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How to make money with PPC

dotCOMreport Editor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:34:22 +0000

How Pay- per- Click, the newest marketing tool on the Internet makes money is a mystery to many people. One of the great things about the Internet is that it is the reverse of having a physical brick and mortar traditional business.

For a business in the physical world you have to have structure, with an actual physical building. You also need traffic with people to come to your store, and most of that depends upon your location. With Internet businesses popping up on a daily basis, the search engine needed a way for advertising to be paid for but only as it is used. This is the basis for the pay-per-click formula.

A busy shopping plaza, or even more so a busy indoor shopping mall is going to cost you a lot! The price is usually based upon “Foot Traffic” as in people passing by the store entrance, so different areas of the mall have different prices! Pay- per- Click is the fastest growing area of business on the Internet. And, the pay-per-click is literally the Internet mall shopping on a twenty four hour basis.

Want to open a franchise for a successful, well established business? Most franchise fees are between $20,000 and $50,000 (or more). And there’s more. If it is a business requiring you to stock inventory, think $20,000 to $150,000.

You will also need at the very least a few thousand in working capital to cover expenses before your new franchise begins to turn a profit. Internet Pay- per- Click advertising does not require as much start up at all, and it allows you to bypass the thousands of dollars for a store building and enables you to create a flow of traffic to your “Storefront.”

Total start up costs for your new Internet business is approximately $55.00 per month. After that it will cost approximately $30. You can change your quality of life by building your Internet business today. So do not think that there isn’t any room left, and that there is nowhere left to make any money on the internet.

Trust me; it is astounding how much the internet is still going to grow and how much potential is still out there, and how much even more potential there will be tomorrow. The Internet marketing business is growing more every hour of every day. You may as well get your slice of the pie and join the global market.

On the main search engines (like Google and Yahoo), people do more than 10 billion searches per month. You have the opportunity to get their attention! Pay-per-click does take time and effort and it does make money. You will get out of it what you put into it. Your opportunities are endless in the pay-per-click advertising of the internet. Pay-per-click advertising truly brings the world to your doorstep with the right keyword optimizations and placement and websites that offer almost any product in the world. Pay-per-click advertising is the way to create an unstoppable income.

Colorado Affiliates Dropped By Amazon Over Tax Laws

dotCOMreport Editor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:45:18 +0000

This week, Amazon sent termination letters to affiliate in the state of Colorado. Amazon had made very clear that they would stop advertising through Associates based in any state who passes nexus or online tax. They, along with other merchants, feel that the new nexus laws are unconstitutional and that we need to have a fair and constitutional approach.

Thousands of Colorado small businesses, mommy bloggers and other online entities have links using the Amazon Associate program and these links are now invalid. The impact may not necessarily be noteworthy per individual affiliates but as a group it’s enormous.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Colorado-based Amazon Associate:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to inform you that the Colorado government recently enacted a law to impose sales tax regulations on online retailers. The regulations are burdensome and no other state has similar rules. The new regulations do not require online retailers to collect sales tax. Instead, they are clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to “voluntarily” collect Colorado sales tax — a course we won’t take.

We and many others strongly opposed this legislation, known as HB 10-1193, but it was enacted anyway. Regrettably, as a result of the new law, we have decided to stop advertising through Associates based in Colorado. We plan to continue to sell to Colorado residents, however, and will advertise through other channels, including through Associates based in other states.

The law passed in Colorado (HB 1193) is the most extreme one that has passed so far. Some are expressing confusion over the decision to remove Colorado Affiliates from programs. Rather than personally reading the bill, some may have relied on someone’s interpretation. I am sure Amazon made good use of the legal counsel and made the decision that is right for them. Sometimes the best approach is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s not pessimism but realism.

A Successful Online Business Requires Focus

dotCOMreport Editor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:19:44 +0000

While it is so simple to start an online business today many people do not take it seriously. Anyone can go on the internet and start a business with little or no money out of their pocket. For these reasons they never make any money and they blame everyone but themselves.

Considering the number of websites and blogs online numbering in the billions, it stands to reason that you will never stay in business unless you do things as well or better than your competition. You have to regard what you are doing as a business.

A famous coach was quoted as saying “do not mistake activity for achievement”. This sums up the way people play at internet marketing. To be effective you first have to accept responsibility for what you do every day. If you are not promoting and moving your business forward you are just wasting your time.

It is essential to set meaningful goals and work towards achieving them. You should be able to sit down and read your long term, intermediate and short term goals. If you have not written them down you are not serious about hitting them. In addition, you should create a daily log of things you need to get done. Spending a few minutes at the end of the day writing down what you want to accomplish tomorrow will go a long way in helping you become successful.

