January 2023 - Page 8 of 12 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Choosing A Yacht Broker to Sell Your Yacht

How do I select a yacht broker to sell my vessel? How do I come across the best yacht broker to sell my boat? These are questions that you as a yacht owner may ask when it is time to sell your boat. In my transactions with sellers, I find that the majority, if not all of them had no idea when deciding on the brokerage to represent them. Their preference was made arbitrarily it would seem. When you are ready, you need to find a first-class yacht brokerage that you can rely on. Some of the factors that you should think about are honesty, value and competency.

A yacht is a huge expenditure and a lot of people prefer to buy one from a yacht brokerage. A brokerage sells boats to interested people for a commission. Obviously, before you think about which one to go with when selling, you will want to be familiar with the commission fee that they charge; it is a standard 10% in the trade.

Of course, you want to look for honesty in a yacht broker. Nobody cares to trade with a dishonest person in any way, but some people are extremely dishonest without seeming to be. Check out the reputation of the brokerage before making a commitment, and make sure that there are no complaints filed against them. The brokerage should be competent when it comes to pricing your yacht. Your yacht brokerage should have a good knowledge of the market and how much to price your boat.

Always look for skill in a yacht brokerage. They should have been in the trade for some time. The longer, the better, obviously, as this shows they’re able to stay in business. They will not only have the opportunity to sell your yacht at a respectable price, but also manage to obtain the perfect yacht if you are looking to buy another one from a broker.

In order to locate the right yacht brokerage, you must shop around. Talk to some people until you get at ease with one. Ask for and phone references. Never deal with a brokerage that is aggressive or insists that you put your signature on a contract that you do not understand. These legal contracts are binding. If you do not grasp the listing contract, you should check with an attorney. In addition, remember that buying a boat is like buying a house. You will want to investigate the business as you would a home brokerage business.

Here are some questions to pose while looking for the top yacht brokerage. Make use of this list to establish which Broker is best for you.

Will you co-broke with other Brokers who might have a buyer that could purchase my vessel? Am I able to get it in writing? We have it in our listing agreement; we always co-broke with other Brokers. If you cannot get it in writing the broker is more worried about his commission; you could potentially lose out on a sale.

How reachable are you going to be to me, buyers and other Brokers? We make telephone calls often to other Brokers and wait for days to hear back from them. My cell phone and PC are constantly on; you can reach me if you need to; so can buyers!

Does your company sell yachts full-time or is brokerage just a passion? Numerous Brokers do it in their free time like a hobby. If your Broker will not act for you full-time, seven days per week, and holidays if needed, you need to select another company.

How long does your listing agreement last? Can I cancel if I want to? Our listing agreement is for an initial 6 months. Our rule is that if you are not pleased with our services, we will release you at any time at your request after that initial period. Most brokerage listing agreements contain a notification clause in fine print that claims you are obligated to give them a 90-120 day written notice before you will be released.

How do you market my boat? Marketing and advertising vessels is all related to exposure. It’s a well-known fact that today’s boat buyers shop the Web almost exclusively for their yachts. Here you are! The truth is statistics demonstrate that about ninety-eight percent of all boat sales transpire as a result of world wide web publicity. Ask about the web sites the brokerage uses to market boats and yachts. Having your boat on 10 little known web sites nobody can find is ineffective. Inquire how the brokerage has completed search engine optimization and what percentage of visitors visit their sites every month via search engines. About 63% of our site visitors get through to us by way of a search engine. It has been indexed by all of the most important search engines including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Dogpile, and others.

Ask what terminology the internet site is rated for; our web site can be Googled and located on page 1 for “used trawlers”, “used motor yachts”, “used cruisers”, and scores of other search terms. Perhaps that is how you located us? Can your selected brokerage certify that your yacht will turn up on Google page one? At our brokerage, we do warrant it with each boat listed.

What number of site visitors come to your web site seeking yachts? We often experience over 18,000 visits to our web site monthly, thousands more than the Yachtworld internet website.

Inquire if the brokerage makes use of the Yachtworld website, the international multiple listing service web site. This internet website is the multiple listing website where we share listings with other Brokers. And yes, all of our vessels are on there.

Global marketing is a big issue to us; it produces consumers. Do you realize that we have had site visitors from as many as 78 countries in 2010 from countries such as Australia, Norway, Canada, France, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, and Germany on this web site, just to name a couple? We sold about 6 vessels to foreign customers last year. Request how a brokerage markets worldwide.

Does the brokerage employ direct email advertising and marketing? We keep an email marketing list of several thousand boaters, a good number of whom are purchasers. On a bi-monthly basis we email these buyers with a publication about new vessels on the market, price changes, boating headlines and other subjects of marine interest. Your yacht will be marketed here. It sends customers to the website.

Does the brokerage keep up a blog? We maintain a blog to help educate new customers to the boating community; your yacht will be posted there also. It is also indexed by Google daily and produces hundreds of visitors on a daily basis. We post to the blog twice weekly. We additionally maintain a Paradise Yachts existence on Face Book, the social media internet website where we interact with other boaters; a lot of our followers are boat buyers wanting to locate the best boat.

