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The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly

David Meerman Scott

The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly David Meerman Scott Amazon Price: $11.53
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By: Wiley
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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Marketing & Sales -> Marketing -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Internet has profoundly changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. But it has also changed the way businesses communicate with their customers (and those who they want to be customers). In the old days, companies could only communicate through the filter of expensive advertising or media ink placed by a PR firm. Today the rules have changed entirely.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR shows you how to leverage the potential that Web-based communication offers your business. Finally, you can speak directly to customers and buyers, establishing a personal link with the those who make your business work. You can reach niche buyers with targeted messages that cost a fraction of your big-budget ad campaign. Rather than bombard them with advertising they’ll likely ignore, you can focus on getting the right message to the right people at the right time.

When people visit your company’s Web site, they aren’t there to hear your slogan or see your logo again. They want information, interaction, and choice—and you’d be a fool not to give it to them. This one-of-a-kind guide to the future of marketing includes a step-by-step action plan for harnessing the power of the Internet, showing you how to identify audiences, create compelling messages, get those messages to the right people, and lead those consumers into the buying process. Including a wealth of compelling case studies and real-world examples, this is a practical guide to the new reality of PR and marketing.

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days

Steve Weber

eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days Steve Weber Amazon Price: $17.05
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By: Weber Books
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

ebay 101-buy it! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the first books out with the newer format on ebay. Easy reading, easy to understand. I recomend it.

Best reference for selling on eBay 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book not only is a great introduction to eBay, it's the best reference book to selling on eBay I've seen because of the extensive glossary, index and guide to those odd acronymns. It's also a realistic guide to selling -- no rose-colored classes. There are not too many illustrations in here but the ones there are a big help. This book is a keeper, I'm going to keep it within arm's reach. From the books I've seen, this one is the most up-to-date also.

More Than Just 101 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I started selling at eBay in 1995 when there were just 1200 items for sale and only two categories. And I thought I knew everything. Ha! Steve Weber's book has everything. And as a past teacher trainer at Ohio State University and other institutions I can say that Steve wrote this book in the perfect style--large type, space between words and lines, and easy-to-read pictures of eBay screens.

My only advice to the reader is to realize that selling at eBay gets harder and harder as the years pass. Steve makes eBay selling sound like a sure bet. Believe me, it isn't. Of course, he is so much more successful at it than I ever was. Hmmm-I think I'll go back and read the book again and take notes.--Sam Yulish, author of "Where Have All the Hippies Gone?" and many publications for teachers.

How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money

Bruce C. Brown

How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money Bruce C. Brown Amazon Price: $16.47
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By: Atlantic Publishing Company
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Interested in promoting your business and/or Web site, but don t have the big budget for traditional advertising? This new book will show you how to build, promote, and make money off of your Web site or brick and mortar store using the Internet, with minimal costs. Let us arm you with the knowledge you need to make your business a success! Learn how to generate more traffic for your site or store with hundreds of Internet marketing methods, including many free and low-cost promotions. This new book presents a comprehensive, hands-on, step-by-step guide for increasing Web site traffic and traditional store traffic by using hundreds of proven tips, tools, and techniques. Learn how to target more customers to your business and optimize your Web site from a marketing perspective. You will learn to target your campaign, use keywords, generate free advertising, search-engine strategies, learn the inside secrets of e-mail marketing, how to build Web communities, co-branding, auto-responders, Google advertising, banner advertising, eBay storefronts, Web-design information, search-engine registration, directories, and real-world examples of what strategies are succeeding and what strategies are failing. **Award-Winning Finalist in the Business Category of the National Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards **Bronze Winner in the Computer/ Internet Category of the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards

Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age

C. Russell Brumfield

Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age C. Russell Brumfield Amazon Price: $16.47
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By: Quimby Press
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Secretly, scores of Fortune 500 companies, like Proctor & Gamble, Disney, Bloomingdales, Lexus, Reebok, Sony, Samsung, and Starwood Hotels, have been using aroma to bypass their competition. These cutting edge companies are using scent research to trigger and enhance customers emotions, perceptions, and brand loyalty, resulting in increased sales and satisfied customers.

