Holiday Tips

Although not everyone celebrates Christmas or even when the new year starts, this is the time of year when you'll be receiving a lot of mail, phone calls and emails asking you to spend or donate your money. And although I do support legitimate sale offers and charities, you need to be aware that not every solicitation for money is legit.

The fact is: this is not only the busiest time of the year for legitimate merchants and charities, it's also the one of the busiest and best times of the year for scam artiest.

Now I won't go into details about the newest scams since I can't keep up with them however you can see a list of some of more popular ones here and 1 of the latest ones here.

So rather than try to list the current on and off line scams, I am going to give you some tips on how to protect yourself, your credit cards and your money.

No matter where you live or what holidays you celebrate you need to know these things to...

Protect yourself from becoming a victim.

• Read the "21 tips to protect yourself from being a victim of credit card fraud" provided by ScamBusters.org.
  


• Read the "Security Tips and Fraud Prevention" provided by PapPal.com.
  


• Never, I repeat Never click a link in an email to access any of your online accounts that contain personal information. Always type in the web address yourself to access these accounts.
  


• Do not give out your credit card information to someone who has called you. While many legitimate charities do phone solicitations, you don't really know who is making the call or who may be listening. If you want to make a donation, ask them to send you a donation card or bill.
  


• When you make an online purchase, always make sure the payment site is a "secure" site.
  


• Impulse shopping is at it's highest during the holidays. Everyone and their brother is trying to sell something. And yes, some of them are really great deals and some are things you may really want to buy. However, you need to stay in control of yourself and your wallet and only buy those things you plan to use or give as gifts while staying within your means. No matter how good the deal or how much you really "want" to have it or "want" to give it away, if you can't afford it - don't buy it.
  


• Those convenient "Gift Cards" make nice gifts however:
  
  * Like credit cards, if someone has the card number and duplicates the card, they can use your gift before you've had the chance to give it.
  
  * The stores love you to purchase gift cards because they make money whether the card is used or not. And there was a lot of money made last Christmas with unused gift cards and there will be more made this year.

Please use the above information to protect yourself not only this holiday season but through the next and future years.

Please feel free to leave your comments about this tip and offer any additional suggestion you may have.

Wishing you a prosperous 2008!
Susan

Tags: scam, fraud, credit card, paypal

Affiliate Marketing For The Holidays

With the holidays coming you may find that your usual sales are going down so this week I'd like to give you the free report "Affiliate Marketing For The Holidays." Inside this report you'll find:

• How to think outside the "gift box" to find profitable markets where money is already being spent


• How to use your existing contact list for quick holiday cash


• How to turn your recommendations into pure profit

This is a free report offered by AffiliateCashSecrets and holds some good information.

So this week's tip is:

1. Get and read the free report - no sign up required.


2. Sign up for the AffiliateCashSecrets 7 day free trial and start using some of the free reports to generate some affiliate payments to your inbox.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Comments are always welcome.

Tags: affiliate marketing, affiliate cash secrets, holiday marketing report, free marketing report, holiday marketing free report

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 3)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

Last week I listed 12 symptoms of ADD/ADHD and included Terry Matlen's, MSW, ACSW statement that, "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD."

Because your site visitors may have some of these symptoms today I'll discuss 5 of them and some of the methods used by online marketers to overcome them.

• Distractibility - When someone visits your web page they may have a lot on their mind or other things going on around them so you need to put things on your page to keep their attention. The use of color, graphics, surveys, lists, audio and video are some of the methods used by online marketers to keep the attention of those reading their page.
  


• Impulsivity - Most of your page viewers are not looking for something to buy or a place to sign up when they arrive at your web site and you need to use this symptom to your advantage. While you don't want to lie to them and you should only make true statements, you need to use the "Wow!" factor to have them do what you want. Making bold statements about what your offer can do for them, showing testimonials and offering samples or demos are 3 of the methods used by online marketers.
  


• Inattention - You've heard you need to grab your page visitor's attention in the first 5 seconds but in addition you must keep their attention. Possible ways to keep the attention of your visitor are graphics, sub-headlines for page sections and telling an interesting story or joke. Also, the content on your page needs to be like a personal conversation... not like a page from a school book. Instant or time-delayed audio and pop-ups, peel-away ads and ribbon ads are also used to grab the attention of your visitor.
  


• Difficulty staying on task - While you may not think this symptom can affect how your visitor reacts to your web page, it does. If you make it difficult for someone to perform the task you desire, most won't do it. Making your payment buttons easy to find, giving easy to understand directions and displaying reminders when a disjoint task like confirming an email request for double opt-in are ways to help your visitor do what you want and do it correctly.
  


• Irritability - When you work online you'll eventually be contacted by someone who gets irritable and down-right rude because they think you've done something wrong - even when you haven't. When this happens the best way to deal with this type of person to to keep the old business motto, "The customer is always right - even when they're wrong" in your mind. Be quick and polite with your response and stay calm. Don't show them that you can be just as irritable and rude. Instead, show them that they have misjudged you with your fast and courteous response.

To be a successful online marketer you need to understand that many who visit your web site display some of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. And because of this you need to design your web pages, write your content and respond to complaints in a way that will overcome your visitors symptoms.

This ends our 3 part series where we discussed who has ADD/ADHD symptoms in part 1, how you as the site owner must learn to recognize when you have a symptom and know some techniques to overcome it in part 2 and some of the symptoms your site visitors may have and some methods online marketers use to overcome these symptoms in part 3.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you have any additional suggestions to help us overcome any of these behaviors please feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: internet marketing, web site design, web design, web page design

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 2)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

Last week I included an excerpt from an article written by David Giwerc, MCC, where he stated that, "...it has also been my observation that a majority of all entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD." And I also included a statement made by Terry Matlen, MSW, ACSW, "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD."

Now since we all supposedly have some of the symptoms of ADD, even if we don't have the disorder, I thought you should know what some of the symptoms are.

12 Symptoms of ADHD:

• Distractibility
• Impulsivity
• Hyperactivity
• Inattention
• Difficulty staying on task
• Having many projects going on at one time and rarely completing any of them
• Irritability
• Fail to give close attention to details
• Don't follow instructions carefully and completely
• Losing or forgetting important things
• Feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming
• Difficulty falling asleep and difficulty waking up

Having some of the symptoms doesn't necessarily mean you have ADD because these same behaviors can also be caused by our hectic and overstressed lifestyles.

