Small Business Blog

Archive for May, 2010

Q: I am considering starting an ebusiness using affiliate programs, but there is so much hype out there I can’t figure out which programs would work best for me. Everybody claims their program is best. I’d really appreciate some guidance here.

A: Affiliate programs can be an excellent way to start an ebusiness. Before we dive into the specifics, let me explain how an affiliate program works.

An affiliate program simply means that you sign on as an affiliate marketer for someone else’s product. It’s your job to market the product, send the company customers, and get a cut each time a sale is made from your efforts. Affiliate program commissions can range from as little as 2% for high ticket items up to 50% for eBooks and informational type products.

As an example, let’s say you sign up with Amazon.com’s affiliate program. You are assigned an affiliate code which you use to promote Amazon’s books on your website. When someone clicks to purchase an Amazon product from your website, your affiliate code is included in the URL and you get a commission for the sale. Some folks have built elaborate websites that sell nothing but Amazon.com’s books, and each time they make a sale they get a piece of the pie.

At dropshipwholesale.net we are affiliates for many products that fit our entrepreneurial niche. We market mostly eBooks and software, but we do have an Amazon page for business books.

One of the most appealing aspects of affiliate programs is how quickly you can begin making money. You can literally sign up as an affiliate and begin making money in minutes. I’ve done it, I know it works.

Admittedly, I am not an affiliate program expert, so I sought out the person that many call the Ultimate Affiliate Program Authority, Rosalind Gardner.

Rosalind Gardner began making money with affiliate programs in 1997. She has since grown her affiliate business into a $400,000 a year business and is now considered the authority on the subject. Her book ‘The Super Affiliate Handbook: How to Make a Fortune Selling Other People’s Stuff Online’ has been out since March and is already considered by many to be the affiliate marketers bible.

I ordered Rosalind’s book as research for this article and I have to tell you I found it to be one of the best books on the subject I have ever read. It’s a hype-fr*e approach to what affiliate marketing is really all about and how to make it work. The book is 270 pages and leaves no stone unturned. For anyone serious about making money with affiliate programs, I highly recommend this book.

The bottom line is this: you can make a lot of money with affiliate programs, if you pick the right product and do your part to promote it. As for which programs would be best for you, I advise that you concentrate your efforts on one or two products instead of starting with a shotgun approach. Pick only top quality products that hold some personal interest you. Never pick an affiliate product just because you think you’ll make a ton of money with it.

Remember, you are starting a business. If it’s not a business that holds your interest, you won’t be in business very long.

How to Promote Your Business in the Yellow Pages:

Ask the Expert

By Fran Finley

The Expert

Our expert on Yellow Pages advertising is author, speaker, consultant, Barry Maher. You may have seen Maher on the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC or in the pages of USA Today, the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. His book, Filling the Glass was recently honored as “[One of] The Seven Essential Popular Business Books” by Today’s Librarian magazine. Few people realize that Maher is also the author of the book, Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising, and that he conducts Yellow Pages workshops at conventions across the country. According to TIME, “Barry Maher has helped thousands of small businesses get the most cost effective Yellow Pages advertising possible.”

Does Yellow Pages advertising really work?

Well, it certainly can work. But it’s far more likely to work if you pay attention to a few key rules.

Can’t you rely on your Yellow Pages sales rep for any help you need?

Sometimes the rep can be part of the problem. Too many Yellow Page ads are whipped up in the few minutes the rep has left after trying to sell you a bigger ad. Ask, no, insist, that your directory publishers develop an ad for you that justifies the cost. If they can’t, have the ad produced yourself.

Okay, so you need a great looking ad. What about the content?

Content is another key. The first piece of ad copy that readers see, the headline, has to be powerful enough to drag them away from all those competing ads. Never use your company name as your headline unless it really is that powerful. Unless it really is the most important selling copy in the ad.

What other copy should you include?

You have to include all the hard, factual information potential customers need to make a decision to call or drop by: be it about image, market niche, products and services, features, brand names, expertise, pricing, quality, hours, reliability, speed, location, service area, credit available, whatever it might be.

So you should use every bit of ad space you’re paying for?

Absolutely not. Your ad is competing for readability with every other ad under your heading or headings. If it’s difficult to read, it isn’t going to be read. You’ve got to refine your copy until you can provide all the information potential clients want in an ad that’s so uncluttered and inviting that reading it becomes automatic.

What about visuals, like drawings and photos?

Nothing can turn a mediocre Yellow Pages ad into a great one faster than the right illustration. If your picture isn’t worth a thousand words, find one that is.

How about ad size: is bigger better?

Unfortunately, all things being equal, bigger ads get a greater response. They also get the best placement, closest to the front of the heading. Placement can be even more important than size.

