Is it possible to make money from an online business?

In response to that question, a reader submitted this response. I’d be interested in your comments.

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For anyone that watches late night television and infomercials it is not news that there are many business opportunities on the internet. There are advertisements in print media, television and a few months ago I heard a commercial on the radio. With all the hype about home based and internet based business opportunities I decided that I would look into it to see if I could supplement our income.

There are many sites that make huge claims about making money online. In my research I found that some of them are complete scams and others are complicated business ventures. I did come up with a few pitfalls and tools that I used in sorting out the opportunities. It is very easy to get caught up in spending money to obtain information. That is the first pitfall that I fell into. When looking into making money online do not pay for information about the opportunity.

We have all come across the sites that claim that you can make thousands of dollars a week spending a few minutes a day whenever you want to. Most of these sites call themselves data entry opportunities. They tell you that if you can type an email you can do the job and make thousands of dollars a week. The information that is not shared prior to buying into the company is that you need to spend a great deal of money posting the advertisements that you type up.

I paid to learn more about the data entry positions. In the hype portion I was told that all I needed to do was to fill out forms and post them on the internet. I was not told that I first had to pay to get the forms and then had to pay to post them. I also had to research which company had the greatest potential of helping me recoup my money as well as make a profit. It was a very complicated and misleading experience. The next pitfall that I fell into in trying to make money online was the completion of surveys.

This is the biggest rip off that there is on the internet. For one thing you can join companies to get mailed the surveys without going through a third party. The third party has you pay money then they simply give you the websites of the survey companies. I ended up spending money joining music and make up clubs as well as ordering magazines.

There was one survey that I took that I was paid $1.50 for taking. The third party company stated that you could make hundreds of dollars a week spending fifteen to twenty hours. This was not a sure bet in making money online for me. The person that was making money online in this case was the one that found the survey takers for the companies, who in turn bought from the companies.

Making money online is possible, but it is not a get rich quick scheme and the old saying “if it sounds too good to be true it probably isn’t” definitely applies.

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Well - what do you think?

When people ask how they can succeed with an online business, they usually want to know why it feels as if some people are making a million dollars overnight while others are struggling to see their very first dollar.

Success is not instantaneous for anyone. Even the most thriving business owners knew how to succeed with online business before they started out – by having a plan in place to take them from novice to seasoned professional in the shortest amount of time.

The first thing you want to do when discovering how to succeed with an online business is some preliminary research and investigation into your niche. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling items on eBay or writing information products for instant download. You have to know what the needs of your target audience are so that you can cater to them and reap the financial rewards.

Once you know how to reach out and grab the attention of your market, you want to create a product or sell items that make them develop a loyalty to your brand. If you really want to know how to succeed with an online business, the key is in creating an empire of insatiable customers hungry for whatever it is your business produces.

This takes lots of determination because many people give up or get sidetracked with new ideas. This is certainly not how to succeed with an online business. You have to follow through with a single idea, monetize it, and then move on to your next profitable endeavor.

If your business is online, then you’ll probably be pursing life as an Internet marketer. Even if you’re selling items on eBay, you still want to drive large quantities of targeted traffic to your offer. Traffic is the primary concern you’ll have when seeking methods on how to succeed with an online business.

When you have visitors coming to your page or site, you want to test and tweak your offer until it performs at its very best. If you have headlines or free offers, then switch them out so that half of your visitors see the original and the other half see your new offer.

This is one secret on how to succeed with online businesses that many marketers don’t want you to know because if you continue promoting a single idea, your business won’t grow, but will grow stagnant instead. As your company’s profits begin to take root, you want to continue discovering how to succeed with an online business because there are always new opportunities and techniques you can try.

Expand your empire and saturate the market with you positioned as the resident expert before moving on to monetize a new niche.

There’s no doubt that writing articles can help in building your online profile, back links and traffic. It seems to me though as an Article Directory site owner that many authors are being very short sighted when it comes to the resource box at the foot of the article, and for a couple of very solid reasons.

Every day I see Resource Boxes with something like the following:-

NOTE: html code is used with spaces inserted so it is fully visible but inoperative.