Whiff! conveniently pulls back the veil for the rest of the $3.9 trillion U.S. retail marketing trade, so that innovative small and mid-sized businesses can share the advantage of the big boys. Yet this is only the beginning stage of the scent revolution. This global wave is changing how branding and marketing experts communicate with their customers at every level across every industry.

Whiff! reveals how exciting new scent discoveries are being applied to safety, security, healthcare, navigation, diagnostics, product design, and even on the battlefield.

With a comprehensive overview of this global phenomenon, Brumfield and his team offer up a breath-taking whiff of the future and a plan of how to get in the game.

Exciting Revelations from Whiff!

  • How Endorphin Branding can trigger a patterned, physiological, feel-good response in the consumer.
  • Research showing an almost doubling of retail sales receipts.
  • Embedded scent marketing triggers used to spark sales of tread-worn tires, brake pads, fan belts, batteries, and appliances.
  • Combating the global trillion-dollar counterfeit trade with scent.
  • Fashion s big future in scented intelligent and emotional clothing.
  • Life-saving scents that eradicate the killer Superbug MRSA and other deadly infectious microbes.
  • Scent alarm warning systems to alert the public of impending tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and school shootings.
  • Battlefield scents for combat, communication, training, and non-lethal Stench Bombs.
  • A CIA initiative is becoming a Big Brother reality as the U.S. spends millions on an ominous plan to gather and store the unique signature scent of humans.

The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media

Paul Gillin

The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media Paul Gillin Amazon Price: $16.50
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By: Quill Driver Books
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Depth and perspective 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Books about Web tools and strategies for marketers tend to be written hastily, for two reasons: primacy and recency. With respect to the former, the marketing consultants who write these books want to build visibility in the market quickly, and to be perceived as pioneers, because the competition is intense. With respect to the latter, the web environment evolves and shifts daily; so authors worry that taking time to cover these topics in depth, present meaningful case studies, verify factual accuracy, and polish prose might unduly delay publication beyond the point timeliness. Among the several books I've read about Web 2.0 marketing, Gillin's book is the most sophisticated, with ample real-world cases and examples -- and the least evangelistic. While many of the authors in this "space" come across as self-serving buzz-meisters, Gillin is enthusiastic but circumspect.

Editorial Review:

The influence of bloggers, podcasters, and users of other social media is profoundly disrupting the mainstream media and marketing industries. Paul Gillin s The New Influencers explores these forces, who these new influencers are, their goals and motivations, takes a look at the changes they have initiated, and offers strategies for marketing within this dynamic new macrocosm. The New Influencers explores: Why social media are now so influential in consumer decisions Interacting with those within the blogosphere How to take advantage of this new medium The need for complete transparency Strategies for both small and large businesses Whether your company or organization should start a blog

Retail Business Kit For Dummies

Rick Segel

Retail Business Kit For Dummies Rick Segel Amazon Price: $23.09
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By: For Dummies
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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Small Business & Entrepreneurship -> Retail Businesses

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned retail entrepreneur, Retail Business Kit For Dummies shows you how to start and run your business in today’s retail marketplace—from your original dream and the day-to-day operation to establishing a connection with customers and increasing your sales, both on the Web and at a brick-and-mortar shop.

In this practical, how-to guide, retail expert Rick Segel shares his expertise and reveals what it takes to be successful. You’ll get a handle of the basics of launching and growing your business, from writing a business plan and finding a great location to hiring and keeping great staff. Find out how to meet and exceed customer expectations, create a positive shopping experience, provide top-notch customer service, and earn customer loyalty. And, the Bonus CD includes forms, templates, and samples that help simplify every business task, from managing inventory to creating sales and more! Discover how to:

  • Launch a successful independent retail business
  • Create a Web site that shines
  • Connect with customers and increase sales
  • Simplify operations with forms and templates on the CD
  • Handle legal and accounting issues
  • Design stores that really work
  • Practice the 10 keys to retail selling
  • Use management practices proven in the trenches
  • Make visual merchandising work for you

Make your new venture succeed beyond your wildest dreams with a little help from Retail Business Kit For Dummies!

Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site (2nd Edition)

Mike Moran, Bill Hunt

Search Engine Marketing, Inc.: Driving Search Traffic to Your Company's Web Site (2nd Edition) Mike Moran, Bill Hunt Amazon Price: $31.49
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The #1 Step-by-Step Guide to Search Marketing Success...Now Completely Updated with New Techniques, Tools, Best Practices, and Value-Packed Bonus DVD!


