Sometimes skimping on things can save you good money. But skimping is not always the wisest business strategy. For example, I could’ve written this article in the windows program notepad as opposed to Microsoft Word, and saved a good $500 and never had to buy the latest version of Microsoft Office… However, wouldn’t it be worth the $500 if the improved impression of professionalism put forth in all of my writings some how garnered ten times that in profit? Would you have read this far if I had unknowingly published this article with a horribly obvious typo in the title? That’s right - an insignificant error caused by “saving money” can actually COST you money in the long run.

Impression Is Everything!

If you have spent months developing a beautiful ecommerce website to give people the impression that you are the safest choice for whatever product or service you’re trying to sell them, then it’d be pretty stupid to have all of that professionalism dismissed by a simple mistake: assuming you’re going to SAVE money by not getting a toll free number!

The fact is, the sight of a toll free number is something that subconsciously stirs an idea of professionalism - something we’re accustomed to from corporate America. Area codes are for calling your relatives and friends, after all. The phone prefix “800″ or “877″ or “888″ for some reason, as if by magic, stirs in us the image of a phone operator in a tall skyscraper that deals with hundreds of clients a day - someone that doesn’t make their living off of ripping people off. The appearance of professionalism is the embodiment of confidence within the business world.

Okay, so you’re convinced… now what?

Not having a toll free number for your ecommerce business (no matter how small) will cost you more in the long run than the short term savings will save you. The best part is though that toll free numbers are not NEARLY as expensive as one might be inclined to think! In fact, at the moment the prices for toll free numbers are as low as 2.7c/min from places like www.patricklongdistance.com .

What other services can I benefit from?

It just so happens that toll free numbers are not the only affordable telecommunications service that might be useful to the owner of an ecommerce web site. Conference calling (for those teleseminars), low long distance rates, broadband or t1 internet access, and more are all examples of things that can be gotten more cost effectively off the internet via web pages such as the one I provided in the last paragraph.

Jacob Richards hosts a website about building the ecommerce web sites.

One of the great advantages that small businesses have is that by their very nature they are more personal.

What clients experience in working with a small business tends to be more genuine and authentic? Today’s tip is pretty simple - Leverage that fact and put a little more you in your marketing.

Lots of small businesses are finding out that one of the best things they can do for their marketing and sales is to start getting a little more “personal” with their audience. Let them know a little bit more about what makes you the way you are. How did you get into doing what you do? What are the things about you that shape your thinking?

Putting more you in your marketing helps to give your company a face and actually builds the know, like, and trust factor with your audience. People love a great story and relate to them much easier than a bunch of marketing speak that’s clearly just trying to get them to buy. I just participated in one of John Jantsh’s (Duct Tape Marketing) Ultimate Marketing System teleclasses this week. He believes every small business should include their story (a marketing story) as part of their marketing kit of materials. I think he’s right.

So how do you put a little more you in your marketing?

1. Put a picture on your web site, ezine, blog, networking follow-up thank you notes, etc. It lets people see the human being behind your small business.

2. Reserve a little space in your newsletter or ezine for a personal section to tell readers a little bit about what’s going on with you and your life. I just met with a financial advisor this week that has put together a little web site about his dogs. Who wouldn’t want to take time out of a newsletter about financial news to read about what his dogs are up to and then go visit the web site to take a look? I guarantee if he follows my simple suggestion then his response rates will increase.

3. Scrap the resume or bio on the “About Us” page of your marketing kit and web site. Give us a story to let us know who you are, why you do what you do, how you got into it, what interest or even fascinates you about your work, some of the things that you’re most proud of, etc. People love a story and it will absolutely help people feel more like they know you and can trust you.

These are just a few ideas. Put a little more you in your marketing and make the most of one of the great advantages small businesses have.

(c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing

About the Author:

Kevin Dervin is the owner of KPD Marketing and creator of the ABCD Growth System. If you find this article useful, you’d probably enjoy Kevin’s FREE monthly eZine called ABCD Grow. To subscribe, just go to www.ABCDgrowth.com and follow one of the links to the FREE Stuff page!