And as an online entrepreneur responsible for everything in your business, the ideas, the work and the end results, it's no wonder if you experience some stress.

So today let's talk about 8 of the these behaviors and some of the things you can do to overcome them.

• Distractibility - Life is full of distractions especially when you're working at home. The best way to avoid some of these distractions is to make a quiet space for your home office and a work schedule. Share your schedule with those you live with and ask that they allow you the quite time you need to be productive. Then while you're working, work. Don't waste your time checking your email every hour or playing games.
  
  
• Impulsivity - It's very easy to get caught up in reading about all the new services and products being launched every day and to pull out your credit card. And since I sell things too, I am not going to tell you to never buy anything. But, before you make your next purchase, stop yourself and ask yourself these 3 questions:
  
  Do I really need this?
  Will it help me learn more about something I need to know now or help me do something I want to do now?
  Will I really use it?
  
  If your answer isn't yes to all 3 questions, put your credit card away.
  
  Also, many people join affiliate programs impulsively because they think the more the better. Actually, joining only a few and learning how to do affiliate marketing successfully will lead you to having a successful business faster.
  
  
• Hyperactivity - Many suffer from hyperactivity when they are under a great deal of stress. If that's the case for you then you need to do whatever it is you do to relieve your stress. Take a walk, play a game of tennis, jog, watch a movie, etc. You are not going to be productive when you're suffering from too much stress anyway so do something for your mental health and relieve the stress.
  
  
• Inattention - If you're like me you have days when you just can't stay focused. For me, it usually means that I am either coming down with something or I've taken too much cold medication. Not being able to stay focused can really slow you down and the way I get through times like these is to work in short intervals. Rather that try to write an article, I make notes about what I want to say - take a break. Write 1 or 2 paragraphs - take a break, etc. I find that taking more breaks and letting my head clear allows me to be very productive in the short intervals I do work. Also, by having the notes of what I want to say or the list of tasks I want to do keeps me moving in the right direction.
  
  
• Difficulty staying on task - Some tasks in internet marketing seem very big or very complicated and that makes them hard to complete. Other tasks seem to take forever and are boring which makes them hard to finish too. But just about all tasks in online marketing can be broken down into smaller tasks. So if you have trouble staying on task, break that task down into smaller, more manageable work items. Then as you complete these items, reward yourself somehow. For some, the reward can be as simple as drawing a line through the completed item. Others may require something more like getting off work a few minutes early. And then, when all the work items are finished and the big task is completed, you can give yourself a real reward.
  
  
• Having many projects going on at one time and rarely completing any of them - Although this behavior is a symptom of ADD it is also a characteristic of a personality type. (Yes, I've taken personality type classes.) You see, some people get great pleasure when they finish projects while other get their pleasure from starting projects and don't find any satisfaction from finishing them. So if you happen to be a person who likes to start things but doesn't get around to finishing most of the things you start you need to do 1 of 2 things. You can either get a partner who can work with you and likes to finish things when you move on to another project or you can learn to finish your important projects. If you're the one who has to finish the things you start here are some suggestions to keep you on track.
  
  When you're hit with a new idea for another project, write it down on your list of future projects with brief notes about the ideas for this project. Keep this list handy so you can jot these inspirations down quickly and easily. Do not use sticky notes or scrap pieces of paper for each idea. Use a steno pad, a notebook, a whiteboard or something else that's big enough to hold lots of ideas and can be found easily.
  
  Do not start the new project when the idea comes to you. Instead, use the reward system and the above list contains the reward you get when you've completed your current project.
  
  When you get to a difficult part of your project and think it would be easier to quit and start another, put that idea out of your head and turn solving your problem into your new project. You've identified a problem, so start thinking of new ideas for solving it. (Putting these problems, possible solutions and what worked into a notebook is also a good idea because it will help you remember how you fixed a problem the next time you encounter it.)
  
  Trying to modify a characteristic of your personality can be difficult however it can be done. (While it's possible to only change it for those things that pertain to your online business, you may find that if you change it a little in other areas of your life, others may quit nagging you so much about when you're going to finish cleaning, painting, fixing, building the ???.)
  
  
• Fail to give close attention to details - While we all make mistakes, if you find that you have trouble with details then get someone to help you. Your helper doesn't need to know how to do what you're doing, they just need to know how to check your work. In other words, if you make a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in your writing, get someone to proof read your copy. If you have trouble remembering to upload all the files and images for your site, have someone visit your site, look around and tell you if they find missing pictures or links that don't work. Having another person check your web pages, articles, autoresponder messages, etc. is always a good thing even if you do pay attention to details because they will almost always find something that needs to be corrected.
  
  
• Don't follow instructions carefully and completely - I am not sure this symptom is written correctly for internet marketing since the instructions we get are pretty sparse and sometimes are either incomplete or incorrect. I would think "Doesn't write instructions carefully and completely" would be a better symptom.
  
  However, if you have trouble following the instructions for doing something then print out the instructions, give them to someone else, let them read each step to you and have them watch you do it. Then if it doesn't work there will be 2 of you who think the person who wrote the instructions has an ADD symptom - not you.

From time to time we all experience some of the symptoms of ADHD. However, these experiences don't have to control you or your business if you recognize them and know how to work around them.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave comments about this tip and offer any additional suggestions on how to work through some of these behaviors.

Tags: internet marketing, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 1)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

It's widely known and accepted that ADD/ADHD is not a childhood problem. In recent years, study results have shown that between 30 to 70% of children with AD/HD continue to exhibit symptoms in the adult years.