We are one of a few brokerages that make use of You Tube to promote your boat via narrated videos describing her features. Your yacht will be featured here as well. In addition, we also take part in sixty-one other social bookmarking websites with the only intent of bringing the buying public to your yacht.

How will you keep me informed of the progress of your marketing? At Paradise Yachts we frequently hear how other Brokers get a listing and don’t let customers know how things progressing. You will hear from us regularly; about every 6 weeks. I enjoy sending you an email outlining how I understand the universal market, how many boats like yours have sold and at what value, what the prices are with boats like yours on the market, if any boats similar to yours have entered the market and what, if any, recommendations I have to improve our internet marketing.

How many boats do you keep in inventory? I like to maintain from 25-35 vessels in my selling inventory. With this amount, I am able to keep track of each boat’s monthly progress, assess the traffic each yacht gets, examine what other boats like yours are selling for and keep you informed on her progress. More boats and you will turn out to be just another number.

What do you truly comprehend about yachts; have you ever owned one? I have sold more than one vessel because the buyer completed his investigation and found me because he recognized I myself own a trawler. The buyer sought me out as a result of my yacht ownership and know-how. I could talk the talk with him.

And lastly, ask your broker for a list of yachts that have sold in the past year. Has he sold any boats comparable to yours?

In summary, don’t just select the Broker that happens to be down at the local docks. He may spend more time on the golf course than you do. Do some Internet investigation and ask a number of questions to know you are getting the Broker who has your best interest in mind.

Website Redesign: The 5 Biggest Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

My hairdresser told me that a customer earlier in the day had had such a bad experience at another salon that she had worn a wig to her appointment. Underneath, her hair colour was patchy and the hair itself was coming out in clumps. The client was terrified and distrustful of having her hair styled again and it took all the longer to calm her down and try to repair some of the damage.

As a freelance web developer, I often feel that I am looking at the web design equivalent of this experience. So many companies, especially SMEs, are duped into buying web design or CMS (Content Management System) packages which are costly and do not fit their business. Others pay top dollar for design and then find out it isn’t workable on the web.

You may think that sounds like a gift to a trusted web developer like me who then gets the business, but I don’t like it. It makes people distrustful of the whole industry and makes SMEs despair that they don’t understand their website or how to make it work for their business. That’s not good for my business. So, here are my top tips: five pitfalls to avoid when considering a website design or web redesign.

1) Budget, budget, budget

During the process of designing and developing your website, there will inevitably be some to-ing and fro-ing between you and your web developer to get things the way you want them. When you ask the developer to quote for the project, make sure you get the quote broken down into specifics. Find out exactly what is included in the quote and whether this is a flat fee or an hourly rate. What happens if the web project overruns? Is web hosting included? What about Search Engine Optimisation? Ongoing maintenance?

Every web developer or web design company is different, but once you have your quote, get a second and third one from other sources, just to check that it’s about right for the web development work you want done. There’s no harm in letting the web developer know that you are getting other quotes: this will mean you get their most competitive rates or package.

2) Specify that your end product needs to be in valid HTML

The web developer or web development company you choose should be able to produce code, run it through HTML and CSS validators and show you the results. Many graphic designers who also claim to produce websites work in Photoshop, so they produce images not code. Other developers use Flash which will look very pretty but will be completely unreadable to Google and won’t work at all on some browsers and the iPhone. It’s a bad idea to overuse images or Flash on your website, because they damage your Google ranking.

If you have a graphic designer who is going to produce images which then need to be translated into HTML, that’s fine, but be aware that the cost will increase as a second professional will be required.

3) Ask for in-built Content Management System (CMS)

So many web designers and developers offer CMS as standard that it shouldn’t be adding to your bill to make this request. Content Management means that you will be able to update your site to meet your requirements in future. This is especially important for blogs and news pages which will need to be kept up-to-date.

4) Ask what measures the company is using to secure you a good place on Google and Bing

In other words, investigate Search Engine Optimisation. By far one of the best ways to do this without even needing to contact the web developer is to Google likely keywords for their site and see if you can find them. If they can’t optimize their own website, are you going to trust them to optimize yours?

Bear in mind that SEO is a game of two halves. The first is on-page: your website needs to be designed so that the content is working for you, not against you. The biggest considerations here are the use of images and Flash (see above), but valid CSS and HTML and a clean site structure are also important. Your website designer needs to ensure that your text content is relevant for your keywords, that headers are the right size to give prominence to the right keywords and that images are correctly labelled for text readers, to name but a few SEO design considerations.

The second stage of SEO happens once the site is up and running and primarily involves promoting your site via other web sites, social media etc. This part of SEO may be more within your control and remit as the business owner, but if you are asking the web development company to do this for you as well, ask for evidence of previous success and get a bulleted list of actions the web developer is going to take on behalf of your web site.

5) Take ownership

When you agree on a price for the web site redesign, establish whether or not you are purchasing the copyright to the design as well. Will the web developer want a backlink to their site and is that OK with you? If bespoke features (e.g. custom web hosting, CMS, SEO tools) are being used, do these tie you in to buying certain products or services from the web design company in future?

Bear in mind that you might want to change things around in the future so keep things as flexible as possible. There are plenty of open source programs out there which will help you keep your independence so that you can keep your costs low.

