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Cutting Cost Tips Every Small Business Owner Should Know

07 2008 Monday

By Mark Madson in Featured

Develop a Clear Mission Statement

One of the most important steps is one most business owners consider obvious – but few truly do thoroughly. Make sure that your business plan is simple, clear, and workable before you invest your capital. Have you planned out the next five years intensively? In how much detail? The more narrowly, specifically, and intelligently you articulate your business mission, the easier it will be for you to construct a cost effective budget and to keep your company in the black.

Search for Used/Free/Discounted Equipment

When you’re establishing a new company, you need not indulge in purchases of state-of-the-art furniture, Aeron chairs, and a slate of the latest company iPhones. Indeed, you can save yourself tremendous upfront capital by finding great deals on used/give-away office furniture and equipment. Businesses selling used or cheap equipment are becoming more widespread, and there are many resources online. For instance, Craigslist, a national internet site, posts hundreds of ads for used/cheap furniture every day.

You can also remodel used furniture yourself to save money. An old beat-up wooden table, for instance, can be transformed into a semi luxury furnishing with just a little sanding and painting. You can also call offices in your area to find out whether or not they might let you have or lease furniture at a discounted rate.

To keep costs low, figure out exactly what you need, and only get those items. Psychological studies show that shoppers who make lists and stick to them spend less.

Reduce Your Use of Mail: Increase Your Use of Email

While the US Postal System, FedEx, and other major carriers do a grand job delivering for small businesses, these services can get quite expensive, particularly if you use them regularly or ship bulk materials. Cutting out paperwork can make filing easier, save on staff resources, and cut your postage costs.

If you do convert your business records and transactions to “virtual transactions,” however, be sure to keep duplicate records. You can get accounts through sites likes Yahoo! and Google to store business emails online for free. You should also create a ghost copy of your hard drive to back up critical data.

Negotiate Costs with Vendors and Clients Whenever Possible — Don’t Be Shy

Just because your small business doesn’t qualify for bulk discounts doesn’t mean you can’t use your status as a “lean and mean” organization to your benefit. You may be able to get better deals on supplies by paying early, agreeing to a long-term contract with a supplier, or simply by hard-nosed negotiating. Frankly, one of the best ways to get a good deal is simply to ask. Know your market’s prices before you make offers – you obviously want to neither insult vendors nor overpay. To bone up on how to negotiate better, read books on the psychology of negotiation. Dr. Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence” is a classic in the field.

Shop for Insurance

A good insurance plan can not only protect your business from potentially catastrophic contingencies but can also give you leverage to grow your company. Research what you minimally need before you shop policies. Business owners can choose from literally dozens of types of policies, and every business owner’s needs will be different. Talk to several neutral sources before pricing plans.

Limit Your Energy Use

With oil prices spiking and the energy markets uncertain, you can’t afford not to consider the costs of fuel and power. There are many ways to reduce your consumption of energy without compromising your business model. Use fans instead of central air to keep your building cool during the summer. Replace traditional light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs (those odd, corkscrew-shaped bulbs you see at the hardware store). Energy saving bulbs can slash your energy costs, and they last much longer, too. If possible, do business out of your home to reduce the amount of gas you burn driving to and from the office.

Budget Conservatively

As a small business, you likely don’t have a huge margin of error. Budget brutally and honestly. Figure out your company’s assets and its anticipated liabilities. It’s natural to be optimistic about the future of your business. However, if you set your expectations at a modified level, you’ll have a far greater chance of staying within budget and thus succeeding. Be mindful of the fact that you may have to survive several months without making a profit in order to get your company up and running. Budget both your personal and business expenses carefully in preparation. You can use a number of support systems to improve/refine your budget as you go, including professional accounting consultants and top end software.

Learn From Other Successful Small Business Owners

By forging relationships with other like-minded entrepreneurs, you will simultaneously network and get feedback on key tactical issues which may arise as you move forward with your business plan. You may be entitled to a multitude of excellent tax write-offs. You may also qualify for discounts at bulk big box retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club. Subscribe to trade journals to find discounts and tips to get around fees and other business hassles.

