Business Alone

One of the most overlooked steps in web site publishing, product creation, and article writing is the "chore" of first doing market research.

It's a chore to most people and therefore it is often neglected or shunned altogether because performing the research takes time, a certain amount of "know how" and definitely some amount of your precious time.

But the consequences of not first doing research are almost always negative and will certainly cost you time and money in the long run.

Continue reading "Sources of help for online market research" »

Buyer beware! Many a novice business owner has charged into the pay per click advertising world (PPC, for short) with high expectations of mega targeted traffic at small cost and come away with an empty wallet, few or no sales, and a vow never to waste money again in that arena!

One of the keys to solving the PPC dilemma remains hidden from many folks view. Usually the campaign owner focuses on keyword strategies and maximizing ad placement.

Continue reading "If You Decide to Use Pay Per Click Advertising. . ." »

The folks over at the Better Business Bureau commissioned a study in 2007 of the adult online shopper's most important issues.

It seems that approximately 60% of those surveyed are primarily concerned about two things: (1) that their personal information could be stolen and sold online or reused by someone else, and (2) that their credit card information could be hijacked by some unscrupulous operator (59%).

Continue reading "Internet Buyers Express Concern Over Two Main Issues" »

Of all the tricks and strategies that direct marketing professionals have devised over the years to increase sales and push prospects to take action at crunch time, maybe the ultimate trick is employing the "scarcity" factor to a product or service.

When a product is limited (scarce) in availability, it's value skyrockets dramatically.

Most of us understand the reasoning behind using this tactic and I can guarantee you that at least 90% of the online product offers and "launches" that you'll encounter will use one or more scarcity tactics in the sales message to get you to buy.

Continue reading "How to Force Your Prospects to Buy!" »

Like most new and innovative things, Internet business for many people seems to be nothing more than a fad, a fancy, a fleeting hot topic that will soon cool off and die in obscurity.

Many computer savvy folks have yet to make a purchase online and some still hold to the notion that the dot com era will soon be over for good.

They reason that e-commerce online is not secure, too much of a passing fantasy, and something that they can easily do without.

Continue reading "Small Business on the Internet is a BIG DEAL!" »

You know I have often commented that "you are the business." Of course I'm talking about the fact that your business reflects your own personal ideas, traits, quirks, tendencies, and ability to be successful or not.

You are the solo creator, fthe ounder, the operator, and only employee of your solor business.

Without you, and everything that you know, do, and are, your business is nothing. There is no business if you don't make it so.

That can either be a great asset or a debilitating burden.

Continue reading "Is Your Business Looking Like Stale Bread?" »

Did you know there are ways to see what buyers are looking for at any given time online?

The information is free. Smart marketers and product developers ought to keep an eye on the buying public and their wants. Understanding "demand" is one of the pillars of Internet marketing and product creation.

CNET's Download.com is a library of free and free-to-try software programs and applications for Windows, Macintosh, and handheld devices. It began 10 years ago with 3,000 titles and today has over 30,000 potential downloads.

Continue reading "What's Popular and In Demand on the Internet Right Now?" »

Every business owner will have his moments when all creativity and unique ideas seem to hit a lull. No matter what the owner does, he just can't come up with anything new and exciting for his customers.

It's at these times that repurposing your content may be the answer until your creative juices begin flowing again!

Here is a simple list of things you can do to get yourself going again.

Continue reading "Creativity Waning in Your Business?" »

I have to be careful here because I'm not a search engine optimization wizard.

What I am going to tell you is either what I have experienced or what I have gleaned from others that I consider to be very knowledgeable on the subject.

Often business owners wonder what the best URL or business naming strategy is for an online business or product. Sometimes they even wonder if the domain name has any bearing whatsoever on the search engines.

Of course, the reason to be concerned about SEO is to be able to get as much "organic" (or non-paid search engine) traffic as possible to your web site.

Continue reading "Is Your Domain Name a Factor in SEO?" »

Some of you may have seen this on MSN recently, but I thought I would share my synopsis of it anyway for those interested in the "wants" of Internet users.

CNET's Download.com is a library of free and free-to-try software programs and applications for Windows, Macintosh, and handheld devices. It began 10 years ago with 3,000 titles and today has over 30,000 potential downloads.

Here are the TOP TEN DOWNLOADS over the past 10 years:

Continue reading "What's Hot and In Demand on the Internet?" »