Features found while laptop computers shopping

Some of the features found while laptop computer shopping focus on size and portability. Other features that people consider beneficial is whether the laptop computer is thin enough to carry with them when they are traveling through airports. The lightweight features found in laptop computers are what made laptop computers popular to begin with, and business travelers really need this feature when they work away from the office.

Other features found while laptop computer shopping are pretty basic and to be expected, but people consider them anyway when buying a laptop computer. The number of cells in a battery will determine how long it will provide power to their laptop computer system, and they want the longest time they can get.

The most beneficial features found while laptop computer shopping are the extended warranties that are offered on laptop computers. These are insurances that will protect their investment, and people prefer this warranty feature to have a few years offered in the deal. Most laptop computers start out with a 90 day warranty but some feature offers of as much as 3 years.

Some of the fun features found while laptop computers shopping are high-end graphics and touch screens. These are luxurious features that many people feel are not necessary, but high-tech computer users love them. For a person that does video editing for a living, they pay particular attention to the video editing features that are built-in to some computer systems.

There are people that look at features found while laptop computer shopping, and think about all of the musical CDs they can copy, and how they can download music from the Internet, and transfer it to their cell phone. They look at the built-in compact disk burners and think of all the money they will save when they make copies of their own style of music that they can play in their car.

One of the most important features found while laptop computers shopping is the speed of the computer processing unit. Since this is the one piece of equipment that is not upgradeable on a laptop computer, the one that is purchased with the laptop computer model will have to suffice for the life of the product. This feature will also reduce the wear and tear on the core of the system and may extend the life cycle of the laptop computer, and affect the speed in which images appear on your laptop computer screen.

One of the features found while laptop computer shopping will determine how much memory you can upgrade some time down the road. People routinely ask what the upgrade capabilities are on a laptop computer before they ask what the operation system is that is installed on the computer system. When they ask about upgrade capabilities they are actually asking about a feature called the memory slots.

The connectivity features found while laptop computer shopping is very important for people that like to browse the Internet occasionally, and very important to those that telecommute for a living. A broadband internet connection plug-in is one way people to choose to connect to the Internet. A dial-up connection can be used, but another feature will be needed to do that, and that feature is the dial-up phone plug-in device.

High speed internet access

If you have accessed the internet through the old dial up system but want faster connection with a greater number of downloads then you need to look at high speed internet connections or broadband. You can choose from DSL, satellite and cable connections. Now days you can even get wireless connections in an increasing number of areas, a lot depends on your particular needs and where you are based. Broadband is among the most popular services and is usually available on cable modem and DSL. A broadband service provides you with a very high rate of data transmission which can save your business time and money. These connections work at a hundred times the speed of the old dial up which is why it is known as high speed internet.

If DSL or satellite connections are available in your area then there are various providers who will be able to provide you with a satellite connection. You can get DSL from certain phone providers such as AT&T and this is among the most popular ways that people access high speed internet connections. Cutting edge technology can now give you wireless high speed internet access where you can get connected when you are away from home or traveling. Some people complain that unless you are in a wireless hot spot it is not easy to get that connection – or the connection can be lost if you are traveling and move from an area where there is a hot spot to one where there isn’t. Dial up connections are trying to move with the times and keep up with the satellite and cable outfits by offering a high speed dial up connection.

Prices may vary widely between one provider and another the question that you should ask yourself is what type of service you are looking for. Is your service fast enough for example, for you to be able to download streaming music and videos. How fast is your email and how long does it take to download large attachments. A lot of people also want to know if there is a free phone line for faster connection to the web. High speed internet is on many people’s minds these days and some will change their internet service provider at regular intervals to see where they can get the fastest service and the most downloads for their money.

Whichever internet service provider you choose and whatever your needs are when it comes to gaining access to the world wide web; it is a matter of fact that a faster internet connection will cut down on your research time and eventually save you money. However, before you make your choice you should endeavor to find out about the various providers of high speed internet and what the benefits and the pitfalls are with each service. Whatever you decide, the rate at which it has proliferated over the last seven years means that high speed internet connections are here to stay.

Clear business communication 4 steps to success

Business owners know the bottom-line impact of business communication. It doesn’t matter if the communication is a memo to employees, a sales letter to prospects, or a thank you note to customers... A clear, quality message can build your business and the wrong message can demolish it.

Clear messages motivate employees, create positive change in the workplace, increase the possibility of getting a raise, and (most importantly) make a sale! The wrong message can mean lost opportunities, upset employees, and can even send your customer to the competition! Which type of message would you rather give?

Use these 4 steps to make sure that your communication improves your bottom line.

1. Know your audience. Ask yourself what is important to your audience? Make sure that every sentence resonates clearly with the message that you know what your audience wants and you can deliver it. For example: If you are writing to your boss and you’re asking for a raise, don’t complain about the rising cost of homes; your boss is concerned about the business’ bottom line. So instead, talk about how you are going to be more productive and improve the business’ bottom line because of your raise.

