Customers are Not as Gullible as They Once Were

Customers are Not as Gullible as They Once Were
by Michael Hepworth

Consumer confidence in media has declined dramatically. Only 12% of consumers trust Television news, down from 55% 3 years ago. People who believe organizations are also down from 28% to 12%.

The simple and ugly fact is they don't believe you as much as they used to. What makes these people so sceptical?

I believe there are two primary reasons:

1. North Americans are exposed to 4 times the amount of advertising Europeans are exposed to. One study shows the average North American decision maker receives upwards of 30,000 commercial messages per day. This mostly means messages get lost in the clutter.

2. Many college graduates have done at least one marketing course and so have a much better feel for hype and what's going on. Too much marketing is simply hype and knowledgeable people see right through it.

So what can the average business owner do to combat this?

1. Generate word-of-mouth marketing. Referrals are still the most powerful method of marketing because people trust their friends as credible sources of data. Referrals are free and close at 5 times the rate of leads from all other sources. 85% of all buying decisions are made on the recommendations of others.

2. Influence people who are centers of influence. Why do you think firms like Nike and L'Oreal use celebrities like Michael Jordan and Penelope Cruz to endorse their products. Who would be the most likely people to influence your customers?

3. Focus on what's most important to your target audience. Understand their pain and offer solutions to their pain. This kind of educational marketing will always outshine image advertising and marketing. If you don't understand their pain, you've got work to do.

4. Go for share of mind over share of market. It's better to have a small well defined niche of customers so involved with your product or service that they promote your products freely and willingly. Some Harley-Davidson customers tattoo the brand's logo on their bodies and become permanent walking billboards.

5. Expand your advertising with direct marketing and public relations. If people don't believe advertising, they are much more likely to believe what the media tells them or personalised communications that speak to them as individuals. PR and direct response give you the opportunity to put forth personalized and believable messages. StreetSmart Marketers willingly face the reality that consumers are wise to the ways of marketing. It's time to use marketing that looks less like hype and more like news, education and personal communication. As David Ogilvy said; "The consumer is not an idiot, she's your wife."


About the Author

Michael Hepworth is the StreetSmart Marketer and a Toronto marketing consultant, you can receive his free marketing tips newsletter at http://www.streetsmartmarketer.com/.

Relationship Networking - What is It?

What is Relationship Networking?
by Sharon Housley

Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people and benefiting from those relationships. Often the benefit of these relationship is to obtain information and leads to further grow your business. Any successful relationship, whether a personal or a business relationship, is unique to every pair of individuals, and it evolves over time. Effective relationship networking is all about building those relationships and maintaining long lasting connections with other professionals.

The Internet is an excellent vehicle for networking. Relationships can develop in newsgroups, forums, and via email. Though nothing really beats good old-fashioned face-to-face networking to start the process of building a relationship and trust, which is why industry conferences can be so important.

Not all contacts will be useful or worth pursuing. There will be leads that don't provide much information. Use your judgment on whether the information and relationship is worth spending more time on.

Relationship networking opens new doors, often it's "who you know, not necessarily what you know".

Tip to Build Network Relationships:

1. Provide genuine assistance to others.
2. Be open-minded.
3. Remember personal details.
4. Respect cultural differences.
5. Research people and companies. Know their goals and interests.
6. Reciprocate.
7. Introductions.


Where to Network:

So many people wear multiple hats; everyone and anyone could possibly be a networking opportunity. However, just like targeted search engine traffic, the more targeted the networking the higher the chance of success. 'Targeted' networking offers the most potential.

1. Trade associations or industry specific organization.
2. Trade shows.
3. Friends.
4. Schools.
5. Focused newsgroups and topic specific forums.
6. Customers.
7. Suppliers.
8. User groups.


Constantly refine and grow your network of relationships, as they are valuable and need cultivating. If you are perceived as someone who is only trying to get something your network will likely not increase. Networking is about building relationships and mutual interaction benefiting both parties. Share information and help others grow their businesses.

In many ways relationship networking and partnering overlap, and on some occasion's relationship networking will lead to synergistic partnering.

Partnering

Partnering is an attractive flexible way for companies to develop new markets and additional revenue. Working together, partners can combine strengths in critical areas. Often a larger well-known vendor provides small vendors with credibility, while the smaller vendor contributes specific industry knowledge unknown to the larger vendor. Synergistic relationships come in all shapes and sizes, but the best relationships and partnerships are the ones that benefit everyone. Partnering is a good way of tapping into related customer bases. Often the partners complement each other in such a way that they can provide a combined solution that neither partner could deliver alone.

Expectations

In order for a relationship to work you must have a clear understanding of both your companies and product(s) strengths and weaknesses. By being aware of any deficiencies, you will find partners with strengths in the areas of your weaknesses.

1. Know what you have to offer.
2. Know what you are looking for.
3. Don't waste yours and your potential partner's time.


Different relationships/partnering that works:

1. Product bundling.
2. Newsletter exchanges.
3. Integrations.
4. Link exchanges.
5. Technology or knowledge exchange.
6. Revenue share.
7. Ad exchange.


Win/Win

Only when each partner is successful can the partnership itself claim success. Partnerships are genuinely a win-win. Developers, who master the art of strategic partnering and relationship networking, will obtain long-term profitability and success.

Final Tips

1.) Qualify sources.
2.) Adage - you are who you hang with.
3.) Not every relationship is a good one.
4.) Evaluate potential partners.
5.) Make it personal by taking the time to say thank you.
6.) Results are not always immediate.
7.) Carry business cards everywhere you go.


Being proactive and following up, you can have a network of contacts that you will be able to access quickly when you need them. Whether by more traditional means, such as in person or over the Internet, personal networks are essential for furthering your business. Relationship networking is give and take, be sure to help others in your quest for help.

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions.