“My copy of the first edition of Search Engine Marketing, Inc. is ratty and dog-eared from extensive use. It’s full of coffee stains and my own scribbled notes. Because it so effectively demystifies search engine marketing and provides such practical advice for success, I turn to it again and again and recommend it to audiences worldwide. This book is not academic blather or geeky techno-speak; it’s an approachable and digestible guide chock-full of real-life examples.”
—David Meerman Scott, Bestselling Author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR


“Keeping pace with the rapidly changing search marketing landscape, the latest edition of Bill Hunt and Mike Moran’s search industry bible, Search Engine Marketing, Inc., incorporates informative and enlightening sections on optimizing multimedia, improving Web site search, and the emergence of social media and what it really means to the search marketer. There is valuable information in this book to help inform at every level from the beginner who is curious about search to the advanced enterprise search marketer. Taking a very complicated, technical, and data-driven industry and making it easily understandable and actionable is no small task, and Search Engine Marketing, Inc. succeeds on every level. If you only read one book on search marketing principles and best practices, this is the one.”

—Jay Middleton Senior Manager, WW Search Marketing, Adobe Systems, Inc.

“With Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Bill Hunt and Mike Moran have successfully updated what is already known in the industry as “The Search Marketing Bible.” With new content, examples, and insight including social media and Web site search, this is a must read book for marketers at companies of all sizes from startups to the Fortune 100.”

—Lee Odden CEO of TopRank Online Marketing and Author of Online Marketing Blog

In this book, two world-class experts present today’s best practices, step-by-step techniques, and hard-won tips for using search engine marketing to achieve your sales and marketing goals, whatever they are. Mike Moran and Bill Hunt thoroughly cover both the business and technical aspects of contemporary search engine marketing, walking beginners through all the basics while providing reliable, up-to-the-minute insights for experienced professionals.

Thoroughly updated to fully reflect today’s latest search engine marketing opportunities, this book guides you through profiting from social media marketing, site search, advanced keyword tools, hybrid paid search auctions, and much more. You’ll walk step-by-step through every facet of creating an effective program: projecting business value, selling stakeholders and executives, building teams, choosing strategy, implementing metrics, and above all, execution.

BONUS DVD Packed with Tools and Resources

DVD includes over 2 hours of exclusive how-to video presentations, plus audio interviews and white papers on cutting-edge search engine marketing topics

The authors systematically address every issue you’re likely to encounter, while helping you implement timeless strategies for delivering superior long-term results. You’ll learn how to

  • Identify and leverage new search engine marketing opportunities arising from social media
  • Align search engine marketing with your company’s evolving strategic and tactical goals
  • Implement programs that drive sustainable improvements— not counterproductive quick fixes
  • Systematically optimize your existing Web site search programs
  • Manage the unique marketing challenges associated with large sites
  • Create monthly scorecards and use them to drive improvement
  • Provide effective guidance to content developers and designers in language they’ll understand
  • Automate checking and reporting for every page on your site
  • Choose effective target keywords, optimize your content, and attract links
  • Make the most of Google, Yahoo!, Live Search, and the latest specialized and local search tools
  • Measure site-wide success rates across multiple systems and technologies
  • Hire the right SEO consultant—and avoid the wrong ones

Whether you’re a marketing, Web, or IT professional, product manager, or content specialist, Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Second Edition will help you define your SEO/SEM goals, craft a best-practices program for achieving them, and implement it flawlessly.

Foreword xxv

Preface xxvii

Acknowledgments xxi

Part 1: The Basics of Search Marketing 1

Chapter 1: Why Search Marketing Is Important…and Difficult 3

Chapter 2: How Search Engines Work 31

Chapter 3: How Search Marketing Works 57

Chapter 4: How Searchers Work 81

Part 2: Develop Your Search Marketing Program 101

Chapter 5: Identify Your Web Site’s Goals 103

Chapter 6: Measure Your Web Site’s Success 119

Chapter 7: Measure Your Search Marketing Success 143

Chapter 8: Define Your Search Marketing Strategy 171

Chapter 9: Sell Your Search Marketing Proposal 199

Part 3: Execute Your Search Marketing Program 227

Chapter 10: Get Your Site Indexed 229

Chapter 11: Choose Your Target Keywords 267

Chapter 12: Optimize Your Content 293

Chapter 13: Attract Links to Your Site 337

Chapter 14: Optimize Your Paid Search Program 383

Chapter 15: Make Search Marketing Operational 447

Part 4: Beyond Search Marketing 477

Chapter 16: Explore New Media and Social Media 479

Chapter 17: Optimize Your Web Site Search 505

Chapter 18: What’s Next? 533

Glossary 551

Index 583

Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business!

