Join over 38,000 friends and followers on Twitter

banner >

How To Design Your Work Space

First, you must determine how much space you need.

Chances are what you may initially think is quite large may be crowed or not enough space.



While many businesses are started from a corner of the bedroom or kitchen, if the space is available it would be far better idea to take a spare area of the house and convert it  it into your office.






There may be space in the basement, garage, or a spare bedroom.

Having a separate space is more efficient and will make for maximum efficiency. It is also psychologically important.

You do not want home activities to interfere with your business, or vice versa.

Friends and family will need to be told politely firmly that business hours mean business and dropping in, or calling to chit chat is not acceptable.

Psychologists suggest that you work "from" home not just in your home.

There is a danger of becoming isolated.

Inasmuch as time allows, participate in seminars and local business activities and organizations.

Financial Planning

It is said and also my own personal experience that owners of new businesses never have enough time or money.

The majority of small businesses which do not succeed will fail because they are not properly financed.

Do your financial planning carefully review all required start-up expenses as well as on-going expenses before revenue will be generated.

Estimate your profit margins and all fixed and controlled expenses.

 Almost all entrepreneurs will tend to be much more optimistic about their estimate of the financial performance of a business taken what is necessarily realistic.

There are always unforeseen expenses.

It is a good idea to only invest in absolutely necessary expenses.

This applies to furnishings, supplies and all equipment.

Computer equipment in recent years has become outdated within a short period of time.

So, if what you acquire will serve you well for 2-3 years will be able to upgrade your equipment later on.

Your emphasis should be on conserving capital. As your business develops, unexpected hurdles will come along and periods of low revenue.

Your capital will make it possible to keep your business operating during these times.

Have a wonderful day.

5 Effective And Better Ways To Get Traffic And Build A List

1. Add a simple pop-up script like Add this to your website
If you're not using a squeeze page, then a pop -up ad with your opt-in form in it is the next best thing.
Some people believe that pop-up ads have fallen out of fashion. 
 
In fact, many browsers come pre-loaded to block certain categories of pop-ups, so many believe that pop-up ads can no longer be effective.
However, this belief couldn’t be less true. Many sites are using variations on popup ads (hover-over or fly-ins) that aren’t typically blocked and can do an excellent job of generating subscriptions. 
 
There are several free pop-up scripts that you can use with any type of website (static HTML, Blogger, PHP, Wordpress etc). Just Google "free pop-up script" or "unblockable popups" and see the results. On a slightly different tangent, there is the "exit pop up". 
 
This is good to use on any type of website including squeeze pages and especially sales pages. It will show a pop-up ad to your visitors when they try to leave your site. The best way to use this is to direct them to a squeeze page before they leave your site forever. 
 
There are many on the market, but by far the best one I have seen is the Exit Splash script. It is used by hundreds of internet marketers because it is unblockable, it's easy to use and it works like magic to save the traffic and turn them into subscribers.

2. Improve your email subject lines
It is easy to spend all your time searching out more subscribers and paying more for new traffic, rather than focusing on existing subscribers. 
 
Writing better email subject lines will draw more views, re-energize existing list members, and generate more clicks on links to offers and other pages you want to share. I suggest using one or more of the following tricks to improve your email headers:
 
i. Personalize the subject line. Use special tags that your autoresponder gives you to automatically insert your readers' names into the email header.

Some autoresponder systems have a handful of these special tags that you can use for personalization. Tests have shown that personalized subject lines with the reader's name gets 3 times more opens than without the name.

ii. Avoid spam filter trigger words. Email's worst enemy is the spam filter and using some words can trigger the filter and trap your emails. Avoid using words like “free” and “$$$” and “guarantee”.
These may work well as psychological triggers in sales letters, but when it comes to email headers, you should use them more carefully. Here is a big list of words that you should avoid to stay out of the spam box.

iii. Split test different subject lines. If you are running a new campaign or setting up a follow-up sequence, you should test subject lines to see which one gets the better response. The body of the email can stay the same or not, it's up to you. Again, there are services that allows you to set up split testing with your email marketing.

In general, finding ways to boost your email opening rate will tend to help you retain and re-activate subscribers and turn them into customers. This will mean that you can generate more profits with the subscribers you already have, rather than aggressively promoting your website, only to ultimately lose those subscribers to an ineffective system for subscriber retention.