DeskTop Lightning - An Honest Review

FFA's, Gifting Programs, Cookie Cutter Scams - I remember them all. With the exception of FFA's, all things of the past. I've been around the Net for a while now. I've watched to programs and products fade into distant memories. Scams - Lord I've seen hundreds of them, with more of them rearing their ugly heads on what seems a daily basis.

Recently I was invited to try out a new marketing/advertising tool called DeskTop Lightning. I was, of course, leary, as being a veteran of the world of Cyberspace will tend to make you.

I checked out the sales page and was intrigued. It sounded like something I've been looking for to solve my newsletter mailing list troubles - you know - you send out an email to your list and you're never really quite sure if the intended receipients every received the message or not? My newsletter list is over 5,000 subscribers, so you can just imagine the frustration I've felt with delivery problems. I've tried RSS feeds, but found it a bit too teckie for me, and have yet to master it. So I've had the problem, but no solution had presented itself. I couldn't help myself - I had to try this software.

And so I started the download process. The software is certified as virus and spyware free, but I scanned it anyway just to be safe. I found neither viruses, nor spyware included in the file. The download for the software was a small file, and the download went not only quickly, but quite smoothly as well.

This is how DTL works. After your download it, it sits in the system tray of your 'puter. When you get a new message, there is a simple pop-up that tells you about the new message. You click on the little pop-up and it opens the software, so you can read the message/s. When you add new members to your network, you are also adding people that you can send your business promotions to.

I've been using the software for approximately 3 weeks. At first I didn't promote at all. I sorta put it on the back burner for the time being. Then I started getting signups. I thought "This is cool!" So I thought, "Well, if I'm getting signups and I'm not even trying to, what would my results be if I did do a little promotion?" So the past week or so, I started doing a small amount of promotion. Mind you, I've not done any broadcasting yet. I wanted to see how easy it was to build my network. To date, I have 7 in my first line group and 2 in my second line.

I am just amazed.

Considering the small amount of work I've done promoting, I have to say...

This is one of the coolest programs I've come across in my 8 1/2 years online. And its hot.

DTL offers both Regular [free] and Platinum membership. Of course the latter offers more tools, you are told when your messages are is opened; sending twice a week instead of weekly [as the regular members can]; send messages in HTML [including subject line] and personalization of your messages. There are other perks as well.

Cost: Platinum memberships are currently $19.99 per month. FYI: You should know that the owner of DeskTop Lightning has already stated that the original price was set at $29.99 per month, but decided to let it go at the lower price. That's about 33% off the original price. How long will this last? Your guess is as good as mine!

Also, there is a 30 trial membership offered.

In conclusion: If you have been looking for a way to replace marketing via email, or building your own list without having to do so via email, you should really give DeskTop Lightning a try. For the small amount of money a month verses never having to deal with the woes of email again.... hands down, its worth it!

Need more information? Visit my site.

When should you hire a business plan consultant? Read below to find out!

When Do I Need to Hire a Business Plan Consultant
by Howard Schwartz

Every new business owner knows that a business plan is critical – it is drilled into them by potential investors and every banking officer they meet. So why is something that is so important to the launch of a new venture so difficult to write? Good question! In this article I will try to address when you should go out and hire a business plan writer versus taking on the task yourself. First time entrepreneurs often cringe when sitting down to write their business plan. Some spend 6 months agonizing over each period and comma, and even worse others spend 6 months procrastinating and do nothing. So lets break it down and see where / when a business planning company should be brought in:

Who will read your business plan and why?

First you need to really understand the purpose of your business plan and who your audience (reader) will be. This is an important point as a business plan being written for a $100,000 loan is VERY different than a document needed for a $10 million round of venture capital! Since this article is focused on first-time small business owners, I will focus on preparing business plans raising less then $1 million in capital. For this “startup” or “seed” business plan 30-35 pages are perfect. You are not expected to deliver a thick book (and no one will read it anyway!). Once you have this down, you can honestly assess which sections you are qualified / comfortable writing and which may need consulting help.

Here is what you should write on your own

It is important for you to write a basic draft / outline of your business plan. Without this direction you are probably asking too much of your consultant. Once you have your thoughts organized on paper you can see what you are comfortable completing. Here are a few suggestions:

Executive Summary: Draft the opening of your business plan – then hire a pro to come in and re-write it. Your executive summary will be read first and first impressions are critical!

Marketing: You need to write your own definition of your target customer / audience. For the market research on industry growth and fancy charts go ahead and hire a consultant.

Competitive Analysis: You should put together the first draft of this section, as it is almost as important to understand your competitors, as it is your customers. If you find a consultant that is an expert in your field, then you can work together and add to your initial list.

The Dreaded Financials

This is the most difficult part of a startup business plan, as you are making projections and assumptions on products / services that you have not even produced or sold yet! If you are stuck on this section you can hire a business plan consultant to just assist you with completing your projections (income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet). Figuring out the cost of goods, delivery costs, and return rates can be simplified by breaking them down into a “light” spreadsheet. Next you need to understand your startup and operating costs – items like electricity, travel, phone expenses, etc. Again just organize these and your consultant can make all the fancy charts and graphs. Just make sure you understand all of the assumptions – for example if you are opening a retail business, you should not look towards your consultant to “guess” your rent – go out and meet with a realtor and come back with real data. If you work closely with your consultant, the financials are a great section to bring in professional help.

Managing Expectations

Now that you know a bit more about when to hire a business plan writer you also need to manage your expectations. You can’t expect a $1,000 business plan to have 20 pages of competitive analysis and a full-blown marketing strategy! If you carefully work through which sections of your business plan need outside help and then manage your consultant closely, your final document will be a success! My next two articles will focus on “How to Find / Hire a Business Plan Consultant” and more importantly “When to Fire your Business Plan Consultant!”

About the Author

Howard Schwartz is a partner in several business strategy groups, including HJ Ventures International, Inc. Howard has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs worldwide with a focus on writing business plans for companies interested in raising capital from Venture Funds and Angel Investors. Howard’s business plans have secured several million dollars in funding.