In 2006 the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) conducted the "ADHD In The Workplace" survey to correlate ADHD prevalence to specific professions/occupations and other demographic categories. This survey concluded that:

Copied from “ADHD in the Workplace” a survey of adults in 14 common professions"

Occupations freer from constraints and office work tend to be more likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Tradespeople(Plumbers, Carpenters, Electricians, Gardeners, etc.) Entertainers (Actors, Comedians, Musicians)􀀠Elected Officials Healthcare Professionals (this group might be anomalous. Arguably this may be due to their diversity and higher level of awareness of the ADHD symptoms.) Construction Workers More structured working environments, high disciplined fields of work, and those who essentially have to “serve” others tend to be less likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Teachers Lawyers Law Enforcement Agents Media Professionals Office, Bank, and Retail Store Clerks

As an online business person working your own hours in your own home, you are free of the constraints of an office worker. And in an article written by David Giwerc, MCC, it states that:

"People are literally waking up to the idea that they can work for themselves and make a lot of money doing it. And, while there are as many types of entrepreneurs as there are businesses, most entrepreneurs share some common traits. They tend to be visionaries. People who go into business for themselves tend to be risk takers. After almost a decade of coaching entrepreneurs, it has also been my observation that a majority of all entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD. They may not be taking medication and many of them haven't even been diagnosed..."

Now I am not saying you have ADD and I am not saying that if you have ADD you won't succeed. What I am saying is that "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD." (After working in a highly disciplined field for more than 20 years even I have some of the symptoms! I also think having small children around causes some of these symptoms just like it causes early senility.)

So how does ADD/ADHD affect your business?

It affects your business in 2 ways:

1. As the owner who is responsible for getting everything done and grow your business, some ADD symptoms will hold you back until you learn to manage them. So next week I'll identify some of the ADHD symptoms that hinder the growth and success of your business and offer some suggestions on how to manage them.


2. Because those in your target market also have some symptoms of ADHD, you must learn some of the techniques that will overcome their symptoms. So in Part 3 I'll discuss some of your site visitors possible symptoms and share some of the methods used by online marketers to reduce the loss of conversions from those displaying ADD symptoms.

Knowing the 2 ways that ADD/ADHD affects your business is important because ADD isn't just for children anymore.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. You'll find the link for the quick online test I took to find out if I had ADD symptoms here. Feel free to share how you did on the test. I scored 23 and you'll see what that means when you check your own score.

Tags: internet marketing, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder

It's All About Focus

One thing you must learn quickly if you are to have a successful online business is that everything you do must be focused.

You must stay focused to complete your projects and your projects must be focused to meet your goal.

And 1 of the first things you do when you start an online business and you continue to do as your business grows is create landing pages.

And because landing pages must be focused on the 1 thing you want people to do when they land on them...

Today I am giving you a free ebook that tells you:

1. What a Landing Page Is


2. How the Landing Page System Works


3. What You Need To Create an Effective Landing Page


4. How To Write an Effective Landing Page


5. 2 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page


6. Some Examples of Good Landing Pages

In addition, you also get the giveaway and Master Resale Rights for this "Landing Page Success Guide." Sorry, there is no squeeze page or sales page provided but you'll know what it takes to create your own after you read it.

Here is the download link.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. How did you like this tip (gift)? Please leave a comment.

Tags: landing page, squeeze page, lead capture page, sales page, squeeze page web

7 of my Internet Marketing Mistakes

When you started your online business you made a big (and maybe a scary) decision because you decided to venture into a realm where you probably didn't know everything you needed to know to succeed and you didn't have the money to hire others to create your web page, write your ad copy, create a product, etc.

I know what you're going through because I've been where you are. In fact, there are times when I still experience the "What should I do?" or "Should I try to ...?" feeling even though I've been doing business online for more than 4 years.

And I know how hard it is to leave your comfort zone of doing what you know how to do and trying to do something new and different. Every time you venture into a new area of internet marketing you worry that it might not work or you'll do it wrong. You worry about people seeing your mistake or losing money or getting complaints from unhappy customers or subscribers.

I really do understand because, like you, I often have the same worries. Plus, while I don't like admitting it, I've made plenty of mistakes, lost some money and have received complaints.

But...

Even though I've done all this, my business is alive and well.

Why?

Because we learn by trying. We learn from watching others. And we learn from our mistakes.

So today I am going to share 7 of the mistakes I've made in the past and the lessons I learned the hard way in an attempt to help you not make these mistakes and to give you the courage to leave your current comfort zone and take 1 more step toward building your online business.

My very first mistake was to try and build an online business in an area I didn't know or care to learn about. Because I wasn't motivated to spend time learning about this niche and because I was busy learning how to build a web page and get traffic, my first attempt failed miserably.

Lesson Learned: Either know about your niche or spend time learning about it. People are looking for "expert" information for a specific topic and don't want general information they already know.

A few mistakes later, I tried pay-per-click (ppc) advertising. And although I got clicks and even built a list, I hadn't learned my first lesson very well since I again was doing it in a niche I didn't really know or care about. As you may have guessed, it too failed and this time I lost money. (Losing money will make you really learn your lesson.)

After the ppc experience, I decided to stick with my true niche and avoid ppc, at least until I had more money to lose.

That decision lead me to 2 more of my mistakes which were: I bought solo advertising for affiliate products and used the pre-written sales material in the ads. I paid enough for my ads to go out to hundreds of thousands and got 0 sales. (There were no blogs or social networking sites back then so your results using these things may be different however, I'd still avoid using the pre-written sales and review material.)

Lessons Learned: Don't pay to advertise your affiliate link and don't use the pre-written sales material.

Now I might have made some sales if I hadn't used the pre-written material however I didn't have enough money then to try again so I didn't.

Not willing to give up, I decided to leave my comfort zone and create an actual ezine with information about my niche. This was a big and definitely scary step since it required knowing "expert" information and writing.

And of course writing content on a regular basis puts you at risk of sounding foolish and making grammatical and spelling mistakes. So guess what. While I've not been accused of being foolish, I've made plenty of grammatical and spelling mistakes. You've probably seen some of them.

Lesson Learned: If you provide good information and don't make too many mistakes in grammar and spelling your readers will accept that your not 100% perfect and only human. And this lesson can be applied to your web site too. (I've seen errors on "guru" sites and in some of their mailings, haven't you?)

Since then I've made other mistakes like waiting too long to try something new like using scripts to automate some tasks or site feature, wasting time on modifying a script that was way to big and complicated and forgetting to upload a thank you page. (Did the last 1 just yesterday.)

Lessons Learned:

1. Always keep learning and growing your business. If you've figured out how to build and upload a web page then you can figure out how to install and use a "small" script package or start a list.