There is, of course, a thread which runs through all of this advice. Employ a web developer you can trust and establish a good working relationship where both parties expectations can be met.

Tips on Writing an Effective Social Media Marketing Request For Proposal (RFP)

About a year ago, I wrote an article with guidelines on writing a website design and development Request for Proposal (RFP), which received a great response. Now I think it’s high time to do the same thing for those wishing to engage an agency for Social Media Marketing and other Online Marketing and Advertising consultation and implementation.

Below are my suggestions of how to prepare an RFP for social media projects, retainers and campaigns. I also suggest doing research online and viewing other Request for Proposals to see what works best for your organization. Keep in mind that whatever format you choose will determine not only how long the responses are, but also what type of focus you are looking for from the respondents. Each section of the RFP is outlined below, along with some explanation and suggested questions. Have fun!

Information about your organization and project

Introduction

The purpose of this section is to give a brief overview of the company issuing the RFP and the social media project or desired work relationship between the company and the vendor. Provide as much information as you feel is necessary to allow vendors to prepare an accurate proposal. If you feel that there is certain proprietary or other information that you do not wish to make public, require a Non Disclosure Agreement be signed before receiving that information. This may limit the participation of vendors, but it is oftentimes necessary to protect private information.

1. Company Overview

Organizational history
Your business objectives
Your company’s history using social media or reasons why your organization intends to begin to participate in social media

2. Overview of Project

State the project objectives and how they relate to the business objectives stated above. Explain the type of vendor relationship desired i.e. Project-based, Agency of Record, etc. Explain the current involvement your organization has with social media channels and how they relate to both your organization’s primary presence and any related campaigns
Explain the social media channels you wish the campaign to involve, unless you are looking for suggestions of which to use, then please specify that to the vendors
Explain how the project fits into your overall marketing strategy (online and offline) and if there is another vendor involved in other aspects of your Advertising and Marketing initiatives
Explain the measurable outcomes you would like to see
Explain the duration of the work – is it a temporary campaign, or an ongoing organizational marketing platform?

3. Overview of Audiences and Stakeholders

List primary audiences for the company, i.e. demographics, psychographics, etc
List primary information needs of each audience group
Identify if any market or audience research will be necessary in the execution of the campaign

4. Overview of Response

Make it clear the type of response you are looking for:
Are you looking for a hypothetical approach, or an explanation of the vendor’s process of how they will come to create your campaign. Many times a hypothetical approach is not the best way to approach an RFP process simply because a vendor will be missing several key pieces of information that might negatively affect their ability to propose a specific solution. We suggest looking for more general responses and weighing the effectiveness of past client work heavily

Guidelines for Proposal Preparation

In order to give all qualified vendors a level playing field, it’s important to set up an easy to follow schedule for both when your RFP is issued, when and to whom questions are allowed, and when and in what format responses are required
Specify the date the RFP was issued (Month, Day, Year). If your RFP is publicly listed, it will help those searching for RFPs on Google or by other methods to find relevant Request for Proposals
An optional requirement is to specify that all interested vendors register their intent to submit a proposal by a certain date – usually within 1-2 weeks of the RFP issue. This is a good way to limit the potential number of vendors who respond if you anticipate a large volume of proposals and would rather receive a smaller amount
We recommend allowing a question and answer period that ends at least 1 week before the proposal is due. It is up to you whether to allow questions by email, conference call or individual phone calls. We do recommend that you share all the questions (and answers) with all interested vendors in order to keep things as equal as possible. Always specify which format -phone call, email, and to whom these questions should be addressed. We recommend identifying a single person in your organization to be the point of contact. Just make sure vacation schedules, etc don’t interfere with this process, and if there is any other reason why the primary point of contact might need to be out of town during the process, specify a secondary point of contact
Responses from issuer to be sent by 20XX in the following formats (specify whether electronic submissions, hard copies or both must be either emailed, mailed or hand-delivered)
On the basis of the replies to the RFP document, a short list of potential vendors will be selected and this group will be asked to present demonstrations of their capabilities and vision for the project. These meetings will be completed by XXth, 20XX
Awarding of the contract to selected Vendor by XXth, 20XX
Work to commence by 20XX and to last until (if applicable)

Vendor Questions and Qualifications

The following is a series of questions that, if applicable, we suggest you ask the vendors submitting proposals. Some may not apply, but it is a great idea to get as much of an idea of the vendor’s approach and philosophy on social media as possible. Compare the responses both among each other, and to the research and reading that you have done to make sure that the vendor is up to date with the latest thinking and best practices.

COMPANY DETAILS

Company name and parent company name
Ownership structure
Years in operation
Mailing address (headquarters)
Other office location(s)
Primary phone
Fax number
Website and blog URL
Primary point of contact (name, title, phone and email address)
Total number of employees
Number of vendor employees whose primary function is social media
Current client list with those engaged in social media work identified
Percentage of total revenue that is social-media related
Three references for social media work including; company name, primary client name, contact details and brief explanation of services provided
Any potential conflicts with existing vendor client base and this RFP
Senior social media staff bios and links to social media profiles where applicable
Please provide a complete list of relevant social media platform and technology partners
References from clients currently engaged in social media work with the vendor

CAPABILITIES & EXPERIENCE

List all social media and online marketing capabilities
Do you have any proprietary tools or products related to social media?
Please list any experience you have with integrating social, paid and/or earned media
Is there a specific industry or type of work your firm specializes in?
Please list and provide links to primary social media communication channels for your company (i.e.company blog,Twitter account, Facebook group, blogs authored by principals, etc.)