A visually appealing ad can make up for some size, especially under a heading where all the ads are on the same page or two. It’s much more difficult to compete with ads on an earlier page. That page may never be turned.

Always consider placement when you’re deciding on ad size. Have your sales rep show you where the size you’re considering would fall in this year’s directory. That should give you an idea of the position, relative to the competition, you’d have next year. Sometimes going up a size and spending just a few more dollars will move you much closer to the front of the heading. Sometimes you can cut back in size without losing much in the way of position.

What about using color?

Color is eye catching. And expensive. If the money you’d be spending is approximately the same, you’re better off significantly improving the size and placement of your ad than the color.

Some areas are covered by several competing directories. Should you buy ads in all of them?

Make the sales rep prove value before you buy, especially when you’re considering a directory for the first time. If he or she can’t prove value, don’t put any real money there. Instead, try something small: perhaps even a simple in-column ad, or even just a listing. Track your response, survey your customers to discover how they discovered you. Then next year you’ll have know.

What’s the biggest Yellow Pages mistake you’ve ever encountered?

That’s got to be the attorney who found herself listed not under ATTORNEYS but under REPTILES. I’ll leave it to you to decide if that was perhaps more truth in advertising than she bargained for.

Which reminds me: Always insist on getting a proof for your display ad.

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Particularly all people in the world are fond of music. They listen to the compositions using a great amount of audio players. Sometimes listeners need WAV converter to change audio files from one format to another.
Why and when do we need this tool? The thing is that WAV files are definitely large in size. So they are tough for different online actions. MP3 uses not so big compression method. That is why it does not contain several data elements that present in WAV files. MP3 files are created through perceptual coding. As the result there is a deletion of several data elements which are not perceived by the ear. MP3 files are able to reproduce all sound elements you need which are actually perceived by people. If you have little space on your music player or if you want to send your favorite composition to your friend through the Internet you have to compress the music file. In this case the converter will help you.
When you make up your mind to have the converter several questions appear.
The main question is where can we get the converter? The answer is not difficult. You may purchase it in the Internet. But the quantity of converters is really great. We may suggest you FactoryAudioConverter (FAC) developed and designed by Softplicity Company. This amazing program changes the not only wav to mp3
formats but also mp3 to wav. Moreover, the tool works with such audio formats as OGG, APE, MP4, FLAC, AAC, MPC, WMA. FAC is supported the English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Russian . The application runs on Windows 2000/NT/XP/2003/Vista/7.
The next question is how can we use FatoryAudioConverter? We would like to inform you it is not difficult to use this program. Every child and adult can manage it. You just need to launch the application, select the file you need to convert and click a proper audio format. Besides, the tool is not only a helpful wav to mp3 converter
.FAC posses some more important options. You may convert not only one file but a batch of them. You may also use Command line in working with the converter. You may rip CD if you have it. The program also has got a built-in audio player. The tool can download music from YouTube and then convert it to other formats. Furthermore, if the program was updated once purchased it you are allowed to download it every time with updates. The last news is that FAC integrates into Windows popup menu that allows using right-click.
The last question is does the tool support your needs and wishes? We want to say there is nothing to worry about. You are allowed to download a free trial copy of FactoryAudioConverter and test it. The evaluation copy of FAC converts 2/3 of a music file. You can listen to the part of the composition to understand if the program satisfies you. To have the whole song converted you have to purchase the registration key. The evaluation period without the registration key is 30 days. During the trial period technical support is available.
Are you still not sure if to use FactoryAudioConverter or not? We tell you that FAC is the best audio converter you have ever met. You will never be unsatisfied with it. More then 20 000 people have already purchased FAC. Now you have a chance to buy it too.

There has been a buzz about printing double-sided business cards. In the world of business card printing, a lot of people think that this is the new and improved way of doing business. Well, we are sorry to break their bubble, but in our view this is not necessarily so.

Double-sided business cards may be interesting, and it might even be quite useful for some people, but in a lot of cases, people really do not need to have them made.

Double-sided business cards are unnecessary and may even cost quite a hefty sum.. The classic business card printing principles still apply, and most are usually better accepted than the double-sided ones. In any case, many business people are better off without needing to have a double-sided business card in their marketing agenda.

Here are some of the reasons why we view that double-sided business cards are not really that great.

Too noisy or flashy:

For some people, double-sided business cards with their extra marketing messages appear too noisy or flashy. This also makes the “double sided business card holder” seem loud and boisterous. If people print things like marketing messages and product descriptions, it really makes the business card look messy and crowded. In fact, in most cases a double-sided business card does not seem like a business card anymore. It becomes much more like a promotional note card that happens to have details that are similar to those of a business card.

