Jan 20, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 20, 2010 in E-commerce | 0 comments
As a long time web designer I’ve dealt with any number of eCommerce options over the years. In general you’ve always had two major options:
1) You build and code from scratch. This required a great deal of knowledge in various coding languages in addition to the ability to design an attractive interface which will work within the construct of the website’s structure.
2) You pay a company with pre-built systems. This was not only extremely expensive but rarely allowed you freedom to create any sort of pleasing design as it would have to conform to their limited header/footer customization.
Well, I’ve seen the light now! The future is here and (unfortunately for people in “the business” like me) it’s unbelievably easy to do.
These free solutions are Open Source based online shop e-commerce solutions that are available under the GNU General Public License. They all contain a rich set of out-of-the-box online shopping cart functionalities that allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain their online stores with minimum effort and with no costs, fees, or limitations involved. Most of these Open Source solutions provide an e-commerce platform, which include the powerful PHP web scripting language and the fast MySQL database server. With no special requirements, they are able to run on any PHP 4.1+ enabled web server running on Linux, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows environments.
Unbelievable right? Well,, it’s true and I’m loving it.
In addition to the obvious advantages of these open source stores, there are many less obvious benefits such as.
- Active user forums where you can get answers to most any question without dealing with charges or “canned responses” from a profit company.
- The ability to change the design of your store nearly instantly by simply selecting a new “template” from within your administration panel
- Countless free “add-ons” and “modules” which add all types of additional features to your store.
- As the projects continue to grow and the stores improve you can upgrade, and of course the upgrades are free also.
In my opinion once of the greatest of the above features is the ability to change the design and/or appearance of your site with the ease of a few uploads and button clicks (ONCE YOU HAVE A DESIGN DEVELOPED). The most common complaint I found from OS users was the same one I’ve heard about other e-commerce packages. People weren’t aware of how much work would be involved in getting an original design put together. They would get to a certain point, hit an unexpected bottleneck, and be unable to keep going. The majority of the work involved in getting your store up and running was getting a design to function within the limits and restrictions of the store’s code. Every implementation will run into these problems, and everything takes longer and costs more than you plan for it, whether it’s proprietary or open source. There are now; however, easy solutions for this issue which will prevent you from getting overwhelmed. Many businesses on the web (example: http://www.bg-website-templates.com & http://www.bluegelmedia.com.com ) who focus on web template development have entered a whole new era in template design. They have begun development of stunning designs for Open Source eCommerce solutions such as OScommerce, ZenCart, and CRE Loaded (the most popular of these Open Source eCommerce solutions). This allows you to easily implement a perfect store design within minutes. While these design templates are not free like the eCommerce solution, they are worth the mere $50 average price, saving you weeks of frustrating design.
You can find more information on these Open Source eCommerce Solutions at their hub sites. Just type in the OS solution name you wish to research into your search engine and their home pages will show up. The most popular solutions are ZenCart, OScommerce & CRE Loaded. But there are many other ones out there to choose from; however these three have proven themselves over time and have such large user bases and support groups that I would recommend trying one of them first before attempting to delve into lesser known solutions.
To sum this all up. While large companies will always need a custom built solution for their online stores, the average small business no longer needs to spend five or ten thousand dollars to have a quality store developed. The use of a free OS solution along with an inexpensive design template will have you selling online for pennies on the dollar compared with a custom built store. Even if you don’t feel you have the skill set to work with the OS solutions, you can hire any competent developer to implement it for you. Sure you’ll be charged, but the price will be a small percentage of what you would have paid.
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Jan 17, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 17, 2010 in business | 0 comments
Most moms are looking to stay at home to spend more time with their family and enjoy a less stressful life. It used to be that only a small percentage was actually working from home, because of the fear factor. It is much more popular now, because they see their friends being successful working at home and have a burning desire to do the same.
Recently my daughter went away on a planned moms only week end trip, met some work at home ladies and immediately called me when she got back wanting to know what program I thought she could do. She wants to have a Home Based Business like many of the other ladies she met. I always encourage this arena for moms, because I don’t think anyone can do a better job raising their children then their parents. The more time a mom spends with her children will usually pay big dividends later on in life.