2. Some tasks may require more time than you have to spend and need to be outsourced. (These tasks may have to wait until you have the money to hire someone.)


3. Always make it easy for people to contact you in case you make a mistake. Most will be nice when they write and they will allow you to correct your mistake. If they aren't nice, then fix the problem in a nice way and drop that person from your list. (You don't have to associate with rude people on- or off-line.)

Yesterday I again stepped out of my comfort zone and announced the FriendsWhoCare Christmas GiveAway. Since it has no affiliate program because there are no offers inside the giveaway and because most of you don't have a list to share our giveaway with, I am taking a gamble that many of you will decide to start a list and those who do have a list will donate a gift. I am also gambling that you will share our giveaway with others so lots of people can join our ad-free giveaway. Just like you worry when you try something new, I am worried that I am making a mistake, it won't work and I'll end up looking foolish.

But until your online business is as big and successful as you want it to be that's what having an internet business is all about. You have to venture out of you comfort zone. You have to take a chance. You have to have some successes and failures. You have to keep learning, growing and trying new things until you get to where you want to be.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you would like to take part in our giveaway but have never been a partner in a giveaway before and have questions about what to do or how to do it, contact me.

P.P.S. Feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: internet marketing mistakes, 7 internet marketing mistakes

How To Write Free Online Articles To Get Free Traffic To Your Website

You've undoubtedly heard that writing free online articles is 1 of the best ways to get free traffic to your website. Unfortunately, while free articles are 1 of the best free ways to get traffic, many people either don't write them or don't write them the correct way.

So how do you write an effective free online article that will be read and get you some of that free traffic to your website?

As you probably know, there are 5 things all free online articles must have:

1. Article Title
2. Introduction
3. Article Body
4. Conclusion
5. Resource Box

But did you know that there are 4 very important elements that must be included within those 5 things for every free online article that you write to get free traffic to your website?

And the 4 important elements to get free traffic to your website are:

1. Keywords and Keyword Phrases
2. Keyword Density
3. Good Content
4. A Link to Your Website

Let's examine each of these elements and how to use them effectively in your free online article.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases

Before you write your first word for your free online article you should find some keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant and use these keywords and keyword phrases within your article's title and text. The use of keywords and keyword phrases makes your free online article search engine friendly and easier for people to find.

Keyword Density

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used within the title and content of your article. The number of times you use your keyword or keyword phrase will vary depending on the length of your article and should not be too high or too low. If you use your keyword too few times the search engines may ignore your free online article. If you use your keyword too many times the search engines may consider it a spam article and not display it.

Good Content

Obviously no one is going to take your free online article seriously if it doesn't contain good content. Likewise, you need to check your spelling and grammar. If you want readers to believe and trust you, you must provide good information in a well written way.

A Link To Your Site

If you're writing a free online article to get free traffic to your website then never, ever, forget to include a link to your site. For articles placed on your site, blog or social networking page, you can include your link within the text of your content. However, many free ezine article directories don't allow links within the article's content but do allow you to place your link in your resource (bio) box that appears at the end of your article. When people read your free article and like it some will click the link you've provided.

Writing free online articles is 1 of the most effective way to get free traffic to your website when done correctly. And doing it correctly isn't hard. It just takes knowing how and practice.

To Your Success,
Susan
http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter

P.S. When I write an article to get some free traffic to my website I use a tool that helps me find my keywords, research the topic, measure the keyword density and submit the article to ezine directories. You can read more about this tool at http://fwcreviews.blogspot.com/2007/05/instant-article-wizard-vs-article.html

P.P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment about this tip.

Tags: free articles, ezine articles, free traffic, website traffic, write articles to get free traffic, how to write articles to get free traffic

No Website, No List, No Product - No Sales?

When I started my online business in 2002 1 of the most popular and effective headlines for business opportunities was "You don't need a website, a list or even a product to ...". And guess what. That headline is still 1 of the most popular and effective ones used to get people to join things.

Now back in 2002 when I was first starting out that headline was true just like it is today. However there is 1 thing this no product, list or product headline doesn't tell you and not knowing this 1 thing is why most people using only free affiliate and opportunity web pages fail.

And the 1 thing is...

If you don't have any of these things you will have to either:

• Know how to effectively use and have enough money to use the pay-per-click advertising services that allow affiliate and business opportunity pages or
• Know how to use free social networking sites like blogs, MySpace or Squidoo effectively or
• Know how get traffic through forums or large classified ad sites or
• Know how to write effective articles and submit them to article directories or
• Know how to get others to drive traffic to your sales or opportunity page using partnerships or list building services.

And why do you need to know how to do 1 or more of these things effectively?

Because you need to get traffic to your free page just like those who own their own websites.

The only differences are that you have fewer choices on how to get that traffic and less bargaining power when it comes to making partnerships. (There is 1 other difference and that is you'll have a smaller conversion rate from the traffic you do get because you didn't have a chance to do any pre-selling.)

Now most people fall for the "No..." headline because it makes it sound like making money online is free and easy. But it's not.

If it's free - It's not easy!

If it's easy - It's not free!

And since most don't have the "big bucks" to make it easy, they go the free way.

Now there's nothing wrong with going the "free" way. It just takes more time and work and less anonymity.

And while most are willing to put in the time and work they choose to remain anonymous. They want to be a nameless person offering a fantastic product or opportunity that no one can refuse. They spend hours submitting free classifieds and surfing the traffic exchange programs and may even spend a few dollars on ezine ads.

And what do they get for all this work?

Very little or nothing.

To be successful online you need a name. And you need your name to be recognized by others as someone who is knowledgeable and trustworthy.

Spending all your time writing and sending anonymous ads for generic free affiliate and opportunity pages won't make you successful. You need to join into the global web community by offering good information with your name on it. Post to your community pages, submit articles, participate in forums, comment on blogs, anything! But get your name out in front of as many people as you can, as often as you can so it's recognized as someone who should be listened to.

Yes, it's true. To be successful online you do not need a website. You do not need a list. And you definitely don't need to have your own product. But you do need a name. It's after your name is recognized and you are trusted as a person who knows what they're talking about and offers good advice that your business will start becoming successful.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. You have 2 opportunities every month and 1 opportunity every week to get some name recognition in the FriendsWhoCare Newsletter. Are you using any of them?

