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[2003-04-30] Business Success Checklist
How do you start to plan your business? What is required? What should you research? Where do you start? Use the checklist below to guide you as you build a strong, solid business foundation.

[2003-04-30] Article Banks = Internet Marketing Gold!
What is an article bank?

[2003-04-30] When A Penny's Not a Penny
We know when we're writing for an internet audience that, in theory, that audience speaks, understands and uses a multiplicity of languages and that we may be losing out on potential customers if we only use one language and don't get our ads, articles and web sites translated.

[2003-04-30] Rethinking Your Business Strategy!
More than likely everyone has heard the quote by Michael Michalko of Thinkertoys who coined the phrase, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Based upon the assumption that a different result or outcome is desired in regard to our business endeavors, it makes sense that we must be vigilant in our efforts to do things a little differently! But change doesn't come easily to most people. While we want to see effective results, lots of people get stuck in what they perceive as the right way and resist change.

[2003-04-28] Ten Tips for Effective Internet Article Writing
On the Internet "content is king", and the real guts of content is the written word.

[2003-04-28] Site Content Review: Boosting Sales With Simple Moves
Dear EWRITE, I have started an online art gallery selling ceramic art. I am concerned that the writing on the website may not tell the customer enough, excite them enough. Content may not be on the correct pages or I may not say enough. I wonder if the site is not clear and easy to use. I have received enough hits on the site but not even 1 enquiry or comment. The art is great and exciting but maybe I am not getting the right content.

[2003-04-28] Site Content Review: Organization That Sells
Dear EWRITE, I've been reading this newsletter for some months now and it's helped me to produce my site at www.cotswoldinternet.com. I'd welcome any feedback and critique on the site especially regarding writing to sell. It's early days but I'm concerned that my copy doesn't sell the site benefits well enough.

[2003-04-24] Do You Remember To Send Nice Notes?
In the past few years, the look of marketing has changed - for the better I believe.

[2003-04-23] Cultural Differences - Making it Work Virtually
Working virtually adds a whole new dimension to the phrase "cultural differences."

[2003-04-23] Mini-Quiz: Select the Correct Word and Spell It Right
Misspellings and incorrect word usage are the most common errors in customer service e-mails. How is your spelling? Do you confuse common "sound-alike" "look- alike' words, such as accept and except?

[2003-04-23] Mini-Quiz: Punctuate Properly
Punctuation seems easy. Use a period at the end of a declarative sentence; use a question mark at the end of a question. But where do you put a comma? What's the difference between a colon and semi-colon? As for the apostrophe, is its or it's correct? Test your knowledge of the most common types of punctuation used in customer service e-mails: period, comma, apostrophe, semicolon, colon.

[2003-04-22] Winning Investors: High Fives, KISS & Tell, and Slippery Fingers
By far, the most common question we receive at BizPro is a simple "How do I get my business started?" or "How do I get money for my business?" While these seem to be the most basic, obvious questions anyone could ask, you'd be surprised just how many people forget to. The answer is quite simple: prove, beyond a doubt, to anyone with sufficient cash that your idea/company model will function, survive, and profit. That's it! Maybe the simplicity and vagueness of the answer is what drives many entrepreneurs to loose sight of that most important part of planning a new business; how will it get started? In order to successfully communicate your proof to any lender or investor, it would help to understand what they consider to be valid "proof". While the possibilities here are virtually endless, there are at least five main items any lender is sure to evaluate. Be sure they're in your plan!

[2003-04-22] Mini-Quiz: Write for Global Customers
The web and e-mail now enable customers to reach you from any part of the globe. It is estimated that 510 million non-native English speakers--global customers-- will be online by 2003. And even your nearby customers may not be native English speakers. Idioms, such as spread ourselves too thin or think outside the box, may be unclear to global customers who are confused by the expression's literal meaning.

[2003-04-22] Mini-Quiz: Use Plain Language
Do your e-mails sound like they were written by the same person who writes tax forms? They shouldn't. Your customer service e-mails should be written in plain, easy-to-understand language.

[2003-04-22] Mini-Quiz: Change Run-ons into Full Sentences
Clear sentences are the building blocks of clear messages. Because customers use the information in your e-mail to decide or do something, they like concise, definite sentences. One common sentence error is run-on sentences. Run-ons are usually two or more sentences patched together with commas.

[2003-04-21] Your Web Designer Left You... Now What?
If you rely solely on your web designer, you may find yourself wondering how to take care of your web site if he or she can no longer maintain it for you.

[2003-04-21] How to Profit from Initial Consultations
"I'd love to work with you, but..." How many times have you heard these words? As a professional service provider looking to grow your business, isn't it sometimes frustrating to hold an initial session with someone who you'd love to work with but the potential client has a whole list of reasons why s/he would love to work with you, but...?