The popularity of moms looking to work from home can be easily seen by looking at just a few of the keywords that are searched for on the major search engines daily. They are phrases like work for stay at home moms, stay at home moms work from home, work at home for stay home moms, work at home jobs for stay at home moms, work from home jobs for stay at home moms, online work for stay at home moms and stay home moms returning to work. This is just a few of the hundreds of searched made on an hourly basis.
As a work at home website owner, I like many others, have created a specific page just for work at home women.
There are many good choices on the Internet such as Online Paid Surveys, Data Entry, Type at Home, Telephone Answering, Home Based Business just to mention a few. There are also many programs available just for moms that have a desire to work from home.
One of the first decision you will need to make is do you want to own an online business, create some additional income or both. Finding a program that meets you goals is very important to your success.
My suggestion is to either use a web site like mine, but not necessarily mine, that has done some research so that it will save you time and money. There are many companies out there that will take your time and money and give you nothing in return. You either need to use a website that has researched these or be prepared to spend hours researching them yourself. It can be done either way.
If you are reading this article you more than likely have the necessary tools to work at home. You will need a computer, printer, access to the Internet, some free time and a minimal amount of money to get started. While not mandatory I always suggest setting up a separate email address for you work at home information.
You can usually get started in a matter of minutes if you use a website that has filtered out the choices for you. All you need to do is find the programs you want to try, join, read the information that you have access to and begin working at home.
When doing my research I for companies that have a good product, track record of payments, customer support and step-by-step guidance on how to be successful working at home.
Please feel free to read more of this article by visiting my link in the resource box below. I always enjoy getting emails pertaining to my articles or my site. Your feedback is important to me.
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Jan 14, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 14, 2010 in Affiliate Marketing | 0 comments
Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.
What are these three tactics?
1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.
Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.
Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.
The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.
Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…
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Jan 13, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 13, 2010 in Affiliate Marketing | 0 comments
Today, many of us want to pack up our jobs and be our own bosses. The idea of working for you attracts many. However, the reality of making it happen soon stops most. In fact the vast majority of us cannot get a business off the ground due to 2 main factors; the first being money and the second being risk.
Starting even a small business takes a fair amount of money. You need to buy or rent premises, purchase your stock and equipment and pay staff if you have them. You will also have other outside expenses such as advertising.
Risk is the factor that kills most businesses off. Even if you’re lucky enough to get the capital to start, nearly 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year. If yours is one of the lucky ones, you have to keep reinvesting your time and money to build up the businesses reputation. It could be anywhere from 5-7 years before any significant profit is seen. Most of us cannot wait that long which is what makes affiliate marketing such an attractive offer.
Affiliate marketing involves you, working as an affiliate for a merchant or company. You sell either goods or services and you’re paid on how much you produce. There are no costs and no risk. You put in what you choose and are rewarded accordingly.
Running an affiliate marketing business is challenging. You’ll have to work very hard to build it up. However, you’ll be rewarded for your hard work not someone else. Getting an affiliate marketing program going may seem difficult. The truth is it is down to you and how much you want to put in. There is no sure fire way to success but there are some good tips that you can follow to make you affiliate marketing scheme as successful as possible.
There are literally thousands of programs for you to choose from. However, to get started you may want to choose something that you are familiar with. This product or service may not be the hottest thing on the current market or make you a millionaire, but you will come off more confident and sincere with something you know and believe in.
This will also help when it comes to creating your site. Something familiar will allow you to be personal and creative. Trying to create a site around something you know little about will soon become boring and tedious.
Working with something familiar will also give you the some experience in the program. You can always expand at a latter time when you are more familiar with how things work.
Another good piece of advice is to watch the number of banners that you put up. A site full of banners will make the site look ugly and put off potential buyers. Carefully place your banners and use them to accent your site. Stuffing it full will not help.