Understand the basic accounting in your business. Income minus expenses equals profits, but many online business owners make the mistake of thinking since they work at home they have no overhead. Of course this isn’t true. Of course operating a business from home offers some benefits in terms of keeping your costs down, however you still have expenses. Hosting, domain names, some advertising, product development, autoresponders, outsourcing, and other things can come into play. If you want a long term income from your business you need to know what you are spending every month and what you have available to re-invest to grow it larger.

Nearly all successful online business owners will tell you fate is in the follow-up. You can sell a product one time and be done or you can build a list of your customers and work to sell back end products. A good customer is worth a small fortune to you if you treat them right. Plus it costs less to make a second sale than it did to make the first one. Understanding this basic principle is what separates the successful from the failures. This tip alone can keep you in business for years and years. Build a list and treat your customers and prospects appropriately and they will stay with you.

Finally, it is imperative that you spend as much time as possible in your business working at what you are good at or like the most. If you like to build web pages do as much of that as you can. This might mean that developing fresh content is not your favorite thing to do. You could hire an article writer to do that for you. Maybe you really enjoy interacting with other internet marketers and you hang out in discussion forums all day. That could be great for your online business if you hire a website builder to keep your site active and fresh.

Four Fundamentals Of List Building

dotCOMreport Editor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:57:00 +0000

Online marketing has felt a sudden surge these past few years, but as more internet based businesses are created, the need to develop new marketing skills and knowledge have arisen. More and more strategies are being discovered and utilized to handle the changing face of the business world.

While there are innumerable companies that are all too eager to help your site and business build a clientele for a fee, there also several ways that can spread the word about your site in a more cost free way. One of this is Opt-in email marketing, also known as consent marketing.

Opt-in marketing requires the authorization of a willing customer to subscribe to your marketing materials, materials that take the form of newsletters, catalogs and promotional mailings via e-mail. The more opt-in marketing mail is sent, the more chances there is to catch sales. To do this, you must build a list of all those who wish to subscribe to your opt-in marketing list.

You will get your targeted customer from your list. This process works because the customer has already shown interest in what you have to sell since they have willingly signed up for your list. These are the people who like what they have seen in your site and have decided they want to see more and maybe even purchase whatever product or service your company and site has to offer.

Many people think that building their lists takes hard work and a lot of time to collect names and addresses. This is not so, it takes a bit of patience and some strategies but in doing this, you open your site and your business to a whole new world of target market. Put forth the effort to take your business to a new level, if traffic increases and good profits are what you want, an opt-in list will do wonders for your business venture.

There are numerous sources and articles on the internet available for everyone to read and follow in building a list. Sometimes they may be confusing because there are so many approach. People have different approaches in building an opt-in list, but no matter how varied the methods are, there are always some crucial things to remember when building your list. Here are four of them.

1) Create a good web form on your site that immediately follows the end of your content. While some may say this is too soon to request a visitors information, try to remember that your homepage should provide a quick good impression. If someone finds something that he or she doesn’t like and turns them off, they may just forget about signing up.

2) Make your homepage very, very impressive. You need to have well written articles and descriptions of your site. Depending on what your site is about, you need to capture your visitor’s attention. Make your site useful and easy to navigate. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy. Don’t make your homepage too large. The faster your site gets loaded, the better. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge.

3) Offer good service and products. A return customer is more likely to bring in more business. A satisfied customer will recommend your business to others. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more business than an expensive ad. As your clientele roster grows so shall your list. With more members on the list, the more people will get to know about what you have new to offer.

4) Keep your list clean and private. Never lose the trust your customers. If you share your list with others who send them spam, many will probably unsubscribe. Remember, a good reputation will drive in more traffic and subscribers as well as strengthen the loyalty of your customers.

How to Make Money with Social Networking

dotCOMreport Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:39:06 +0000

When it comes to making money with internet marketing, social networking websites definitely play a large role. Facebook and Twitter are perhaps two of the largest social networking sites on the web today that will help you make money in your internet marketing efforts. Whether you’re promoting your own business or an affiliate product, there’s money to be made when you put social networks to use.

Setting up Social Networks

The first step you’ll need to take when getting things in motion for your internet marketing money-making venture is to set up your social network profiles. Sign up for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and any other social networks that you want to use. Google Buzz is a newer social network that will definitely help if you leverage it in the right manner. You can sign up for Google Buzz through your Gmail service.

When you create each of your social networking profiles, you’ll want to be sure that each is inter-connected. In other words, link your Facebook page to your Twitter account, place links of your MySpace and Facebook profiles on your Twitter account. In addition, you’ll need to make sure that you have links going out to your main internet marketing, affiliate marketing, or business website so that your friends and visitors will have ample chance to click through to your site.