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY

Please outline your social media strategy process
Which stakeholder groups do you typically include in a strategy engagement?
Describe the final deliverable of a strategy engagement
What is your approach to risk management in social media?
How do you incorporate existing applications, websites, microsites and newsletter programs into your overall social media strategy?
How do you ensure compliance with client legal requirements?
Please describe your approach to integrating across client marketing, customer service and corporate communications departments. Please provide an example of your work in this area
How do you approach adapting a traditional brand into a two-way dialogue?
Please provide a case study of your strategy work that resulted in a social media initiative and the business results achieved

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT & SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

What is your brand/reputation monitoring process (i.e. proprietary tools used, methodology, etc)?
What is your opinion on automated sentiment analysis?
What technology do you use to assist in online monitoring?
How long (on average) between a potential issue being posted online and being flagged to the client?
What volume of mentions has your organization handled in the past (e.g. 2,500 mentions per week)?
What is your quality assurance process to ensure that the large volumes of data gathered in the monitoring process are handled efficiently and representative of the overall online conversation?
Please detail your methodology for handling online crises
What services do you provide in support of online crisis management?
Please describe the structure of your crisis management team, including bios and relevant experience
How do you assess which mentions require immediate responses and which do not?
Please outline your general approach to sourcing and responding to comments
Please provide a case study detailing your work for the purposes of managing reputation or online crisis management, including outcomes and lessons learned
Please include a sample of your monitoring report format and/or a link to appropriate dashboards (specifics should be removed)

METRICS, MEASUREMENT & REPORTING

What methodology do you use for measuring the success of your social media programs for clients?
Please provide specific examples based on past work
Have you developed any proprietary metrics? How have you applied these for clients?
How have you defined Return on Investment (ROI) from a social media perspective in the past?
How do you take data points generated from various social media channels and measurement tools and combine to give an objective/comprehensive view?
What is your approach to server analytics and community analytics for program measurement?
Do you have the capability to measure cost per lead or cost per acquisition? Please provide an example of a project on which you have done so
What platforms are you unable to measure accurately, or able to provide only limited measurements from?
Please provide a sample of a measurement document or final report (specifics should be removed)
What percentage of the budget do you recommend be dedicated to metrics and measurement?

CLIENT EDUCATION & TRAINING

Do you offer social media training services for clients? If yes, what formats are they available in?
What internal processes do you have in place to ensure that your staff is kept current on social media innovations and best practices?
How do you measure progress and evaluate training effectiveness?
How do you recommend that clients keep up to date on the latest social media innovations and best practices?

SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER DIGITAL CHANNELS

What are your design, creative and community management capabilities?
What percentage of your staff is dedicated to building and deploying social media solutions versus management and consulting?
Please describe your experience with the following platforms and tactics:

– YouTube or similar video sharing sites

– Blogs, Podcasts, Vodcasts, Forums

– Content Management System (CMS)

– Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

– E-mail Marketing

– Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing(SEM)

– Facebook Pages, Apps, API integration

– Mobile application development

– Twitter

– News sharing sites (i.e. Digg, Reddit, etc.)

– Virtual Worlds and Augmented reality

– Photo sharing (i.e. Flickr) and other content sharing sites (i.e. Scribd, Slideshare, Delicious, etc.)

– Social Media press releases(SMPRs)

– Crowdsourcing or Wikis

– Real world events organized via social media (e.g. Tweetups)

– Ratings/Customer service sites (i.e. Yelp, ePinions, etc.)

Please provide examples of social media channel development work completed within the last two years

COMMUNITY AND INFLUENCER OUTREACH (SOCIAL PR)

What is your process for identifying influencers within various social media channels?
How do you determine and define “influence?”
What is your outreach process for communicating with identified online influencers?
What tools and approaches do you use for Influencer Relationship Management? (Third-party, proprietary,etc.)
How have you integrated Influencer Outreach with traditional communications and/or marketing campaigns?
How do you approach seeding conversations within stakeholder groups?
What is your exit strategy with influencers once the initiative is completed?
How do you ensure authenticity and transparency when conducting outreach on behalf of a client?
Please provide a case study of an online community outreach project

CLIENT SERVICES & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

How is a typical client engagement with your firm structured?
How do you structure your account teams?
Please outline your internal communication structure. If your account staff is separate from your project management staff, please detail how these teams work together
If you are selected to provide social media services, who will be assigned to our business (please provide names, titles and short biographical notes)
What percentage of senior staff involvement is structured in to your projects? What role do they play?
How are your projects priced? Using an hourly rate? Blended agency rate? If the former, please provide a rate card
What change management practices does your agency employ?
What reports will be provided to the client in order to communicate project milestones and overall project health?
What is the frequency of these reports?
What is your process for gathering business requirements?

Writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) is a good first step when considering Online Marketing and Social Media work as it takes thoughtful planning to specify and construct an effective, integrated campaign. A well thought-out, quality RFP is essential to a successful endeavor because it helps you to focus on your goals and exactly how to achieve them.

Magnetic Sponsoring Reviews – A Database For Those Who Require More From Magnetic Sponsoring

A little over 2 years ago, I clicked on a Google Ad that went something like this: “Tired of Cold-calling or Buying Leads?” with little idea of what I was about to find myself getting into.

(Now this next part I’m not saying as a sale pitch, I’m just simply giving you a run down of what I experienced with Magnetic Sponsoring). I was sent directly to a Magnetic Sponsoring letter from an ad that Mike Dillard (the creator of Magnetic Sponsoring) had placed himself on Google AdWords. I dove in, got the free 7 day video Boot camp, joined the newsletter, and after the video course was over, I purchased the Magnetic Sponsoring course for $37. Since then, I’ve also bought Black Belt Recruiting, Building on a Budget, and PPC Domination. But the one (so far) with the most impact on me was Magnetic Sponsoring.

I say “impact” because it introduced me to the concept of attraction marketing. It seems so general in terms, but yet so very influential in scope. I had never heard about attraction marketing before Magnetic Sponsoring. It was an eye opening course that put my mind into a different frame of thinking about how to run my MLM business. Further, it was a change for me personally to get to a positive frame of thinking not only in my business, but life in general.

The problem though is that I felt like I was missing something. I felt like there was something that Dillard was holding back in the course that was vital to getting a system started. Basically, I had more questions after reading Magnetic Sponsoring than before I started reading. I understood the concepts, the points, the actual theories that make up attraction marketing, and that I should implement them, but I wanted to know HOW.

Like how does someone set up their own system? How does someone build their status to be a leader or a mentor if they have NO leadership experience? Once you get a down line, how do you go about training them?

How in the world do you figure out what an auto-responder is and how do you make one work? It came down to one basic question – how do you use Magnetic Sponsoring to get you to financial freedom? So I set out on a quest to discover more to create more.

Look, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Magnetic Sponsoring… but I’ll be honest, before you spend any more money on Magnetic Sponsoring there are a few things you need to learn first.

Such as how to use attraction marketing (a strategy overlooked by 97% of network marketers today) to make you the hunted instead of the hunter – so long as you follow the concepts!

The other would be how to generate tons of leads and sign up more customers and distributors without ever picking up the phone. How do you set up the web design and flow of your system if you have no internet experience? Wouldn’t it be nice to know someone that could lead you by the hand to show you how YOU can get it done?

Or this one, how can you use technology and tools to reach prospects and build relationships with THOUSANDS of people all at once, with the push of a button?

What are the most effective marketing strategies, tools, and resources that you can use to generate hundreds of prospects and new prospects into your down line?

What is a marketing funnel and can you make it effective?

These are all things that Magnetic Sponsoring says you should accomplish, but it doesn’t explain actually HOW to do it.

It is why in my Magnetic Sponsoring reviews I tell people that Magnetic Sponsoring is an amazing resource for ANY network marketer. It sets your mind to the right spot to believe in yourself, sets the groundwork for attraction marketing, and helps you to realize what it will take to succeed in this industry.

But if you want to learn how to build your business like the top producers, there is more you need to learn and implement to become successful in your MLM business.

So how does one go about that?

Here is what my research has led me to – one of the best resources I’ve found out on the net for all of the above questions is Magnetic Sponsoring Reviews.net

Inside you can look to see how someone has used what Magnetic Sponsoring taught them. One can learn how to set up their own system, develop and use the concepts of attraction marketing, help train other network marketers to do the same, and provided a tool that takes all of the Magnetic Sponsoring concepts and implements them into one working tangible system.

If you’re looking to see how someone actually takes the concepts of Magnetic Sponsoring and put them to work for them, MagneticSponsoringReviews.net is an excellent starting point for your research. Grab a pen and paper, a good cup of coffee, shut the door on the office for a few hours, and start gathering the information you should find to get you from a MLM salesman to a MLM mentor. It’s a matter of educating your mind each and every day to better yourself as a marketer and a leader. Even if there is just ONE thing you learn, it should be well worth your time and effort, because in the long run, you’ll be that much more educated and that much more attractive to other MLM prospects.

Want a Easy Way to Make Money Online?

Not only am I going to show you how to make easy money online but I’ll also show you how do so while generating massive amounts of traffic and leads for your site. Following these short and simple guidelines will show you how to make money online in conjunction with your online business websites. You could also use these methods stand alone as a means of creating several impressive income streams while working from home.

Step 1. Get Your Google AdSense Account

First things first this is a free service that cost’s you nothing so if you are the internet marketer on a budget this service would be perfect for you. So now to the million dollar question… what is AdSense? Google AdSense is a service offered where Google puts content related ads on your website. If someone visiting your website or blog and clicks the ad link then you get paid by Google.