P.P.S. What do you think about this tip? Please leave a comment.

Tags: no website, no list, no product, no sales, name branding, branding, traffic, free traffic, affiliate page, business opportunity

Is This 4 Letter Word Stopping You?

Today's tip comes in a free downloaded report that I received from David Bullock. There are no affiliate links and there is no sales pitch for any product. In fact, the only link in the report is the 1 for signing up for future updates however, this information is timeless.

Why I am passing on this free report rather than writing my own tip or re-writing his information? Because...

1. This report is short and well written. And as they used to say where I worked, "If it's not broke don't fix it." Since the report is "right on", it doesn't need fixed.


2. Like you, I can relate to David's statement that he included in his email to me about this report,
   "Did you know that for over 6 years.. I didn't make a dime online?.. nope it was zilch... nada... nothing..."



3. While I didn't go for over 6 years, I can relate to those dry spells where you don't make any money and again, this report is "right on.
   
   "This report really hit me. There's 1 bolded sentence in it that sums it up...
   
   "People who ... make money. People who ... don't."
   
   I'm not going to fill in the blanks. You'll have to read the report for that. But I'll say that these 2 statements should be printed out and put somewhere where you can read them every day. Oh, and don't try to guess what the missing words are because odds are, you'll guess wrong.

Get Report

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the information inside this free report.

Tags: free report, make money, why online businesses fail

"When Less Is More"

We've all heard the saying, "The more the better." And in internet marketing we've heard things like, "The more targeted traffic the better." "The more interested subscribers on your list the better." "The more content the better."

Unfortunately, the internet marketing mores don't always translate easily into what they really mean. For instance, "The more targeted traffic the better" actually means -
The more targeted traffic the better. And "The more interested subscribers on your list the better" means -
The more interested subscribers on your list the better.
While "The more content the better" should be read as -
"The more relevant content the better."

Sure, having lots of traffic and subscribers is a good thing. However, having 1,000,000 site visitors or subscribers who have no interest in what you're saying isn't worth as much as 500 targeted site visitors or 500 interested subscribers.

Taking this "less is more" concept a step further, let's look at content.

"Content is king" and "Search engines love new content" are 2 common phrases you hear in internet marketing advice. And while both these statements are true they leave out the most important concept - relevance.

Relevant content is the king and what search engines are looking for. Just because you, the owner of a site on gerbils, are also interested in small-engine-repair doesn't mean all gerbil enthusiasts are also interested. And just because you've decided to put content about small-engine-repair on your gerbil site doesn't mean it will help you with the search engines.

Expanding the "less is more" idea, let's look at ads on our index or home page. Now while some might think that if they put lots of ads for a wide variety of products on their main page then surely some of their site visitors will find something they want and buy it.

Wrong - Wrong - Wrong

Wrong because people recognize ads for what they are and don't like to be sold to.

Wrong because lots of ads give the impression that you're just out to sell them something.

Wrong because offering a wide variety of products just confuses people and makes them leave your site quickly.

As the internet keeps getting bigger and bigger every day, the "less is more" concept becomes more and more important. Just as in the field of medicine where doctors are specialists rather than general practitioners, the modern online marketer must also become a specialist in their carved out niche.

A few years ago the big names in internet marketing were able to take the general practitioner approach to online marketing because there wasn't much competition. Today this is no longer true and all the well known internet marketing gurus have become specialists and so must you.

No matter what niche you've chosen you must learn to apply the "less is more" principle to your business. Don't try to give everything to everyone because it can't be done. Instead, become a specialist who can provide the best content and products to those who are interested in the little chunk of the internet you've carved out for yourself.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Rosalind Gardner, Brad Callen and Rob Benwell all know and use the "less is more" principle and are well know specialists in their respective niches.

P.P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: traffic, targeted traffic, list, subscriber, build list, content, search engine, content is king, niche, target market, affiliate marketing.niche marketing

"The Worth Of A Word"

It's been said that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but, how much is a word worth?

Homebased Your Super Power Mall Income romance read Love Free advertising tools Residual Income FriendsWhoCare Autoresponder Beginners Flyfishing poetry AffiliateMarketing wizardfreeclickgoldkey AffiliateMarketingSecrets CANDLES BestLookMeUp Marketing Pond Backdoor Common Sense Living The Whole Truth about Network Marketing free online mall FREE TRAFFIC Internet Marketing Foreclosures Natural Healing Chick-lit Foreclosure control the internet WomenMarketers

To discover how much a word is worth let's have a short internet advertising history lesson.

A little over 2 years ago a young college kid named Alex Tew launched a pixel page, http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/, and within 4 month he sold all his pixels and earned $1,000,000.

The minimum price to buy space on Alex's page was $100 and the advertiser was promised their pixels would be online until August 26, 2010.

Now if you take a look at the milliondollarhomepage your eyes may want to pop out because it's full of crowded colors, images, links, etc. In fact, many would consider it a web designers worst nightmare.

But...

By the time that page had sold all it's pixels it had a Google page rank of 7. And now, more than 2 years later, it still has a page rank of 6.

About a year after Alex's pixel page, Joel Comm's launched his 500 Words word cloud page. It was similar to the pixel page however, since search engines can't see picture, he offered to sell words, something search engines can see.

The base price for Joel's word cloud page was $100 although the average cost was usually closer to $200. Like the pixel page, this page was to last at least 5 years and it sold out quickly (within a month).

After Joel had set up his site he started to sell the software that created it and comments like these started to be seen on forums:

"These word cloud pages will NEVER replace PPC ads or affiliate banner ads". "How DARE Joel sell this script for so much money." (it IS a bit spendy at around $800, with two knockoff scripts out now under $200). "These pages are scams." "Advertisers beware - You won't get any traffic." "Google will ban these pages."

Well, it's been over 2 years for Alex's site and over a year for Joel's site and guess what? They are both still there and they both still have a decent page rank!

Now I didn't get in on either of these 2 pages so I can't tell you how much direct traffic you can get from advertising on them. What I can tell you is 1 of the real added benefits from having a link on either of them.

All those who made the 5 year investment of $100 or more now have a 1-way link to their site on a page with a very good page rank. If they spent $200 dollars to get a bigger, bolder or more colorful link that averages out to about $3.33 a month.