2. Know the action you want your audience to take. Often, our messages can be muddled if we are not clear in stating what we want. Don’t “beat around the bush”… make it obvious that you’d like to see a specific action occur as a result of what you’ve written. For example, if you are sending a memo to employees, don’t just write several paragraphs about the need to be on time in the morning. Your employees will think that your memo is right but won’t necessarily take action to correct their behavior. Instead, clearly point out the time you expect them to show up, the consequences for not showing up, and a specific action they can take to indicate that they have arrived on time.

3. Make your communication easy to read. At the beginning of your communication write what you are going to cover. Then cover the topics in the order you stated at the beginning. Then review the topic quickly at the end. If appropriate, put a space between each paragraph and break up lists into bullets. Repeat your point clearly in the first and last paragraph. Avoid unnecessary words.

4. Proofread your work! Nothing reduces the perceived value of a business communication like a missing or incorrectly spelled word. If you are dashing off an email to a coworker, give it a quick read-through. If your work will be read within company walls by subordinates or superiors, have someone else read through it too. If the message is leaving the company to go to prospects, customers, or vendors, make sure that you have at least two other people read the communication before it leaves the building.

Written business communication is an important way that we interact with others. The right messages can build our business and the wrong messages can demolish it. To increase productivity, to improve customer service, and to make more sales, follow these 4 business communication steps to success.

3 steps towards starting a daycare

So, you think you’d like to start a day care but where to start? Let’s assume you know nothing about the industry except that it involves children!!! That’s pretty much the position I was in when I started my day care 10 years ago and I spent a year and a half researching and learning before I got going. Before you go running for the hills in dismay allow me to cut short the research time a little with some pointers on how best to prepare for the exciting adventure that is ‘Starting a daycare business’.

Your first port of call should be your business plan. Every successful business starts with a well thought out version thus enabling the entrepreneur (you) to get a clear, overall picture of what your business will entail. Many people get to the business plan stage and no further due to a realisation that the project is unfeasible for whatever reason. Better find out now than after you have ploughed a lot of time and money into starting a business going nowhere.

The business plan covers all vital elements of starting and operating a business - introduction / description, benefits, market research, key financials and conclusion. I found it to be a great ‘checklist’ of things to do as I worked my way methodically through each of the required steps. It forced me to consider, research and document every aspect of my potential business, propelled me to analyse in detail areas I might otherwise have glossed over (or ignored completely). Like a good teacher it provided the questions and ensured I filled in the blanks. There are many great business plan templates out there and I have listed some that I particularly like below:

sba. gov USA

bytestart. co. ukUK

teagasc. ie/startingyourownbusiness/template. htm Ireland

Next, talk to the experts. Arrange a meeting with your local licensing representative, have them visit your premises and find out what they will be requiring in terms of premises layout, contents, play area and general health and safety issues. Get them to give you guidelines and tips on policies and paperwork. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – remember this is the expert, the person who will be granting you a license so best to have a heads up on what they will expect from you. Prepare in advance of this meeting and come armed with a list of comprehensive questions so you don’t waste a great opportunity to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

An invaluable source of information on setting up your day care is existing daycare owners. When I was researching my business I received some of the best tips, hints and advice from other providers, in fact, I still make ‘information gathering visits’ once a year and learn something new everytime. Call up a couple of established providers (preferably not too close to your proposed venture – they might not be too enamoured of the impending competition!), explain your situation and set up a day to go visit. Most people are delighted to mentor a budding entrepreneur and proud to showcase their business. Become a sponge for that day and absorb every tidbit of information available.

Take a pen and paper for notes, ask questions, listen and observe. Notice daily routines, room layout and equipment, methods for dealing with behaviours, staff and child interaction, health and safety procedures, hygiene practices, peruse paperwork (ask for copies of the paperwork to help guide you when formulating your own). Get tips on advertising, pricing and suppliers. Try to speak with the owner or manager, the staff and the cook and get a feel for each unique role. Ask questions like ‘What do you feel could be improved?’ or ‘If you were starting out what things would you do differently?’. These open questions will provide you with an immense wealth of knowledge, all of the practical, hands on variety.

These are just three steps you can take in pursuit of your dream to start a day care business and they will provide you with a tremendous amount of information and guidance. Your confidence in yourself and your ability to achieve your vision will peak and you will be propelled into further positive action. It costs nothing but time and if you can get yourself to this point there’s no looking back. What are you waiting for?

Making one way links to your website

Online websites know that inbound links are absolutely essential for the promotion of your website. Links feed search engines so when you have more, you become more popular. More quality links will cause you to move up in search results for keywords. Of course, when it comes to back links, some are better than others. One way links from Authority Sites that have good page strength are highly preferable.

Inbound links pointing to your website are vital if you want to improve traffic to your website. Inbound links will improve your websites rankings for organic searche engines and provide another path for visitors to find your website. Getting links from high traffic, authority sites are weighted more than most links. The main objective in most SEO campaigns is building high quality, one way links to your website.

One of the best and easiest ways to accumulate one way inbound links to your website is to list it in web directories. A few of the better ones are the Open Directory Project, Yahoo and the Authority Directory.