For more information: http://www.hjventures.com

5 High Impact Marketing Tips

5 High-Impact Marketing Tips
by Bob Leduc

Here are 5 high-impact marketing tips you can use to boost your sales quickly. All are simple to implement and they involve little or no new expense.

1. Promote Only One Thing at a Time

Promote only 1 product or service each time you advertise. Many people have difficulty selecting one product when their decision forces them to delay or reject buying something else they also want. When prospects cannot make an easy choice they often make no decision at all ...and you lose the sale.

Tip: Offer new customers a related product or service immediately after they buy from you. Many will accept your offer, producing an easy sale without jeopardizing the initial purchase.

2. Provide Multiple Ways for Customers to Buy

Providing choices of what to buy will reduce your sales. But providing choices of how to buy will increase your sales. Offer many different ways for customers to buy from you. The same method is not convenient for everybody. Prospective customers are more likely to act immediately when their favorite way of ordering is available.

3. Avoid Your Competitors

Look for some new niche markets you and your competitors overlooked. You may uncover a market you can dominate with little or no competition.

One quick and easy way to find profitable new markets is to sub-divide your current market into several narrowly defined niche markets. Then customize your advertising to the unique needs of prospects in each niche market.

Tip: You can narrow the appeal of an existing web site without losing its effectiveness with your main market. Just create customized web pages for each market segment you want to target. Then add a link to each of these specialized pages on your home page.

4. Use Alternative Marketing

Look for alternative media your competitors may be overlooking. For example, many internet marketers are beginning to use direct mail postcards to generate traffic to their web sites. It's a low cost way to bypass the heavy competition online.

A brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing offer sent to the right prospects will generate a flood of traffic to your website - or a large number of sales leads.

Tip: Postcards are also an excellent low-cost alternative to email. People get so much email today that even legitimate messages are getting deleted unread. But they get few if any postcards. Your message is guaranteed to get their attention when it's delivered on a postcard.

5. Encourage Questions

You're walking away from a lot of easy sales if you don't encourage prospects to ask questions about your product or service.

Only interested prospects will take the time to ask questions. Many will buy ...especially if you answer their question quickly and completely. You can even include a promotion for your product or service as part of your answer.

Make it easy for prospects to ask questions when they are at your web site or in other selling situations where there is no personal contact. For example, provide a phone number or an email address they can use to ask questions.

Tip: If you find yourself personally answering a lot of questions, add a Questions and Answers section to your web site or your sales brochure. Include the answers to the most frequently asked questions. It will reduce the number of questions you have to answer personally.

Each of these 5 marketing tips provides a simple way for you to boost your sales quickly ...and for little or no new expense.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com

Email Signatures - Easy Free Advertising

Email Signatures - Easy Free Advertising
© Terri Seymour of www.seymourproducts.com

A big part of your business comes from your email
so it makes sense to advertise your products and/or
services with every email that you send out. You can
do this is by having a “sigtag” in your email. Outlook
and Outlook Express both allow you to set up your
sigtag so it is automatically added to each and every
email going out, including replies and forwards.

In Outlook, go to Tools up on top, and then Options.
Then click on the Mail Format tab up on top of the box.
Then click on Signatures. Outlook even allows you to
have different sigtags for different email addresses.
This way, you could have a certain sigtag for your
email groups and another one for your personal email
and so on. For Outlook Express, go to Tools and then
Options. Then you click the Signatures tab on top of
the box.

A few things you want to remember when composing your
sigtag:

1. Do not make it into a novel. You want to just use a
few lines to get your message across.

2. Try to capture email addresses for follow-up sales
and contacts. Your ezine makes for a good subject for
your sigtag.

3. Offer something free that people can click and get.
Make it as few clicks as possible. For example: a free
download or ebook.

Here are some examples of sigtags:

Sincerely,
Jane Doe

Free download will help increase sales
http://www.yoururl.com/downloadhere.pdf

Subscribe to our free ezine to help improve your biz
mailto:subscribe@mysite.com

------------

Thank you,
John Doe

John Doe is a marketing specialist who has written
many successful ebooks. Check out is latest ebook
here and sign up for a free gift.
http://www.signuphere.com

-------------

Warm regards,
John Smith

25% discount on all orders from this link. Click here
and get a free gift with your order and discount.
http://www.clickhere.com

---------------

Don’t pass up the chance to advertise and/or promote
your products and/or services with every email you
send! Change your sigtag periodically to feature your
current specials or sales or holiday events. I have
gotten many sales/subscribers/leads from my email
sigtag over the years!


*************
Find lots more tips, articles, and resources and a
chance to own your own non-MLM home business with
unlimited support at http://www.SeymourProducts.com
You can also start your own ebook store - huge selection
of ebooks/software only $1.00 each with resell rights.
http://www.seymourproducts.com/ebooks-resell

Simple Four-Step Process for Marketing Affiliate Programs

Simple Four-Step Process for Marketing Affiliate Programs
by Jude Wright

If you are trying to sell a product or service on the
Internet, then you are probably doing so through an
affiliate program. You signed up as an affiliate
(usually for free) and they gave you an affiliate ID
(user name or number). They may have even given you a
basic marketing package which includes text ads, banner
ads, and solo ads with a link to your affiliate sales
page. All you have to do is use these tools to get
traffic to your affiliate sales page.

Well that sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? This process
actually works too, except that your probability of
converting your traffic into sales is very, very, very
low. In other words, you may have to have thousands of
people to visit your affiliate sales page before you
ever see your first sell. Now those aren't very good
odds, are they?