Somewhat unprofessional:

Now, since it becomes almost like a promotional tactic more than a formal business card, double sided business cards will usually appear unconventional and even unprofessional. Business cards have a certain type of dignity and respect that you want to convey. If you turn your professional business card into a promotional circus, hardly anyone will take you seriously. It becomes a mark of a person who is not professional in his dealings with business contacts. It is basically another form of “spam.”

More expensive:

Of course, since double-sided business cards are printed in both sides they are also doubly expensive. You need to print double the images and double the text. In addition, since business card paper stock can have one sided or double-sided coatings, you gain extra costs in special coatings as well. All in all, this adds about a 100% or more increase in the business card printing quotation. This makes them hardly ideal for people in a budget. With this recession still prevailing, it becomes really impractical to printing double sided business cards unless you are relatively well off.

Rationalizing single sided business cards:

Lastly, if you think about it, you do not really need to print double-sided business cards unless you have been specifically asked to. Business cards are small and easy to read for a reason. You want people to know how you can be contacted quickly and easily. They do not want your whole life story and they do not want to read a mini-brochure in your business card. “Single sided business cards” are all that you need to establish business contacts. That is why double-sided business cards are not exactly the best that you can use.

Learn more about business card printing .

A car is now a basic need for busy people like you. The car will help you to mobile with high flexibility. Car is also helpful if there is traffic jam, you can bring your car finding shortcuts to your office. Therefore, if you don’t have car, you should buy one. If you don’t have enough money to a new car, you can apply for a loan. The loan will give you money you need to buy a car.

You can get many loans if you are serious to buy a car. You can simply open Americanunsecured.com. To get Payday Loan, you only need to open this website and simply clicking the sign up link. You will be in registration form and you should fill the form with your personal data and your bank account. If you choose personal loan, you need to include collateral. From this website, you will also get Business Loan. This type of loan is intended to help small business run their business.

Always get loan from this website only, it will help you to get the best loans with very affordable payments. Moreover, all loans are always approved by the lender and it will give you the money.

Quite a few organizations hire employees in internal positions such as human resources, marketing, sales, facilities, cafeteria, accounting or security without adequate training in customer service skills. Generally, unless a customer complains or compliments an employee their supervisor typically assumes that everything is being done well and provides positive feedback on their performance review.

Customer Services includes small and large details such as understanding the needs and purchasing habits of the customers, responding to all e-mail and phone inquiries, human contact and conversation, taking responsibility, to celebrate little triumphs with them, commiserate in their complaints and even get to know them. These customers once made will remain loyal customers forever.

By itself customer service is too vast to handle unless you are a large business with well defined sections in your office. Outsourcing customer service can allow a small or medium business to take care of its core competencies, while the customers are professionally and satisfactorily dealt with.

Online customer service is handled by quite a lot of call centers. The need for such service arises on two accounts.

First an online business is a 24*7 business. Your customers belong to the world and there are several time zones out there! Their hours and holidays are different from yours. Remember you lose a customer to your competitor if you do not respond to their calls.

Secondly, call response needs training and expertise handling. You cannot personally attend each call. So you need to hire employees. Each employee will need to be trained in your products, their handling and customer responses. So you will need to setup an entire process. The entire procedure is very time centric. If time is at premium (as it is for most of us) outsource it to the experts. Call center employees are trained in such procedures, responses come easier to them and they are trained to present a human face to the prospect.

Outsourcing customer service may have its pitfalls if the call center and business do not work closely in tandem with each other. The outsourcing company should work with the call center hand in hand to get customer feedback. The script flow must be based on previous experience of the company. The concept of personal attention to the customer is very important for closing a call. There some guidelines to be followed for ideal customer service assistance. Some of them are discussed here.

The customer must be put first as a person. The customer should be helped to make a decision and not pushed to buy. Respect him and he will respect you in turn and come back to you.

Listen to what the customer has to say. Clarify their doubts and answer the questions. The customer service employee should always have in-depth knowledge about the product or services. If unable to respond to a query immediately take the customers contact id and respond soon. Customers always have a tendency to look for a problem solver rather than an order taker

Learn about the customer in a casual way not as a marketing survey sort of thing. The easiest way to do this is to ask for them for feedback about their experience with the company or organization.

Respect the customers time. If a customer is in hurry be fast and friendly whatever the medium. In companies where the customer profile has senior citizens may want to talk a while. Give into them. They’ll come back to you for sure. It is also important to be fast and friendly.

If promises are made, should always be kept with the customers. If not, they should be compensated.

Lastly, review and feedback go a way in improving customer service. The staff can be asked about unusual requests or difficult situations. Reviews teach many important lessons.

In addition to the above points some do nots have to be kept in mind. Pitfalls such as incompetence, disorganization, unprofessional manners, lack of standard policy, delays and unreliability lose customers. It’s said that happy customers are the best and most effective way to find new customers. Let your prospects and leads rave about your customer services.