3. Retain your subscribers
As mentioned previously, subscriber retention is a critical component of generating and maintaining a strong list. When thinking about your list, remember it's easier to keep subscribers than to generate new ones. That is, think about the difference between your losses and gains. 
 
If you can simply retain an additional 20 subscribers per week, that is no different than gaining at least 20 subscribers a week.

So, when designing your follow-up series and promotions, keep this in mind. Think not only about generating more traffic, but about retaining your existing subscribers. 
 
Give them incentives to stick with you, be engaged, and to promote your list to others when given the chance. In short, concentrate just as much effort on retaining and energizing subscribers as you do finding new ones.

4. Use viral ebooks
Viral ebooks is one of my favorite methods of generating free subscribers. You can turn any ebook or report you have already or are planning to write into a viral traffic and list building machine easily. There are several ways in which you can do this, but I personally suggest the following approach:

i. You'll need an ebook or report on a popular subject in your niche. 
 It needs to be good enough that people will want to read all the way through it. You can write it yourself or hire a ghostwriter to do it for you. You may also want to design an e-cover for it.
 
ii. You can find a writer and a graphic designer on http://www.elance.com or on http://fiverr.com.
Contract them to complete the book for you, according to the outline you’ve designed. Work with both the writer and graphic designer to ensure that the project turns out according to plan.

iii. Insert links throughout the ebook that go to recommended resources (affiliate links) and related web pages, but most importantly, point to your sign up page.

Don’t add so many links to the book, but instead enhances it. Additionally, include links to free products on your site that are related to the material, so that you can send people to more locations where they are likely to subscribe to your list.

iv. State in the early stages of the book that the reader has "free giveaway rights" to your ebook.
This will ensure that it can potentially circulate all over the web. You can also consider giving people the right to resell it, which will give him or her an even stronger incentive to circulate the book but f or a bigger spread, free giveaway rights will work better .

v. Contact other list owners and offer them to share your viral ebook. Allow them to give it away to their respective lists for free. In many cases, these list owners will be hungry for free content. 
 
And, if it is good, they will snap it up and give it to their subscribers. That is the basis of creating viral ebooks. However, to make a viral ebook really take off, you should make it rebrandable also! This will let your readers rebrand the links inside the ebook with their own affiliate links and links to their website. 
 
This will give them more incentive to share the ebook because they have the chance of building their list too and making money through the recommendations throughout the ebook. use the Easy Viral PDF Brander script and experience some amazing success. 
 
It's one of the easiest scripts to use and it's dead-easy f or your readers to use it. No complex or annoying software for them to install. They can do all the rebranding online. 
 
If you're going to use rebrandable ebooks, then Easy Viral PDF Brander is the one to use. In short, your goal should be to create a high quality ebook, to incorporate links to your squeeze pages and other recommendations throughout the ebook, and to let people rebrand it (but leave links to your squeeze page in there) then let them circulate that ebook to the widest audience possible.

The more people see and pass on the ebook, the better f or all involved. If your venture is successful, it will pay off for years to come in terms of new subscribers and sales.

5. Podcasting
Podcasting is a great way to reach a different area of your niche on the web and share your knowledge and tips with them at the same time. You don't always have to stick with writing reports and ebooks to build your list. Many list owners have found success in integrating their newsletter into their website. 
 
That is they simply use the newsletter to update their blog or website or notify subscribers that they have added a new issue to the website.
 
But using don’t have to stick to text all the time. Instead, you can record an audio(podcast) and share it on your blog or website to draw traffic and get people to subscribe to your list. For one, audio recordings have a higher perceived value over written ebooks. 
 
It takes a while to get comfortable talking to an audience but once you do, you can start interviewing important people in the industry; and you can then incorporate them into your newsletter and vice versa (make some JV deals).
 
To get a really wide scope on your audience, you can upload your podcast to several podcast directories such as http://www.podomatic.com/login or submitting to Apple itunes podcast section.
 
Not only will this generate traffic directly to your site, it can also work as a viral tool if you provide good and interesting content and encouraging word of mouth advertising. You can use archived audio interviews as content to convert visitors into subscribers. Have a wonderful day.