Fred Bloggs is a top internet marketer and can show you how to make a fortune with his methods. Visit his web site at Make Your Million Here

Now what’s wrong with this you might ask. Well, it may well get into Article Directories, but the author is ignoring a very valuable second opportunity for publication - and one that is exponential.

That second source is the publication market. Part of the Terms of Service of most Article Directories permits the publication of your articles in ezines and on other web sites providing that they are published in full. Now “in full” means adding that very important Resource Box. I would suggest to you that an article with a resource box like that is going to have little chance of being picked up for further publication.

The example above has an embedded URL link which will not appear in an ezine or text based email because the html will not be picked up. Remember, the deal for publishers is to publish the article intact but that doesn’t mean adding the html code to keep the link working. In fact to do so would technically breach the Terms of Service because they would be altering the article.

I would suggest that a better way of doing your resource box is along these lines:-

Fred Bloggs is a proud contributing author and writes articles on several subjects including internet marketing. You can see more of Fred’s articles on his web site at Use High Quality Descriptive Keywords Here Site located at http://www.somesite.com

Or perhaps:-

Fred Bloggs is a proud contributing author and writes articles on several subjects including internet marketing. You can obtain Fred’s free comprehensive Ebook on Internet Marketing at Use High Quality Descriptive Keywords Here Site located at http://www.somesite.com

The first example at the beginning of this article does the “hard sell” on the reader. An article is all about “soft sell”. Going the “hard sell” in the Resource Box simply undoes all the good you have done in the body of the article itself. You may just have destroyed all the credibility and trust you have built up with the article. You need to “balance” your article and your Resource Box.

In the examples I have suggested for a Resource Box, they don’t try and “sell” anything. They are simply “inviting” people to visit a link and this is exactly the action you want.

Write an article a day the easy wayWhen you insert your URL using html, make sure you use high quality descriptive keywords because that is what is picked up by the search engines to describe your link. The full separate URL address, including the prefix of http:// in addition to the embedded link, keeps the URL intact in the event of publication in an email or ezine.

Not the last, but probably the most important thing. When you have completed your article and Resource Box, email it to yourself in html format. That way you can be sure that all your hard work will pay off when you can see that the links are all working properly in the Resource Box area. You wouldn’t believe the number of Resource Boxes I see where people have forgotten the ending inverted commas on an embedded link. Send it in text format too so that you can ensure that the links are still displaying in this format. Remember, once it is published online, you can’t get it back that easily.

Make your Resource Box work for you. In can bring you thousands of visitors if done properly, but you can be losing thousands if you write it poorly.

Ric Raftis is a keen author who writes on a variety of subjects and is the owner of the article directory Articles on Tap at http://www.articlesontap.ws

Article Source: No Bull Internet Marketing http://www.no-bull.net

Did you know that blogging is now really big.

This is what Technorati.com had to say about blogging:

-The Blogosphere is now 70 million weblogs(blog) worldwide
- About 120,000 new weblogs are created each day
- 1.5 million posts per day
- 1.4 new blogs are created every second
- 17 post are made every second
- It took 320 days only to grow from 35 to 75 million blogs.

That means that you have to be involved - but how is the real question.

Bloggers will discuss methods, software, platforms, niches and on and on.

A simple and effective way is to use wordpress as the platform and then learn how to use it properly in your environment.

If you are in Malaysia or are able and willing to get there - And if you are looking for a good step by step workshop on how to maximise wordpress then take a careful look at the Adsense Blogging Seminar

You’ll be shown how to :

• Set up your blog
• Find the appropriate theme for your blog so that it looks great
• How to find and use the plug-ins to make managing your wordpress blog simple
• How to draw traffic to your blog
• How to post content including video and music to your blog
• Where to get revenue generating options for your blog

The past students speak highly of the seminar content and the program is surprisingly well priced.

Get on over to the Adsense Blogging Seminar and check it out for yourself.

I know this is a Malaysian event but for many of you that’s not too far from home and also a really cool place to take a working vacation.

It’s important to remember that this is a $37 purchase - although I see in a mail I just got that the publishers are going to increase the price on Monday……..

First of all - if $37 is all you have as a budget don’t spend it here.