We are constantly bombarded by sales messages every second of the day. Buy this. Do that. And quite often the next thing that comes around looks like the next big thing. It’s so easy to get distracted off what you were doing and never quite finish it.

The only real method of preventing this is self-discipline. Make it a rule to complete what you started before going on to the next thing. If you are working in a day job, then this is even more vital, since your time is even more precious. I have tons of projects I am working on at any one time, so I’m not just talking out my hat.

I have adwords, web site development. I also do real live sales. It’s a juggling act and sometimes it’s so easy to just flit about and apparently do nothing. The only time I manage to get something done, is when I say to myself - right - that’s it - I’m going to finish that now.

Keeping your eye on the big picture is key. What is your goal? The goal will align everything and all your activities should fall into place around it. It is like the guide to your daily life. When you wander off. Remember the goal you can get yourself on track again.

This is what I do and it helps me. So I hope it helps you too.

Graeme Sprigge is the webmaster of icooltools blog a blog about internet marketing, adsense and wordpress plugins.

Financial freedom has been a buzz word for years, but are people really obtaining that freedom? Are they bringing in the executive paychecks while working from home? Yes, people are making six figures from home. So why arent you? Thats a question, many small business owners ask, and Im about to enlighten you.

There is a new industrial revolution happening in America; the growing segment of MLM and home based businesses. With this explosion of growth, according to Mitch Renkow, Economics Specialist of North Carolina State University:

This intensifies the need for existing small firms to fulfill the basic requirements for business success:

Efficiency in Production
Responsiveness to the Tastes and Needs of Customers
Effective Marketing

Where does the business owner obtain the knowledge to fulfill the basic requirements? Well, you could go back to college and get a four year degree in marketing, and widget sales. However, thats not going to help your current business. Are you tired of spending tons of money, and not seeing results for your efforts? Then keep reading!

It is because of this revolution a new type of training for the MLM and small business owner was developed. An interactive training to enable the average person to concentrate and develop those basic requirements as mentioned above. Forget widget production and theory courses! Learn in real time, role play, and interact with other small businesses. Learn with persons who are like minded. Who teaches this revolutionary course?

Im Dennis Peterman, and I help all types of businesses get the financial boost they need. Im not talking about a short term profit, but long term financial gain. I specialize in the MLM also called Network Marketing segment, because most small business owners are part of this market. If you are wondering what to say, what not to say, or how to approach your sales from a competitive edge, this course is for you. I see hundreds of people on internet forums asking about the above three principles. What I dont see are effective and responsive answers. Do you get that feeling when you talk with your upline person?

What makes this course different from other training courses? I teach you how to generate sales in todays market. You see mistakes, fallacies, what works and what doesnt work. I use the show-me method, and encourage questions and answers. I dont hide you from others in the training, as you learn from each other. A co-op of minds to bounce ideas, stories, good and bad, makes this an effective live learning environment. I offer a free report on my web site with much more information than I can tell you in this article. Thats right; I offer this report for free, at http://www.mlmmadeeasy.com to show you Im serious about helping you build your business.

You will find other web sites giving you the success stories, but isnt it time, you became the success story? Quit struggling with outdated ideas, marketing that no longer works, and non-proven methods from the last century. Dont lose the dream of working at home! If you are making six figures with your MLM company, this course isnt for you. However, if you are like millions of others struggling to achieve the results you desire; the results your upline person talks about, then you cant afford not to take this training.

What I teach you can last a life time. You will learn secrets your upline doesnt tell you. Give me a call at 480-288-4755 and I will be happy to consult you about your business. Dial me on this number 480-288-4755, and if you want, Ill call back. Thats right Ill talk with you for free! Call me a Business Coach, Business Mentor, or Network Marketing Guru, as titles dont matter, but I will take your call, and you decide what position I play in your financial health!