Barter For Services

By trading for discounts you not only save money, you also build brand loyalty with potential vendors. If, for instance, you are starting up a web graphic service, you can likely trade your expertise for discounts on shipping, equipment, and other future favors. You may also be able to offer additional services to your clients to lower costs and build relationships.

Mark Madson of Metro Hi Speed is a leader in Internet fax solutions for any sized business. Less expensive and more reliable than traditional fax services - you’ll enjoy the convenience and well as the cost. Visit us today for more information on our small business and corporate fax solutions.

10 Ways to Put Your eBay Business in the Grave

07 2008 Friday

By Clint Herman in Featured

It’s extremely easy to put your eBay business 6 feet under. You have to be careful, even though you can start over from scratch without it costing you much, but is this something you really want to do? However, if you want your business to end up dead in the water, here are some simple ways to do it.

Lie about an auction item: If you say an item works fine when it sometimes doesn’t or if you say it’s in perfect condition when it has blemishes then you will have angry customers.

Mail the auction item whenever you feel like it: If you leave your customers hanging around wondering when their item is going to turn up then you will probably end up with no repeat buyers.

Let items end anytime: Few people will be around to bid on your auction if it’s ending in the middle of the night. You should go to the trouble of working out whether auctions will end at a good time.

Don’t bother with email: If you take the attitude that communicating with customers is a timewasters then your eBay businesses will end up on the chopping block fast. Communicate by giving informed responses to questions about your auction item.

Offer trash: Don’t get caught up thinking you can just sell any old tat from the market for a huge profit on eBay. Don’t let quality be someone else’s concern. At the very least, if you do sell an item at auction that is old, tarnished, scratched, etc. then be open and honest about this in your eBay auction ad.

Give no discounts: If you stand hard and fast to the adage that you will give no eBay buyers discounts then you are going to leave money on the table. Not only can you get buyers to buy more, you can get buyers to come back again.

Use visually unappealing auction listings: Things to do if you want to repel potential bidders: use a bunch of colors, flashing lights and animations. Write the entire auction description in CAPITALS!!!! Hey, might as well use big, red capital letters. Also, be sure to use the fonts Impact and Comic Sans, and for an extra special touch, see if you can figure out a way to add some music.

Don’t use pictures of your auction item: Not only do pictures give more information to your eBay bidders, but they will also give your auction more of a chance of getting checked out when buyers do searches. And I personally think having pictures in your listing can give bidders more of sense that they will not get ripped off by you.

Write short descriptions: Another eBay business killer is to be as brief as possible in your auction description. Also, try not too use too many mysterious abbreviations, and for goodness sakes do not just write the title again in the description box. Use reserve auctions: Now, this is a fairly controversial idea, but this can be one of the best ways to scare away your eBay customers. They’ll see ‘reserve not yet met’, and click that ‘back’ button before you know it. Luckily, they can always bid in a normal auction for the item somewhere else. Now I know this can be used properly, but try to avoid it as often as possible.

God bless, Clint

Clint Herman is a successful eBay seller with over 6 years experience selling on eBay. He also loves teaching others how to sell on eBay. He is the author of “How to Get Started Selling on eBay,” which is a beginner’s guide to selling on eBay designed for people who are new to selling on eBay. The guide is available at http://www.beginnersauctionguide.com

Why You Should Submit to Web 2.0 Sites

07 2008 Friday

By Billy Baker in Featured

We are hearing how we should promote our websites through social marketing strategies by submitting our content to web 2.0 websites. So many of us have not caught up with, nor have we found the time to get on top of how quickly social marketing changes. And it is fickle as it depends on the likes and dislikes of the communities you belong to.

Maybe you are wondering why you should succumb to the newest internet hype of social marketing. I suppose it pays to keep up with everyone else. How else are your customers going to find you? As you know, making changes to your website helped your search engine optimization. Nowadays portable files like PDFs and video files are submitted to social networking sites where the content fits in to help your content’s visibility.