5 Tips To Better Links Building

I assume you may have better and many other things to do, so my link building advice is very simple:

 In the early days, Alot of Google rankings were almost entirely based on your “link popularity”, and a link from Yahoo was the most coveted commodity in website promotion.


 Even today, the major value of listing in other search engines and recognized old websites buys you some credibility on Google.
 
Some people even devote most of their time online to getting links.

So here are some tips below.


1) If you come across a website that you think would be useful to your visitors, add a link to them.

I have a links of interest page, where I do this. You are making the web more useful to your visitors, and the good karma can't hurt.

2) If you really, honestly think that the site you just linked to would similarly be improved if it had a link to your site, then email the site owner and suggest it.

 Tell him that you have linked to his site, and that regardless of what he decides, you will continue to do so, because you think his site is useful.

The cute thing here is that by explicitly saying this, he'll give your request extra consideration.

3) If you happen to find a site that would be improved by a link to your site, even though a reciprocal link would not be appropriate, email and suggest it.

4) Make all your emails personal, and make sure they demonstrate that you've clearly spent time on their site.

5) The key to successful link building is always, above all, put other people's interests (your users, and the other site owners) above your own.

That helps ensure you get good links (and bad links are worse than no links!)

Have a nice day.

3 Important Factors That Determine Business Success

1. Do Your Home work
The more you know about your business, the better your chances of success. Attend seminars and join trade associations.
Read books and trade publications. If you do not have a business background a business introductory class at a local college would be advisable.
2.  Planning is Key to Your Success
You and your family's future and livelihood is at stake. So your decision and planning to start a business are very serious matter. Establish a long range plan which encompasses your business and financial plans. You should obtain legal or financial advice from an attorney or accountant before committing to nay long range or major financial transactions. Agreements with suppliers or customers should be put into writing.
3. You Must Wear Many Hats
Small business owners over time can become experts on a variety of subjects. At the start the most important aspect is the mind-set. Your communication to the rest of the world through all available means will determine your success. 
Here is an abbreviated marketing check list:

Telephone.

Promotional Materials.

Advertising.

Direct Mail.

Membership in Organizations.

Direct Sales.

Invest in Good Equipment.
The right equipment will make your work easier and your business more efficient. To conserve cash used equipment should also be considered. So What Are Your Chances, The better you think they are the better they generally are, and don't forget that among thousands of others: Apple Computer, Domino's Pizza, and Walt Disney all started as home-based businesses.

Resources/Associations
There is a great deal of expert advice and resource material available to you. Much of it is free of charge. A variety of literature is available, both excellent books on all business subjects and various magazines.Your local Chamber of Commerce often sponsors classes. Banks can give you advice, or can be used as a sounding board. Local schools offer a variety of classes of interest to business owners. Don't forget the Public Library. Last, but not least, don't forget the Government.
SBA (small Business Administration) offers a range of services such as loans, financial consulting, computer and technical consulting services and a variety of publications.

Check your local telephone pages.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) The BBB can be an important ally in checking on potential suppliers and other businesses. Check for telephone listing in the city where the company you are checking on is located. Have a wonderful day.

10 Sure Ways To Build Subscribers Email List

1. Add a picture to your landing page
One way in which you can increase the number of subscriptions you get is to increase your conversion rate. And an old trick for doing this is to make your landing page more personal. For starters, add an image of your signature. And furthermore, you will want to consider including a picture of yourself on the page somewhere.
Just little things to improve the conversion rate can see you receiving twice as many subscribers with the same traffic.

2. Split test landing pages
Another important part of generating subscribers is testing your existing system. If your existing system does a poor job of converting, then it needs to be improved. You can do this by a process call “split testing.” This involves sending identical traffic streams (perhaps generated by Google Adwords, Bidvertizer or facebook ads) to different landing pages. Things to test are headlines, length of page, introduction, call to action, opt-in button text, p.s., images (with and without) , colors, etc.You can then test which landing page generates a higher conversion rate; and can adopt that exclusively for future use.
3. Create a squeeze page
If you don’t already have one, it is critical that you build a squeeze page, which is specifically used to capture email addresses for your list. A squeeze page is a short 'pitch' page with very short copy--or, more than likely, a headline with just a few bullet points. After the copy, include your signature and a box for visitors to enter a name and email address. Keep distractions minimal; and attempt to build the strongest pull for your newsletter using the fewest words. The best way to get a nice looking squeeze page is to use a template. There are free squeeze pages available as well as rebrandable ebooks to give away. Of course, just having a squeeze page doesn’t mean anyone will see it. You have to get traffic to it and the excellent Easy Squeeze Page Traffic will help you overcome that particular hurdle.