[2003-04-21] How To Increase Affiliate Click-Through Rates
When you join an affiliate programs, what is it that you want to achieve? Of course, we want to gain commission from the merchant. How can we do that? Commissions are gain when visitors that we refer purchase products or services on the merchant's website. But when the visitors are at the merchant's website, we don not have any control, do we? So, think again. We want the commissions and commissions are only possible when we refer visitors through affiliate links. In my opinion, our actual role as an affiliate is to get visitors to the merchant's website through the affiliate links. After that, it is all up to the merchant. There is a special term for this, click-through rate (CTR).

[2003-04-18] The Facts About Online Fraud
The MSNBC article had a blaring headline, "One in every 20 consumers has been the victim of credit card fraud in the past 12 months and one 1 in 50 has been the victim of identity theft." Actually, it was 5.2 percent of every 1000 online adults in the United States were victims of the fraud and 1.9 percent of the people were victims of identity theft---but that’s nitpicking the numbers. Importantly, the victims of identity theft didn’t know if their identity was stolen online or offline. Either way, it is scary to know that online thieves stole more than $700 million dollars. This loss of 1.14 percent of total online sales means that online fraud was 19 times the dollar numbers of offline fraud. This finding was done by a recent survey by Gartner Inc.

[2003-04-16] Presentation Is A Major Key To Success
Just as it is in person, you have only one opportunity to make a good impression on your website visitors. The challenge is to decide exactly what you want their first impression of your business to be long before you get to any of the steps in putting your site online.

[2003-04-16] TEN QUESTIONS TO ASK IF YOU WANT TO GO GLOBAL ON THE INTERNET
1. Are you getting emails with strange extensions? Start getting familiar with the extensions: ca=Canada, au=Australia, sp=spain, mx=mexico, nz=New Zealand, ar=Argentina, as=American Samoa. I send all my subscribers a personal welcoming note, and it’s good to know what country they’re from. Here's a list of foreign extensions all over the world: http://www.norid.no/domenenavnbaser/domreg.html .

[2003-04-14] Five Free Cool Tools To Help Make Your Business Grow
One of the great things about the net is all the free things you can find and use. Uh-oh, there's that word again, "free'. It's got to be one of the most over used words ever, especially on the net! Still, it never fails to thrill, or set the pulse racing! We love the idea of freebies, of getting something useful, cool, beautiful, profitable, functional and a whole list of other things without spending with any money.

[2003-04-11] Shameless Self-Promotion
Hi! My name is Janice Byer and I am the owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services: http://www.docutype.net. I am the winner of several prestigious awards (information is on our website) and have a slew of happy customers, as the testimonials on our site will attest to. My services are professional, creative and in demand. Now, wasn't that easy? In one small paragraph, I have shamelessly self-promoted my business and its success.

[2003-04-11] How to Market Your Unsold Books on the Internet: It's Easy
Your book expresses your wondrous information, your creativity, your genius. It's your dream come true. Or is it? You have already tried a few venues--maybe an expo, book signings, press releases, book reviews, distributors, wholesalers, speaking and book tours.

[2003-04-10] Set Yourself Up To Be Successfully Focused
Being focused and successful requires structure, a supportive framework. It's similar to the poles which successfully hold up the canvas of a tent. Without the required poles there wouldn't be enough structure to successfully create the tent. You too need to put in place sufficient structure to support your goals and dreams.

[2003-04-09] How To Avoid Bad Checks
The Do's of Check Acceptance: Name address and phone number imprinted. Current date only. Compare ID picture with that of the person cashing or writing the check.

[2003-04-08] Write Reviews to Increase Sales
To increase sales, instead of displaying banners or ads on your website, write a review. On your main page, display a short intriguing paragraph with a link to your full review. For example, this is the text that was displayed on the main page of Web-Source.net which was a lead in to the main review of "Make Your Site Sell."

