magazine is nothing but a large Newsletter. The great thing about a magazine… you can get advertisers to pay you money each month to be listed in your magazine.

24. Software

Convert your content into an executable file.

You don’t have to be a software developer. I used HTML and Flash to package text, audio and video into an EXE. Once an EXE I called it software and it could be promoted with a higher perceived value.

25. Keynote Speaking

Summarize your content into PowerPoint slides to speak from when asked to be an expert presenter.

26. Resell Rights

Provide others the ability to resell your product(s) and keep 100% of the profits.

Pro: Higher perceived value

Con: You lose control of your product

If you want income – this is a great way to do it. If you have a product you don’t want to lose control of – do not do this.

27. Private Label Rights

Provide others the ability to modify your content, brand it with their own name and resell it as their own.

Pro: Higher perceived value

Con: It will no longer be your product after it’s rebranded

28. Licensing

Make an arrangement with a company to purchase a large quantity of your product.

For example: A company may license your content for all their employees.

29. Foreign Rights

Convert your content into other languages.

30. Consulting

A culmination of all your research and content presented as required by the person and/or company that hires you.

The key point when it comes to packaging is that you package your product to meet your need. If you need a viral product – then use a viral package like podcast, special report, etc.

If you need an entry-level product - then go with an e-book, book or audio book. If you need a high dollar product – then package products together like books, CDs, Workbooks, DVDs, etc.

NOTE: The most important part of this information is that you notice it ALL comes from the content we put together based on our idea’s outline.
There is NO difference between the content in an e-book, audio and video but depending on the way you package it you could receive a much higher profit because you’ve provided a much higher value to the client.

Make sense?

If you can create an e-book then you can create ANY of the products/services shown above. They are just various ways to package the exact same content.

How to Create and Package Your Own Audio Products for Free

Diana Barnum — Sat, 03 May 2008 06:56:00 GMT

Free way to create and package an audio product

There is a free audio software that makes it SO extremely easy for anyone to create an audio product. It’s called Audacity.

Goto

http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Download the software and install it on your computer.
To create an MP3 go to

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3

Download the Lame MP3 encoder. Install it on your computer.

You’ll use this file to create an MP3 from your audio recording from Audacity.

Depending on whether you already have one of those cheap headsets (headphones/microphone) that some dealers bundle with PCs, you can record an audio without spending a dime. If you don't have a bundled microphone, the ones at Circuit City or Best Buy costs between $8 and $15.

From here onward, I'll count on your having Audacity and Lame installed on your PC.

Before You Record

A few basic setup configurations are required in order to record a podcast. First, connect your microphone to the microphone-in connection on the PC. Connect headphones to the stereo line out or headphone jack (generally the green audio connection). Don't forget to put those headphones on. A laundry list of audio optimizations for your PC are recommended to keep your system running smoothly during recording.

After you launch Audacity, make sure Microphone is selected as the recording source in the drop-down menu on the mixer toolbar.

Figure 1. Configure Microphone as your recording source

Open the Audacity Preferences window from the File menu. On the Audio I/O tab, verify that your sound card is selected as the device for both playback and recording. In the Channels drop-down box under Recording, choose 1 (Mono). Unless you are using two microphones, the Stereo option simply duplicates the track, making the file size bigger without a resulting improvement to audio fidelity.

Figure 2. Set the audio recording Channels selection to Mono

Switch to the Quality tab, and choose 44,100 Hz as the Default Sample Rate and 16-bit as the Default Sample Format. Audiophiles will argue that higher sample rates and formats are better, but for spoken word, 44,100 Hz and 16-bit sampling works admirably, especially considering that the resulting output will be MP3. Ignore the rest of the settings on the Quality tab.

Figure 3. Set the sample rate and bit rate

The File Formats tab configures output options. Choose WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM) as the Uncompressed Export Format. Leave the OGG Export Setup untouched. Then, find the location at which you extracted the Lame codec to add it to Audacity by clicking on the Find Library button and browsing to the file location. I generally unzip the Lame codec to C:\LAME so I can find it easily, but there's no "right" location. Once you've added Lame support, close the Audacity Preferences window by clicking on OK.