4. Use Google AdWords to generate traffic
As mentioned earlier, one good way to generate prospects for your list is to advertise using Google AdWords. If you’re not familiar with AdWords, it is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising medium. That is, you create a text ad, select relevant keywords for it, and then pay only when someone clicks on your ad. In general, it is considered to be better targeted and more cost-effective than other sources of paid traffic generation. With this said, using Google AdWords can be expensive. If you're a beginner, you might want to study it very hard or hire an expert to manage your campaigns for you.  It's effective when you make an ROI (return on investment) so it calls for a fair bit of split testing of ads and landing pages, and revising campaigns .

5. Give Away Free ebooks

Often, getting people to join a list is as simple as providing them with the right incentives. If you simply tell people to join the list because the email content will be good, they won’t know whether or not to trust you and usually, they don't want to wait to get your emails. However, if you provide them with a free ebook that they get right after signing-up, they’ll be much more likely to join. Now, you might think “Won’t they just cancel their subscriptions after joining?” And, in reality, some of them well. Your focus should be to draw people in, expose them to your content, and then attempt to convert them by impressing them with your information. But first, you need a good incentive to get them to join your list when they first come into contact with your website.

6. Free reports

Similar to giving away free ebooks, give away free downloadable reports. These are often shorter than ebooks and provide a more specific explanation on a topic. I personally suggest targeting a specific theme or creating a “how-to” report on a timely topic. Just like ebooks, you can create a simple report in Microsoft Word or Open Office and convert it to a PDF file. Upload it to your website and link to it from your download page. Get the subscriber to opt-in at the squeeze page and then re-direct them to the thank you page after they sign up or confirm their email address. I prefer the latter method. When you join Squeeze Kits Automated List Profits you get free reports each month as the part of your membership content.

7. Add content to your site
When it comes to generating subscriptions, one of the most important things you can do is to put your subscription form in places that receive traffic. e.g. your website or blog.
The more content you add to your site or blog, the more readers will come and will want to learn more (if the content is good) so they will join your list. To get content, you can write it yourself, or you could hire a writer from http://www.elance.com to produce several articles based around relevant keywords/topics for your site. You could then add those articles to your site with a subscription form either in the margins, in the middle of the content, or in a popover box. The more articles you ad, the more traffic you will generate, and the more opportunities you will have to generate subscriptions.

8. Keep customer information private
One thing that visitors dread is that you will resell their name and email to a third party; or will use it to spam. This is why it is important that you include a note below your opt-in form that explains that you will never sell subscriber information and you will never spam people who join your list. This should help to increase your conversion rates and lower unsubscribe rates.

9. Reward subscribers unexpectedly
While getting more subscribers from external sources is an important part of keeping your list active and growing, energizing your existing members and giving them a reason to promote and share your website will help you build your list with little effort. One way in which you can do internal promotion is to reward your subscribers unexpectedly with a free ebook, informative article or special video. When they receive some product or service that they weren’t expecting to get, they will be pleasantly surprised and will be happy to share it. You can also suggest they share your newsletter sign up page or re-publish your article or video. This can potentially becomes free viral promotion for your list. It also keeps your list active and unsubscribe rates down.

10. Promote high-value products and services
In many cases, the most important thing you can do as a business owner is to provide and promote high-value products and services. That is, whenever you sell your own products in your newsletter or whenever you refer people to affiliate products (or Joint Venture partners’ products), make sure they are good and offer value.  If you gain a reputation f or promoting every new product about "how to make money" -not caring whether or not it's even a good product—you’ll quickly lose rapport with your list; and, as a result, you can expect them to stop reading your emails and making additional purchases. Ultimately, they will unsubscribe. It may be hard to do all, so start with just one and see what results it brings you. All The Best, have a wonderful day.