Upgrading Your Online Shopping Cart – 31 Benefits Your Next Shopping Cart Should Offer

07 2008 Friday

By Dan Janal in Featured

Are you thinking about upgrading your shopping cart so you can take advantage of today’s improved online shopping carts?

You might have started your adventures in e-commerce with a bare-bones system. But if you’re like most people, you’ve probably outgrown these simple carts.

If that’s the case, you need to consider these options:

31 Things to Look For When Choosing Your Next Online Shopping Cart…

Is the cart secure? Make sure the cart has verified security standards and is hacker safe. Those orders could be a major source of fraud that could run you out of business if you aren’t careful.
Can it import your existing client database?
Can it import your existing list of products and services?
Will it categorize your products and services so you can find items quickly?
Will it calculate shipping charges by different carriers, like USPS and overnight courier services?
Can it bill clients automatically each month if you sell recurring services like coaching, or products, like supplements?
Will it work easily with credit card processing companies?
Do they offer free product suppor
Could it offer A/B split testing of different ads, so you can test with ads are more effective?
Does it have an affiliate manager module to track orders made by your partners?
Can it send out automated messages so you can follow up with clients using automated messages and sales scripts that can save you time and make you money?
Are the prices reasonable?
Can you choose from a variety of services so you get the level of service you need?
Does it have features included, like affiliate program tracking and auto-responders?
Can it work with your website to do product upsells?
Does it offer coupons and discounts for consumers?
If you operate several companies, will they all work with one cart, or do you need additional carts? Good systems will let you take orders from different companies you own.
Has the cart been in business for more than five years?
Does the cart have testimonials from satisfied people in your industry?
Will it print an invoice?
Can I make the sales pages look like my website so it has the same colors, logos and layout so customers feel comfortable and has a positive experience?
Will it create a database of clients, prospects and newsletter subscribers?
Will it send out newsletters in HTML and TEXT?
Can it track undeliverable emails?
Does it integrate with QuickBooks so you can do bookkeeping faster?
Can you search by client name or client email address to find records?
Can you create reports to see the records of each person who bought a specific product?
Can you send messages to people who bought specific products?
Can you send personalized messages that include a person’s name, company, city and product purchased?
Can you become an affiliate of the shopping cart and recommend it to your clients?
Can it offer a security code to defeat spammers?

Modern shopping carts, like MyEasyOnlineStore.com have all these features and more. Don’t buy a cart that doesn’t have these services, as you will surely need them.

Serial Internet business entrepreneur, Dan Janal has built multiple six-figure income businesses using MyEasyOnlineStore.com. Now, for the first time ever, he’s revealing the hidden truth behind automating your business, making more money online & enjoying the entrepreneur’s lifestyle. Get his free special report, “How to Choose an Online Shopping Cart” now at: http://www.prleads.com/meos

Search Engines and Link Reputation: What’s Yours?

07 2008 Thursday

By Jeffrey Smith in Featured

Since links are the fabric of the web and they allow us to move from page to page and site to site, they also play a crucial role in deciphering the context of your site when analyzed from outside sources (particularly from search engines).

Call it osmosis, link transference or what you like, the fact remains that “what other sites say about you” meaning “how they link to you” (or how you build links) matters.What percentage of inbound anchor text (the text in the link itself) variety does Google and other search engines deem as a significant percentage vs. your on page factors to assess the context of your site? Do they look at your content or your site reputation more when assessing where to rank your content?

Write Articles To Help Build Your Business By Building Your List

07 2008 Thursday

By Angela Meyers in Featured

I know you’ve heard many times that to be successful at Internet Marketing you have to have a list. You can build your list in many ways but the quickest and most effective way is by writing articles.

Many ezine publishers and website owners are constantly looking for new and up to date information for their publications and web pages. Article writing is the perfect way to provide that information and build an opt-in list.

A lot of new and some experienced Internet Marketers get confused about the obvious use of the opt-in list. The main objective is not just to build a list of names and email addresses. Its purpose is to help you build your business by providing you with a valuable list of names and email addresses that are of good quality.