This is not a system that you can follow and generate cash from immediately. But if Direct marketing is an interest of yours and you are looking to expand your knowledge on the subject then this is an entertaining read and listen. It’s full of anecdotes and stories and exposes quite a lot about the personality and character of Mr James.

The whole marketing approach of the 12 Month Millionaire is itself a study of marketing and worth exposing yourself to. That’s maybe worth the $37 on it’s own. In fact it really reminds me of the book published by Joe Karbo “The lazy Man’s Way To Riches” - the first direct mail book I ever bought. ( And still available at Amazon for $30)

I would say that Mr Karbo and Mr James may have had a lot in common from a marketing perspective.
I do think that you need to have a marketing machine in place already to take advantage of some of the stuff you’ll hear and read.

It seems to have hit a cord with marketers because by my last information about 4000 copies have already been sold.

Are you also being flooded with emails about the new miracle cure to internet marketing failure - 12 Month Millionaire. I’ve had half a dozen messages about it already today and I’m still on early morning coffee.

So - ok - I bought it. Well I’m also curious. If it’s a blow off then I’ve burned 37 bucks but what if it’s doable? Never mind the millions. Would an extra $100 000 a year make an impact in your life? It certainly would in mine.
Anyway - I can afford - and so can you - to lose the $37 but I can’t afford to walk past something that may be worth serious money.

The sales pitch is convincing and there are some good examples of follow up and backend selling that you should look at for your own education but I can’t tell you anymore than that right now.

I’m going to go through the material today and will probably post back here tomorrow on my thoughts.

If you are curious - and I can’t figure out how you couldn’t be - click on the banner on your right or the one below and take a look.

According to some experts PPC search engine advertising is by far the most affordable form of advertising available. They say that PPC search engine advertising is a flourishing business that by 2008 is expected to reach $ 8 billion. I’m not sure how that means it’s going to be cheap.
They go on to say that PPC search engine advertising is about producing leads. Creating leads will help potential buyers find the specific website that will provide them with the product or service they need.

However, PPC search engine advertising does not end there. It is important to understand that although PPC search engine advertising generates leads, it is also important for users to find relevant information at the website they are directed to. Information is a valuable asset in PPC search engine advertising that is often left unchecked by many websites. Keep in mind that users are more likely to purchase products or services from a company that provided them with the necessary information they needed in the first place.

Qualified traffic with PPC search engine advertising

One of the benefits of PPC search engine advertising is that it provides qualified traffic to a specific website. Users that click on a PPC ad are those in search of a particular product or service. This helps eliminate unnecessary clicks from non-prospective buyers that only produce expenditures not profits. PPC search engine advertising is also the fastest way to get a reasonable return on investment.

A bidding process is used to establish the price of a specific keyword. In general, the budget for PPC search engine advertising may be a $100 to $100,000 depending on the number of keywords used. These prices can skyrocket in just minutes as more and more sites bid for the same keyword thus causing the prices to jack up.

PPC ads are placed alongside search engine results to which they are relevant. The highest bids for a specific keyword or phrase gets top billing on the search engine results page. Getting top placement provides greater odds for a PPC ad to get clicked by a qualified searcher.

Elements of PPC search engine advertising

PPC search engine advertising involves three basic elements; constant monitoring, response analysis and refinement as the essential factors involved in PPC search engine advertising. Proper management of PPC search engine advertising can result in big profits for a website.

PPC search engine advertising makes it possible for sites to monitor the productivity of each PPC ad they place. This gives a site the opportunity to turn off any PPC ad that is not performing at its best. PPC search engine advertising provides the most economical way for a site to advertise on the World Wide Web.

The cost entailed in PPC search engine advertising is dictated by the clicks made on a particular PPC ad. The number of clicks made on a PPC ad is subtracted from the initial amount paid by the business to a search engine company. To minimize cost and maximize return on investment, a business will have to regularly monitor its PPC search engine advertising campaign.

How to use PPC search engine advertising

Many businesses are unable to get the most out of their PPC search engine advertising campaign. PPC search engine advertising involves a lot more than just bidding on the highest keywords. Information is a main concern of many online users.