*Economic Trends Affecting Small and Home-Based Businesses. 1998, by Mitch Renkow

Dennis Peterman has the experience of years of hard knocks in the MLM industry. Finally fed up with the lack of training from his upline people, he searched for a solution to help others escape the frustration of failed closings. Get his free report from his web site at http://www.mlmmadeeasy.com or email him at
schekinah@msn.com or just call him at 480-288-4755.

Celebrities are the tastemakers that drive brand awareness and usage. Celebrities drive the direction of trends. For example there has been a huge resurgence in the Pabst Blue Ribbon brand. They are the second fastest growing beer in the US and they have not spent a dime on advertising. How did they resurrect this brand without spending a fortune on re-branding efforts? Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer has risen to the top through celebrities using the brand. Rock musician “Kid Rock” was seen wearing a PBR belt buckle and T-shirt and from there it’s history. Here are 7 solid ways you can build your brand through celebrity and tastemaker usage without breaking the bank.

1.) Sponsor local or national high profile events. Sometime you can do this on a product donation basis.

2.) Underwrite bands or artists in your market that you believe have a chance to make it big. Sometimes your investment will be as small as printing posters or placing ads for them that always contain your logo.

3.) Create and produce your own signature event and invite the press and local celebrities and tastemakers. Remember, if you give somebody and experience… they will never forget you.

4.) Find out where your local tastemakers are hanging out and get your products there.

5.) Send care packages with your products to local tastemakers, celebrities and news personalities. Make sure your contact information is enclosed.

6.) Create a loyal street team or crew of individuals that can sample your products where tastemakers are hanging out.

7.) Build a relationship with one tastemaker and make them your brand surrogate.

With these efforts and good timing your products will be in the hands of tastemakers and from there… it’s history.

Thom King is the president of Multimediary Entertainment Marketing. Multimediary builds brands through making them part of the entertainment experience. Visit the web site at http://www.multimediary.com.

Interpersonal Communications is the transmission of information from one person to another and their understanding of it through the use of common language or symbols. It is a way of interacting and happens always at all times whether you want it to happen or not.

However, just because you transmit a message, it does not presuppose that communication happens. Without both information and understanding on the part of the other person, communication (understanding of your message) does not occur. The efficiency at which you communicate will determine the level of happiness and success in your life.

Most people do not think about or realize how they are communicating to others. It is affected by how you look, body language, attitude, perceptions, understanding the process and understanding the needs of ourselves and others.

It has been stated that the average manager spends 80% of their time communicating in different ways.

These are:

30% speaking
25% listening
15% reading
10% writing

Yet in the average school, reading and writing are considered the most important to teach.

Your client’s opinion and relationship with your organization is dependent on your image, which stems from your interaction. Their perception of the quality you give will effect their decision to deal with you.
How you interact with others will create an image in their minds, whether you are someone to be trusted and credible or someone not worthy of their time.

A CEO who is seen as aloof and distance can do more harm to a company in time, image and production, than many other aspects. This includes employees. Most employees will treat your customers and clients like you treat them. Is this good news or bad news?

Interpersonal communications happens every where from personal contact, to marketing, advertising, sales, employee interaction, stockholders, employee to supervisors and management, and public relations.

As technology advances, it is imperative to learn, embrace and use effective communication. You need to provide leadership in its growth, for the sake of time, production, growth and credibility. It is also important to realize that communicating through different devices and mediums contains different challenges and considerations.

I was watching the election debates unfold and I noticed that some people were commenting on the fact, that one of the leaders wasn’t very good at relating interpersonal messages to the camera. They said in person he has a great personality, yet he was not able to deliver that message to the audience. This in turn had an affect on his campaign and the results at the polling stations.

More and more I am having people tell me how there is an increasing amount of misunderstandings from email sent by co-workers and other staff members. It has created hard feelings and turmoil where none was meant to happen. By learning the process of communication, these types of challenges can be greatly reduced or possibly eliminated.

Communicating with each other at all levels is core to having a competitive advantage in business.