Millions of people search the internet daily for numerous reasons. The majority of them are usually looking for information on one or a variety of subjects that they just want to know more about.

Here are a few things that you should consider when writing articles to build your business:

1. Find out what type of information people are looking for and provide it for them. This can be done easily by asking the members who are currently on you list what they want.

If you don’t currently have a list you can always visit different forums to find out what people are asking for.

2. Keep in contact with the members on your opt-in list and get to know them. Obviously, if they are subscribing to your list, and staying around, they are interested in what you have to say and you have something in common.

You can ask them to recommend you to their friends, family or co-workers who have the same interests that you have and they can help you build your business.

3. Be careful not to frustrate the members on your list by constantly providing too much information by email too frequently. Though they may like to get email, try not to send too many emails too often.

You can provide the best quality information there is but if you over do it some of your members will opt-out and leave you because of information overload.

When you write articles and submit them to article directories in most cases it is free. It is one of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your website, get free advertising and build your opt-in list all at the same time.

Make your articles key-word rich about your website topic and strive to keep the word count between 400 and 600 words long.

There are times that they will be longer but make sure you check the article directories rules as different article directories have different rules about article length.

Always include a resource box at the bottom of your article with a little bit of information about yourself and include a link to your website.

You will soon build credibility and draw more targeted traffic to your website as your articles are read by others and they begin to click on the link to your website and opt-in to your list.

You will also start to get noticed by search engines and get established as other website owners begin to publish your articles in their ezines, to their list and on their websites.

So, to build your opt-in list quickly and drive traffic to your website, write good quality articles and submit them to the article directories often.

Angela Meyers is a writer and internet marketer who writes and publishes eBooks and media material on various ways to make money online. Want to find out several different ways to make money online? visit: http://www.resellrightsandplrmadesimple.com

Top Home Businesses: Tips to get Visitors to Stay at your Site

07 2008 Thursday

By Mike Muir in Featured

The chances are that if you have a standard, mass-market style website, most visitors will glance at it and quickly move on.

Statistics tell us many things about internet users, but amongst the most useful to us as site-owners are the following:

They’re looking for information about something.
They’re mostly put off by hard-sell advertising.
They’re easily discouraged if it’s difficult to find what they’re looking for.
If they don’t find the site visually appealing they will move on quickly.
They are more likely to look more closely if the site has a personal feel to it.

Given the above, the odds are stacked against us in hoping to attract and retain the interest of the first time visitor. Let us examine some tips to overcome these obstacles, so as to move the odds somewhat in our favour.

The first impression is undoubtedly the visual one. A site that is poorly constructed, muddled or unattractive to look at doesn’t even get out of the starting blocks! The logic is very simple: if the site owner doesn’t have the interest and initiative to make his site look good to the visitor, it’s likely that he pays as little attention to its content.

Make your site look really appealing, by the careful use of colour, and make the layout such that it is easy to find the information the visitor is seeking. Although it’s an idea to use technology to include some clever features, don’t make it too gimmicky or those benefits will be lost. You will need something eye-catching, positioned at the top of your home-page to capture the visitor’s attention.

Remember to focus on the benefits to the visitor - what’s in it for him or her?

Remember your visitor is not looking to buy anything - she wants information. Make that information easily available, in an appealing way. It’s a good idea to offer a useful gift such as a free training programme or newsletter.

Position yourself as an expert in your field. It’s not necessary to claim that massive earnings are likely, but rather to show that you’ve been there got the T-shirt and that you’re prepared to share the information required to make a success of this opportunity. Your visitor can then make her own selection from the top home businesses available to her.

In other words, “This is the information you need and these are the benefits to you.”

If you don’t have web-design skills or even a flair for this, pay someone to help you, or to do it for you. A professional-looking website would be more likely to offer something worthwhile, than something carelessly designed that looks as though it’s been thrown together.

Sometimes the technical gurus become so involved with technology, that they overlook the simple issues. Keep it simple to navigate around the site, particularly so that the information your visitor is looking for can be easily accessed.

If you provide a number of options from which to select, keep the instructions clear and simple. You’d be surprised how difficult it is sometimes to find the “Yes-I want it” option in some sites!