Figure 4. Configure output options

Ready to Record

Click on the microphone icon in Audacity's Meter toolbar to turn on monitoring. You should see a red level indicator moving slightly as it picks up ambient room noise. Talk into the microphone and make adjustments to the volume until you get a level that rises close to the right edge of the meter without turning the far-right section solid red. If you get a solid red bar at the far right, the audio is clipping, which means your finished file will sound distorted. Once you've adjusted the level, you're ready to record.

Figure 5. Activate volume-level monitoring

With all the preparations out of the way, it's time to create your first audio. Push the Record button and start talking. When you finish recording, press the yellow square Stop button and save the file in .wav format. Saving is an important step, in order to make sure you don't accidentally delete the file.

Figure 6. Audacity recording controls

It's time to edit the audio file or save it as an MP3 for distribution as your first audio. Editing can be as simple as eliminating all the places you said "um" by highlighting them and deleting them, or as complex as adding a music bed and inserting other audio clips into the recorded file. To keep this simple, we'll assume you're a one-take wonder and you recited a golden monologue for your first audio.

To save the file as an MP3, open the preferences again, choose the MP3 bit rate on the File Formats page. (Generally for voice audio, somewhere between 32 and 64 is good enough without making the file size too big.)

It is THAT simple to create an audio… and completely for free.

100+ Marketing Ideas To Get More Traffic Leads & Sales

Diana Barnum — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:10:11 GMT

100+ Marketing Ideas

Marketing is all about satisfying customer needs. The following represents a comprehensive list of marketing ideas. Use the list of marketing ideas to help better understand customer needs and ways to satisfy those needs.

GENERAL IDEAS

• Never let a day pass without engaging in at least one marketing activity.
• Determine a percentage of gross income to spend annually on marketing.
• Set specific marketing goals every year; review and adjust quarterly.
• Maintain a tickler file of ideas for later use.
• Carry business cards with you (all day, every day).
• Create a personal nametag or pin with your company name and logo on it and wear it at high visibility meetings

TARGET MARKET

• Stay alert to trends that might impact your target market, product or promotion strategy.
• Read market research studies about your profession, industry, product, target market groups, etc.
• Collect competitors’ ads and literature; study them for information about strategy, product features and benefits, etc.
• Ask clients why they hired you and solicit suggestions for improvement.
• Ask former clients why they left you.
• Identify a new market.
• Join a list-serve (email list) related to your profession.
• Subscribe to an Internet usenet newsgroup or a list-serve that serves your target market.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• Create a new service, technique or product.
• Offer a simpler/cheaper/smaller version of your (or another existing) product or service.
• Offer a fancier/more expensive/faster/bigger version of your (or another existing) product or service.
• Update your services.

EDUCATION, RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

• Establish a marketing and public relations advisory and referral team composed of your colleagues and/or neighboring business owners to share ideas and referrals and to discuss community issues. Meet quarterly for breakfast.
• Create a suggestion box for employees.
• Attend a marketing seminar.
• Read a marketing book.
• Subscribe to a marketing newsletter or other publication.
• Subscribe to a marketing list-serve on the Internet.
• Subscribe to a marketing usenet newsgroup on the Internet.
• Train your staff, clients and colleagues to promote referrals.
• Hold a monthly marketing meeting with employees or associates to discuss strategy, status and to solicit marketing ideas.
• Join an association or organization related to your profession.
• Get a marketing intern to take you on as a client; it will give the intern experience and you some free
marketing help.
• Maintain a consultant card file for finding designers, writers and other marketing professionals.
• Hire a marketing consultant to brainstorm with.
• Take a "creative journey" to another progressive city or country to observe and learn from marketing techniques used there.