“The English empiricist philosopher John Locke, in his Essay
Concerning Human Understanding (1690), famously articulated this view. According to Locke, words have no natural meanings. The association of words with ideas in the mind is a voluntary act of the individual person”

Why this is important, is because we often relate different words to different meanings, and therefore, decipher the message other than it is intending. This is another reason why clarity and understanding is essential for todays business production and growth.

All the Best!
Maria Boomhower
The Master Communicator

For a free report on “The 7 Secrets to Communication Mastery”
go to: http://www.falconfreedom.com. To read past ezine articles go to: http://www.mariaboomhower.blogspot.com

P.S. If you like what you’re reading in this ezine, you’ll love the book, “Overcoming Barriers to Communication.”
It’s a manual that helps you overcome the challengers that start with
Intrapersonal to Interpersonal and on to Mass Communication. http://www.falconfreedom.com/OB.html

Everyone needs targeted visitors to their websites and tis could proof, at some times, to be a very tough job to do. You hear that you need to do one thing from this guru and the other guru tells you to do another. It gets confusing at one point.

Now, the one strategy that will never fail you is finding good partners. Basically even internet marketing is about the “partners” you have and find. You need link partners to gain popularity in the search engines and when you want to sell a product, effectively, you need JV partners to get this thing rolling.

Now why should I do a JV?

Well, whenever you have a product and you want to launch it, it may be wise to find websites in your niche that have lists and may be interested in selling your products. And even if they don’t have a list, just ask them if they would like to promote your product on their website.

What is in it for them?

Great question… whenever you set-up a JV, you need to be sure there is something in it FOR THEM. So depending on you focus you could offer them a commission of 50 up-to 100% on a product you sell.

So how do your determine what kind of commission you will give to your affiliates? It really depends on your focus… if you want to build a list of paying customers quickly, you set-up a JV and give as much commission as possible to your JV partners but when it is for a product that you are going to sell as your main product, you could offer them a commission anywhere between the 50 and 65% (you still need to make a living yourself).

In the first case the product doesn’t have to be extremely high priced, it is all about building that list with “paying customers”… your golden list. So something like $9,95 would be just fine and perfect to attract partners and hand you over their lists. Especially if you give-out a commission of 100%.

Now, the next thing you should do is make it as simple as possible for the JV partner. What I mean by that is that you shouldn’t let them do to much work. You should create all the messages for them(so they can send it out to their list), create a couple of banners that they can put up on their websites, text links, etc.

Now, I have shown you the basics of setting up a JV. Marc Goldmann knows a lot more about how-to set-up Joint Ventures, effectively. So if you ware truly interested, I highly recommend you to do a search on him on Google.

I want to stop by giving you step by step directions you can follow when you set-up your Joint Ventures:

#1: Have a product to sell. You need to make sure you have some kind of product your could sell before you can set-up a JV. And this doesn’t have to be your own product, just think outside the box or check out this website for more information about Joint Ventures.

#2: Set-up you website. When you set-up a JV for your own product, you need a website to promote that product. So you will need to buy hosting and a domain name. I personally get my domains at Godaddy and my hosting at Hostgator.

#3: Find JV partners. This is a very time-consuming task but very rewarding in the end. All you should do is look for websites in your niche and ask them if they want to be your JV partner. Try to call them if possible and otherwise send them a email about your affiliate program(how much they can make, other advantages for them).

#4: Set-up and prepare for launch. If you want to learn more about how to set-up a launch, you should take a look at this website. He knows everything about launches and can most surely help you set-up a launch in your own niche. I will just cover some basics.

What you need to do is make sure your follow ups are ready, that you start getting prospects before you launch and keep these prospects updated and interested about your product, Create a sense of urgency like your product is the best they can get in your niche. And it will make sure that your partners will make more money and the next time you launch something, they will be happy to help you out.