Personalize your site so that it doesn’t look just like another of the mass produced sites. If you are able to tell a little about yourself and how your life has changed for the better, you have an increased chance of persuading your visitor to take a closer look at your offer.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I sincerely hope that you have found the information useful or thought provoking.

Mike Muir writes informative articles aimed at assisting new home business owners. For more useful information please visit his Blog at: http://www.mikeshomebiz.com/blog Want more information about online business opportunities? Please go to http://www.mikeshomebiz.com

The Ultimate Collection of Online SEO Tools

07 2008 Thursday

By Mel Strocen in Featured

Over at Search Engine Journal Ann Smarty has posted an article with a comprehensive list of SEO Tools broken down by category. Categories include Backlink Analyzers, On Site Analysis, Keyword Research and several others. All in all there are a lot of tools listed in the article and they are all free and web based. The post can be found at:

SearchEngineJournal.com

How To Use Keywords In Your Article Titles Without Being Obnoxious

07 2008 Wednesday

By Sharon Sarmiento in Featured

There’s a thin line between appropriately using your keywords in your titles and being obnoxious about it. You may look at some titles and think,

“That title barely makes sense,” or “All this person’s titles look the same, and they don’t really give me any idea of what their article is about.”

If someone is looking at your title and saying either of those two things, you haven’t used keywords appropriately.

If you’re wondering how to effectively incorporate your keywords into your article titles–look no further! This article will show you 7 keyword integrating title tips that’ll help you catch Google’s eye (and your reader’s too!):

1) Your title should reflect what the article is about.

That tip may sound obvious, but folks who are super-focused on inserting their keywords into their titles sometimes end up with titles that don’t reflect specifically what their article is about. First and foremost, remember that the purpose of your title is to lure a reader in with a taste of what the article is about.

2) Your title should be attention-grabbing and stand out from all the other articles on the same topic.

When a reader is looking at an article directory or search results on Google, they will be looking at a list of titles all on the same topic. In order to get the click-through, your title needs to stand apart from the pack and make the reader say,

“That article looks like it would answer my question in an interesting way!”

There is little benefit to having your keywords in your article title if your title is BO-RING!

Your article won’t be the only article on the article directory it’s published on, and it will not be the only search result on Google. Your title is competing against tons of other titles, so be compelling, have a hook, grab your reader’s attention and lure them into your article.

3) Don’t force your keywords to be in your title if you cannot meet the first two criteria here.

Yes–these first two criteria are more important than getting your keywords in your title. Above all, craft an attention-grabbing title that tells specifically what your article is about.

4) Don’t stuff your keywords.

There are some folks who are not really interested in writing an educational article–they just see the article as a vehicle for their keywords, and they create a makeshift article and insert their keywords throughout it.

Don’t do that!

That is not what article marketing is about, and you will totally miss out on the wonderful benefits you can achieve if you overlook the main purpose of your article–to educate the reader.

Put yourself in the shoes of your reader–from looking at your article title amid a sea of other article titles on the same topic, would your title draw a reader in and cause them to click through to the rest of your article?

5) Consider making your title the remedy that your article offers.

We need to sort of twist our thinking–when someone is doing a Google search, they are most often looking for the solution to a problem.

Think like your target market–if they were to find your article, what would they be typing into Google to reach it?

This could mean having a title that is a question. For example: “Can I bake my own wedding cake?” or “How can I stop my dog from jumping on people?”.

6) Keep it natural.

Lots of times folks establish keywords, and they think they need to use those exact keywords in their article title and in their article, with a result that sounds contrived and forced.

Keep in mind that Google will acknowledge variations of your keywords too. For example, if your keyword is “sail boats”, you can also use “sailing boats”, “sail boat” or “how to sail a boat”–any words that are semantically related to the original keywords.

7) If you write on the topic of your website (which you should definitely be doing!), there is a good chance that your keywords will naturally appear in your article without even trying.

We’re going for a natural sounding article that serves our readers, and the truth is that as long as you’re writing about the topic of your website, your keywords and their variations will likely appear in the article naturally.