The ODP is free to submit, but it could take a very long time to get reviewed. The percentage of those that get accepted there is not very high either. Yahoo’s directory takes about seven days for review and costs $299 per year. The fee at Yahoo is non-refundable and acceptance is not guaranteed there either. The AuthorityDirectory. com charges a small annual fee and review is generally completed within 48 hours. Your site is not guaranteed to be accepted at the Authority Directory either, but in most cases they refund the fee if your site is not accepted.

Exchanging links with other sites is a risky way of collecting links. If you accidentally exchange a link with a banned site, it can actually hurt your sites popularity or get your site banned. Google and many other search engines have made statements that they are devaluing reciprocal links.

Building links is a never ending cycle. Links drop off and new ones need to be established if you want to continue to rank highly. It is important for you to realize that link building is an on-going process. If you want to rank highly in the search engines, you are going to need to steadily build links to your site. Link popularity will make the difference between your site appearing on the first page of search results or not at all.

Inbound links can generate traffic to your site in two different ways. Traffic that comes from click through traffic and better organic results in search engines.

Click through traffic comes from visitors to the site your link is located at just clicking directly on the link. This can become highly relevant traffic if the site your link is located at gets a large amount of traffic. Traffic increases due to organic search results can be huge.

Inbound links help you achieve traffic through both click through traffic and organic search results. Directory listings are a great place to start with your link building campaign.

Attention entrepreneurs your hobby should not be your business

America was built on the premise of following your dreams. Today, that maxim is applied to everyday life, especially careers. You’ve probably seen plenty of advice about turning your hobby into your job and making money doing what you love. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t translate well into business reality.

Look at it this way: the reason you picked up your hobby in the first place was probably because you enjoyed it. Hobbies are supposed to be fun. If your hobby becomes your business, you’ll have to work at it! Hard work is rewarding, but it can quickly douse the spark of fun you previously derived from your hobby.

Still not convinced? Here’s something else to consider – everyone I’ve met who own a golf, fishing, or scuba-diving business tells me they play, dive or get on the water less than before. Owning a business that is related to your hobby will not get you more involved in the enjoyable part. Instead, it will take you away from the fun of the hobby.

Objectivity is another major concern when it comes to translating a hobby to a business. For example, let’s say you enjoy fishing, so you decide to open a fishing supply store. You will typically stock your store with products you like – which won’t necessarily be what your customers want. Also, you may enjoy fishing, but sitting in a boat with a pole is not the same as running a store, and you may not have the skills necessary for retail management. See the problems?

Of course, your dreams and desires are important, and you need to be passionate about your company to be successful, but it is a mistake to let your interests and not your skills dictate the type of business you should own if you decide to become an entrepreneur. Now that you know what you should not do, it’s time to look at what you should do when getting into your own business:

* Consider looking to your current career instead of your hobby. What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most, and what kind of business would allow you to concentrate on those enjoyable aspects?

* Focus on your strengths, and be honest with yourself. Are you a strong manager? Good with people? Talented at a craft? Try to find a business that will let you capitalize on your strengths, while incorporating what you love to do.

* Do your research! Starting or buying a business is a huge investment, and if you buy the wrong business for your skills and fail, you probably won’t want to try again. Know what you’re getting into before you begin to give yourself the best chance of success.

You can run a business that you enjoy, as long as you are realistic in your decision-making process. You don’t have to give up on your dreams – simply refocus your intentions, and go for it!

Web design elements you should avoid

As a web designer, you should design your websites to give your visitors the greatest ease of use, the best impression and most important of all a welcoming experience.

It doesn't matter if you had the greatest product in the whole world -- if your website is poorly done you won't be able to sell even one copy of it because visitors will be driven off your website by the lousy design.

When I'm talking about a "good design", I'm not only talking about a good graphical design.

A professional web design will be able to point out that there are many components which contribute to a good website design -- accessibility design, interface or layout design, user experience design and of course the most straightforward, which is graphic design.

Hence, I have highlighted some features of the worst web designs I've come across. Hopefully, you will be able to compare that against your own site as a checklist and if anything on your site fits the criteria, you should know it's high time to take serious action!

1) Background music

Unless you are running a site which promotes a band, a CD or anything related to music, I would really advise you to stay away from putting looping background music onto your site.

It might sound pleasant to you at first, but imagine if you ran a big site with hundreds of pages and everytime a visitor browses to another page on your site, the background music starts playing again.

If I were your visitor, I'd just turn off my speakers or leave your site. Moreover, they just add to the visitors burden when viewing your site -- users on dial up connections will have to wait longer just to view your site as it is meant to be viewed.

Seo can be rocket science

Over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion about the “SEO is/isn’t rocket science” debate. Although this issue has been around for years, the spark that brought it back to life can be traced back to the Search Engine Strategies Conference and Expo in Chicago. During the Search Engines Strategies Conference in Chicago, which took place from December 4th through the 6th, Jason Calcanis (the cofounder of Weblogs Inc) completely wrote search engine optimization off as a complete waste of money and resources. His philosophy is that if you build a clean page and great content, the traffic and rankings will follow naturally.

This statement caused quite a stir among not only the audience (which was primarily made up of a bunch of SEOs) but also the search engine optimization community as a whole. Angry blog posts were flying up left and right, and there was not a lack of great discussion on both sides of the issue.