Providing online users with relevant information they need will help bring about a more long-term relationship with an online user that will more likely result in a sale.
Information provided to online users may be in the form of a newsletter or e-zine that online users would likely sign up for. Sign-ups may be enough to cover the expenses of a PPC search engine advertising campaign.

Sign-ups also help generate leads for websites as they build opt in list from qualified online searchers who clicked their PPC ad. Getting personal information from qualified online searchers can be done in a variety of ways such as offering freebies for surveys or signing up for newsletters.

PPC search engine advertising is a continuous process that requires hands on supervision and a thorough understanding of PPC search engines. Businesses may opt to hire the services of a professional or do PPC search engine advertising with in-house experts. Whatever course of action is selected, a business is sure to get a huge return on investment with PPC search engine advertising.

Reading RSS Feeds with an RSS Aggregator

RSS or Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary is the latest information management tool that is gradually earning popularity among web users and website owners. With RSS technology, it is possible to get the latest postings from your favorite websites. But clicking on the RSS or XML button in a homepage is not enough to give you the service you need. An RSS feed or code displayed in the pop-up screen if not on the main page is composed of symbols and words that would only make sense to advanced RSS users and computer programmers and software enthusiasts. Another software tool called an RSS aggregator or reader is needed.

An aggregator works by scanning the worldwide web with latest postings based on the RSS code (containing the website’s URL) provided or added by the user. When it finds a new posting, news, or update, it will publish the RSS feed on your home page containing the title of the posting, which also serves as a clickable link to the website source. This RSS feed may or may not contain the whole article, a summary, and photos, depending on what RSS aggregator you are using.

Aggregators come in two types: the downloadable program or desktop-type and the online or web-based type. The desktop aggregator usually charges a certain amount for its services; this would include regular updating in the form of upgrades or patches to the original version. This type of RSS reader allows more customization of RSS feeds as well as page format or design over its on-line counterparts. But of course, price can be a drawback.

On-line or web-based aggregators are free of charge. All you need to do is register an account with them then you can start enjoying their services. Depending on the “brand” of the aggregator, customization is more limited. Some even do not allow you to customize at all.

Product and service advertisers are realizing the potential of RSS aggregators in internet marketing. In fact, several submit RSS codes to several popular web-based aggregators to reach the growing technophile and internet-based market. My Yahoo has been instrumental in popularizing RSS technology to both users and website owners and advertisers.

At present, there are many aggregators to choose from and newer versions of the same aggregator are constantly developed by its programmers.

Below are some of these desktop and online aggregators:
Desktop Aggregators
1.    AmphetaDesk
Advantages:
-    free
-    supports Linux, Mac, and Windows
-    easy addition of RSS feeds

Disadvantages:
-    not maximized use of screen display
-    few options for customizing

2.    FeedDemon
Advantages:
-    user friendly
-    free trial version
-    contains prepared popular feeds
-    allows filtering of RSS feeds
-    configurable “watch list” to manage junk RSS feeds
-    search channel feature that incorporates other RSS services e.g. Feedster
-    allows feed storage for future use
-    tabbed browsers for channel navigation
-    built-in podcast receiver

Disadvantages:
-    supports only Internet Explorer (embedded)
-    paid software (`$29.95)

Online Aggregators
1.    Bloglines
Advantages:
-    all major browsers supported (e.g. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Firefox)
-    user-friendly especially for beginners
-    free, web-based aggregator
-    easy registration
-    no advertisements
-    contains its own directory of RSS feeds of thousands of websites
-    personal email account for subscribing to newsletter emails (optional)
-    allows privacy adjustments for personal blogs
-    allows saved searches
-    mobile version available
-    10 languages supported
-    Additional add-on tools for automated blogrolls and subscription buttons

2.    NewsGator
Advantages:
-    free (consumer-standard version)
-    provides personalized news channel
-    allows translation of RSS articles into email format
-    synchronization of feeds in several devices possible
-    browse and search feed capabilities save time on surfing
-    allows keyword filtering
-    blog headlines
-    button-click automatic subscription to news feeds

Disadvantage:
-    Outlook-based thus limited to Windows

3.    My Yahoo
Advantages:
-    Free web-based aggregator
-    user-friendly
-    customizable home page design
-    button-click subscription to RSS feeds
-    built-in directory and search tool for feeds
-    wide variety of feeds e.g. news (science, technology, local), weather
-    connects to all Yahoo features and services

Disadvantage
-    banner advertisements

There are also lightweight RSS aggregator extensions which are actually plug-ins to existing internet browsers. An example of which is Sage aggregator.