The big lesson here–don’t over-think the keyword issue. Yes, you can mention your keywords in your article titles, but only IF your article title also indicates what your article is about and is compelling enough to catch a reader’s attention.

Sharon is an article marketing expert who loves to teach folks how to drive traffic to their websites. Now you know how to use keywords in your articles–would you like to submit articles to a very large distribution network of quality publishers who really want to receive your articles? Of course you would! Learn how to leverage your articles so that you get maximum results and reach hundreds of publishers with the click of a button.

Duplicate Content and What You Should Know

07 2008 Wednesday

By Robert Cerff in Featured

Is duplicate content penalty a myth or a reality? Well I would say that it’s a bit of both. Many folk have been terrorised into paranoia over duplicate content, but here are the facts.

“Duplicate content is bad.”

Okay, so I said it. But please note that I didn’t say that it’s evil or that your web pages are certainly heading to supplemental hell. But duplicate content can be bad for the following reasons.

Multiple copies of the same content are not useful to the internet as a whole
Multiple copies of the same content on your website could dilute your “link juice”
Multiple copies of the same content can hamper effective indexing of your website.
Multiple copies of the same content will confuse the search engines as to which copy may be the original.

Multiple copies are not useful to the internet. Okay so we often turn on the TV only to find that while there are over 100 channels on offer there’s still nothing on. But imagine if out of the 100 channels there were only really 8 to choose from, the others were simply showing the same thing as on the others. Duplicate content works in the same way. It serves us the same content on all the channels. The search engines quickly realised that good content ranks but that the same content shouldn’t fill all choices. This is the real penalty of duplicate content. The same content shouldn’t rank over and over because if it doesn’t meet the searcher’s needs then they wouldn’t have another option.

From the average webmaster’s point of view I would say that point 2 is the most important. Can you imagine having 3 or 4 pages all with great content, but the same content, being indexed and linked to from related websites? Sounds great, but if it is the same content then you have effectively shared the full linking power of that content over multiple pages. So in this case instead of having one page showing up on the first page of the search results, you now have 2 on the second. I know which scenario I would prefer. The other side of the coin is with dynamic URLs you may find that several different dynamic formulas may take you to the same product page. Again this could be seen as duplicate content by the search engines and with this may come the uncertainty as to which one to rank. Quite often this will result in the relegation of both of those URLs to a lower rank. Although I have a sneaky suspicion that the search engines are catching onto the dynamic URL problem and now will rank one page from a website and simply ignore the others.

Should you have multiple versions of the same content on your website as can often be the case of dynamic URLs then this may prevent the search engines from indexing your whole website. Imagine once again you are searching through the TV channels and the first 10 are all the same, you may continue searching and reach channel 20. If by this time you’re still searching then you must be really bored. The Bots don’t have time to get bored, if it reaches page 10 and all the content seems the same it will assume that the rest aren’t worth indexing. This could be a problem. Added to this if it deems none of your pages worth indexing you could face a massive uphill battle to have your pages indexed, never mind ranking highly.

Originality is a difficult one because with no way of being able to certify that you were the first to post the content the search engines rely on the speed with which it was indexed. Indexing of websites takes place at different rates. Blogs generally are crawled and indexed a lot more frequently than a website that shows updates once a month on average. In this case if you had added great quality content to your website only to have a blogger scrape it, you might lose the full benefit of this content as the blog may be indexed and be recognised as having first published it. While this is an extreme example it is a good reason to regularly update your website to keep the search bots coming back regularly.

As you can see from the points above there is no definite penalty for duplicate content. But for reasons that make good logical sense many times these pages simply don’t cut it at the highest level. The question you should always be asking is, “will this benefit my visitors?” or even, “Will this impact negatively on my visitors?” The answer to that question should quickly send you in the right direction and keep you from possible pitfalls.

Robert Cerff is a search engine analyst and marketing consultant for Prop Data Internet Solutions. He has ten years experience in e-commerce, online marketing and web development. http://www.propdata.co.za

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