Unfortunately, that is what most people do. They spend
a lot of time, effort, and money getting all of those
people to that affiliate sales page and then they
finally make a sale and earn a referral fee or
commission. But wait, it can get even worse. Let's say
that you made one sale and earned a $10 commission.
That's great, right? Well not really, because in the
terms and conditions of your affiliate program, you
don't actually get paid until you have accumulated at
least $20 of commissions. So get back to it and get
another sale and finally get paid. Good grief!

Don't quit! Internet marketing is a great way to make
extra money, but you have to know some of the secrets.
Here's one. "Don't advertise your affiliate program
directly." You must use a four step process.

Four Step Process

1. First, you must provide something of value. The
easiest valuable thing that you can give away is
information. An informative email course, special
report, or ebook are all great ways to give away
free information.

2. This step goes along with the initial step above.
Don't give away your free information until you get
an email address. You must capture the name and email
address of your prospective sale in order to be able
to implement the next step.

3. If the information that you are providing is good
and helps people, then you will earn some trust. If
someone gives you some information that saves you
time, money, or effort; then you are going to
closely read anything that they send you - as long
as the information is still valuable. This is why it
is so important that you get that name and email
address before you start giving away your
information. Now you can keep the information
flowing through an occasional email to your prospect.

4. Finally, if you have been providing valuable
information and earning trust from people, it is much
more likely that they will buy something that you
recommend. This is especially true if you can
convince them that what you are recommending will
help them and that it is worth their money. The
easiest way to do this is to recommend something that
you have actually purchased and use yourself. Just
tell them how it helped you and why you think that
it was worth what you paid for it!

----------
Too much to do? Not enough time? Reduce stress and
maximize your efficiency. Go to
http://i-marketingorganizer.com and get your free
report.

The Basics of Internet Marketing Promotion

The Basics of Internet Marketing Promotion
By: Scott Oliver

Thousands of business and web enthusiasts are taking
the big risk and joining the exciting world of internet
marketing. While seemingly overwhelming at first,
internet marketing and promotion can actually be
classified into three simple categories: market research,
search engines, and e-zine advertising. Those interested
in the internet marketing field should first familiarize
themselves with the very basics of what makes this fast
growing business venture tick.

Determining how much money to invest in your overall
internet marketing campaign, and deciding the people and
places which to target the main product, are defined as
market research. This research is the most basic section
of the internet marketing focus. Investing the correct
sum of money to the right groups is essential in market
research, and internet marketing in general. Proper
research will eventually conclude the outcome of your
entire business campaign.

Search engines have been a popular form of advertising,
both past and present, in the internet marketing
community. Search engines are divided into two sections:
search engines and directories, and pay per click
engines. While the most favored and effective form of
internet marketing promotion, this category is also the
most expensive. Excellent search engine marketing and
placement can quite time consuming as well, and it is
best if submission is left to an experienced
professional.

Another extremely effective, yet inexpensive form of
internet marketing promotion is e-zine advertising.
Using the information gathered from your market
research, you should be well aware of what your target
audience desires. Find out what kinds of online
publication or newsletters your internet marketing
targets are interested in, and purchase advertising
from these sources. Ads generally are available in
three basic types: solo ads, top-line ads, and
classified ads. Solo ads are the best ads because they
are sent to the entire publication list. These ads are
also beneficial for internet marketing promotion
because they contain only your ad. However, solo ads
are the most expensive. While classified ads may be a
low-cost alternative, they will not be much help in
your plight for internet marketing success. These tiny
ads are placed at the end of the newsletter, and are
usually overlooked by the majority of readers.


Scott has his own website to help you find the best
home based business ideas and opportunities so you
can work at home at: www.Pennies4You.com

Newbie Bloggers

Visit my wonderful new friend Rebecca Beasley's blog. Lots to read and learn about - Check it out!

Newbie Bloggers

Knock, knock. Who's There? Your Target Market, Are You Listening?

Knock, knock. Who's There? Your Target Market, Are You Listening?
Catherine Franz

Have you ever had a conversation with a person who wasn't listening to anything you said?

This one-way communication experience is a big turn-off and many times frustrating to cope with at the time.

Is this occurring in your marketing? Oops, no one wants to thinkof their business as turning a deaf ear to their market. Yet it can be easy to do since most of us have a jammed packed life already, with little time to spare let alone to listen to whatour market is saying. Yet, we can't afford not to, or we lose our revenue. Relying even 40 percent on push marketing turns off the sound to your market. Okay, Catherine, what is push marketing?

Push marketing is when you use brochures, flyers and other material -- including your business card -- and you push them out into the market praying all the time you are doing it, hoping they read them and will take the action you want them to.This is an easy rhythm to get into because it allows you to hide and not feel any rejection. Yes, if you don't know who they are, they can't reject you.

Materials are supporting documentation and should never be usedto push what people need to buy from you. Yet, business owners, especially independent professionals and newbie's (under 3 years in business) use push marketing to frequently to "feel" like they are marketing. Then when the response rate is nil or realsmall, which is always the case, they get disappointed, give up (major reason for dissolutions in the first 3 years of businesses), and begin to think they can't market, or marketing is "t-o-o"hard.

Then they walk around pointing out why people aren't buying. Take a moment, do it now before you forget, and make a quick list of what you use to market your service -- brochures, business card, flyers, what else? Yes, most web sites are push marketing -- you need to push people to get them to visit. Of course, there are some exceptions.

Now ask, "How much do I count on for these materials to market for me? Do you go to networking events and push your business card into everyone's hand?" Oh, did you feel that whoosh of negative energy with that sentence? I sure did. Next time, keep those business cards in your pocket until asked for one and then still hesitate to give it out without some boundaries or criteria.

Why, because a business card has all your contact information onit. U-know, name, phone number, and maybe a logo that took you ayear or two to develop that your market could care less about.

Your business card doesn't say how kind, understanding, caring or what you know or the value you bring to your clients. Its just flat energy.

Well, then, Catherine, how can you do this differently? Thought you would never ask.