At the beginning of January, Shoemoney made the statement on his radio show and blog that ninety-five percent of search engine optimization is “super simple” and the other five percent is what really matters in the world of SEO.

After all this various discussion, Todd Friesen (aka Oilman) decided to write an excellent blog post to address all of these various issues. Although he does not update his blog very often, the posts he does write are always well thought out. This particular post helped to give the SEO community some perspective on this issue. Even though ninety-five percent of search engine optimization may be extremely easy for someone who does it on a daily basis, it is still a complete mystery to ninety-nine percent of the population. The purpose of his post can be summed up by the idea that instead of spending time arguing within the SEO community, we need to realize that there is an entire world full of people who probably don’t even know what the term SEO means.

Bankruptcy isnt your only option

Don't rush into bankruptcy if your business debts are starting to rack up. Even if it looks like you will never be profitable, don't throw in the towel yet.

1. The Temptation To Quit Will Be Greatest Right Before You Suceed

If youve been bending over backwards trying to make your business work, then you haven't failed. You haven't really failed until you give up. Ironically, many businesses innovations come during periods of tension.

2. Don't End Up Being The Captain That Goes Down with His Ship

Unless you have unlimited liability, such as a sole proprietership that is unincorporated, don't worry. Even if your business fails horribly, customers can't delve into your own personal belongings to pay for debts owed. The exception here is a partnership, and this is why some Enron employees that were completely not related to the fiasco ended up losing everything - they were legally a partner in the business.

3. Don't Let The World Know

No, it's not dishonest. Informing each and every customer about why your business isn't doing as well as it used to is a bad idea. They will immediately run, or think of running. Try to make it look like everything is fine - business as usual.

4. What To Do When Creditors Come After You

If you have creditors knocking at your door, chances are youve let things fall for quite some time. You might want to voluntariliy put yourself into an agreement with them before you declare bankruptcy. You can negotiate your debts down to a lower level using bankruptcy as a threat to them - after all, if you go bankrupt, they get nothing.

5. This Is Your Last Resort

Bankruptcy is a lot like suicide - it's the absolute last resort. Having had a bankrupt company stays with you for a long time in everything you do - your credit rating, your employment history, and even just in the way you think of yourself day-to-day. It's better to have everything wrestled from your hands than to give it up without a fight.

Four steps toward the raise or promotion you deserve

Most everyone has been in the situation at one time or another in their lives. Working hard, doing what is expected of them, and seemingly being passed over when it comes to raises and promotions. It may cause feelings of resentment and the desire to seek out a new place of employment as soon as possible. It some cases, this may be unavoidable. You may work for someone who simply doesn’t know how to run their business and doesn’t know the value of good employees. In many cases, however, there are subtle things you can do as an employee to make sure your work is rewarded.

Step #1: Go beyond the expected

If you go to work every day with the attitude that you will do everything that is expected of your job requirements, there is a decent chance you will never get a raise or a promotion. In order to stand out in a manager or employer’s mind, you have to go above and beyond your required duties. If there is a job you want to move to, begin learning the job. Ask questions. Show an interest in the company beyond the limitations of your particular job.

Step #2: Attitude

If everyone you work with has a sour attitude about their place of employment, it can become easy to fall into this way of thinking. Avoid it. It may help you to “fit in” with your friends at the workplace, but it will do nothing to improve your position in the company. Instead, try to be the person who lifts spirits. Complete your work with a positive attitude and it will show.

Step #3: Volunteer

This step is especially important and goes hand in hand with the first step. Every job presents opportunities to step up and do things that aren’t manifestly required of you. Do these things, if you want to get ahead. It may seem like thankless work for a while, especially if you have an employer who tends to take advantage of his or her employees, but eventually it should pay off. If it doesn’t, you know you work for a poor company and it may be time for a change.

Step #4: Become friends with the boss.

This doesn’t mean sucking up. An employer will see through this and you will wind up in the same position you were in before. It means building a mutual, real relationship with your boss. It doesn’t have to mean going to dinner at his house or bringing him coffee every morning. It simply means talking to him about the business. Letting him know that you are there. An employer can’t very well decide to promote you if they don’t know who you are.

Follow these steps and you will be sure to get the raise or promotion you deserve. Remember, the final, unwritten step, but perhaps the most important one of all: ask for it. If you know that you deserve it, and have done everything a model employee could do, the worst that can happen is your boss will say no. At that time, you will know that it’s time to look elsewhere for better career opportunities.

The hazards of online shoe shopping

The internet revolution has brought many wonderful methods of saving both time and money right into our homes. We can now purchase just about anything on the internet. We assume that purchases made on the internet are pretty much the same as purchasing in the store, and that if there’s a problem we can simply return it.

This can be a fallacy that lands us in a world of frustration, resentment, and bitter disappointment when dealing with customer service individuals. If you’ve decided to shop online for a pair of shoes, proceed with caution. First, make sure that you are dealing with a chain store and a reputable company, preferably one with a brick and mortar location near you so that if you can’t get anywhere with customer service you have the option of making a nuisance out of yourself at the local chain branch.