Advantages:
-    free of charge
-    beginner-friendly
-    reeds both RSS and Atom feeds
-    allows feed discovery
-    can be assimilated to Firefox bookmark (storage and live)
-    allows OPML feed lists imports and exports
-    customizable style sheets
-    supports a wide range of locales e.g. Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Slovenian, etc.
-    easy installation

Disadvantages:
-    good for about 12 RSS feeds
-    limited use to Mozilla-Firefox and Mozilla-Firefox supported browsers

RSS developers promise better features in future versions of their aggregators. Microsoft is planning to include a built-in aggregator in their next Windows version. These developments are definitely something to look forward to by all internet aficionados.

A blog is basically an online journal wherein you can digitally pen down your thoughts, ideas, opinions and practically anything that you want people to read. Blogs come in different styles, formats, and settings, depending on the preference of the user. Many blogging sites, offer built in features such as hyperlink, straight texts, pictures etc. Some blogging sites, even allow you to put video and mp3’s on your blogs.

Instead of writing texts, some bloggers choose to make their blogs more audio friendly, by using spoken word entries. This is called audio blogging.

Basically a blog contains these features:

title- which allows you to label your post
body- this is the content of your post
trackback- other sites can be linked back to your blog
permanent link- every article that you write has a URL
comments- this allow readers to post comments on your blog.

One of the advantages of blogging, is that it is made of only a few templates. Unlike, other websites that is made up of numerous individual pages. This make it easier for blog users to create new pages, because it already has a fix setting that include: slots for title, body of the post, category, etc.

This is especially useful for first time users, since they can start blogging right away. They can chose from a  number of templates that blogging websites provide.

Anyone who wants to start a blog can do so by becoming a member of a blogging website of their choice. Once they’ve become members, they automatically become a part of that particular blogging community. They can browse through other bloggers pages, and link them back to their own blogs. They can also make comments on other members’ blogs.

Blogging is not just limited to personal usage. There are a lot of blogs that follow a theme such as: sports, politics, philosophy, social commentary, etc. These blogs espouse on their specific themes. This way blogging becomes a medium in which people can share their knowledge and opinions about a variety of themes and topics.

Some bloggers even use their blogs as a means to advertise. Some authors advertise their books on their blogs. While other bloggers, use their blogs to shed light to currents issues, events, news and catastrophes.

Nowadays in education, blogs also play an important part. Professors use blogging to document the lessons that they have discussed and taught. This way, students who who have missed classes, can easily catch up with their assignments.

A lot of entrepreneurs benefit from blogging by promoting their businesses on their blogs, with millions and millions of people logging onto the net everyday, blogging has become a lucrative move. Some bloggers who run online businesses promote their merchandise online. While others profit through advertisement.

But by far, the most popular blog type is the one that takes the form of a personal journal. This is the kind that is usually used by first time bloggers. Individuals who want to document the daily struggle of their everyday lives, poems, rants, opinions, find that blogging offers them a medium in which to express themselves.

Bloggers usually communicate within themselves. This is one of the appeals of blogging. It creates a community of people sharing their ideas, thoughts, and comments with each other.

Blogs varying in topics, themes, and set-ups, can be found in blog directories. First time users who want to get an idea of what the blogging world is all about can browse through a number of blogs using these directories. This way they’d get an idea of what these blogging communities are like.

Blogging is popular all over the world. Blog is short for the term weblog. There are no rules when it comes to blogging. Bloggers have the freedom to express themselves how ever way they want, and the best thing about blogging, is that most blogging sites are free.

There are numerous blogging websites to choose from in the net. This give first time users the option of joining a blogging community that appeals to their interests.

Just search any blogging directory and you’d get a listing of a lot of blogging sites that are available on the net. It’s easy to search a blogging directory, because it is organized according to category. This way you would get exactly what you are after. Blogging is really for everyone. It is fun, simple and easy.