But because not all pixel and word cloud pages are created equally, here are

7 things you should consider before you rush out and start buying links

1. What is the theme of the page? The best traffic will come from a page with a specific target audience.


2. How is the page rank for the page? A page with a good page rank will be worth more.
   
3. How many links are being offered. If they are offering more than 100 links then the search engines will treat them like a link farm and they won't do to well.


4. What types of links are allowed? If they offer adult sites, do you want your link on the same page?


5. How does the page owner intend to get traffic to this page, especially after they've sold all the pixels or words?


6. Does the site offer content, a blog or a contest? These things will help in getting new traffic to the site and page.
   
7. Is the word cloud or pixel page visible on more than 1 page or site? The more the better for getting click-thrus.

So how much is a word worth?

On a page that has a good page rank and gets some good targeted traffic, a word can be worth a lot more than you have to pay.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you don't have the budget to buy a word on a word cloud page then don't. You're always welcome to get a free word with all the trimmings on our FriendsWhoCare word cloud.

Tags: word cloud, tag cloud, pixel ad

What Do You Think?

Have you ever been accused of getting up on the wrong side of the bed because someone could tell you were upset about something?

Well, I've got you beat because I went to bed on the wrong side since I started getting upset yesterday about 1 thing and today I am going to v e n t about 3.

Grip #1: Yesterday I started getting all the emails about a new $500 product. Of course everyone wanted me to buy it with their link so they were all trying to outdo everyone else by offering an even bigger and better bonus. Now how in the world is someone who is just starting out and wants to not only learn from the product but to also sell it and make money going to compete with all the "big" names offering it to their mega lists with gigantic bonuses?

Grip #2: As you know I joined BlogRush to give it a try. I too had wished John Reese had gotten everything ready before he opened the site but, what-the-heck, it's a new experience for everyone so I'm willing to give him a chance to get it all put together.

Then this morning I get a long email from BlogRush admin with some news about the changes being made. While the message talked about improvements it also stated that there were people "cheating" and what was being done to stop them. Don't you just hate it when people cheat?

Grip #3: While checking into some of the things for the site we're reviewing this month, I stumbled upon some sites that had been hacked. Since I've seen sites where people have just given up because their site was hacked and since I've had to regain control of some of my own pages recently, I have some definite thoughts about hackers and none of them are positive.

OK, I feel better now but I still owe you a tip. So here are 7 short ones.

Tip #1: Don't buy an expensive info product unless you plan to use it and then make sure you do.

Tip #2: If you don't follow Tip #1 then don't buy an expensive info product just to get the resale rights unless you've already got a good promotion method with a good conversion rate to sell it.

Tip #3: If you don't follow Tips #1 and #2 then don't buy an expensive info product the day it launches until you've had a chance to see some of the different bonuses being offered. Then if you do buy it, get it where you get the best bonus for you.

Tip #4: Don't cheat anybody when working your business. Cheaters are like spammers. They spend so much time and energy trying to make a fast and easy buck they end up losing out on the long term benefits of having a legitimate business and just make things harder for everyone.

Tip #5: Don't be a hacker. You're probably like me and have no idea how to hack anything but thought I should say it anyway.

Tip #6: Keep backups of your websites and check you sites regularly to verify they haven't been hacked. If your site does get hacked, work with your hosting service's tech support to get your site cleaned up and back under your control.

Tip #7: Working an internet business can get frustrating at times. And rather than keep all that frustration bottled up, do some positive venting once in awhile because it's good for both your mental and physical health. (Positive venting doesn't mean kicking the dog or anyone else. Rather than kicking or yelling at an innocent bystander, write it down and post it on a blog, a forum or in an article.) Positive venting, when it's done well, can also be good for your business.

I've tried to follow Tip #7 while writing this article and hope I succeeded. However, if you have any thoughts about either the grips or tips, please post your thoughts on the blog.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: product launch, bonus, blog rush, cheater, hackers, hacked website, frustrated

A Secret Way To Get Traffic With RSS

You've heard of RSS, Really Simple Syndication, and know that RSS feeds allow you to keep current on the latest content on your favorite site.

But did you know that it's possible for you to have your own RSS feed without doing anything technical?

How?

Well hopefully you write articles and submit them to article directories. I mean, writing articles and submitting them to directories is 1 of the best ways to get free traffic so surely you're already doing that.

And if you're already writing those articles then you're already doing the hard part of getting your own RSS feed.

You see, many article directories like EzineArticles.com provides their article submitters with their own RSS feed. That's right, they provide a feed to your articles so people can get them with their favorite feed reader.

And there's more to RSS feeds than just making them available so people can automatically be informed when you've provided a new article. You can also use that RSS feed to get some new traffic and here's how.

1. Join EzineArticles.com if you're not already a member. I recommend this directory since it's 1 of the oldest and does provide a free RSS feed to its authors.




2. Submit a few articles if you haven't already.




3. After your articles have been accepted go back to the directory and do a search for your name (The name you used as the author.)




4. When the page with your articles comes up, click the Expert Author link.




5. Find the RSS feed icon on your Expert Author page. It's orange and a yellow feed information box will popup when you hover over it.




6. Click on the orange XML icon at the top of the yellow popup box. The URL it goes to is your feed.




7. Copy and past your feed (the url you went to when you clicked the XML icon). It will look like:
   http://ezinearticles.com/members/rss/Susan-Carroll.xml




8. Go to your favorite pinging service and enter your name and put your RSS feed into both the "Blog URL" and "XML Feed" boxes. Then click the ping button. I usually use Pingoat.com.

Now in case you're not a blogger or one who doesn't know about pinging, pinging sends a notification to several news syndication services that you've updated content on your blog or your website. Savvy bloggers always ping after they've posted new content because they know that the “blog and ping” strategy increases your Google Page Rank (this correlates to a higher search engine ranking), increased traffic and more exposure to your content.

What most people don't know is that pinging is not restricted to blogs and other types of social networking sites. You can ping any source that provides an RSS feed.

You can ping your own article RSS feed!

So the next time you post to your blog or submit an article to an article directory that provides RSS feeds, take an extra minute and go ping it.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please leave a comment.