A person’s foot is not chronically the same size all the time. Age, activity factors, health issues, and weather can all have an affect on the size of a person’s foot. Ordering shoes online can be difficult as shoes tend to be cut uniquely and a size 8 is not always a size 8.

Double check your order before submitting and keep a close eye on the credit card statement. Double charges are not unusual. If you are dealing with a Mom and Pop store, you will be lucky to see any of your money back. Reputable chains have more sophisticated software and can often check their billing on the spot to verify and correct your claim.

It can be very difficult to prove, but sometimes the wrong shoes or shoes without laces or even just the one shoe arrives right on time. Calling to correct the situation can be taxing, long, and arduous. It is my personal belief that there are people working in the distribution warehouse that think sending out these funny orders is their idea of third shift entertainment.

Online ordering can be a pleasant experience most of the time. However, when a mistake is made it can be very difficult to get it cleared up. Whether the mistake is theirs or yours doesn’t really seem to be relevant, it is equally as difficult to clear up mistakes. After several tries and lost precious hours, it is time to head down to the local chain with your receipt and order in hand.

How to build your business the easy way

You need an opt-in list.

Before revealing the secrets of the trades, here are myths and fallacies that need to be cleared before one indulges into building an opt-in list. These marketing misconceptions could pose so much of an obstacle towards your profitting well from your business.

Not a lot of people use email

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods nowadays simply because virtually almost all people use email. Check on those email fields or blanks required to be filled up on various forms needed in processing different transactions. A person without an email address is tantamount to a person without an online home, which is one big shameful truth for this generation.

Email marketing campaigns can offend a lot of people

The not-so secret way to surmount this dilemma is through permission-based advertising. There's no harm in trying after asking for permission.

It's stupid to send email to all the people

The key to this predicament is to have a very discerning eye on who to email and who to not email. Better look for some metrics on how to know which group of people would give you high ROI or return on investment.

The Real Deal with Building Opt-in List

After clearing the fog regarding email marketing myths, here's how one can benefit from employing the power of email marketing campaigns - building an opt-in list.

However, building an opt-in list is not a piece of cake particularly for the uninitiated. Here is a roundown of tips on how to succeed in this kind of marketing endeavor.

1. Strategic Collection of Data

Know which information from your audiences will help you in lowering expenses and/or make sales flourish. Devise a tactic to make people voluntarily provide you with the information necessary to create higher conversion.

Overload of data is not good. Ask only for opt-in, with their full name and email addresses. Make sure that the profiles that you gather are updated to aid in improving the relevance, timeliness and satisfaction from each deal you make.

2. Good Implementation

Old adage says it all - 'action speaks louder than words'. This easily translates to the difficulty one has to undergo during the execution of his or her email marketing efforts. It's a good thing that various methods, often low-cost, abound to hasten and facilitate the building up of one's opt-in database.

Tracking your email marketing results can pose great hardship, too. Technology and relevant sources should be employed in making this aspect of your marketing a lot manageable. Your high traffic groups of opt-ins with the greatest result should be taken noted of.

The following are the most widely used methods to leverage channels without overspending:

1. Make use of websites.

It is an excellent tool for data collation and providing you with relevant info regarding your email offers. Use forms that solicit your visitor's email address and consent.

2. Make use of print ads, brochures, TV, radio and direct mail.

These are the more popular ways of marketing aiming to lead traffic to one's site. You may want to ask for signups for email services. Make your website more visible through these media. Offering free electronic newsletters and or rewards program can do well in making it easy to win the nod of your audiences, too.

3. Maximize your sales force.

Customer service associates can help a lot in making you benefit more from your email correspondence. Sales people with proper education on how to aid you in this endeavor can very well contribute to higher ROI. Techniques like offering account updates and special programs through email can easily land you those lists of valuable visitors.

4. Don't make your point of sale pointless.

Forms for signup located at cash registers and other high-traffic and highly visible spots can be very excellent venues for your business to collect email addresses. Notification of upcoming sales through their email addresses and names can coax them to supply you with the information you need.

5. Conferences or trade shows can work, too.

Giveaway offers or entries on sweepstakes are great for opt-in to volunteer their contact details.

These tactics should be applied with adequate caution and should focus on earning the trust of your opt-in list instead of simply collating data for your sole own benefit. Always make sure that the forms that you will use and other methods that you will employ will not necessitate too much fuss to subscribe. This is for people to not be annoyed during the process of data supplication.

With that bunch of information, who can ever go wrong with the feat of building an opt-in list?

Ecommerce naming the solutions

The world of ecommerce is filled with fascinating technology and significant possibility. The move from a brick and mortar store to online sales may feel like being exported to a foreign country. You may not understand every issue involved in developing a winning website, but you CAN adapt. The end result may well be a long-term business opportunity derived from a worldwide customer base.

I’d like to touch on just a few of the tools available to online marketers.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – This is the use of keywords or phrases that help search engines determine your rankings. This is the most organic approach to online marketing and generally has the most impact on long-term success.

List Building – This technique is used to help you gain email addresses for use in mailing sales material, ezines and other information to customers. This is often achieved through online forms where visitors can sign up to receive free updates from you.