PRICING AND PAYMENT

• Analyze your fee structure; look for areas requiring modifications or adjustments.
• Establish a credit card payment option for clients.
• Give regular clients a discount.
• Learn to barter; offer discounts to members of certain clubs/professional groups/organizations in exchange for promotions in their publications.
• Give "quick pay" or cash discounts.
• Offer financing or installment plans.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

• Publish a newsletter for customers and prospects. (It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive.)
• Develop a brochure of services.
• Include a postage-paid survey card with your brochures and other company literature. Include check-off boxes or other items that will involve the reader and provide valuable feedback to you.
• Remember, business cards aren’t working for you if they’re in the box. Pass them out! Give prospects two business cards and brochures -- one to keep and one to pass along.
• Produce separate business cards/sales literature for each of your target market segments (e.g. government and commercial, and/or business and consumer).
• Create a poster or calendar to give away to customers and prospects.
• Print a slogan and/or one-sentence description of your business on letterhead, fax cover sheets and invoices.
• Develop a site on the World Wide Web.
• Create a "signature file" to be used for all your e-mail messages. It should contain contact details including your Web site address and key information about your company that will make the reader want to contact you.
• Include "testimonials" from customers in your literature.
• Test a new mailing list. If it produces results, add it to your current direct mail lists or consider replacing a list that's not performing up to expectations.
• Use colored or oversized envelopes for your direct mailings. Or send direct mail in plain white envelopes to pique recipients' curiosity.
• Announce free or special offers in your direct response pieces. (Direct responses may be direct mail, broadcast fax, or e-mail messages.) Include the offer in the beginning of the message and also on the outside of the envelope for direct mail.

MEDIA RELATIONS

• Update your media list often so that press releases are sent to the right media outlet and person.
• Write a column for the local newspaper, local business journal or trade publication.
• Publish an article and circulate reprints.
• Send timely and newsworthy press releases as often as needed.
• Publicize your 500th client of the year (or other notable milestone).
• Create an annual award and publicize it– as an outstanding employee of the year.
• Get public relations and media training or read up on it.
• Appear on a radio or TV talk show.
• Create your own TV program on your industry or your specialty. Market the show to your local cable station or public broadcasting station as a regular program. Or, see if you can air your show on an open access cable channel.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or to a trade magazine editor.
• Take an editor to lunch.
• Get a publicity photo taken and enclose with press releases.
• Consistently review newspapers and magazines for possible PR opportunities.
• Submit "tip" articles to newsletters and newspapers.
• Conduct industry research and develop a press release or article to announce an important discovery in your field.
• Create a press kit and keep its contents current.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER RELATIONS

• Ask your clients to come back again.
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Set up a fax-on-demand or email system to easily respond to customer inquiries.
• Use an answering machine or voice mail system to catch after-hours phone calls. Include basic information in your outgoing message such a business hours, location, etc.
• Record a memorable message or "tip of the day" on your outgoing answering machine or voice mail message.
• Ask clients what you can do the help them.
• Take clients out to a ball game, a show or another special event– just send them two tickets with a note.
• Hold a seminar at your office for clients and prospects.
• Send hand-written thank-you notes.
• Send birthday cards and appropriate seasonal greetings.
• Photocopy interesting articles and send them to clients and prospects with a hand-written "FYI" note and your business card.
• Send a book of interest or other appropriate business gift to a client with a handwritten note.
• Create an area on your Web site specifically for your customers.
• Redecorate your office or location where you meet with your clients.

NETWORKING AND WORD OF MOUTH

• Join a Chamber of Commerce or other organization.
• Join or organize a breakfast club with other professionals (not in your field) to discuss business and network referrals.
• Mail a brochure to members of organizations to which you belong.
• Serve on a city board or commission.
• Host a holiday party.
• Hold an open house.
• Send letters to attendees after you attend a conference.
• Join a community list-serve (email list) on the Internet.