Tags: traffic, free traffic, rss, article, article directories, ping, pinging, blog and ping

10 Secrets of the Super Affiliate Mindset

I recently found this article and thought - this mindset doesn't just apply to super affiliates. The fact is it's a good mindset for all online business people. So although it's aimed at affiliate marketers because that's who Anik was trying to help, all internet marketers can learn from and use this information.

Tip: 10 Secrets of the Super Affiliate Mindset
Copyright © 2006 Anik Singal

Contrary to popular belief super-affiliates don’t really
DO things differently than affiliate underachievers.
Super-affiliates promote the same products. They use the
same SEO techniques. They have the same headaches and they work just as hard.

The truth is super-affiliates THINK differently. Their minds and attitudes go far beyond the commission check. For them, affiliate marketing is not just a business-- it’s a CAREER. This professional mindset makes a huge difference in how and when they take action in the marketplace.

I’ve worked side by side with many super-affiliates. I’ve
even helped create a few. They all share a special kind of
mindset. So as you read these 10 characteristics of
affiliate super-achievers, ask yourself, could I learn to
think this way?

#1 Super-affiliates think creatively.

You know what you’ll get if you do what everyone else does? You’ll get what they get... only you’ll be splitting it with them, and all their imitators.

In today's Internet marketplace, you need to be a leader,
not a follower. Super-affiliates don’t follow the crowd.
Instead, they sell TO the crowd, applying the most successful marketing techniques to selling the most popular products and then add a unique spin.

It could be as simple as offering one unusual, but highly
valuable bonus. It could be as sensible as using low-cost
offline marketing, while everyone else is breaking the bank
on expensive PPC. It could be as innovative as dumping the
sales letter, and substituting a quiz or contest. But
super-affiliates always, always, ALWAYS look for ways to be
a little more creative than their competitors.

#2 Super-affiliates learn the hard stuff.

Less than 10% of people who start their own business are
successful. Why? Most fail because they lack direct sales
experience don’t bother with a marketing and business
plan, or get into debt promoting products that don’t have a
market. In other words, they flunk when they get tested on
the really tough aspects of business.

Super-affiliates are different. They learn how to do all
the hard things other people shy away from. They learn
about selling and they get good at it. They set goals, make
daily and weekly plans, and measure their progress. They
don’t waste time creating huge content sites unless they
have hard evidence that those sites will eventually bring
them BUYERS (not just browsers or researchers).

And most of all, they keep their eye on PROFITABILITY. Not
just traffic, not just visitors. Super-affiliates look for
a return on their investment of time and effort, as well as
money.

#3 Super-affiliates follow up.

Most affiliates can attract prospects. A few can convert
prospects into customers. But only super-affiliates turn
existing customers into repeat customers.

Super-affiliates know that the person who has already
bought from you is the most willing prospect for your
backend products, upsells, and cross-sells. These current
customers are also the cheapest to sell to. As a result super-affiliates are always thinking of the lifetime value of a customer and always offering them the best value and deals.

#4 Super-affiliates give before receiving.

Super-affiliates invest time and money giving something of
REAL value before asking for the sale and before sealing a
JV. Maybe they give away useful content, offer a valuable
resource or put in some equity for a piece of the action. In other instances they may give a customer the chance to win something or a smile.

Regardless of what is given away by super-affiliates they do business in a spirit of openness. It is not about beating the other guy but rather networking and making alliances. It’s about viewing the Internet marketplace as one great small town stretching across the globe, full of potential. It’s about saying “let’s talk” and putting money, effort, or reputation on the table BEFORE making demands.

#5 Super-affiliates know how to receive.

Giving is the best first step but it’s only the beginning. Once they’ve hammered out a deal or given something of value, super-affiliates also know how to take what they rightfully deserve.

That means they don’t just pre-sell... they ASK prospects
for the sale. They’re not afraid to capitalize on a good
deal. They LIKE profits and don’t apologize for being
successful. And if they’re working on a JV, they state
their expectations clearly, forthrightly, without a lot of
fuss... and don’t de-value their list or reputation with
cheesy offers.

Yes, the best super-affiliates receive their just rewards
graciously, without throwing their egos around. And they
not only say thank you. They look for ways to turn a “thank
you” into an opportunity to generate more customer loyalty
and more sales down the line.

#6 Super-affiliates think strategically.

Affiliate marketing isn't a game of chance; its a profession. Super-affiliates are just as savvy about their industry, and just as uninvolved as other expert professionals, which means super-affiliates spend quality time thinking, planning, preparing, and evaluating. They analyze their sites, products, and sales and try to understand WHY one technique works and another doesn’t. They think about
trends and ponder the mentality of their customers.

Bottom line is, super-affiliates LOVE their work.

#7 Super-affiliates test and analyze.

Profit, profit, profit! Super affiliates are hard-headed
And committed to profits! They split-test carefully, think about why one ad pulls better than another, and try to duplicate the results. Time and energy is spent analyzing traffic, stats, and user purchase patterns. An aspiring super-affiliate has to be a fanatic about knowing his or her visitor to sales ratio on a daily basis and be obsessed with ROI.

If you want to say goodbye to the ranks of affiliate underachievers, learn to love the numbers like the super-affiliates do.

#8 Super-affiliates know when to go for volume over commission.

Here’s a very well-kept secret of some super-affiliates:
you can earn a fantastic income from cheap untargeted
traffic. Believe it or not, not every super-affiliate is
brilliant at creating content or opt-in marketing. Some
just concentrate on traffic -- more and bigger traffic --
and make money off of sheer volume sales and contextual
advertising.

Here’s the basic formula, oversimplified of course: Let’s
say that on a given web site you get 1000 unique visitors
per day, or 30,000 visitors per month. If your average
monthly profit from that site is $1500, then each visitor
is worth 5 cents ($1500 divided by 30,000 visitors).

So in this example, if you spend 5 cents to attract a
visitor, all you can do is break even. But if you can spend
a lot less to get a visitor -- say only 2 cents – you’ve
got the potential to make some terrific profits on cheap
traffic! Sure, it’s not going to be tightly niched traffic.
But it’s also the kind of traffic that fits well with
products that have mass-market mass-appeal, or even
commodity products.

#9 Super-affiliates work a plan.