Autoresponders – This technology is used to free you up from having to manually respond to every email that arrives in your inbox. It is also useful as part of the checkout process where a receipt is automatically sent to the customer.

Business Blogging – This technology is useful in putting a human touch to your business correspondence. You can provide timely updates on a blog for customers to review at their convenience.

Ezine Publishing – A publication from your business can provide information and sales presentations in an opt-in email delivery system. This provides the quickest way to reach the most prospects.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising – This strategy is useful in jump-starting your online business, but may not be needed the longer your site is available. Ultimately the goal is to achieve a site ranking significant enough that PPC may not be as needed.

Auctions – By making some of your products and services available through an online auction you can receive a significant return in exposure to your business.

Podcasting – Both audio and video presentations can be delivered by podcast and they have the potential to provide a very human touch to your marketing objectives.

EBooks – This informational marketing tool can be delivered to those who sign up (thus capturing their pertinent information for subsequent mailings) or as a bonus for an online purchase.

Certainly there are many more methods for online marketing, but I hope this list provides encouragement that you can reach your online marketing objectives and there are many tools that can help you achieve your dream.

Finding a web host to fit your needs

Deciding which web hosting service is right for your web site is similar to choosing the right car for your family. Just like a lemon auto choice can complicate your life and cost you more in the long run, a lousy web host can affect your online business on many different levels, potentially costing you time and money.

Of course, no one purposefully chooses a poor web host any more than one knowingly makes a decision to become the owner of a problem car. Research is key when deciding which web hosts are the best and most cost effective. Below is some information about three popular web hosts to help you determine what type of service best fits your needs.

GoDaddy. com

With simple and hassle-free hosting, GoDaddy offers both economy and premium packages. Their $8.95 domains are some of the best prices one can find in the industry. Adding hosting to this domain drops the price to $1.95. It may be hard to find another good company who offers these prices.

Simplicity and user-friendliness are primary characteristics of GoDaddy’s services. From hassle-free control panels to straightforward hosting and domain management, you could obtain a Linux server with a new domain and have it up and running in less than 30 minutes. And if you have any problems or questions, satisfactory customer service is another benefit of using GoDaddy.

The only drawbacks to GoDaddy are its smaller size and potential security issues due to the shared servers, which can sometimes be problematic for larger traffic volume sites and sites utilizing cash transactions. And while the amount of space GoDaddy offers may not be as large as some, it is still enough to satisfy the needs of most online sites.

GoDaddy may work best for blogging websites, simple squeeze and landing pages, simple forums, and personal home pages, as well as other smaller-scale sites not requiring high security.

IxWebHosting

Offering some of the largest packages at the lowest prices, ixWebHosting is a very competitive service to consider. While its economy package looks a lot like GoDaddy’s, the ixWebHosting premium package at $12.95 per month brags features such as unlimited space and 3 TERA-BYTES—meaning 3000 BGs or 3 TRILLION bytes—of bandwidth.

Additionally, this premium package provides unlimited e-mails and SQL databases and five free domains all tied into this $12.95 price. There is so much offered in the package that some may question why a web site would even need all of these features and benefits. The reality is that most owners will not need all of this, but even if you need some of it, the price is nice.

Like GoDaddy, security is a concern for ixWebHosting services. However, the control panel is not as good as GoDaddy’s.

IxWebHosting’s premium service is a great option for the site owner who needs significant bandwidth and disk space or anticipates high traffic volume or downloading from the site.

TVCNet

If security and customer service are at the top on your list of needs from your web host, TVCNet may be one your best options. While the disk space and bandwidth may not be as impressive as some of the other web hosting choices, you will likely find you do not actually need all of the massive space offered by other providers. Instead of excessive and, often times, unnecessary space, TVCNet focuses in on top-notch secure and reliable hosting.

Not only will your questions be answered promptly by the TVCNet staff, but it is also possible to achieve a 100% hacker-safe site through using their web hosting service. This is an excellent choice for anyone who has or expects to build a small to medium sized site with full technical support and hacker-proof security.

Creating a home business by selling items online

If you have only a limited budget and wish to run your own business at home then selling items online can be an exciting home business that you can make a steady income from. As the internet matures so do the attitudes of people buying more and more online. Many companies exist that will ship merchandise to nearly any address specified, without being the same address as the buyer. This open the door for selling opportunities for anyone with the initiative to do a little work online and keep track of their earning.

Online auction sites have become very popular lately. On these sites visitor can browse through hundreds of categories and subcategories looking for items of interest. Once people find the items they want, they may be able to buy directly from the seller or they can bid on the item. Whoever has the highest bid win the item.

Become a seller on these sites is very easy. If you have a home computer, a valid email address, a credit or debit card and a simple payment system ( can be obtained easily online for free ) which can receive payment online, then you can create an online store and sell products on these sites. You can also easily hooked up with wholesaler who maintain a large inventory of merchandise and allow you to sell through your online store. When an order comes in, it goes directly to the wholesaler who will pack and ship it as well as handle all the finance. You make money based on the profit from the sale of the item. Since there are so many items available, you have the option of selling one kind of item or sell many different types of items to appeal to a larger audience. You will also be able to sell directly to buyer or you can open items up for bid. Many online sellers create mini-store where visitors can browse and purchase item direct.