Be creative. Think of a few things you would prefer to do to establish a relationship with your market. How about printing a copy of your ebook or latest article and discussing the topic instead of handing out a business card. Take one or two copies with you to give to qualified leads.

If someone else sees you giving the ebook out, and you want them to, invite them to a free upcoming tele class and say its part of the handouts (even if it isn't). Take out a small note sheet that has your name, web site, and phone number printed on them (here's a vendor I recommend if you don't have any of these already -- various sizes -- Day Timer http://www.daytimer.com), and write down the name, date and time of the next tele class and tell them they can register by visiting your web site.

KEY: The moment you use ink and take the time to write it down, you move from push marketing to relationship building marketing.

Make it your goal to connect and begin building a relationshipwith your market. Look around and take measurement on how you are using with your material. Create a "measurement moment" and check in regularly. I do. Ask, "How can I do something different this week that builds connections?" Make a list of one or two you can do differently. Then test them. Be creative.

Ask, "How can I learn about at least one of their challenges?"After you do, spend some quality time thinking how your productor service answers that challenge. If not, and it fits into your niche, then ask the universe to send you some options on how you can. This will open new doors of creative flow for you.

Remember, this is a learning curve, behavioral change, and shift in mentality. So, adapt and adopt with patience and love.

When you connect with others you double, even triple your attractiveness and money. Solo attracts solo.

Questions to support your evolution:

> Is your marketing communication two way?

> Is your push marketing percent too high?

> How can I ask prospects to share with me their biggest problems or challenges?

> How does that relate to what I am offering?

> How can I change this right now?

> Have I put my "measurement moment" on myregular agenda for next week, next month?

> What 3 questions can I have in my arsenal for my next point of contact (include e-mail in this as well)?


********************************
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Article Source: http://www.businesshighlight.org

New Laws in Michigan and Utah

You may or may not have heard about the new laws coming out of Michigan and Utah. Everyone is talking about these laws and what they should do about them... how can they protect themselves, how can they tell if someone under 18 is subscribedto their ezine, or accessing their sites,what to do,what to do.It's an uproar,to be sure. But please do not push the proverbial panic button. Reprinted below is an email from Clarissa 'kiki'Frampton of the Publishers Club. In it you will find links towhere you can read the laws.... and I might add that they are short and easily understandable. Kiki also has reprinted the opinions of two well respected individuals...Bobette Madonna and j.l. scott. She has also provided two disclaimers you can post to your site and in your emails. And just so you know...I also agree with the opinions of both Bobbette and j.l. ... these laws were not meant to protect children.... and what I would like to say here, is better left unsaid.... I will leave the saying to those that are more eloquent than I. Here then is the email.

The "buzz" around the Internet lately is the new lawsfrom Michigan and Utah. In case you have not been made aware of these laws go here to read.

Michigan: http://marketingsherpa.com/usscp/1.html
Utah: marketingsherpa.com/usscp/2.html

Bobbette Madonna of LOGON writes:

If you believe this is all about protecting kids from getting an ad that leads to some porn site, you live in lala land. Kids can find those sites all by themselves. How many casesdo you think it will take for publishers and business owners to quit? How many of those "kids" complaining will be greedy, scamming parents who SET IT UP in the first place? Why don't they exempt the small business owner? The ezine publisher? I'll tell you why. BECAUSE WE OWN AN OPTIN LIST and they want to profit from it, period. This is about big money people making laws and expanding on them over time to rid theInternet of ecommerce so THEY can have it all to themselves. Think about WHO THEY ARE and you have who's doing dirty deed. To read more on this law, go to this site:http://www.isipp.com/

jl Scott of i-Cop has this to say:

It IS about SPAM, no doubt about that. These states are merely hiding behind so-called child protection laws to work around the CAN-SPAM Act. If they were truly concerned about child protection, they wouldn't be putting together lists every child molester and pedophile in the country is gleefully waiting to access. I've read they're going to encrypt the list, access, etc., and I've heard they simply have a fancy process for scrubbing the lists. That's a JOKE, folks, and it ain't funny. Do they REALLY believe some 12-year-old hacker won't break through any thing they do within 30 days?

I should also tell you ... Although the fine legislative folks ofMichigan and Utah seem to believe these laws will not be struck down due to anything in the CAN-SPAM Act, iCop WILL be petitioning for an opinion letter from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stating that these two laws are void on their face, having been superseded by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

I respect these fine publishers and agree with both. While I do not feel we should panic I think it may be a good idea to include a disclaimer in your publication. It can be short such as:

PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS MAILING! If you are under the age of 18 you must unsubscribe immediately.

Or you may use this disclaimer:

Online Children's Privacy Protection Act. Please be aware that "your publication name" is not designed for, and does not intend for it to be used by, anyone under age 18. Accordingly, this ezine should not be used by anyone under age 18. Our privacy policy prohibits us from accepting users or subscribers who are under the age of 18.

Should "your publication name" inadvertently acquire personal information or other data from users under the age of 18, we will not knowingly provide this data to any third party for any purpose whatsoever, and any subsequent disclosure would be due to the fact the user underage of 18 submitted personal information without solicitation by or permission from "your publication name".

Even tho these disclaimers will not protect you 100% you have stated that children are not to view your mailings or website. If you have a links page and accept third party links check to make sure you do not have links to:

Tobacco
Alcohol
Gambling
Prescription Drugs
Illegal Drugs
Adult Content
Guns/Knives/Weapons
Lotteries
Sweepstakes

You can subscribe to LOGON ezine http://logonnewzine.com or emailBobbette mailto:publisher@logonnewzine.com To join i-Cop visithttp://www.i-cop.org or email jlScott mailto:jlscott@i-Cop.org To view all disclaimers used by Start-Smartz please visit: http://www.start-smartz.com/ss_signup.htm and scroll down to theTerms of Service and Disclaimer section

Let's stick together as publishers... we are not doing anything wrong and we all provide a great service to our loyal readers. Clarissa & Gloria ThePublishersClub

Reprinted from AplusBiz Marketing Journal by permission.