You want to know just how powerful and effective this simple tool can be? Well imagine you had a work from home online business and you added a Google AdSense ad. Well whenever a customer visits your site and buys your product you get paid through your business. Now, that same customer while on your site sees the ad link on your site and decides to click on it. Just like that you just made extra cash at no cost to yourself and just by displaying an advertisement on your website.

But you know what that is only the tip of the iceberg for you, there is much more that can come from utilizing Google AdSense. The more websites you have on the web then the more you can make by using AdSense and if you use the service in conjunction with banner ads and affiliate links then the amount of your paychecks will continue to increase.

Step 2. Blog & Write Articles

Blog or write articles on your favorite subject it doesn’t matter what just write, write, and write. Your goal should be at a minimum one article or blog a day; however you are more than welcome to do more than that. Article and blog writing are free services at most sites and by participating in them you can receive a huge turn around later. By writing numerous articles you can rise in the search engines and if you ad back links to your site then you can create quality leads for your website.

Now remember that by utilizing these tactics when someone visits your site you are not only getting paid when your product is purchased but you are also getting paid when a Google AdSense ad on your site is clicked. Within six months and with steady application and dedication you will be well on your way to receiving a lucrative compensation for your work and on the verge of being a internet success.

Create My Own Web Page

The first thing you need to consider is the subject matter, for example will your page be used for your family & friends, a hobby, or to earn money online? Before I create my own web page I always create a clear picture of where I want to be going and more importantly, I always make sure that my page will fulfill my needs and meet my requirements.

Every time I create my own web page I do the following. I start by brainstorming ideas, I write down a list of the things in a sketchpad that I will want to have included in my page. For example, what images would I like to use, and what kind of layout would I like. Design your page in your sketchpad along with your notes and some layout ideas, take a look at other peoples web sites to get a feel for what appeals to you.

Okay now you will need some free tools to create your own web page. If you do a Google search you will find almost everything you will need for free. To create my own web page I use a piece of software that you can download completely free and it is called kompozer, it is really simple to use and creates really great pages. Most of these applications come with good online tutorials, should you get stuck just do a YouTube or Google search to help you with any problems.

Whenever I create my own web page and I am short of time, I often do another Google search for free web templates and would recommend you also do the same. This could save you a lot of time and trouble, also do not rule out buying your own templates as the free ones sometimes come with user clauses. You can also get free or really cheap photographs and images online, again just do a Google search.

Your Main expenses will probably be your domain name which will cost you about $10 per year and your hosting account for about $10 per month. Again just do a Google search for online hosting and another one for domain names. I get enormous pleasure every time I create my own web page and then see it live online, and I am sure that if you go on to create your own web page you will also be proud and amazed when you see yours live online.

How to Deleted Online Social Media Accounts No Longer In Use

Protecting your identity online is essential for your brand, reputation and credit worthiness, far more important than updating your Instagram and Facebook every day. Several times a year the news will cover a serious data breach of information being held by major banks, insurance companies and/or social media platforms. Once the data is taken, it can be misused or even lead to identity theft. Deleting your old social media accounts is a vital step to help ensure some measure of identity protection. It is imperative that you keep your online access to your current accounts safe and protected and delete any old accounts.

Here is a guide that will help you delete your old accounts on the most popular social media sites.

Facebook

Moving onto the biggest social network platform of all time, Facebook, with over a billion users, keeps things simple and makes it incredibly easy for you to deactivate your account.

Once you go into the “settings” tab from the down arrow in your browser, select your Facebook information and then select delete your account and information”. When you are in this menu you will go to delete your account and must add the password to confirm.

Foursquare

Foursquare hit the internet over a decade ago to let friends know where you are and figuring out where they are. In order to delete your Foursquare account, you will have to access the platform from your computer. Move onto the “privacy” settings tab where you have to scroll to the end of the page and find an option to delete your account. When you select this option you will go to a page where you need to confirm whether you want to delete your account or not.

Google

Google is the undisputed search engine leader with one of the most interconnected ecosystems. By creating one account for Google you are able to access a plethora of different applications and websites without having to create separate accounts. In order to delete your Google+ or Gmail account, you will need to delete your entire Google account.

Go to “Google account settings” and choose “delete account and services”. There you will see the “delete products” option, where you can access all of your Google applications. You need to sign in to all of the websites first before you can delete your account.

Instagram

Facebook’s younger brother is possibly the most used social media platform by Millennials, according to Hootsuite. Thanks to its focus on visual communication, it is the go-to place in order to find talented artists.

Deleting your account is very simple and takes little time to properly accomplish. While you can manage your privacy settings using the mobile app, you must go through an internet browser in order to delete your account. Simply go to the “delete your account page”, and there you will have to provide a reason for deleting your account. Once you provide the reason, you will provide your password and then select the option to permanently delete the account.

Linked In

LinkedIn is the social network for professionals looking for new opportunities to connect with other professionals and grow their business and careers. If you are on the platform, the profile should be complete and up-to-date. If you are no longer using the platform, delete the account. At the top right corner of any page of LinkedIn, you will first have to access the “privacy and settings” tab. From there, choose the “account” tab and then select closing your LinkedIn account. You will have to give your feedback and verify your account before you can delete it. From there you will see a post telling you of the consequences of deleting your account and then the final page which will be for confirmation.