Successful affiliates have a simple business model: they
replicate their success. Once they find something that
works, they tweak it slightly, test, evaluate, and repeat.
Some of the most profitable affiliate empires follow this
simple, repetitive pattern. Consistent effort tends to
yield consistent results, especially online, where certain
types of marketing (like SEO) take time.

And more importantly, super-affiliates follow a schedule.
So much activity per month, so many promotions, so many
sales. When they fall short of their goals, they figure out
why. If they can’t they cut their losses and try again.

Working a plan all boils down to discipline. Organization,
tracking, and daily project management are a way of life
for super-affiliates.

#10 Super-affiliates never quit.

Though they may ruthlessly dump under-performing products or cut their losses if the profits don’t flow super-affiliates don’t give up. They assume that they’re
going to have some bumps and hard times and look at setbacks as essential learning experiences that, in the end, help them build a stronger business.


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

This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of
AffiliateClassroom.com. Anik Singal has developed his own
system that made him over $10,000 in just 60 days. Sign up for a free course and find out more.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you found this tip is useful please leave a comment.

Tags: affiliate, affiliate tip, super affiliate, affiliate classroom, Anik Singal, mindset, affiliate mindset

3 Steps To A Web Page That Pops!

We've all seen sites where there's a picture behind the content or sign up form. Ever wonder how they did it?

Sure, they may have hired a graphic designer... or maybe they did it themselves like I did... click here.

HTML tables are a great formatting tool and you can see the ones I used to make that page... click here.

And although I used a really BIG picture to fill the page, you can use smaller ones for specialized content or your sign up form.

Just remember to check your page where you've used pictures as backgrounds on a couple of browser types like Explorer and FireFox since they interpret and show things differently.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you found this tip useful please leave a comment.

Tags: web site design, webpage template, web images, web graphics, squeeze page

20 Free Resources To Help You Build A Webpage

With all the free resources on the web today it's not hard to find everything you need to design and create a webpage.

So rather than re-inventing the wheel, today I am:

1. Reminding you that Nvu is a good, free HTML editor that can be used on PCs running Windows™ or MAC™ . You can download it without even joining someone list!

2. Including a couple of videos on how to do some webpage building basics. And although FrontPage is the HTML editor used in the videos, you can do the same things with Nvu.

Click the pictures to watch the video.

3. Giving you a free set of 17 video ebooks to take your webpage building beyond the basics. All the links to get your video ebooks are in 1 pdf ebook, "Ultimate Website Videos"

Have fun with all your new resources and I expect to see a lot of your new webpages soon.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. After you've created your web page you will need a place to put it. And although they're not free, I highly recommend HostGator and Real-Marketing . I use both and have been happy with both their service and their cost.

P.P.S. If you found this tip useful, please leave a comment.

Tags: webpage design, mini-site, free html editor, free html videos, free webpage design, free resources, free tools, free videos

An Old Business Secret Many Have Forgotten

You've probably heard that it's much easier and less expensive to get existing customers to buy from you than it is to go find new customers.

And it's a true statement for all businesses whether they are on or off-line.

Yet many businesses take the approach that getting new customers is their number 1 priority. They actively seek out those interested in their wares, entice them to buy and then after they make the sale...

They treat them like D.I.R.T.

D - Disposable
I - Insignificant
R - Removable
T - Trivial

One of the things that has always confused and irritated me is how some businesses penalize their customers for their loyalty.

Here's an example of what I mean -

We used to live in the Denver, CO metro area and subscribed to both of the Denver newspapers. (Yes, there used to be 2 large, popular newspapers in Denver.) Almost every year we received notices that the subscription rates were going up. This went on for several years and we didn't think much about it since it seemed the price of just about everything was always going up.

Then 1 day I received a sales call for 1 of the newspapers. Like most telemarketing phone calls, they went through their entire sales pitch and offered me a "special rate" if I would subscribe before I had a chance to tell them I was already a subscriber. When I did tell them I was a subscriber they thanked me for subscribing and were just about to hang up when I asked - "Since I am already a subscriber can I get the special rate?"

This question seemed to shock them when they stuttered, "no."

I then asked them why not and their response was that the special deal was only for "new" subscribers.

Since the special deal was for more than 60% off the normal subscription price of several hundred dollars a year, I was, shall we say, slightly perturbed.

When we hung up I immediately called the subscription department for the paper and asked them about getting the discount that new subscribers were getting. They also stated that I couldn't because it was "only for new subscribers."

As soon as they finished the statement about only new subscribers getting the discount, I replied, "I see, then cancel my subscription - TODAY."

Did I ever take that paper again? Yes, 1 year at a time.

You see, I knew that every 6 months there was a subscription drive to get new subscribers. And even if I didn't get a phone call, I'd see a table set up at any of the grocery stores I visited where I could get a new subscription with a new subscriber discount. Plus, if I signed up at 1 of these tables, I'd get an additional gift.

Now I'm not opposed to giving gifts to get new subscribers. I do it myself. What does upset me is having a business that I'm paying on a regular basis tell me I have to pay more because I am already 1 of their customers.

To this day I don't understand why that newspaper and many other businesses treat their loyal customer base so badly.

The point I am trying to make is: while you're working so hard to gain new subscribers and customers, treat your existing subscribers and customers like the precious gems they are. Don't forget about them and don't penalize them.

As online marketers we are always looking for new and better ways of doing things so we can increase our profits. We look for ways to increase our traffic and ways to increase our conversion rates. We look for ways to build our lists and then for ways to get more of our subscribers to buy from us. Unfortunately, some of us forget that making our loyal subscribers and customers feel special is 1 of the best ways to keep and profit from them.

Over the years I've offered several different free gifts to gain new subscribers. However, when I put the gift online I also either send out a mailing to my list giving them the same gift or make it available inside the member area. When I've sent a mailing about the addition of a bonus on an existing sale, I've included information about how those who had already purchased the product it could also get the free bonus.

Am I obligated to give my existing subscribers and customers the new free gift. No, it's not an obligation. It's just good business.

Uunfortunately, too many businesses have forgotten the old business practice of: take care of your customers and they will take care of you.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment about today's tip.

Tags: online business, customers, new customers, subscriber list, new subscriber, free gift, bonus, business practice, business policy, good business