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Posted on 04.06.07 by Admin @ 9:23 pm
If you have had your home business for any length of time you have realized that niche marketing is the key to make money online. And in this age of technology, niche marketing has become easier and harder at the same time. It is easier in the fact that computers and software programs have been designed to practically do all the niche marketing work for you, and is harder in the sense that if you try to go at it alone you will not be able to reach the number of people you might have been able to a couple of decades ago. The reason for this is today people hit the Internet looking for something in particular and they generally begin looking on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and the like. The people searching for the particular information you provide on your web page may not be searching for it using the same words you use, might misspell the words, or not know how to specify what they are looking for at all. This can cause some significant problems for your web page. And this impacts your potential for increasing traffic or capturing potential traffic. However, there are several things you can do to make your web page a tool that will be returned as results when people search for information on your web page. First, you will need to identify your niche in the marketplace and what keywords people use when searching within this niche. If you are experienced, you might already be familiar with the majority of keywords, however it is best to get a software program that will help you identify keywords for your particular niche. Next, you will need to pack your web page with as many of these keywords as possible. It is almost impossible to contain every possible mixture of keywords, misspellings and phrases in your web page content, however a good web page will contain as many as possible and certainly all of the popular ones. Remember, in order to increase traffic to your page you must be diligent about creating and marketing a page that will return results. The best way to include keywords is to write articles about them and use the keyword frequently in the article. This way, you will not only be providing useful information regarding your product or service, but you will also be using the keywords that will ultimately attract people to your page. Also, there are multiple software programs available that discuss the most successful niches, ones with little competition and how to market to these niches. This will be a powerful tool for you if you are just beginning a company. However, it might also be a good opportunity for you if you are looking to expand your current business, include new services or simply change niches. Regardless, there is a software program that will virtually do all the work for you. There is even a program that will tell you what people have been typing into search engines when looking for particular information in your niche. All of these programs certainly make niche marketing easier and can help you attract traffic to your web page by using the words that potential customers use when looking for your product or service. About The Author Timothy Spaulding is the owner of the Work At Home Business Resource Center at http://www.workathome-awesomeopportunities.com and Home Made Profits at http://www.homemadeprofits.net providing opportunities to work at home and make money online with your own home business. Filed under: Contextual Ads Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.06.07 by Admin @ 9:21 pm
I remember back in the mid 90s when I was “in between” jobs, in debt and broke. My “in between” job status at that time for a period of about one year was a car salesman. Now, I know what your thinking. Why? My answer…..hmmmmmmmm. Anyhow, it happened and as it turned out, it became quite a learning experience. What I experienced as a car salesman in my very brief career by choice, was rather disturbing. This is by no means an article on selling cars. This is what salesmanship is and is not. So I was in the car business, and was virtually taught the wrong way to be a salesman or salesperson. When it comes to shopping for a car, overall it becomes somewhat a rather unpleasant experience for all parties involved. Here is a typical day in the car business: You wake up in the morning to put on the shirt and tie for the day in the middle of July in Florida. Its about one hundred degrees with humidity. You get in the car and drive to work asking yourself, why……why….. because you know there is going to be an unpleasant experience waiting somewhere around the corner.You arrive at work and find yourself getting ready for the morning “meeting abuse” which always ends up that we are terrible salesman and we need to sell cars! Really? We need to sell cars? Ok. So, after the meeting we all leave the room with bruises and bumps and we are ready to practice the art of being a salesman. For those of you who do not know, when a person arrives on the lot to car shop, he is referred to as an “up” in the car business. Usually, all of the salespeople are lined up outside like vultures waiting for an “up” so we can swoop in and turn on the really lame salesman charm. Now, at this point, you meet the customer. “Hi, my name is Dave” (smile). Then, the customer replies, “Were just looking”. Of course they are just looking. Not by the time I get through with you. By the time we get through with you, you might be running out the door and never look back. So, Im following the “We are just looking” people around the lot because if I don’t, I will get yelled at by the powers that be. The potential customers that I am with do not want me near them at all at this point.And with good reason. Car shopping and or buying is the equivalent of going to the dentist. It can be a painful