| Note:
Some Links may be out of date.
Blitz
Ezine # 208 March 31, 2003
Note:
This is an archived issue. Some links and/or content
may be outdated
Our
readers speak - fraud orders, writing
The Blitz-Promotions News Letter.
Issue no. 208, March 31, 2003
************
In This Issue **************
Comments
Food for thought
Articles
The Classifieds
Next Issues
+++++++++++++++++
Food for thought
+++++++++++++++++
A
dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan
and a deadline.
Author: Harvey Mackay
+++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++
Request
for Links
+++++++++++++++++++
Our
new links course is getting some nice reviews. Get it
while it doesn't cost you a dime.
http://www.ineedlinks.com/freelinks.htm
+++++++++++++++++++
Links
wanted for publisher.
http://www.ithacapress.com/
If you have a business that can be linked to a publisher
please contact us.
http://www.ithacapress.com/ContactUs.htm
+++++++++++++++++++
Writing
for the Search Engines
+++++++++++++++++++
Below
are some of the best writing resources we've found.
Make sure to dig deep within the link for a treasure
trove of information.
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/web/blurbs.htm
http://www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/handouts/TW/web/titles.htm
+++++++++++++++++++
Our
Readers Speak
+++++++++++++++++++
Book
publishing from Ithaca Press Professional publishing
for your book. Children's books, fiction, self-help,
cookbooks, family histories, health, to name just a
few.
http://www.ithacapress.com/
+++++++++++++++++++
Professional,
creative and affordable Virtual Assistance and Web Design.
We specialize in helping small businesses succeed. Stop
by our site signup for our newsletter, and take advantage
of our resources.
http://www.docutype.net/
+++++++++++++++++++
Put
your talents and resources to work for you and earn
money from home. Start your own tutoring business. It's
fun and rewarding, and no degree is needed. Sign up
for FREE educational newsletter and check out HOMEWORK/TEACHER
RESOURCES pages
http://www.cleverapple.com
+++++++++++++++++++
Checking
for Fraud
+++++++++++++++++++
You
get a large order for a number of your products. How
can you tell if the order is legitimate? One thing to
check is if they are, who they say they are.
The
best way to do this is by checking the IP address to
make sure it corresponds with their other address information.
You can use the following links to do it. Just use the
whois search boxes.
U.S.
and Canada
http://www.arin.net/
Europe
http://www.ripe.net/
Asia
/Pacific /Australia
http://www.apnic.net/
+++++++++++++++++++
From
the Blitz Archives
Blitz 108 - 10 Ways to Increase your websites income.
April 2001 - New comments have been added.
+++++++++++++++++++
Know
someone that can use this advice. Please feel free to
forward it to them.
1.Focus
on your niche.
Being all things to all people is not the way to do
business on the internet. The narrower your niche the
easier it will be to promote and present your niche
to folks. Using a cigar shop as an example – do a search
on Altavista for cigars. Over 440,000 + sites, lots
of competition. Now do one for ‘hand rolled cigars’…
2900 sites. See what I mean? Take a moment to think
about your site. Ask some folks to visit. Can they tell
what you sell? (if they start with a list, then it is
definitely time to focus).
2.Backend
opportunities.
Now that you have reviewed your niche, you should be
thinking of some other products that compliment (or
go with) your main product. Let’s pretend for a moment.
You have a cigar shop on the web. You have focused your
niche on handrolled cigars. Now think for a moment.
After your customer purchases your cigar, what might
they need? How about humidors, lighters, cutters etc.
Get the general idea. You will be more likely to resell
these products than trying something totally different.
3.Affiliate
programs.
Many folks make tons of money by using only referral
programs on their site. My suggestion is to incorporate
some of these within your niche. Using my wife’s site
as an example she gets around $150.00 per quarter by
offering relavent magazines to her visitors.
The
success of this depends on
a) make sure it relates to your niche
b) make sure that you introduce the link and don’t just
rely on a banner. Offer a review of the product or service.
Some affiliate programs you can check out can be found
below (or use your favorite search engines to find some).
http://www.associateprograms.com
4.
Offer Discounts.
Send a note (with your newsletter) or email your current
clients with a special discount offer. Make sure that
it follows the proper ad format, especially in regard
to the Act part of it.
5.
Offer Referrals.
Your first note to your customers after they order something
should help them to bring you in customers. This can
be through a true affiliate program (you pay them),
a discount offer, or just a request for help.
6.
Look for Joint Ventures.
Getting other people to send you business is the smart
way to do business. Since you focused on your niche,
now it is time to think and broaden your approach. This
will be the start of finding your future partners on
the web. Soon we will be digging into this topic with
both hands, but here are a few quick notes. Make sure
that the JV benefits everyone involved. Start slow and
expand as you build trust with each other. Keep an open
mind.
7.
Create an e-book for your niche.
Believe it or not people will pay you for your knowledge.
I have recently begun reading a great course on the
subject. I will be sure to post the results here first.
You can learn more about the course here: http://myks.sitesell.com/blitzpromotions.html
8.
Review your site.
Sometimes we are too close to our creations and can’t
see the forest for the trees. Something that may be
perfectly clear to you, may be really hard to understand
for yourself. So even if you skip over all the points
this week, do this. Get several (10 or so is usually
best) folks to visit your site. Get their feedback about
it. What did they like, dislike. Was it easy to navigate
and understand? Was anything unclear? This feedback
(even if brutally honest) will help you build a better
site and take advantage of your traffic to make sales.
9.
Increase your traffic.
Last month’s newsletters focused on getting your site
listed well in the search engines. Future issues will
focus on other avenues to bring more traffic to your
site. More traffic should increase your web sales. If
not then see number 8 above.
10.
Decrease your expenses.
Fewer expenses = more money in your pocket.
|