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 1 Writing A Successful Ebook
With today's advanced technology, it has never been any easier for anyone to self-publish their own ebook. What's more, you can create and market your own ebook (electronic book) for an unbelievably low price. Once you purchase an ebook compiler and create your ebook, you'll automatically have an entire stock of inventory on hand continuously. In addition, when you begin selling your ebook, you'll pocket nearly 100% of your profits for each sale.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 2 Ebook Formats (PDF)
The most popular ebook formats used on the Internet are the Portable Document Format, better known as PDF, and the Hypertext Markup Language, better known as HTML.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 3 Ebook Formats (html)
In part 2 of this series, we focused on ebooks formatted in PDF. We will now continue with HTML compiled ebooks. Hypertext Markup Language Format (HTML)

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 4 Ebook Design (PDF)
Once you have decided upon the best format for your ebook, your next step will be the design process. No matter which format you choose, one of the most important factors in determining your ebook's overall success is your presentation. Your ebook should not only look professional in design, but should also be well organized and easily navigated. In addition, your ebook should include images that will enhance its appearance and compliment your subject matter.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 5 Ebook Design (HTML)
When designing an HTML compiled ebook, you must create an HTML document (web page) for each page within your ebook. These pages should include all of the following:

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 6 Protecting and Registering Your Ebook
Once you've created your ebook, you'll want to take the necessary steps to protect your work. Although many ebook compilers will enable you to password protect your ebook, none can offer complete security.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 7 Accepting Payment
Once you've completed your ebook and have taken the necessary steps to protect your work, your next step will be to set up an online payment system.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 8 Setting Up an Affiliate Program
When you begin marketing your ebook on the Internet, you can dramatically increase your sales with an affiliate program. An affiliate program will enable you to recruit an entire sales force to market your ebook for you. The great thing about having an affiliate program is that your affiliates work for you on a commission basis. They are paid a specified percentage for each sale they make. If they don't make any sales, they won't get paid.

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 9 Designing Your Sales Page
Writing and designing a great ebook is an essential part of your success. However, it is only a small part of your overall strategy. In order to be successful, you must develop and implement a strategic plan that includes all of the following:

[2003-04-08] Ebooks -- Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success Part 10 Developing Your Marketing Strategy
Developing a marketing plan is an essential part of your ebook's success. You must develop and implement a strategic plan that includes both short-term and long-term strategies in order to succeed.

[2003-04-04] The Benefits of Employing Your Children
How many times a week do you hear, "Mom, I need a new pair of shoes!" or "Dad, can I have money to go to a movie?" Not to mention the cost of school supplies, braces, and college tuition that haunt every parent. If you're like the average parent, you probably spend several thousand dollars a year providing for all the needs and wants of your children. But unlike most Americans, if you are a home-based business owner, you can make those thousands work for you.

[2003-04-04] Three Steps to a Professional Image
One of the biggest reasons home-based business entrepreneurs often fail to attract customers is that they also fail to create a professional image. A professional image is an element of your credibility and without credibility winning customers is an uphill battle.

[2003-04-04] Tips for easy credit forms for businesses
If your business extends credit to its customers, you probably use different forms and notices. Here are four reasons why your forms should be simple and easy to understand:

[2003-04-04] Small Biz Spring Growth Tactics
Now that Old Man Winter has hit the road, small businesses can increase cash flow this spring and summer by implementing four affordable marketing tactics while spending very little, including: leveraging community events, partnering with complementing businesses, launching a spring promotion and tailoring sales messages to include spring solutions.

[2003-04-04] The Secret From The King Of Pay Per Clicks
At Joel Christopher's recent Master List Builders' Workshop in San Antonio, Texas, Marlon Sanders told the audience that I was "The King Of Pay Per Clicks." He explained that there was no investment he could think of that gave a faster or better return on your investment than pay-per-click search engines. After all, I had done campaigns where I earned $7for every $1 invested.

[2003-04-03] Low Product or Service Sales? Know your Thirty-Second Tell and Sell
How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your products and willing to visit your Web site to buy them? Most entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they think about marketing their products on it. What a shame! Maybe you've said, "My product is about…." You mention the features such as tips in a book or fast delivery within 3 days. These describe the product, but don't give your visitor a reason to buy.

[2003-04-03] Internet Nostalgia - Remember "This Dumb Little Ad?"
Watch out - if you do, you're showing your "Internet Age!" I am, of course, referring to the now infamous "Cookie Cutter" marketing program which was all over the internet when I first began exploring the online business world (circa mid-1999).

[2003-04-02] Help! I Made a Big Tax Mistake
Dear Wayne, I make a big mistake. I am currently in a lot of debt so I decided a few years ago to change my number of dependents on my W4 so that I can get more money on my paycheck. Well, the problem is I put too many and now for the first time ever I owe back taxes. Although I have two dependents I still owe and the worst is I have not filed for 1999-2002.

[2003-04-01] Have You Ever Thought About Becoming A Free Agent?
Are you a great typist, bookkeeper, or financial advisor? Do have specialized skills as a CPA, Tax Specialist, or experience in Human Resources? Are you an expert in hanging wallpaper, painting, landscaping? If it's broke can you fix it? Do you enjoy running errands, or carting kids to appointments? Do all of your friends ask your advice, or for your assistance? Then you may be the perfect candidate to start a business as a Free Agent.