MySpace

This social media platform has been bought and sold several times since its glory days (2005 to 2009). In 2016 their database was breached and leaked to a dark market website. To delete your MySpace account, you will first have to login to the account that you want to delete. From there, select the “gear” icon and choose the “account” tab. There, you will see an option to delete your account. Before you can delete your account you will have to provide a reason after which you will receive an email for confirmation. Open the email and follow its instructions.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a web-based pinboard or bulletin board, a place to bookmark images found online. To delete your Pinterest account you will first have to go to the triple dot icon on the website and select the “edit settings” option. From there you will have to go down to the “account” page and select “deactivate account”. From there you will click “yes” to receive an email, which you need to open and follow in order to permanently delete your account.

Snapchat

Snapchat is a service that, for a short time, rivaled Facebook and was the go-to social media app for many people. As is the case with Instagram, you cannot delete your account from the mobile app; you must delete it from a proper browser.

From the website browser, go to “delete your account” and enter your username and password. Your account does not delete instantly and it takes about 30 days to remove all of the information.

Twitter

Regardless of how famous your really are, everyone has a Twitter handle. Many people follow and get their news from the tweets of everyone from legitimate newsmakers and media organizations to raving fans of our favorite sport teams. Deleting your Twitter account is incredibly easy. It takes at least 30 days for all of your tweets to get deleted. Select “settings and privacy” from the form on the menu and go into the account tab. From there you will have to deactivate your account and enter your password to confirm the action.

Tumblr

Tumblr probably has one of the most bustling communities on the internet, which is also why it is very easy for anyone to delete their account. While you are able to delete your account, the content other people have reposted will remain available on the site. To delete your account, click on the person-shaped icon on the website, and go to “settings”. There select “delete account”, entering your email and password to confirm the process. Tumblr also states that it takes them a few days to properly wipe all of your content.

Whatsapp

Whatsapp is a free messaging app to send Voice over IP (VoIP), images, video calls and documents using a mobile device. To delete your account, simply open your Whatsapp and go to the “settings” menu. From there, select account and go to “Delete my account”, after which you will have to enter your phone number in international code and tap “delete”.

YouTube

YouTube is second only to Facebook as a social media platform, owned by Alphabet, the owner the parent company of Google. A well-managed channel can help to improve website ratings. A channel not in use should be deleted. Deleting your channel from the largest video-sharing platform on the internet is quite simple. You will first have to sign into your YouTube account and go to your advanced settings. From there, choose “delete channel” and then opt for “delete channel permanently”. This will launch a prompt where you can confirm if you want to delete your channel or would still like to keep it.

Final Words of Advice

According to industry experts and a recent article in Consumer Reports, it is a best practice to reduce the risk of having your personal and professional data being misused or stolen by keep your current accounts secure and deleting accounts no longer in use.

Why Use Content Marketing For Your Online Home Business?

First of all what is content marketing? Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable content to your target audience. So why use content marketing in your online home business?

When advertising your online home business, there are thousands of ways to do this. There are paid versions and free versions. With paid versions, like pay-per-click, you will get tons of traffic, but the biggest percentage are just looking around. Pay-per-click can get very expensive, so you need to have an expense account just for it.

Google Slap?

One bad thing about using pay-per-click, if you happen to get shut down, there goes your advertising. It is either up or it is down, there is no in between when it comes to pay-per-click. Because of the Google Slap, many online markets have gone to content marketing.

If you have not heard about the Google slap, what happened was, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) came down hard on Google. They made Google re-due all their ads which in-turn caused the shut down of accounts that had income claims. This hit a lot of internet marketers real hard and they had to find another advertising method.

Are All Your Eggs In One Basket?

Now when using content marketing, whatever article, video, blog post, or press release you put out there, it is there to stay for years. The saying goes, never have all your eggs in one basket. With all your valuable information content out there in different forms it will keep your adverting going for years to come.

If is very important to keep your content of good value. When writing an article, keep it keyword rich. Meaning, have your keyword in your title, at least three times in the body, and of course relevant tags. This will get Google to put it on their front page and give you more exposure. When people search for a certain term, and your article has that term in it, it will pop up.

Are You Giving?

The internet now days is all about giving. The more you give valuable content, and ask nothing in return, the more people will trust and like you. The more great information you share, the more you will be known as a leader and the more people will follow you.

People are searching on the internet for two things, education and entertainment. Either they want to learn something or the want to be entertained. Once you learn to incorporate the two, educating by entertaining, you have the best of both worlds. People will be falling all over themselves to find out what you are doing.

Are You An Authority In Your Niche?

When advertising with content marketing for your online business, you need to stay within your niche. The more you brand yourself in knowing what you are talking about, the more people will come find you. You need to make sure that all your articles, press releases, blog posts and videos, not only have great content, but make you look like an authority in your niche.

Once you offer your free education to others without asking for anything in return, they will trust you and thank you. They will be much more apt to finding out about your online business this way, than if you tried to shove it down their throat.

When doing your advertising with content marketing, it is very labor driven. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but the benefits out way paid advertising in the long run. It does not cost you anything, but your time, and it stays on the world wide web for years.

Remember, never put all your eggs in one basket. Utilize all types of content marketing for your online home business and watch your business sore to new heights.