Time for a bit of Humor!

Error - You have spent too much time on the net

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable because you have overloaded the Internet. You may need to take a break from the web. Please go outside and play.

Please try the following: Turn off your computer and do something creative. If the world wide web is all that you know, try calling 1-800-web-help and speak to a friendly Web help anonymous representative. Contact your (LAN) administrator or Internet service provider (ISP) to disconnect you. If your Network Administrator has enabled it, your system can examine your network and automatically disconnect you or at least shut this page down by clicking here. Click the Help menu and then search for topics about abusing the internet or use Google. If you are in desperate trouble, we can lock your computer up, forcing you to leave your computer desk. This is not advisable and should be considered as a last resort only. - No, not really. We are just kidding If you think that this page has reached you in error you may complete one of the following: Refer someone who needs help to this page Start your internet search over at thecenter2000.com Click the Back button to try another link. Ignore this page Overloaded web or DNS Error Internet Explorer, WEB-TV or maybe Netscape, who cares?

---

6 "Life or Death" Factors For Any Website!

6 "Life or Death" Factors For Any Website!
- by Jim Edwards
http://www.thenetreporter.com/
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved

=====================================

Not a week goes by that half a dozen people don't ask mewhat separates a great, money-making website from a bad one. In response, I surveyed of a number of different websites, large and small, to find what they share in common to make them so successful. With few exceptions, every extraordinarily great website contained the following elements.

** Testimonials **

Every great website has testimonials from satisfied customers. These testimonials help set the potential customer's mind at ease that the products or services soldonline will perform as promised.

Truly great testimonials not only endorse the product, butclearly state how the product increased sales, saved money, or benefited previous buyers in very specific and tangible ways. Testimonials should present real benefits others can readily identify with, understand and, more importantly, want those same results for themselves!

** Headlines **

Headlines capture visitors' attention and get them involved in the website. How do you read the newspaper? If you read like most people the headlines first catch your attention and determine whether you'll actually read a story.Similarly headlines on a website determine whether visitors get involved in the information or surf away never to return.

My own experience has shown that the proper headlines caneasily and quickly double, triple, or even quadruple a website's sales almost overnight.

** Bullets **

Bullets communicate various and subtle bits of information about a product or service without making readers plow through paragraphs of information to get to the meat of a website's offering. Bullets arouse interest, build excitement, and convey a lot of information very quickly to time-starved web surfers.

** Bonuses **

Every great website offers bonuses to people who buy, apply or fill out a form. Nothing induces someone to do business with you online like offering them something extra for taking the action you want. Offering a bonus report, tape, extended membership, extra quantities of product at a deep discount, coupons, or just about anything makes people more willing to go ahead with the purchase decision.

** Guarantees **

Everyone takes a risk whenever they buy anything from anyone. The risk centers on whether or not the product or service will perform as promised. In a retail store most people feel pretty confident the store will still exist if they need to make a return or exchange in a few days. On the web, however, that risk in making a purchase seems much higher than in the "offline" world.
Every great website makes a point of specifically telling customers about their return policy and truly exceptionalsites offer 100%, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantees. People rarely take advantage of such guarantees and I have personally seen a website's sales increase by 45% just by extending the guarantee period an additional 30 days.

** Phone numbers **

Every great website has a phone number with a real live human being on the other end who can answer questions and provide product support.

So there you have it! With few exceptions this represents the formula for creating or identifying a truly great website.
===============================================
Jim Edwards is the co-author of the NEW"eBook Secrets Exposed": How to Make MASSIVE Amounts of Money - In Record Time - With Your Own eBook! WHY are some people getting positively RICH selling ebooks? Click Here Now ==> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msmom663/ebksecrets

DMA: FTC Seeks Progress on Authentication

NEW YORK -- Slow adoption of authentication standards by the e-mail industry once had some folks at the Federal Trade Commission worried. As recently as six months ago, the Direct Marketing Association heard murmurs from FTC officials who were concerned that little was happening on the authentication front, said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs at the DMA, who spoke at yesterday's E-mail Authentication Implementation Summit 2005.

"They started to get very nervous that the industry was not picking up the ball and running with authentication," Cerasale said. "They're ecstatic that we're having this conference."
The DMA and FTC have put their support behind e-mail authentication as the best hope to combat spam and e-mail fraud. The DMA has opposed proposals for creating a national do-not-e-mail list, and the FTC has advised Congress against such a list.

Any solution to spam must be affordable to marketers to be effective, Cerasale said. If it's too expensive, it won't be adopted by the bulk of the industry.

Cerasale also addressed proposals by a few states to create children's do-not-e-mail lists. The FTC has come down against such lists because of the danger of a security breach. Currently, the DMA considers state anti-spam laws to be preempted by the CAN-SPAM Act, but that could be tested in court in the future, Cerasale said.

Scott Hovanyetz covers telemarketing, production and printing and direct response TV marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters

Article - How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover
By Adam Urbanski

Are you on track for hitting all your business goals for the year? A quick check-up of your promotional efforts can reveal "week spots" and help identify what needs tweaking to give your business a healthy boost in the next few months. Here are five key areas to focus on with your mid-year marketing makeover.

1. Clarify Your Objectives (some prefer to call it goals)

Are you clear on where want to end up? If you are thinking this has nothing to do with marketing – think again! You cannot design and implement effective strategies unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish.

If you are looking for a magic formula to give your business a boost here is a tip: there is nothing more powerful than writing down your objectives. Your ability to language and clearly articulate what you want to achieve exponentially increases your chances of getting it!

2. Makeover Your Business Model.

Many of my clients “paint themselves into a limited-income corner” by structuring their business in a wrong way. No matter how hard they work and try, they can’t seem to be able to make more money and just end up being more frustrated.