experience. Now I am asking the nice folks on the lot all types of questions, trying to create trust and learning something about them that will help me sell to them. This is an ok method for the car business, because this is the way it has been taught. Now the problem from the “get go”, is that most customers back then were the old school. To them, car buying was rolling up your sleeves and get ready to do battle. That’s really not the way I want to make a living, but that’s what it was. So, what do you really have from this? You have uninformed people at all angles. First of all, customers come onto the lot thinking their “trade-in” is worth a fortune. And to there surprise, it’s not. They did not do their own research on their “trade-in”. Second, they don’t know what they want. They want to spend no money on a car they can not afford to begin with. Again, they did not do their research. Now, another problem. As a salesman, if you are going to make it in the business of selling anything, you have to rise above everyone else and figure out a strategy that is going to attract people to you automatically without being annoying and pushy from the start. I noticed that most of the salesman on the lot were not doing anything but waiting for something to happen, and unfortunately I was one of them. Because I didn’t know either. Now, when I could not close someone, here comes the sales manager thinking he’s the be all to end all and that the “hammer them” into the car technique is going to work. You see the philosophy behind most selling in the car business, as an example ,is if they leave here without buying from us, they will never buy from us.Well, maybe your right. But let’s not forget. In the world of sales, let the salespeople do their job by giving there potential customers all of the information they need to make a well informed decision. And if they don’t buy today, let them remember you and your salesmanship and whatever great strategy you came up with for them to make the buying process easier. Believe me, after they have been everywhere else, they will remember you.The “in your face” approach does not work anymore. About The Author Filed under: Contextual Ads Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.06.07 by Admin @ 9:20 pm
Running a traditional brick and mortar kind of business with an online presence, is obviously one very good way to make at least part of your living online. But for the purposes of this article we are going to assume that you do not have your own business. So I am going to discuss two of the biggest online money makers right now: online business opportunities and affiliate marketing. Network marketing The typical online business opportunity is commonly built around some sort of network marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business model that has been available for many decades - the basic idea being that you recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two and in this way your efforts will (at least in theory) be greatly leveraged. The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet, you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet. The problem with the network marketing, or “mlm”, concept is that it sounds so good on paper - way too good in fact. Most people who joins up with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon. They discover that recruiting new people, which is what all mlm is all about - even if they try to tell you differently - is not at all a simple process. There has been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words mlm or network marketing. To further complicate things this business model is also based on you paying a set monthly fee - wether you make any money or not, which means that many people who start this kind of business actually end up loosing money. It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is definitely not for everybody. “Getting in on the ground floor” is allegedly not always as good as it seems. Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can obviously make life very simple for you, as the merchant will usually take care of all shipping and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well known (an respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships. As an affiliate, your task is simply to refer new clients to the merchant and when these people go ahead and buy something, you get credited with a certain percentage of the sale. Contrary to network marketing it is generally free to act as an affiliate marketer. Although there are certain companies that have sort of a hybrid structure between network and affiliate marketing - requiring you to pay a start-up and/or monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free to join though, so I’d personally stay away from those using their affiliate programs as an income generator in it’s own right, or “affiliate sharks” as one marketer aptly named them. Affiliate programs are thus a great way in which almost anyone can start to make money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all. There is however certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your affiliate marketing. Choosing the right affiliate program and promoting it to the right people in the right way is an art form in it’s own right. And the people who are really good at this, generally referred to as “super affiliates”, make a very good living doing nothing else than selling other people’s products. If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually even replace your current income altogether, affiliate marketing is a great way to get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the same techniques super affiliates use on a day to day basis. About The Author Filed under: Contextual Ads Comments: None |
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