Surefire Ways to Pack a Punch With Your Ezines & Newsletters

Newsletters, or ezines, can be an extremely effective marketing tool for your business. It puts your name in front of your potential clients, regular clients, and peers while showing your expertise and professionalism. It’s an excellent means to both market and grow your business and also show your existing clients your creative abilities.

What’s an ezine? It’s short for electronic magazine. It’s those e-mail newsletters that you receive on a regular basis. If you are not sending one out now, seriously consider doing so. It can make a big difference in both your business and your bank account. For example, I know one life coach who sends out regular ezines. Lately she acknowledged that she started getting 30+ people signing up every day! When you think about those 30+ new potential clients a day, doesn’t it make sense to utilize this as a regular part of your marketing?

Now the only drawback is to ensure your newsletter is worthy of being read. I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, but find I regularly only read a few upon their arrival. When I decided to create my own newsletter, one of the first things I did was to look at those newsletters I regularly read and determine what it was about them that made me want to read them. What sets them apart from the rest? One of the most important things I discovered was that they provided me with valuable information to help me in my business. They often provided information I didn’t already know. For example, some newsletters provide tips on search engine optimization, affiliate programs, or software shortcuts. Since I’m always looking to grow my business, this information is valuable to me. You normally have knowledge in a given field that others don’t, when preparing your newsletter, think about what expert knowledge you have or can obtain that would interest your targeted market. Now that’s what you want to add to your newsletter.

In writing your newsletter, keep the following points in mind:

Your Readers

oKnow your readers and what they want.

oAsk your readers for feedback and how to improve.

oTalk to your readers. Don’t just put information in your newsletter; think about that audience out there reading your newsletter. How do they feel after reading what you’ve prepared?

Your Writing Style

oUse short, simple sentences; keeping paragraphs short.

oWrite clearly and avoid slang or profanity.

oUse humor and keep a refreshing tone to your writing.

oKeep your tone friendly, but also professional.

oHave white space between the paragraphs.

oUse small graphics whenever applicable.

oInclude your logo for business recognition.

oUse bold or italics for emphasis, but don’t underline.

oUse plain text. (12-14 point)

Headings

oEntice the reader with your heading to ensure they read the article.

oHeadlines should be slightly larger than the other text.

oUse bold or italics and a good font, but don’t use all caps.

Content of Newsletter

oContent is king! Just like on your website, it’s vital to have your newsletter or ezine packed full of useful information.

oProvide articles written by you and other experts.

oProvide any new services or features you’ve added to your business.

oProvide links of relevant press releases, articles, other sites, etc. This gives readers more information that they can review.

oProvide case studies, facts not known, etc. Sign up for Google News so that you can get information your clients might not have seen.

oProvide a collection of valuable small business tips, testimonials, etc.

oProvide a personal message from you. Many enjoy hearing how you are doing and what’s new happening in their life and business.

oProvide humorous quotations or jokes.

oContests / Polls / Freebies / Quizzes / Games!! Let the fun begin. Why not include something that makes the reader look forward to taking a break from their busy day to read your newsletter?

The Final Step — Proofing

oMake sure everything is 100% accurate with no typos.

oMake sure you have permission for any copyrighted material.

oMake sure if you have sources, you have credited them correctly.

Most ezines are “opt-in,” which means that everyone who receives it has actually registered to receive it–they want it already. Now the only thing you need to do is provide them great information that keeps them wanting it every month.

3 Online Marketing Strategies for Your Network Marketing Or MLM Business

Are you a network marketer? Then say hooray for the internet and internet marketing. The internet gives you the advantage of being able to get your information out in front of millions.

As we all know, warm leads are two things – usually a very short list and actually rather freezing. How many on your warm list actually sign up and do something with the business? My guess is not that many. Many old school network marketers will tell you to begin with your warm list. Let’s now waste everyone’s time with that when we have the advantage of the internet. The internet will enable us to find leads in other places.

Today the internet is making lead generation much easier. Here are three great ways to use the internet to generate your leads.

1. Article Writing

Use the keyboard as a marketing tool to get your income opportunity plan out. This is an obvious and easy tool to use. Article writing can generate leads as well as help you build relationships with others interested in your company. One well-written article can create an on-going stream of marketing leads. Once your article is published it is on the web for a lifetime. Think you can’t write? You can, give it a try. If you REALLY think you can’t write, you can find inexpensive ghost writers to do it for you.

2. Blogging

Blogging began as personal diaries and journals posted on the web, but have fast become the platform for many business owners, including network marketers. You can include information about the marketing plan, the products, training programs, updates from the company and many other resources, as well as testimonials. These testimonials can be from successful networkers in your group or from product users. You can also put an opt-in box on your blog or even create a squeeze page in order to create a list of more leads.

3. Video Marketing

Thanks to YouTube, videos have become a great resource for marketing on the web. You can easily record a video with a simple explanation of your business and then refer people to your blog site for more information. This starts your relationship building. When people can actually see who you are and experience your enthusiasm for your network marketing company, they are more likely to respond. And, if you use the right keywords, Google will find you quickly and put you on the first page, as Google loves videos!