ADVERTISING

• Advertise during peak seasons for your business.
• Get a memorable phone number, such as "1-800-WIDGETS."
• Obtain a memorable URL and email address and include them on all marketing materials.
• Provide Rolodex® cards or phone stickers pre-printed with your business contact information.
• Promote your business jointly with other professionals via cooperative direct mail.
• Advertise in a specialty directory or in the Yellow Pages.
• Write an ad in another language to reach a non-English-speaking market. Place the ad in a publication that market reads, such as a Hispanic newspaper.
• Distribute advertising specialty products such as pens, mouse pads or mugs.
• Mail "bumps," photos, samples and other innovative items to your prospect list. (A bump is simply anything that makes the mailing envelope bulge and makes the recipient curious about what’s in the envelope!)
• Create a direct mail list of "hot prospects."
• Consider non-traditional tactics such as bus backs, billboards and popular Web sites.
• Project a message on the sidewalk in front of your place of business using a light directed through words etched in a glass window.
• Consider placing ads in your newspaper’s classified section.
• Consider a vanity automobile tag with your company name.
• Create a friendly bumper sticker for your car.
• Code your ads and keep records of results.
• Improve your building signage and directional signs inside and out.
• Invest in a neon sign to make your office or storefront window visible at night.
• Create a new or improved company logo or "recolor" the traditional logo.
• Sponsor and promote a contest or sweepstakes.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND OUTREACH

• Get a booth at a fair/trade show attended by your target market.
• Sponsor or host a special event or open house at your business location in cooperation with a local non-profit organization, such as a women's business center. Describe how the organization helped you.
• Give a speech or volunteer for a career day at a high school.
• Teach a class or seminar at a local college or adult education center.
• Sponsor an "Adopt-a-Road" area in your community to keep roads litter-free. People that pass by the area will see your name on the sign announcing your sponsorship.
• Volunteer your time to a charity or non-profit organization.
• Donate your product or service to a charity auction.
• Appear on a panel at a professional seminar.
• Write a "How To" pamphlet or article for publishing.
• Produce and distribute an educational CD-ROM, audio or video tape.
• Publish a book.

SALES IDEAS

• Start every day with two cold calls.
• Read newspapers, business journals and trade publications for new business openings and for personnel appointment and promotion announcements made by companies. Send your business literature to appropriate individuals and firms.
• Give your sales literature to your lawyer, accountant, printer, banker, temp agency, office supply salesperson, advertising agency, etc. (Expand your sales force for free!)
• Put your fax number on order forms for easy submission.
• Set up a fax-on-demand or email system to easily distribute responses to company or product inquiries.
• Follow up on your direct mailings, email messages and broadcast faxes with a friendly telephone call.
• Try using the broadcast fax or email delivery methods instead of direct mail. (Broadcast fax and email allows you to send the same message to many locations at once.)
• Using broadcast fax or email messages to notify your customers of product service updates.
• Extend your hours of operation.
• Reduce response/turnaround time. Make reordering easy– reminders. Provide pre-addressed envelopes.
• Display product and service samples at your office.
• Remind clients of the products and services you provide that they aren't currently buying.
• Call and/or send mail to former clients to try to reactivate them.
• Take sales orders over the Internet.

(National Women's Business Center, Washington, D.C., 4/97)

This is from:

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV_100MIDEAS.html

How to Package an Ebook for Free

Diana Barnum — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:35:47 GMT

For any of the content you will be promoting as a text-based product, the best way to package it is as a PDF file.

Several years ago Adobe Acrobat was the only product to create such a file format. At a cost of $300 it wasn’t very cost effective for the entry-level marketer to take advantage of it.

Now, however, there is a free way to create a PDF file to promote.

Goto http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp

Download the PDFWriter software and install it on your computer.

Then from your word processing program simply choose it as your “print” option.

You’ll then be asked where you want to save the file. Pick a location and save the text document as a PDF file.

It’s as simple as that to create a high quality text-based infoproduct for you to promote. Yes!

30 Powerful Products You Can Create & Sell

Jack — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:59:19 GMT

Looking for a product to sell? Or maybe some new products to add to your existing line?

Well how about some of these:

1. Ebooks - Content converted to a PDF file. You’ll see a free way to convert content to a PDF later in this action guide.

2. Books - Content converted to a PDF file and then sent to a printer. If you want to self-publish your book, you’ll see a great Print-On-Demand (POD) website later in this action guide. You can print just one book or 25,000. It’s a great way to get started with a physical book.