However there is a small risk involved, if a listed item doesn't sell, the seller is responsible for the listing fee. Additionally, the seller is charged a final fee, which is a percentage of the price at which the item is sold. Consequently the seller has to sell the item at a price higher then the unit cost plus listing fee and final value fee before they can make any money.

Digital products like ebook, music, video, sofware and many others offer the best potential for selling online as it require no warehousing and can be easily delivered to the buyer by simply downloading in their computer.

To be successful running an online store, you will be required to build a solid reputation as customers wil be able to leave feedback both positive and negative, that other customers can read before purchasing an item from you. Always try to resolve any complain quickly so that you can retain a positive reputation. Another important thing is knowing how to set appropriate price for the products you are selling, because people going to these sites are looking for a bargain, if you charge too much they will go to another seller.

This home business is a wonderful enterprise as the investment is negligible but the return is unlimited. It can be very lucrative if run properly and is suitable for both who wish to run their business part-time or full-time.

Why use affiliate programs

How can we look for the right business in this industry where there exists a world of different opportunities? It is possible, but you need a lot of reading and research to develop a sound and reliable online business strategy. Some give up before they actually started. Why? Because the amount of effort required is sometimes too heavy to carry. So, what is one easy way to make money online without having to think how to make it work? It’s the great idea of using an affiliate program.

Consider if you have been in business online for a while, or if you’re just getting started, one critical component to build sales is to generate traffic for your site. Affiliate programs group together merchants and non-merchants alike, with the common goal to generate traffic. How does it work? Well, as a merchant, you join an affiliate program, and when others join and advertise your site in some way on their site, you get leads from them and you pay them for it. The beauty about affiliate program is that they are pay-for-performance, that means, you don’t pay unless a lead is materialized and a sale is generated from that affiliate.

Even if you are in a non-merchant business, you can also share the advantages to joining an affiliate program. To begin, provide your visitors with links to the merchant. When more people visit your site, and click on the links to the merchant, you get paid for the number of leads or sales generated by your efforts. To increase this traffic, you can get others to advertise your site. Of course, you will have to pay for the leads generated, but think of the benefits of the added traffic to your site, they usually outweigh the costs.

Last but not least, to all online businesses, affiliate programs are relatively easy to manage, and they are economical solutions to making money. They are less costly, and you need lesser work to join an affiliate program, compared to managing your own list of affiliates. Besides, affiliate programs usually have huge member size, so you stand to tap a far wider range of the market. It is not easy to achieve all this on your own.

So, why wait? Use an affiliate program now.

Choosing a fashion sunglasses

The market and styles of sunglasses are driven by popular fashion and show biz world. In fact as soon as a pair is worn by a celebrity it is a sure way of that the style will be a best seller for the season. But as with all fashion items copies abound everywhere. Some of the copies are so close to the real thing that only a keen or trained eye can tell the difference.

Eye specialists, however are keener on the quality of protection offer and not as much as to the aesthetics of the piece although it does account. Most eye specialists will agree that cheap copies bought from the sidewalk or the gas station offer very little or no protection at all which is more often than not. Most of these copies are just cosmetic pieces. They insist that sunglasses should be provided by an eye specialist and should be suitable for the activity of the wearer. Sunglasses offer different kinds of protection depending on the environment so you can have sunglasses for the snow slopes, for the beach for driving and even for outdoor sports. Most people however will need a basic pair for driving and general use. There are a few important features to look for in a pair to be worn daily.

The main work of a pair of sunglasses is to protect the eyes from sun damage, is that not the reason we call them sunglasses anyway. UV rays are blamed for certain eye problems like cataracts and even blindness. The main thing to look for in a sunglass pair is the kind of protection it offers against UV rays. A good pair should block as much as possible of the UV rays; the level is represented as a percentage on the sunglasses. Some brands claim to block 100% of these rays.

Another danger to the eyes is glare from reflected light from snow or water or open ground. Sunglasses with polarized lenses offer protection against reflected glare and makes outdoor activities and driving more comfortable. For people who need glasses to correct vision prescription sunglasses are an available option for them otherwise they can buy regular sunglasses and use them with contact lenses but not everyone can use contact lenses due to certain eye conditions like irregular pupils or glaucoma.

The style of a pair may be important but its protection abilities are more important. Decide what activity you perform more often and get a pair suited to it.

Scouting local auctions for products to sell on ebay

If you have never sold products on eBay before, I would suggest that you start with your own household items that you are ready to part with. You probably have things in storage, items in the back of your closet, or things you don’t use anymore. You can generally get a lot more for them on eBay than you can by having a yard sale.

Once you get your feet wet with the selling process, and exhaust your personal resources, you can look to local auctions for more products to sell on eBay. Many local auctions specialize in property, personal estates, antiques, Nascar and other collectibles.

Sometimes you can even find large lots of inventory or product types, and purchase the entire lot for a discount or wholesale price. You can then sell the products individually through online auction, and flip your investment into a nice little profit.

How do you choose which products to buy, and how much should you bid?