Remember, in the world of affiliate marketing there is no such thing as the perfect program. Any particular program will be stuffed full of varying testimonials. Some will be great will others will have not done so well. You need to decide for yourself and not be put of by a few bad experiences. In the end it is down to you and how much you want to put in.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money and work for you. The risk to you is minimal and there is no start up cost. There are many great affiliate marketing programs out there and choosing the right one may seem like a daunting task. When you first start out remember to stick to what you know. Find something you know about and have an interest in. Make your site attractive to others and resist the urge to fill it with banners. This may end up having the opposite of your desired effect. Finally remember, there is no perfect program. Some will have success where others have failed. It is all down to you. Don’t give up.
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Jan 13, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 13, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments
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Jan 9, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 9, 2010 in E-commerce | 1 comment
This very slogan was introduced by CITIZEN Watch Company presenting their innovating technology called ECO-DRIVE. The Eco-Drive watch has become a real step towards the future. The original idea of these watch coined in 1995 is a complete realization of contemporary development in the sphere of high tech.
Citizen, the world’s largest watch company, was established in 1930. All the products manufactured by this company are known all over the world. Printers, calculators, machinery and of course watch have invariably good quality.
More than a decade ago Citizen introduced the revolutionary Eco-Drive collection which has become the world’s most popular collection of light-powered watch. The collection is being improved constantly trying to achieve perfect quality, reliability and attractive design. The idea of Eco-Drive watch is perfectly simply – the power source is widely available, free of charge, inexhaustible and harmless. This is the sun power.
The watch is equipped with a special lithium-ion battery that is charged by an amorphous silicon solar cell located behind the dial. Depending on the model, a fully-charged cell could run with no further charging for more than 6 months. If the watch are kept in the dark for a long time, a sleep mode activates, and in case of this the dials of the watch would stop running but the internal quartz movement would still keep track of time.
The design of the first Citizen Eco-Drive watch was influenced by technical factors only. That is why the first collections were equipped by large accumulators that resulted in the huge size and not very attractive appearance. Unlike early solar-powered watches, the solar panels in latest Eco-Drive watch are almost invisible. Moreover, while earlier manufacturers were limited in choosing the color of the dial, now the variation of colors, shapes and materials can attract the most fastidious and capricious clients.
The latest Eco-Drive models developed by highly qualified and extremely talented designers and engineers of Citizen company are constituted according to the last world trends both in technology and in fashion. One can be really impressed by thin, elegant, stylish and at the same time classical design of the watch. Citizen offers a variety of materials that the body of watch is made of.
It is undoubtedly obvious that the Citizen Company succeeded to find the niche for its Eco-Drive brand. It comes as not surprise that ecological technology used in the watch together with smart appearance and progressive technical innovations have gained wide recognition all over the world.
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Jan 8, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 8, 2010 in Affiliate Marketing | 0 comments
Ever heard of affiliate programs? These are forms of Internet advertising that rewards the affiliates for driving traffic to the advertiser or for other transactions. The advertiser pays the affiliate to place a link on their website, and the affiliate sends traffic to the advertiser in return. Simply put, it’s about paying commissions to people who help you make sales. It’s that easy. NOT.
Affiliate marketing has its ups and downs. It could be draining if you are not armed with updated information and the technical how-tos. But this article’s sole objective is to reach out to you and not to badmouth affiliate marketing.
Here are the following reasons on why web marketers go gaga over affiliate marketing as a form of Internet advertisement.
1. Low cost
Many are scared to go on a home based business because of the capital required. In affiliate marketing, you don’t have to spend much to start raking in moolah.
2. Inventories not included
Product management fuss could be very stressing. An inventory is not asked to be maintained. The merchant does the maintenance required.
3. Unlimited income through leverage
When you have a paid job, your monthly income mainly relies on whether you go to work or not. With affiliate marketing, your affiliates could all just lead traffic to your site without having to lift a finger after providing them your ad copy and links. Though not every web marketer earns limitless, it still is a fact that all the necessary matters for the advertiser or Internet marketer are all there to be successful.
4. Go worldwide
With affiliate marketing, you are dealing with a global market place. All you have to do is choose a niche product and prepare all the necessary tools for your affiliates to lead traffic from just about anywhere to your website.