3. Newsletters - Content ‘sections’ (articles) that are either used in an offline newsletter or an online ezine. A book of content could give you enough content for a year’s worth of newsletters.

4. Blogs - Content ‘snippets’ used in an online blogging program. Snippets would be like taking the title and first paragraph or two from an article.

The debate is still out on this but there are some who say you should use the entire article of content for a blog and others who say you should just use a quick snippet of info to capture the reader’s attention.

5. Audio Books - Record yourself (or someone else) reading your book content. Yes, just read it and record it. Voila – you’ve got an audio book.

6. Podcast - Record yourself talking about your subject matter. You can read part of your book. Like reading sections or chapters of the content. You can just talk about it. You’ve done the research. You’re now an expert. Just talk about what you know.

7. Audio Program - Multiple audio CDs in one program. Whenever you gather content for an idea you’ll always have more content than you can fit into a book or e-book. A one CD ‘audio book’ could become an full blown ‘audio program’ by breaking it into separate CDs for each chapter and adding additional content.

8. Vlogcast - This is just like a blog or a podcast except it’s recording the content as a video instead of text or audio. Although you may need to invest in a camera (either digital video camera or webcam), you can find software to edit and package the video for no cost online.

9. Video Program - Just like the Audio Program except the content is recorded as a video. For example, you could read the book into the camera or you could be recorded teaching the material to a group. Break the content up into sections and place each section on a separate DVD.

10. Workbooks - Examine your content and create a book or report specifically designed to ‘teach’ the material. Present the information in a summarized format and have questions for each book chapter/section.

11. Multi-Media Kits - Any kit packaging a variety of media in different formats like the ones in this list. Put your book, audio book and/or DVD or you reading your book together.

12. Coaching Program - Present your content via the phone or email depending on how you’ve structured your coaching program.

13. Teleseminars - Present your content via the telephone – normally in an interview type format, or other format online (like Skype). Or even host live events.

14. Teleworkshops - Present your content via telephone in a “workbook” type scenario. Make it a smaller group with an interactive layout.

15. Home Study Course - Combine books, audio programs, video programs, workbooks, etc. into one product. Anyone who can create enough content for an ebook has enough content to convert their content into a Home Study Course and have a high-end product to promote.

16. Membership Site - Include your text, audio and video content in a secure website where your clients pay you each month for access to the material. The great opportunity here is it is residual income that continues each month.

17. Radio Show - With the power of the internet anyone can have their own radio show. You can record the content and have it played at various times or you can do a live show. Same content as a podcast.

18. TV Show - Internet TV (IPTV) is coming very quickly. Just like internet radio – within 1-2 years anyone can build their own TV show on the internet.

19. Syndicated Column - As an expert in your field, you may be asked to submit your articles to a newspaper. Or you can post your articles on your own website and others can syndicate the content via RSS feeds.

20. Articles - Crop your book content into smaller sections – and you’ve got a ton of articles you can use online or offline.

21. Mini Books or Reports - You guessed it… if you have a book with 5 chapters, you could make it into 5 “special reports”.

22. CD/DVD Training - Use your audio CDs and/or video DVDs to create a monthly training subscription service. Think like “Video Professor”. You’ve already got the content created – get clients to pay you monthly for it.

23. Magazine - A magazine is nothing but a large Newsletter. The great thing about a magazine… you can get advertisers to pay you money each month to be listed in your magazine.

24. Software - Convert your content into an executable file. You don’t have to be a software developer. I used HTML and Flash to package text, audio and video into an EXE. Once an EXE I called it software and it could be promoted with a higher perceived value.

25. Keynote Speaking - Summarize your content into PowerPoint slides to speak from when asked to be an expert presenter.

26. Resell Rights - Provide others the ability to resell your product(s) and keep 100% of the profits. Pro: Higher perceived value. Con: You lose control of your product. If you want income – this is a great way to do it. If you have a product you don’t want to lose control of – do not do this.