Paul Gillin

Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business! Paul Gillin Amazon Price: $10.85
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Social media marketing: Why practice it? How does it work? And what options are available? 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.


I liked this book very much. I read the author's first book on this subject back in July, 2007. And now he has a second great book out on the subject. It includes the following 16 chapters:

1. Making the case
2. Making choices
3. Ear to the ground
4. Courting online influencers
5. Corporate soapboxes
6. Customer conversations
7. The social network gorillas
8. Niche innovations
9. Learning from conversations
10. Basics of social media content
11. Picking your spot
12. Telling stories with words and images
13. Engagement through interaction
14. Promote thyself
15. Measuring results
16. Celebrating change

The book was very easy to read. It is full of great content. And it is very well researched. I found each of the chapters to be packed full of cites to Web sites that are critical players in the social media marketing realm of things. And I've read quite a few books on this subject. I can tell you this book is not simple fluff or something merely written in order to capitalize on the current popularity of the subject matter.

There are real world examples cited throughout the text. And I found them to be very good additions to the points being made in the main body of the book's content. So the numerous cites to Web sites and the inclusion of real world examples makes this book a goldmine of information for anyone hungry to learn about social media marketing. I had one problem with the book - its organization. When I completed it and sat down to write this review I said to myself: "There are 16 chapters in this book. How can they be broken down into three or four "parts?" I had hoped it would be easy for me to eyeball the parts. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Below is how I think the book probably should have been organized to be a little more easily digestible. 5 stars!

[I] WHY PRACTICE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
1. Making the case
14. Promote thyself
8. Niche innovations
[II] HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING WORK?
10. Basics of social media content
12. Telling stories with words and images
5. Corporate soapboxes
4. Courting online influencers
6. Customer conversations
13. Engagement through interaction
3. Ear to the ground
9. Learning from conversations
16. Celebrating change
15. Measuring results
[III] SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING OPTIONS
2. Making choices
11. Picking your spot
7. The social network gorillas

Editorial Review:

Secrets of Social Media Marketing is a handbook for marketers and business owners to use in deciding how to employ the new social media for online marketing. Social media has quickly moved from the periphery of marketing into the forefront, but this is a new and quickly-evolving field and there are few established formulas for success. Building on the lessons set out in Gillin’s acclaimed and oft-reviewed The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media, this book provides practical advice on strategy, tools, and tactics. It is a hands-on manual that will educate marketers on how to extend their brands, generate leads, and engage customer communities using online tools.

Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time

Maria Veloso

Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time Maria Veloso Amazon Price: $14.93
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Web Copy That Sells 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not all websites are created equally. The majority of websites are rather boring: a little text and perhaps a few graphics. Other sites try to grab the readers' attention with a lot of colorful graphics and a lot of fancy ad-speak.

When it comes to promoting business success, neither type of website will be very useful. The rather plain site will be virtually ignored. Most readers won't even bother to read your web copy.

On the other hand, the flashy site will scream out advertisement. It's like going into a store and having the salesman give us the hard sell. No one wants that.

Fortunately, Web Copy that Sells provides a third option. Step by step, this resource shows how to get readers to read your web copy and how to encourage them to purchase your product. This book really is a goldmine of ideas.

Editorial Review:

"Web Copy That Sells" presents copy strategies that have been proven time and again in the e-commerce arena. Maria Veloso, perhaps the most widely acclaimed Web copywriter in the world, bases her revolutionary "Million Dollar Blueprint" on five simple questions - the reader answers them and the copy practically writes itself. Veloso crams all the information from her 12-hour, $997 live seminars into an accessible book that helps any Web copywriter.