I hope this article has been useful and will help you set-up some explosive Joint Ventures in the future. Take action right now and good luck.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nicholas Kidd has been an internet marketer for over the past 3 years and is now the Affiliate Manager for Affiliate Cash Secrets and he is paying an unheared of 75% commission on every member you refer, every single month for life. For more information and free subscription to his newsletter(value $197 a year), please click here: http://www.superaffiliatemarketingsecrets.com

Nicholas Kidd has been an internet marketer for over the past 3 years and is now the Affiliate Manager for Affiliate Cash Secrets and he is paying an unheared of 75% commission on every member you refer, every single month for life. For more information and free subscription to his newsletter(value $197 a year), please click here: www.superaffiliatemarketingsecrets.com

Copyright 2006 The IWE, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the BIG… Buzz around the Internet these days because of its Powerful ability to syndicate content Effortlessly and Instantly across the Internet to any website and/or subscriber who subscribed to that particular RSS Feed with a 100% GUARANTEED delivery.

What other technology online can guarantee you that?

Email? I don’t think so.

RSS is it… Period!

And the crazy thing is, everybody who publishes content on their website on a regular basis is quickly adapting because of the many benefits RSS offers because lets face it, updating content manually on any given website is a very time consuming task, especially when you have to do it on a Day In and Day Out basis.

But, by having an RSS enabled website, not only do you get high quality content INSTANTLY delivered, you can now give your audience more content with less work on your part leaving you more time to focus on other important tasks you might have sitting on the back burner when you have time.

This is the main benefit RSS Syndication gives the website owner and/or valued subscriber.

Now that you have some idea of how RSS can simplify updating content on any given website, what does this have to do with Article Marketing and how does it benefit the content publisher who writes the articles?

Well… lets talk about it.

We all know that content is the life blood of the Internet and is why most people come online… right?

We also know that RSS syndicates content to whatever website that is RSS enabled and/or subscriber who uses an RSS aggregator.

The BIG question that’s probably floating around in your head is… how do Article Publishers who write the articles benefit from RSS Syndication?

The answer is simple really.

Ever heard the phrase… “The Internet Is Nothing More Then A Numbers Game”?

If not, now you have and that is exactly what RSS Syndication will do for anybody who does or is just starting out can expect to benefit from by joining the Article Marketing game.

Let’s talk about this a little more so it’s clear in your mind.

Let’s say you write your first article and your manage to locate, lets say… 20 Article Directories that offer FREE Article Submissions and offer RSS Feeds to website owners and to the general public to use.

And lets say that those 20 Article Directories collected all their RSS Feeds and submitted them to all the TOP RSS Directories on the web so that website owners and/or people with RSS Aggregators can locate those RSS Feeds so they can subscribe to them.

You with me so far?

Now, you go and submit your article to all 20 Article Directories and wait for their reply to see if your article got accepted.

You check your Inbox and find that all 20 article directories accepted your article into their database and would be syndicating it within the next 24 hours.

Notice I said the word “syndicating”. That’s because once your article is approved by that article directory and because these article directories use RSS technology to syndicate NEW content to whoever is subscribed, guess what happens to your article?

It gets syndicated to whoever is subscribed to that RSS Feed. So if you submitted to all 20 article directories under whatever category, and there were 200 subscribers per article directory subscribed to that RSS Feed, guess how many potential customers you will possibly come in contact with through your articles Resource Box?

Lets do the math… how’s 4000 potential subscribers, which means you have a potential of receiving 4000 potential visitors to your website of choice… Absolutely FREE!

That’s the power of RSS Syndication and is WHY article marketing is becoming one of the #1 ways to promote ANY website online.

I wrote this article just as a quick example of what RSS Technology can do for anyone using it on their websites and for those who use articles as part of their website promotion strategy so you can see how RSS will get your articles more exposure with NO extra work on your part.

I truly hope you see the benefits I outlined within this article and hope you take the neccessary steps to getting started with writing your own articles, if your not already, so you too can benefit from RSS Syndication like everyone else.

So… with that said, what are you waiting for?