Promoting your Social Networks

After you’ve gotten your social networks such as Facebook and Twitter all ready to go, you’re going to have to work on promoting them, gaining popularity and friends, as well as updating your profiles on a regular basis. Facebook and MySpace make it pretty simple to gain friends and Twitter makes it easy to gain followings. In all cases, you can find people to connect with that are near your geographic region or who share your same interests. To maximize your earning potential with social networking, you’ll want to add as many ‘friends’ as you can so that you have more people to promote to when it comes time to make money.

Updating your Profiles

Post relevant information to each of your Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter accounts on a daily basis. If you have some important piece of news or information that you want to get out immediately, send a tweet with that information. If you include a link to the affiliate or sales page where your followers can buy and sign up then you’ll have a chance to make money.

The same principle applies to your Facebook status. You’ll need to keep it updated with fresh information about what you’re doing and give your friends plenty of chances to click on links so that you can make money. For example, if you post a status update about some really interesting or cool product and make a recommendation to your entire network of Facebook friends then you have just marketed a new product.

The major principle that underlies making money with social network websites has to do with the amount of friends you have or how big your network is. In short, having a large network of friends gives you more chances to promote your own business or affiliate product. Making hundreds or thousands of dollars each month as a result of social networking is an attainable goal for most people. The trick, however, lies in what you promote, how many friends you have, and your dedication to each of your social networking profiles.

Judge Throws Out Ebay Antitrust Lawsuit

dotCOMreport Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:56:23 +0000

The most visited U.S. e-commerce site, EBay Inc., no longer faces a lawsuit by three sellers claiming it monopolizes the online auctions market and the method to pay for goods bought there. The judge ruled the sellers failed to show that they — or anyone else — had been injured by EBay’s alleged behavior.

In the suit, EBay was accused of anti-competitive behavior, including the acquirement of the PayPal peer-to-peer payment service in 2002. Paypal, purchased by EBay for $1.18 billion, processed more than 40 percent of the $52 billion in merchandise sold on EBay in 2006, the year before Michael Malone of Texas first filed the lawsuit.

The sellers sought class-action, or group status, and a finding that EBay violated antitrust laws and illegally restrained trade, plus an award for unspecified money damages. The group was forced to pay “artificially inflated and supra-competitive fees to EBay,” according to a consolidated complaint filed in May 2007.

“We are gratified that the court rejected plaintiffs’ claim as baseless,” EBay Deputy General Counsel Mary Huser said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. “With this meritless suit behind us, we can continue to focus on our core business of providing platforms that bring buyers and sellers together to transact online.”

“Plaintiffs challenge virtually everything that EBay has ever done,” the company said in court papers asking Fogel to throw out the lawsuit. “Every one of the acts identified by plaintiffs crosses no antitrust line.”

Yesterday’s Media Can Coexist With Social Media

dotCOMreport Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:58:34 +0000

As blogs and Twitter rise in popularity, there are many abandoning their email newsletters. However, newsletters are still a very effective tool in your marketing strategy. You should consider these suggestions on how to merge your newsletter into your social media strategy.

You should archive your newsletter. Your email newsletter should be part of your web content marketing strategy, and as such, it should be included on your website. Make sure you post your newsletter archive on your site, not that of your email provider. This content is great for SEO.

Incorporate blog or FaceBook content. Consider your newsletter one part of your brand building strategy. Think about how you can include content from your blog and other social networks in your newsletter and vice versa. Remember, this isn’t simply putting the same content in different places, but rather it is a way to summarize and continue the conversation.

Your approach when writing your newsletter should allow for making your newsletter easy to share on Twitter and Facebook.

Your newsletter is the perfect opportunity to invite your readers to interact with you, so they may want to connect with you on other social networks as well. Include the graphics for these social networks to call attention to them.

This is a good example of adapting the tried-and-true “old school” media with the up-and-coming social media that has reached the highest imaginable acceptance. Good luck.

What Is Your Domain Name Worth?

dotCOMreport Editor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:38:13 +0000

If you plan to assess the value of your domain name, you’ll find services, some free and others for a fee, offered by many companies. Although it is certainly worth looking at the current domain name market and trying to find equivalence with recent sales, it’s impossible to base the valuation of one domain name on the valuation placed on another. Ultimately, a domain name is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it and no more.

Go with one of the free services if you insist on having your domain name appraised. Paid appraisal services, costing as much as $50, could cost you more than the domain name itself is worth. Also, bear in mind that few paid appraisal services are going to tell you that your domain name is worthless, since that would guarantee that they would lose the chance of any repeat business from you.

Use these guidelines to help you understand the prospective value of your domain name.