Take Debra for example (not her real name). She is a successful small business consultant. Her well developed lead generating process attracts enough clients to actually make them wait a few weeks before she can start working with them. But she still makes only half the money she wants to make. Let me explain...

You see, Debra’s business model is to deliver her services using one on one engagements and she can only handle about 15 clients at a time. With her average monthly client value approaching $1,500 she’s right on target to make just over $250,000.00 this year. But she wants to m@ke $500,000.00 – can you see the problem?
Chances are in some way, you might have a similar challenge – your current business model is incapable of producing the results you want.

What’s the solution? Here are a few ideas:

* Diversify your product/service offering. Analyze the needs of your clients and look for new ways to serve them. (Hint: you do not have to deliver all the solutions yourself – instead form strategic alliances).

* Find new ways to work with clients. If you work with people one on one start offering group programs. Develop tele-seminars or live workshops. You’ll actually be able to attract more clients and exponentially increase your earnings.

* Multiply yourself. Chances are if you have a successful service business – you are following a proven process. Bring in others who can be trained in facilitating the delivery of your process to clients who are not willing to pay your rate – but will settle for working with your associate at a discounted rate.

* Develop info products. There is no better way to leverage your knowledge than turning it into passive streams of revenue. If you are not regularly putting out new products – you are missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your income.

3. Makeover Your Lead Generating Systems.

How many ways are you generating new leads? Do you have at least three to five lead generating vehicles that are consistent and automated?

Too many businesses don’t understand the lead generating process and depend on vague methods of getting new clients – like “word of mouth” and “networking”. No having structured and easy to duplicate system to attract attention and turn it into sales is a sure pathway to a total disaster.

* If you need clients fast – consider direct mail, fax broadcasting, narrowly focused direct-response advertising, strategic alliances, ask your current clients for referrals and – don’t forget the big one – reactivate your past clients!* To ensure long term positioning and visibility in your market place focus on publicity, getting speaking engagements, and writing and publishing articles.

4. Makeover Your Follow-Up.

Are you keeping in touch with your clients and prospects? Do you have a way to automatically connect with them at least monthly? If not – you are only getting about 20% of the m0ney you could be making!

Most people give up following up after just three attempts. Most prospects don’t make a buying decision until they’ve been exposed to your marketing message at least five times? See a problem here?

* If you are not doing it yet, start an online or offline newsletter. Create a monthly postcard program. Regularly send out information you come across that your audience would benefit from.

* Use technology to automate your follow-up. Online use sequential autoresponders that can be put on total auto-pilot. Offline use fax and voice broadcasting technology to leverage your time and connect with people quickly, meaningfully and affordably.

5. Makeover Your Marketing Assets.

We all have a limited amount of time, and if you are spending it all working with clients you are not creating long-term leverage. Schedule time every week to create marketing assets that work for you.

* Invest in your own knowledge: read more books, attend high-end training programs, purchase home-study courses, hire mentors to help you gain greater proficiency. Become a perpetual learner and always look for ways to transfer or implement your knowledge quickly.

* Continually build your credibility and positioning: ask all clients for testimonials, develop new talks on your subject of expertise, create information products.

* Give your marketing materials (like business cards, websites and brochures) a quick look-over. Are they consistently communicating the right marketing message? Are they written in a lively, persuasive and client-relevant language or are you still insisting on telling your prospects your company’s history, vision and mission statement thinking they actually care?

* Develop tools and systems: create checklists to make routine tasks easier to delegate, implement an extra follow-up step that can be automated or outsourced, record your talks and teleseminars and turn them into Attraction Tools.

Finally, keep this in mind: these are all simple things but combined they can make or break your business. So while others are preoccupied planning their summer vacation, I suggest you get busy giving your business a marketing makeover.

(c) 2005 Adam M. Urbanski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com/

Article - A Forgotten Marketing Tool

A Forgotten Marketing Tool - The Postcardby Sue DeFiore
Home Business Solutions
http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/

The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many of our customers and/or students use them in their business. The key is to set up the card to market effectively for you.

Concentrate on a specific item or niche.

When used correctly a post card can become very powerful marketing tool. Be sure the front of your card is explicit. It should be clear to your customer what you are selling. A color postcard is a must, unless you are using black and white to your advantage, that is, to make a point.

The front should motivate your customer to turn it around and see what you are offering or what you can do for them.

The back of your card should make your points in a clear and concise manner. After this is done be sure to give your customer a number of ways to contact you: by phone, by email, by snail mail. If you have a website be sure you mention it here.

Remember you need to take a limited amount of space and address the main concerns that your customers have or to delineate what you are selling and its advantages. Give your customers reasons to contact you. For example, you have a solution to their problems, and remember make it easy for them to contact you.

Address their concerns rather than tooting your own horn, you can do that in your follow-up. Your postcard is not the place to discuss you, but what you have to offer to your customer, or how you can help your customer. You need to have a unique selling point (USP).

You can expand the limited amount of space on post cards by using certain fonts and typefaces. Just be sure that they are readable to everyone. Remember, people over 40 start having a hard time seeing all that tiny print.

So start making post cards a part of your marketing campaign. You can also use them to announce a seminar, extend an invitation to your new website, make an announcement (new product, new store location), etc. I am sure if you brainstorm you can think of a myriad of ways you can use postcards.

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

---Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/ for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach. Visit http://www.hbsdigest.com/ to start today.

Article - How Important is Your Marketing?

How Important Is Your Marketing?
by Charlie Cook
Marketing for Success
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/

Bob called last week from Phoenix, Arizona with some stunning news about his web site. He first contacted me in the fall of 2003. He had a web site that was helping him generate a healthy income but he sensed he could be doing even better. He wanted to get more visitors to his web site and get more of them to contact him about his retail liquidation services.

Are you interested in getting more prospects to your web site and prompting more of them to contact you?