Cory Threlfall is the owner of a NEW article directory that offers FREE Article Submissions and RSS Syndication called “The Article Syndicate” and welcomes all Article Publishers to come and register for FREE so they can get FREE Publicity via e-Zines, Search Engines, RSS Syndication, Blogs and The Article Syndicate. Go NOW and Register ==> www.thearticlesyndicate.com

I’m going to tell you a story about a man that flunked out of school at the age of 16. It was so bad at school that the only A’s he got were in physical education. When he was in junior high he never did any work in English because he hated it so much. Of course, if you don’t have good English, your reading suffers too.

He didn’t like school at all. He would hook out of school and go to work; he was only 13 years old (he looked a lot older). He went to summer school every year just to get through junior high. I think they just pushed him through because he doesn’t remember doing anything but showing up.

Why am I telling you this? Because the same man that flunked English every year and quit school at the age of 16 is a successful Internet marketer. And guess what he does. He helps people to discover multiple ways to quickly create content for websites, articles, autoresponders and any other type of content. And you’re right - it’s me.

One day my best friend Lori, who is also my partner, was talking about starting a home business. We both like to travel and we wanted our business to be portable. We came up with this idea of working on the Internet. We picked a guru program and put everything in it that we could.

In the program, there was a lot of reading and writing. I had cold feet right from the start. Lori knew that I had problems with reading and writing. My writing was so bad that when I used spell-check I could swear the computer was smoking and I was dreading it. Me. Of all people.

But Lori saw something in me and figured a way around it. She had me first start just doing some research on keywords. I wasn’t too bad just checking out some single words or phrases. After I did that for awhile then she said that our websites needed to be blogged. What the heck is a blog? Did I tell you that the only thing I knew about a computer was how to fly my flight simulator? Not even how to write or send an e-mail. When she mentioned writing a blog, I didn’t know what to think. She told me that she would show me how to write just a few lines.

I’d write a few lines about our different web sites. Every time I wrote a blog I would have to ask her to make sure everything was spelled okay. All day long I would do research on keywords and I would try to write blogs. Lori would read them and correct my spelling.

Then one day Lori said I should write an article about something that I have a passion about. She said, don’t worry about the spelling; just write down what you know. I started doing what she asked. I had no idea where she was going with this. When your spelling is not good, your typing is even worse. I think my top speed was about six words a minute. It took me awhile to put things down. But I did what she asked and didn’t think about it anymore.

One night Lori said, Jeff come here I want to show you something. You are now a published author. I said there is no way that I could be a published author. Lori edited my so-called articles and submitted them. See you can write, she says. My response was, you must have rewrote the whole article and just put my name on it. When I read it, it was my words but spelled right.

I could not believe what she did. It opened my eyes and made me realize that I can write articles and even e-books. My point to all this is, if a high school dropout that flunked out of English every year can write articles and e-books so can you.

Lori Steffen and Jeff Wark have developed a successful internet business by utilizing multiple methods of content creation. Visit their website www.QuickContentSecrets.com for additional information.

Salehoo: Wholesale Products For Sales
One thing that you want is another scam that is just going to run with your money. Salehoo is able to offer the largest database on all sorts of places for your to get what you need for your business, and find it fast. There is no risk of a fake or a scam. One of the best things that I like is that there are reviews from other members on the suppliers. So, if the supplier has a bad reputation, you will know about it. You will also have a message board that you can post questions and get great answers. I love the ease and confidence that I have when using Salehoo. Salehoo is a directory that has a massive list of quality suppliers including drop shippers wholesalers and importers.

Getting caught out by scammers is a common stumbling block for people new to wholesale Retailers including eBay sellers flea market vendors and dollar store owners all have one need in common. The Salehoo members have the privilege of accessing the product sourcing directory which lists the suppliers along with the product they are offering

Salehoo High Fashion Wholesale Clothing:
One of the myths that are still prevailing in the wholesale business is the business license and tax I.D need in order to achieve wholesale success. It is a big mistake to get such an opinion as a fact and then making such message viral all across the Internet.

Salehoo also had a money back guarantee so I thought this time I’d give it a go. With SaleHoo you can rest assured that you have contacted the best genuine wholesalers and distributors. See Salehoo Reviews.