Internet Riches: The Simple Money-Making Secrets of Online Millionaires

Scott Fox

Internet Riches: The Simple Money-Making Secrets of Online Millionaires Scott Fox Amazon Price: $12.21
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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> High-Tech

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 92 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this strategy-packed guide, top e-business consultant Scott Fox reveals the powerful but simple methods for strik­ing it rich on the Net. Exclusive interviews with dozens of "mom and pop" entrepreneurs prove how easy it is to get started and build a million-dollar enterprise. Readers get:

An inspiring guide to e-business opportunities, including "instant e-businesses" that require no start-up capital or technical training * proven strategies for making money from home and turning hobbies into businesses * low cost web marketing and product tips * legal and financial advice * detailed vendor recommendations * years of expertise and experience in one easy-to-use book Internet Riches also offers an innovative action plan for brain­storming new business ideas, and fun exercises to help readers determine the best moves for their particular situa­tions. Filled with practical pointers and motivational inter­views, it's the most powerful guide ever to finding financial freedom online!

Q&A with Scott Fox, author of Internet Riches

A 2007 survey showed that nearly half of American workers aren't satisfied with their jobs. What do you feel is holding people back from going into business for themselves?

People give their hesitation lots of names but it basically boils down to fear. I wrote Internet Riches precisely to help people overcome these fears. Starting an e-business today is much easier, much cheaper, and requires much less technology expertise than most people realize.

Unfortunately fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear that the learning curve is too steep, fear that there will not be a payoff for their work, fear that they cannot afford to do it, fear that they won’t be able to live up to their own expectations or the needs of the business combine to keep many people from even trying. It’s sad but true that in an effort to be "rational", these fears often combine to create a self-image where a person can’t imagine themselves building a successful e-business.

The problem is that this fear is based on an outdated 20th century understanding of the risks required to start your own business. As thousands of my readers have found, if you update your assumptions to reflect the realities of how easy it is to start your own business in the Internet Age, the conclusions change dramatically and in your favor.

The facts are plain: online markets are continuing to grow explosively, the costs of the equipment and infrastructure have dropped dramatically, the flexibility of working from home on a part-time basis means that people don’t have to quit their full-time jobs to pursue online success, and the great upside available to people who own their own small businesses have all combined to completely change the risk/reward equation.

Based on your research and experience, what areas have the most potential for growth in the coming years?

I’d put these opportunities in 3 buckets: The first bucket is filled with the obvious growth opportunities such as international markets and the mobile web (By this I mean the evolution of e-commerce into mobile commerce on your handheld device). Continuing explosive growth in these markets offers major profit opportunities.

The second bucket is the mining of niche markets. Because the Internet lets people communicate more easily than was possible in the 20th century, we are seeing the rapid emergence of millions of micro communities based on niche interests. This means that almost any hobby or issue can be used as the basis for a community of like-minded individuals. And anywhere there is a community, there is a market for goods and services which solve the problems faced by that community. The Internet allows entrepreneurs greater ability to service these niche markets cost-effectively than ever was possible before the Internet.

The third area of opportunity is the hardest to quantify but the most explosive: This is where entrepreneurs find new and unexpected ways to exploit the efficiencies of the Web to create new products, services, and markets. When one of these ideas finds particular success, it can spread like wildfire across the web and create very profitable new businesses very quickly. The big success stories like Facebook are very well covered by the media but there are thousands of smaller, millionaire-making e-businesses emerging all the time.

The benefits of starting a niche company are many; work from home, mesh passions with profits, be your own boss, etc. However, what potential pitfalls do niche market businesses need to look out for?

Getting ahead of yourself is probably the most common trap that I see for entrepreneurs. Especially because so many "get rich quick" gurus promise unrealistic returns, entrepreneurs can get hurt by diving too deeply, too quickly into their new passion. So, although one of the best parts of starting a business is turning your own enthusiasm into a revenue generator, this enthusiasm can also blind you to possible flaws in your approach.