27. Private Label Rights - Provide others the ability to modify your content, brand it with their own name and resell it as their own. Pro: Higher perceived value. Con: It will no longer be your product after it’s rebranded.

28. Licensing - Make an arrangement with a company to purchase a large quantity of your product. For example: A company may license your content for all their employees.

29. Foreign Rights - Convert your content into other languages.

30. Consulting - A culmination of all your research and content presented as required by the person and/or company that hires you.

The key point when it comes to packaging is that you package your product to meet the needs of your targeted audience. For example, if you need:

a) a viral product – then use a viral package like podcast, special report, etc.
b) an entry-level product - then go with an e-book, book or audio book.
c) a high dollar product – then package products together like books, CDs, Workbooks, DVDs, etc.

NOTE: The most important part of this information is that you notice it ALL comes from the content put together based on your idea’s and outline.

In short, there really is NO difference between the content in an e-book, audio and video but depending on the way you package it, you could receive a much higher profit because you’ve provided a much higher value to the client.

Make sense?

If you can create an e-book then you can create ANY of the products/services shown above. They are just various ways to package the exact same content.

-30-

20 Proven Ways to Boost Website Traffic

Diana Barnum — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:31:10 GMT

Check out these 20 proven ways to boost website traffic:

1) Yahoo Answers.

You can go through and start answering questions at answers.yahoo.com.
You'll be surprised at the many questions left unanswered in many categories. You can become an "expert" within many fields by answering questions, and having relevant links point back to your site. It's a quick way to build back links and actually have targeted users viewing your site.

Check it out at answers.yahoo.com

Be sure to never spam. It's important to be friendly with your answers, and provide good relevant information. The goal here is to have the user to trust you.

To get started simply browse the categories or you can search for questions. For example you can do a search for "making money" and it will produce questions people have asked about "making money".

2) Myspace.com

Create a myspace account and start marketing to the users. Some quick tips for myspace are:

a. Never spam
b. Join as many relevant groups as possible and participate within the groups.
c. Post interesting bulletins that provide useful information
d. Send friend requests to users within the groups you've joined.
e. Use graphics in your posts to catch the attention of the reader.
f. Use catchy titles, anything boring will be ignored.
g. For non-targeted friends, you can look into friend trains such as friendstorm.net

h. To automate friend adding, comment posting and bulletin posting you can check friendbot.com and madderadder.com

3) Yahoo Groups

Join yahoo groups. I've joined groups within the "Home Business" section and promoted my products/services to group members. You can also create your own group as well. One of the keys here is to offer free reports and tools to the users, and then use that free report to up sell your main products/services.

You can find home business groups at the link below:

http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Home_Business

The marketing/advertising groups at the link below:

http://finance.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Business___Finance/Marketing_and_Advertising

4) Stumbleupon.com

Download the stumbleupon toolbar and ensure you click "I like this" to all of your websites, and have your friends and family do the same and click the "I like this" to all your sites. Also create pages specifically for stumbleupon that either is funny and odd, which can range from funny pictures to funny videos. You'll find many users clicking "I like this" and on those pages you should have links to all your other sites, and perhaps even Google Adsense to earn money from all the visits you'll receive. This works well since Stumbleupon users love to browse sites that have odd and funny stuff, or even free stuff would work good as well.

5) Forum linking

Every forum you join, always have a signature file that contains links to your most treasured websites. Be sure to use your preferred keywords within the links or perhaps catchy titles to entice clicks.

6) Craigslist.org

Submit free ads to craigslist.org. Be sure not to spam the classifieds.
One or two ads per week in a few select cities are fine. If you submit too many then your ads can be flagged or labeled as spam, so be careful with how many submissions you make. Always use catchy titles to ensure your ad is read.

7) Site maps

Always have a site map for all your sites, and ensure the site map is submitted to Google. You can create a free site map using the following site.

http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

Once your site map is created, then upload it to your site, then submit it to Google using the link below:

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/siteoverview?hl=en

E-Book Giveaway

If you have an e-book, give it away free, this can help build your mailing list and get more traffic to your site and offers. Ensure the e-book is of good value and that you'll have an up sell product to then make money from the subscribers at a later date.