1- If you receive unsolicited offers to buy the name, that clearly shows it’s worth something to somebody.

2- If the domain name is a .com, it will have 5-10x or more the value of the same name with any other extension.

3- The length of the domain name may be relevant. Normally, the shorter the better.

4- Is your domain name hyphenated? Sometimes, hyphens help to maintain clarity, but generally they reduce the value of a domain name.

5- If the domain name is a misspelled word, you can knock 99% or more off the price.

6- If the domain name uses prefixes or suffixes, it can REALLY hurt the value.

7- The number of words in the domain and how common the words are can make a difference. Typically, the more words in the domain name, the less it is worth.

The entire process of trying to establish a value for your domain name may leave you feeling frustrated, but don’t give up. Without at least an sense of the value, you’re going to find it much harder to locate a buyer for the name and close a deal.

Import Your Facebook Contacts To Yahoo!

dotCOMreport Editor — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:49:29 +0000

In addition to importing your contacts from sites like Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail, starting this week you can now easily add your Facebook friends’ email addresses to your Yahoo contacts list. Yahoo! Mail has begun to integrate with Facebook Connect, allowing users to import e-mail addresses from the social networking site.

The move will eventually let members check their Facebook statuses from the Yahoo Mail inbox, and access Facebook features across other Yahoo properties, like News, Answers, and Sports.

This first phase will allow you to type the first few letters of a name in Yahoo Mail and the email address from their Facebook profile will appear in your email.

If you have a Yahoo! Mail account and you would like to access this feature, sign into your account, and select Contacts from the drop-down menu on the main page. Find the “import your contacts from another provider to Yahoo” link and click on that. Select Facebook and follow the prompts. You’ll have to approve Yahoo! to connect to your Facebook account, but the import process is pretty seamless after that.

Does You Business Have A Mobile Strategy?

dotCOMreport Editor — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:08:04 +0000

Last month, at the Mobile Premier Awards — an international competition for mobile start-ups held at the Mobile World Congress — the message was clear: Web sites are old school, and mobile is a growing requirement for every industry and business.

Winners were eager to offer tips and predictions to help all business owners — not just those with technology companies — prepare a mobile strategy. Here are some of their suggestions:

All businesses need the ability to be seen by mobile devices. “The idea is that if a consumer is looking for you on the run,” said Chetan Sharma, a mobile consultant who judged at the M.P.A. competition, “your info must be available in any format where they are looking to consume that information — or else you miss an opportunity.”

Content in most sites isn’t coded to be read or found by people using devices on the go, with small screens and mobile browsers, search engines and operating systems. Smartphones, for example, can’t read Flash content.

It was also recommended that companies check business directories, map and review sites and apps already popular with mobile users to see if you’re listed. If not, you can enter basic details like your location, contact information and a short description free on many sites and apps. You should check Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Nokia’s Ovi Prime Place, Microsoft’s Bing Local Listings, Yelp and Foursquare.

You may also need to optimize your company’s existing Web content, suggested David Harper, chief executive of Percent Mobile, a New York-based mobile analytics company that won a Gold Award for Early Stage Innovation. If you maintain a blog on WordPress, for example, you can use the free WordPress Mobile Pack to convert the blog to a format that is fast-loading and readable on a smaller screen.

One of the best free or affordable things you can do is build a list of mobile phone numbers for customers who are willing to receive text-message alerts or text-message coupons. Other things include creating a mobile microsite coded in XHTML, CSS or other languages easily read by new mobile Web browsers and devices; or building a branded app and mobile ads to promote it using the services of companies like AdMob, GetJar, Mofuse, Mippin and MediaLets.

Businesses should be able to develop or use more powerful mobile apps to their advantage soon as new mobile devices, from their hardware features to their more open operating systems, are serving as “a richer substrata on which to build apps.”

All of the new technology aside, an essential function of the mobile phone is still making phone calls. But even that’s changing. Adaffix, an Austrian, is offering voice calls that use search listings and social media data as a supplement. That means a mobile user with an Adaffix app running can call a taxi service and get no answer but know that, upon hanging up, three alternative listings will be presented. The taxi services can offer coupons to try to scoop up the business. It’s a high-tech way to advertise that could serve traditional Main Street businesses well, said Adaffix founder and chief executive Claudia Poepperl.

Understanding the differences between mobile and Web audiences is crucial. Someone at a home computer who checks out your restaurant’s Web site may be interested in videos of your chef or a PDF menu. Someone accessing your site by mobile is more likely to need to get directions instantly or to see if you have an open table. If you know how the majority of your users are accessing your brand on mobile and what content they need most, you can be sure that they have a positive experience.”

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