Three ways to reduce these risks are:

1. Do your research. This means thoroughly investigating the competition (both online and off), pricing the goods and services needed for operations, and setting a realistic budget up-front for both your money and your time.
2. Take advantage of the new e-business paradigm by keeping your costs down, especially at first. Try a few versions of your business model to learn what works the best. Wait until you have found the most profitable approaches before signing any long term contracts or investing heavily in a new venture. In other words, don’t quit your day job until you have evidence that your new web site can lead to the pay-off you’re targeting.
3. Manage your time, relationships, and expectations with extra care during the start-up period. It can be hard on your family and relationships if you are suddenly working two jobs at once. Just as with your financial budget, you should develop a time line for your projects. Discuss this plan, and its associated trade-offs, with your family to get them on board, too.
These steps can help you keep your enthusiasm from overwhelming your good business sense. They can also help preserve your capital until it can be used most effectively.

You state that venture capital is no longer needed for today's internet start-up. Is this a product of cheaper technology, gun-shy investors, or both?

Venture capital can still be appropriate for capital-intensive ventures or to accelerate an already growing business. But for the niche entrepreneurs reading Internet Riches, it’s rarely needed because all the competition among technology service providers has so significantly lowered the costs and risks of starting an online business.

This trend is driven by competition in the technology sector, not just on the prices of hardware but also on the costs and ease of use of software, plus the economies of scale enabled by the Internet’s penetration into daily life and business operations worldwide.

For example, technologies that 10 years ago required tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and an IT engineering team on staff are now available to small businesses in easier to use web-based versions for a small monthly fee. Server maintenance, software upgrades, and tech support are included. This used to be called Application Service Providers (ASPs) but the latest buzzword is SaaS (Software as a Service). Companies can also source goods with increasing efficiency, pricing transparency helps lower prices, and there are more people online shopping than ever before. These trends combine to lower costs, speed up time to market and increase the profit potential of any new e-business venture.

Cheaper, more efficient and easier-to-use technology has also greatly reduced the costs of infrastructure for setting up a new e-business. Now entrepreneurs can work from home, in their spare time, and not have to invest in office space, parking, furniture, insurance, signage, etc. etc. Most of those "real world" costs that were required to start a business in the 20th century have been eliminated for today’s Internet entrepreneurs.

Technology advancements have also revolutionized advertising. Services like Google’s Adsense/Adwords and Yahoo’s Search Marketing Solutions allow any business to advertise cost-effectively to consumers worldwide from a desktop PC. At the same time, those services can make money for entrepreneurs because they will place paid advertising on even the smallest, newest of web sites for no up-front cost. This gives any niche entrepreneur access to a potential advertising revenue stream previously only available to companies that owned newspapers, TV stations or radio programs.

If a business is less expensive to run, its products are cheaper to deliver and faster to market, and its advertising budget is more cost-effective, then it will also need less capital to get started. The combination of all these increased efficiencies and lower costs means a LOT less risk for entrepreneurs, and therefore less need for venture capital to sustain the business until revenues get started. Entrepreneurs can instead focus on growing their businesses instead of on technology support or on raising money that they may not need. Sorry, venture capitalists!

How important is search engine optimization (SEO) to a budding business?

SEO is a key strategy for marketing success, both for online and ‘real world’ businesses.

In my seminars, I often say "Search engines are the Yellow Pages of the 21st century." You wouldn’t traditionally have started a business without listing your phone number in the phone book would you?

Online is increasingly where the consumers are, so your business needs to be there as highly ranked as possible to attract as much traffic as possible. Today you can pay for prominent listings, just like in the days of the Yellow Pages’ dominance. But you can also get good search engine display "organically" for free. This means carefully crafting your web pages’ appearance, copy, and keywords to attract a high ranking from Google and Yahoo.

Often overlooked is the increasing importance of search engines for "real world" businesses, too. If you have a real world business based on local marketing (like a chiropractor or dry cleaner) you may not need a constantly updated e-commerce web site. But you should put up a basic "brochure" web site that is optimized for search engines. As everyone spends more time connected to the Web, you’ll want to be easily discoverable by your local customers online, too.

Internet Riches has three chapters about online marketing tactics for small business. These "No Budget Online Marketing Secrets," "Small Budget Online Marketing Secrets," and "Real Budget Online Marketing Secrets" chapters discuss "pull" marketing tactics like free organic search engine optimization, as well as "push" marketing techniques like keyword advertising and email newsletter publishing that can help any small business grow its online profitability.


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