9) CSS Website Design

When having your website designed it's best to use CSS to organize the layout of the site rather than using tables. CSS can power the layout using div tags instead of table tags. This will ensure your design is tableless. It will allow your textual content to have more weight when viewed by the search engines. If you have a designer, ensure you request "CSS Tabless Design" for your next website layout.

10) Submit To Directories

Most people already do this, but just in case you haven't, you should submit to directories. You can find a list of directories below:

http://strongestlinks.com/directories.php

The above list some of the better directories to submit to. By submitting to these directories you can acquire back links and more traffic to your site.

11) Tell a Friend

You can install a tell a friend script to your site that will allow users to "refer" your site to their friends and colleagues. The downside to this is that some spammers try to manipulate tell a friend scripts. Be sure the one you use actually has "image verification" to limit form manipulation; otherwise you may find spammers trying to use your form to send spam.

12) Search Engine Optimization

Always read up on the latest with optimizing your website for search engines. Some good forums to review for free tips are:

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

http://forums.seochat.com/

http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/

http://www.searchengineforums.com/apps/searchengine.forums/

I would join each of these forums or at least review the forums for the latest tips and strategies on search engine optimization.

13) Squidoo.com

Create a lense at squidoo.com, this is one of the latest fads.

14) Social bookmarking sites

Submit to each of these sites.

15) Article Promotion

Write articles are short reports and submit to ezinearticles.com,
goarticles.com, articlecity.com.

16) Site Explorer

Submit your sitemaps using Yahoo Site Explorer, similar format to
Google Webmaster Tools

http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

17) Epinion.com

Post your opinion on products and services related to yours on
epinion.com

1 Alexa.com

Review popular websites on Alexa.com, and at the end of the message have your URL listed. It may not hyperlink automatically but a few people may still copy/paste into their address bar. Just make sure your post is really a review and not spam.

19) Newsletter Box

Always have a newsletter box on your website that will allow all visitors to subscribe for updates on your site. This can be a real winner, as you'll be able to market your product or service to these subscribers. You can use aweber.com, getresponse.com, constantcontact.com for the newsletter subscriptions.

20) Pay per Click search engines

I've listed this last since almost everyone does this, but I can't have a list of marketing tips without mentioning PPC. Google Adwords, Microsoft Ad Center and Yahoo Search Marketing are the big three. Other options are SearchFeed.com, Goclick.com.

For a comprehensive list of pay per click search engines see link below:

http://www.payperclicksearchengines.com/

And there are more....the above is a sampling of some top ways. There are print postcards, tele-sales with lists, print sales letters and many more ways.

Make Money on the World Wide Web

Diana Barnum — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:45:36 GMT

There are lots of ways you can make money on the internet; all it takes is a little time and effort. You can sell things via classified ads, auctions, or create your own web site to sell your product. If you don't know what to sell, consider selling access to information in the form of e-books or reports.

Selling or providing electronic access to information online is a no-hassle way to promote a product that doesn’t have to be manufactured or shipped. Just create a website for your content, set up a few simple marketing campaigns, and you’re on your way to becoming an e-author, providing the information that people crave. If you have the skills to communicate an idea to another person in writing, then you’ve got what it takes. People are interested in becoming enlightened and educated about topics that appeal to their basic needs.

Another way to make money on the internet is with affiliate programs. You’ve probably heard before a bunch of hype about how much money you can make with this type of marketing, which is true if you can get with the best. Amazon.com is one of the original affiliate programs, offering a hype-free way to really make money online. It’ll only take a day to make the site, and it’s low cost and low effort.

Go to www.presssuccess.com/bookstore/affiliate for detailed information on how to make money on the internet fairly effortlessly and for cheap!

Another great site to visit is www.presssuccess.com/bookstore/moia where you learn to take the basic mail order concept, stir in a little technology, ad a dash of desire and 'voila, you've got your solution! It's called direct response marketing.