The goal is to buy low and turn a nice profit. What I have done in the past, and would highly recommend, is that you team up with your spouse or with a friend. One stays at the computer while the other attends the local auctions, and you stay connected by cell phone. You want to keep your method under your hat by the way, so step outside to make the calls or be as inconspicuous about text messaging as you possibly can.

When you find a product that you are interested in, or that you think may do well on eBay, make a note of the model number or any specific product information. Pass this on to your "invisible partner" so that they can research the product for you.

They can look up the product to see how well it has sold on eBay in the past, and the price range that it usually brings as a high bid. This helps you to bid more accurately at the auction, instead of guessing at how well it will do online and bidding in the dark.

Your partner will need to be quick on the keyboard and familiar with eBay. You need to know how many auctions are currently running for that item, and whether the market is already flooded with sellers. They can also search the Completed Auctions to see what the high bids were when the most recent auctions ended. After a few trial runs, you can get your teamwork down to an art.

Without this Invisible Partner you may bid too high for an item that brings a lower price on eBay, or that doesn’t sell well online. Unless you know your product, and know your market (super well), it pays to have someone checking on things behind the scenes.

You can usually find out about Local Auctions by checking the newspapers. There is also a great site called AuctionZip. com where you can find live auctions in your area as well. All you have to do is put in your zip code, tell it how far you are willing to travel (within 30 miles, for example) and it will give you a calendar of auctions in your area.

A quick search at AuctionZip tells me that there are 9 local Auctions going on in my area this weekend (and I live in a very small town). Some of them are for properties, others are entire personal estates (ie estate auctions), and some of them specialize in antiques & collectibles.

When you tap into these resources and get a system down for buying smart, you can flip products from one auction to another for an easy profit!

Fix it clean it make it last

What is the fastest way to make money? Fix it, Clean it , Make it last. The key to making money quickly is solving other people's problems. Wherever there is failure there is potential for success. All that matters is if the individual knows how to capitalize on other people's failures. Do you know how to see opportunities while everyone else sees failure. The people who make the most money in this world, are the people who have solutions for people's problems. Fix it, Clean it, Make it last will cover how to spot people's problems and how to profit from your solutions.

This shouldn't be to hard to do but the first thing you must do is find people's common problems. You want problems a majority of people are having. Finding problems should not be to difficult but here are a couple of ideas. Take a look at forums and read what questions are being asked the most. Send out a survey asking people for their problems. Make sure you state what types of problems you are interested in. Try to focus in a field you have knowledge in, it will make it easier for you to come up with solutions.

When you have found your common problem you must fix it and clean it. Finding a solution may prove to be difficult at first. You will have to think in ways you are not familiar with. One way to find solutions is to look and some of the solutions that already exist for the problems out there. Then think of how these solutions could be improved upon. Thinking of solutions takes some getting used to at first. Once you have it down you will have created a huge cash cow, your mind.

Now you have your solution and you must make it last. Many people would not mind taking the idea you have worked to build. So you must protect your ideas. Get all the necessary legal work done to ensure someone else does not enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Solving people's problems is a sure way to wealth. Remember Fix it, Clean it, Make it last.

The business of keeping cars on the road is latest trend

With cars made to last longer, costing more and more people hanging onto their vehicles long after the warranty has expired, there is a growing need for qualified after-market automotive care businesses. Even before the warranty expires, there are many car owners willing to pay to maintain the appearance of their vehicles, inside and out, and a small shop specializing in automotive detail work can find a lucrative business in virtually any community. This is also the case for those who can not afford to trade cars every year or so but still need a dependable car that runs.

When was the last time you heard someone say you love to wash the inside of the car’s windows? Most people can handle picking up a roll of paper towels and a bottle of glass cleaner and wiping down the outside of their windows, but when it comes to the inside of the glass, most will wait until they can no longer see through the windows before cleaning them. Automatic car washes, especially in the day of brushless technology, often leave many cars with streaks and do not remove all the things that attach themselves to the car finishes and owners are willing to pay to keep their car looking like they just drove it off the showroom. This can be a place to cash in for those interested in a car care business.

Opening your own car care business may be possible on a shoestring, adding services as money becomes available, but most car owners are going to expect to see professional operation before allowing any type of work to be done to their vehicle. Very few will trust their prized possession to someone with a tree in the backyard, no matter how good you are, even for something like a car wash and wax. They want to know that when they pick up their vehicle it does not look like it was cleaned by the local sports team.

If the money is available, consider buying into a franchise business. For virtually every types of car-care need, there is a franchised business. From oil changes, transmission repair and tire sales, there are national chains that offer the right person a significant opportunity to build a successful business. And while come folks may not be in tune with following someone else’s business model, franchisees typically find success by following a proven business plan.

Opening your own repair business may be slightly cheaper and there will not be a company representative telling you how to do almost every phase of the work, but with a franchise, you have instant name recognition as well as instant credibility of offering services professionally.

Even if you very little about the type of services the franchise offers, hiring the right people and sticking with the franchise training plan can quickly put a new business into your future. Not everyone that sell hamburgers actually puts them together, they just know how to hire the right people to offer a quality service and how to keep customers satisfied.