Over the two months I worked with Bob to help him clearly define his target market, identify the problem he solves, and clarify his marketing message. We improved the copy on his web site and the structure of his web pages to prompt more people to contact him. I showed him how to write articles and use them to generate a steady stream of visitors to his site.

Bob was happy with the results of these changes, but I wasn't. He was getting more visitors to his site and more inquiries, but I thought there was potential for even more growth. I knew that Bob could be doing better if he would just change his marketing message. Despite my best efforts to persuade, cajole and prompt him to rethink how he talked about what he did, Bob was happy with his existing marketing message.

Prior to working with me, Bob had spent ten years regularly experimenting with his marketing message and had found a sentence that generated the best response he'd ever had. It was working; he was keeping busy, making money and didn't want to mess with success.

We finished our work together almost a year ago, so I was surprised when Bob called last week. It turns out that he hadn't stopped experimenting. He had taken my advice to heart after all and been fine-tuning his marketing message so that it described the problem he solves for his clients clearly and concisely.

With this new marketing message at the top of his web page, Bob is getting 3 times the number of inquiries about his services. That's 300% more people who know the problem he solves and who are contacting him about his services.

How much more could you be making if you had 3 times as many people contact you about your products and services?

When your prospects are considering a purchase, they are looking to solve a problem. They might want to eliminate back pain, fund their child's college tuition, sell off their excess inventory quickly so they have more operating cash on hand, as in Bob's case. In every case your prospect has a problem or need that prompted their purchase.
Your prospects are hoping you can help them. They're hoping you have the solution to making them happier, smarter and richer. They are buying the result you provide.

When a prospect meets you or visits your web site, the first item they should see is a statement of the problem you solve. Your prospects then immediately know whether you can help them.

Why is your marketing message - your elevator speech - and the way you talk about what you do so important?

At ten to twelve words long, your marketing message won't cover all the problems you solve, establish your credibility or the value you provide. But if the first thing you say to a prospect doesn't get their attention, they won't stay at your web site, read the rest of your marketing materials or listen to the rest of what you have to say.

Bob spent over a decade experimenting to find a marketing message that helped him generate a steady income and then in a few months discovered he could improve on it by three hundred percent. Don't wait ten years to do the same with your marketing. Write, test and use a problem solving marketing message and more people will contact you about your products and services.

2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
---The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/

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Article - Relationship Networking

Relationship Networking by Sharon Housley
What is Relationship Networking?

Relationship networking is simply the art of meeting people and benefiting from those relationships. Often the benefit of these relationship is to obtain information and leads to further grow your business. Any successful relationship, whether a personal or a business relationship, is unique to every pair of individuals, and it evolves over time. Effective relationship networking is all about building those relationships and maintaining long lasting connections with other professionals.

The Internet is an excellent vehicle for networking. Relationships can develop in newsgroups, forums, and via email. Though nothing really beats good old-fashioned face-to-face networking to start the process of building a relationship and trust, which is why industry conferences can be so important.

Not all contacts will be useful or worth pursuing. There will be leads that don't provide much information. Use your judgment on whether the information and relationship is worth spending more time on.

Relationship networking opens new doors, often it's "who you know, not necessarily what you know".

Tip to Build Network Relationships:

1. Provide genuine assistance to others.
2. Be open-minded.
3. Remember personal details.
4. Respect cultural differences.
5. Research people and companies. Know their goals and interests.
6. Reciprocate.
7. Introductions.

Where to Network:

So many people wear multiple hats; everyone and anyone could possibly be a networking opportunity. However, just like targeted search engine traffic, the more targeted the networking the higher the chance of success. 'Targeted' networking offers the most potential.

1. Trade associations or industry specific organization.
2. Trade shows.
3. Friends.
4. Schools.
5. Focused newsgroups and topic specific forums.
6. Customers.
7. Suppliers.
8. User groups.

Constantly refine and grow your network of relationships, as they are valuable and need cultivating. If you are perceived as someone who is only trying to get something your network will likely not increase. Networking is about building relationships and mutual interaction benefiting both parties. Share information and help others grow their businesses.
In many ways relationship networking and partnering overlap, and on some occasion's relationship networking will lead to synergistic partnering.

Partnering

Partnering is an attractive flexible way for companies to develop new markets and additional revenue. Working together, partners can combine strengths in critical areas. Often a larger well-known vendor provides small vendors with credibility, while the smaller vendor contributes specific industry knowledge unknown to the larger vendor. Synergistic relationships come in all shapes and sizes, but the best relationships and partnerships are the ones that benefit everyone. Partnering is a good way of tapping into related customer bases. Often the partners complement each other in such a way that they can provide a combined solution that neither partner could deliver alone.

Expectations

In order for a relationship to work you must have a clear understanding of both your companies and product(s) strengths and weaknesses. By being aware of any deficiencies, you will find partners with strengths in the areas of your weaknesses.
1. Know what you have to offer.
2. Know what you are looking for.
3. Don't waste yours and your potential partner's time.

Different relationships/partnering that works:
1. Product bundling.
2. Newsletter exchanges.
3. Integrations.
4. Link exchanges.
5. Technology or knowledge exchange.
6. Revenue share.
7. Ad exchange.

Win/Win

Only when each partner is successful can the partnership itself claim success. Partnerships are genuinely a win-win. Developers, who master the art of strategic partnering and relationship networking, will obtain long-term profitability and success.

Final Tips

1.) Qualify sources.
2.) Adage - you are who you hang with.
3.) Not every relationship is a good one.
4.) Evaluate potential partners.
5.) Make it personal by taking the time to say thank you.
6.) Results are not always immediate.
7.) Carry business cards everywhere you go.

Being proactive and following up, you can have a network of contacts that you will be able to access quickly when you need them. Whether by more traditional means, such as in person or over the Internet, personal networks are essential for furthering your business. Relationship networking is give and take, be sure to help others in your quest for help.

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions

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