There are also a few tools you’ll need to make money on the internet like AdWords, AdSense, affiliations, auto-responders, banner exchanges, link exchanges, mailing lists, pay-per-click advertising, merchant accounts, submission services, and software, just to name the basics. If you’re not a computer geek, this may all sound a little overwhelming at first, especially if you’re intimidated by learning html and basic website maintenance. Learning how to do these essentials yourself will save you loads of money, it’s fairly easy to do, and you’ll have complete control over your internet endeavor. Save all your hard earned cash and use your innate skills and abilities to supplement your income online.

Marketing Your Website With Free Downloadable Ghostwritten Ebooks

Diana Barnum — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:15:03 GMT

Unless you have a website that fills a unique need - which is virtually impossible today with so many sites online - your competition probably numbers hundreds of thousands of other sites selling a similar product or service. In order to compete effectively, you must use every marketing technique available to promote your website to the widest possible audience.

One of the best techniques to create viral buzz is to create free downloadable ghostwritten ebooks, ebooks written by someone else saving you lots of time, money, hair-pulling and stress. Of course this ebook will have your name as author and promote your website, products and services - yes!!

You see, regardless of what you're selling, potential customers want to sample what you have to offer before they buy. Statistics show that the average buyer visits a site six to seven times before they are convinced to buy. You believe in your product or service and know that your customers will benefit by purchasing from your site.

Hmmm....the question is, how do you convince a visitor that your offering is superior to that of your competitors?

One excellent way to persuade people to buy is to offer, free of charge, detailed information that provides a snapshot of the benefits they will realize upon purchase. Your customer needs to know that you know what you're talking about. Let's say you're selling gardening supplies. Visitors to your site may be looking for greenhouse kits, garden tools or hydroponic equipment. Before they're willing to part with their cash, they need to feel that you're a credible source.

You know your business better than anyone. It's easy for you to write a short booklet on the pros and cons of greenhouse gardening, or the best tools for any given garden task. You know all about the advantages of hydroponic gardening.

Offering free downloadable ebooks can turn a ho-hum visit into a sale. You can market your book through your website, offering a branding option to other topic-related websites, whereby they can freely distribute your free downloadable ebooks with a link to their site as an incentive. Here's where the viral factor comes into play. The more copies you have in circulation, the more leads you gain. One reader forwards a copy to another, or steers a friend to your site. Get your link to this freebie in a gardening newsletter and you've got traffic!

Well-written and free downloadable ebooks, full of useful information on your potential customer's topic of interest serves a number of profitable purposes. You are seen as a credible expert. Your potential customer gets valuable information for free. It only follows that what you're selling is even more valuable.

Check out ghostwriting - affordable plr content and learn more. Then reach out and get help - -ordering your own ghostwritten content right now. yes!

Ghost Writers Are Nothing To Be Afraid Of!

Jack — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:41:16 GMT

Private label rights is a great answer for internet marketing, it allows your company to earn incomes without the inconvenience of creating a product.

A ghostwriter is a professional writer who will write your :

• Ebooks
• Articles
• Stories
• Reports

Right now consider the possibility of hiring someone to ghostwrite some articles and even an ebook for you or your enterprises. Think of all the benefits mentioned above PLUS getting 100% profit for your efforts!

Check out ghostwriting - affordable plr content and learn more!

Ghostwriters Fulfill Your Marketing Needs

Jack — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:05:18 GMT

A ghostwriter is a professional writer who will write your

• Ebooks
• Articles
• Stories
• Reports
• Guides and more!

Therefore ghostwriting offers an amazing answer to achieve successful internet marketing because it allows your company to earn incomes without the inconvenience - and expense - of creating a product. In addition, marketing your product would be easier with articles - articles from ghostwriters - that you can even make from your private label rights (PLR) products.

PLR materials-created products are being bought and sold daily in almost every imaginable market. Just consider again that it is possible to hire someone to ghost write e-books, reports, articles, guides and more for marketing, lead generations, products to sell, to use as freebies and more!

Learn more about affordable ghostwritersand internet marketing .