5. Low risk
The very main reason for Internet marketer’s enthusiasm with affiliate marketing is its having a low risk factor. Especially for those with low budget set aside for advertising, affiliate marketing is just the way to do it.
6. No closing time
With affiliate marketing, your business works every single second of the day while targeting a worldwide market! What could be better than that?
But all of these will be put to waste if you don’t have the right niche product and all the other important tools to make it big in affiliate marketing, i.e., well-SEO-ed website. So better work on this first before ever considering those benefits.
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Jan 6, 2010
Posted by admin on Jan 6, 2010 in Career | 0 comments
What do employers look for in potential employees? That was the question that was posted recently on a career discussion forum online. Naturally, for each different position, the particular answers to that question would be different. However, there are some common skills that employers look for in all employees, whether the employee happens to be a network engineer or a fry cook.
In-Demand Skills for Success
1. BASIC SKILLS‚ Reading, writing and arithmetic! Believe it…
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What do employers look for in potential employees? That was the question that was posted recently on a career discussion forum online. Naturally, for each different position, the particular answers to that question would be different. However, there are some common skills that employers look for in all employees, whether the employee happens to be a network engineer or a fry cook.
In-Demand Skills for Success
1. BASIC SKILLS‚ Reading, writing and arithmetic! Believe it or not, a good portion of high school graduates (and some college grads) do not read at an 8th grade level and cannot do multiplication in their head. Employers are seeking employees who can read well, can write coherently, and who can calculate mathematics in a business environment (fractions, percentages, etc.) Add to that the modern basic skills of keyboarding skill, basic computer knowledge, and ability to use most computerized tools (e.g. fax machine, basic word processing program, etc.) to round out the basic skill sets needed for employment success.
2. PERSONAL SKILLS‚ Can a potential employee speak well? Can he/she answer questions of customers in a positive, informative manner? Can the prospect provide good customer service? While not everyone has an outgoing sales’ personality, successful employees can communicate in a non-confrontational, positive manner with their coworkers, team members, subordinates, management, and customers. Being able to work well with others is a vital skill for success in all jobs.
3. JOB ATTAINMENT‚ Job search is a process that requires a great deal of dedication and attention to be conducted successfully. It follows the old principal that many veteran programmers refer to as GIGO ‚ Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you put lousy effort in, you will receive lousy results. Employers are seeking employees who know how to present themselves in a positive manner and who display enthusiasm and knowledge about the companies they approach. Not only do candidates get evaluated on their skills and experience, but also on how they are approaching the job search. Enthusiastic candidates with fewer skills have an even chance of getting the job as dull candidates with better skills.
4. JOB SURVIVAL‚ Now there’s a hot topic in this period of layoffs. Who gets the ax and who doesn’t is often a matter of numbers, but it is also often a matter of performance. Employees who have consistently demonstrated their worth, taken initiative, and made themselves a valuable asset to the company have lower incidences of being downsized than employees who put forth mediocre or average effort in their jobs. Surviving within a company through layoffs or moving up the career ladder is a success skill that is learned and is consciously cultivated among successful professionals.
5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT‚ As all high tech and engineering pros know‚ it’s learn or burn in today’s work environment. Attaining new skills, applying new concepts, updating established skills is an absolute necessity to succeed in today’s work force. The successful individual is constantly attending seminars, taking classes, attaining training on new products or releases, and otherwise learning new skills that will keep them marketable in their careers. Successful people are lifelong learners. Employers are looking for people who have the training necessary to fulfill their needs.
6. CAREER DEVELOPMENT‚ Career Development differs from Professional Development. Professional Development is learning while Career Development is a planning and goal setting process. Successful individuals design a career plan with written goals for short term and long term. They lay out the steps needed to move their careers from Point A to Point B within Time Frame C and plan how they are going to achieve those steps. Successful people have someone to whom they are accountable for their progress and who will monitor their success in achieving their goals. Employers are seeking individuals who (believe it or not) wish to commit to the company for a long period of time. Good career progression is a high selling point of candidates to prospective employers.
How do you measure up? Do you have the 6 In-Demand Skills for Success? Feel like you need some help? Give us a call!
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