It is a simple concept actually. Company “A” knows that there is a positive online newspaper article about them and they have also paid several blogers to write positive reviews about them or their product. Now they want people to actually see the articles. They pay a marketing company to get exposure.
The marketing company hires people to submit and vote for their client’s stories on social bookmarking sites, like Digg. People are willing to surf the net for pennies a site, there are people who will submit and vote for articles and blogs for money. It only takes 50 or so votes to make an article popular on Digg, so it is quite possible to manipulate the system to get articles popular. If you have a 100 people not connected in anyway submitting and voting on articles that they don’t have any connection to (i.e. don’t work for the company) then it would be hard to catch the manipulation.
The way it would work is that the marketing company would bulk email a list of clients stories URL’s a couple of times during the day. Each time an “employee” gets a list they start submitting the articles to Digg. If it has already been submitted they Digg it and move on to the next URL. Once a person has Dugg the list they email the marketing company that it has been completed. All the marketing company has to do is look at the persons recent Digg activity and they have proof the person did so. The “employee” could be paid 5 cents per Digg or Vote, 10 cents per story they submit and a $5.00 bonus for every article they submitted that goes popular.
It may not seem to be a lot, but if a person submits and votes for 50 stories in one day they would make at lest $2.50 for just voting. If they submitted 10 of the stores they would make at lest $3.00. Not much but if the 10 stories all became popular they would have made $53.00 just for a little bit of work. There are people who have the time and could use the money, even $2.50 with the possibility of $250.00 if they submitted all 50 stories and they became popular.
As people would be trying to be the first one to submit the story the order of submission and voting should be random again making it harder to catch. Also it you had a 1000 people willing to vote for money and you only gave each list to a 100 of them it would again make it harder to track or catch. This system would also motivate people to make stories popular, as they get a bonus out of it. This would be very cheep marketing. The cost to have a 100 people vote and make popular would be $10.05. So lets say the marketing company charges $25.00 per article, that would still be very cheep marketing for almost any company considering that when a story becomes popular on Digg it can receive 1000’s if not in the 10,000’s or more hits. This would be a winning situation for both company “A”, the marketing company and the people being paid to vote. Not so fare to anyone else though.
Please note that this is just a theory. I do not know of any one doing this, I just think that it is possible and would make people money. I used Digg as an example because it is one of the largest ones out there, but it could be done on any social bookmarking site. Would it be right, no but I think it would be an inexpensive marketing strategy that would appeal to many.
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Running an online retail store is harder then it looks
At first when you look at it it seems easy enough. But when you get right down to it there is a lot of work involved. When you get started you have to decide between building a site, renting a site or shopping cart by the month. Both require some time and work to find out what is best for you in the short term and long term. Once you have you decided and things are set up the real work starts.
Unless you have a limited product line there is going to be a lot of work put into getting product into your shopping cart. It is not just a matter of slapping a picture on and the products name and price. No each product is really a mini add and should be treated as such. What information you have in the description and title are what is going to be used by search engines to find your product. Then the description that shows up under your link is what people are going to use to decide to look at your product. The competition starts way before people see your product. You are competing with millions for each view. Please note that was view not buy. Just because you get someone to view your product does not mean they are going to buy from you.
The idea is to market your product online with a description and key words that will attract the people interested in your product. There is no point in using key words or descriptions that will bring lots of people to your site, but only a few of them are people interested in your product. You want to focus on your target market and attract them to your website or online store hoping that once they are there they will buy something. These means you have to think about what you put into the description and title of your products. What key words will your target market be using to find the product? Are they in your description or title? Once it come up in a search will your description stand out from all the others? Will it attract your target market to your site?
So now you put some time into reaching your target market and they click onto your product, what will get them to buy? There are a million and one other web site’s selling the same or similar items, why should they buy from you? What are they going to see first your product or home page? If they are searching for a product your link should open to the product. So how you have your shopping cart set up is going to give people their first impression of your company. How it looks is going to influence people to buy or not buy. Other things that will influence people to buy or not buy are your prices for the product, product image or picture, shipping costs, shipping options, return policies, where you are located, overall appearance of site; feed back from other customers, your home page, about us page and any other information you provide. How much information you provide or don’t provide will help people decide if they want to do business with you and not the other million sites.
At all points of contact with potential customers you need to be marketing your company, store and product. This is from the fist search people use to find you, to how easy it is to use the check out to buy and pay for your product and how the product was shipped. Even how the product was packaged can influence a repeat buy or not. Once you have a customer you need to do everything you can to keep them. Word of mouth is still the best marketing tool out there. Once you have a customer keep them happy and hope they tell everyone about you. But first you have to get that customer, and that is not always easy to do no matter how great your product, prices and company are. It is not just a matter of putting your product out and having it available to buy. You have to put a lot of time and some times money into marketing your product, store and company even after you start making sales. The marketing never ends because there are new online stores showing up and you have to compete with them and any local stores that can and will sell to your customers. In other words the work never ends if you want to keep brining in customers and making sales.
So if you are thinking about opening up an online store because it is easy money, think again. You only get out of it what you put into it. If you plan to put product out and sit back and wait for the sales to come in, save your money and find something else to do. There is no easy money to be found on the Internet anymore, it is a highly competitive market that is becoming more competitive everyday.
Unless you have a limited product line there is going to be a lot of work put into getting product into your shopping cart. It is not just a matter of slapping a picture on and the products name and price. No each product is really a mini add and should be treated as such. What information you have in the description and title are what is going to be used by search engines to find your product. Then the description that shows up under your link is what people are going to use to decide to look at your product. The competition starts way before people see your product. You are competing with millions for each view. Please note that was view not buy. Just because you get someone to view your product does not mean they are going to buy from you.
The idea is to market your product online with a description and key words that will attract the people interested in your product. There is no point in using key words or descriptions that will bring lots of people to your site, but only a few of them are people interested in your product. You want to focus on your target market and attract them to your website or online store hoping that once they are there they will buy something. These means you have to think about what you put into the description and title of your products. What key words will your target market be using to find the product? Are they in your description or title? Once it come up in a search will your description stand out from all the others? Will it attract your target market to your site?
So now you put some time into reaching your target market and they click onto your product, what will get them to buy? There are a million and one other web site’s selling the same or similar items, why should they buy from you? What are they going to see first your product or home page? If they are searching for a product your link should open to the product. So how you have your shopping cart set up is going to give people their first impression of your company. How it looks is going to influence people to buy or not buy. Other things that will influence people to buy or not buy are your prices for the product, product image or picture, shipping costs, shipping options, return policies, where you are located, overall appearance of site; feed back from other customers, your home page, about us page and any other information you provide. How much information you provide or don’t provide will help people decide if they want to do business with you and not the other million sites.
At all points of contact with potential customers you need to be marketing your company, store and product. This is from the fist search people use to find you, to how easy it is to use the check out to buy and pay for your product and how the product was shipped. Even how the product was packaged can influence a repeat buy or not. Once you have a customer you need to do everything you can to keep them. Word of mouth is still the best marketing tool out there. Once you have a customer keep them happy and hope they tell everyone about you. But first you have to get that customer, and that is not always easy to do no matter how great your product, prices and company are. It is not just a matter of putting your product out and having it available to buy. You have to put a lot of time and some times money into marketing your product, store and company even after you start making sales. The marketing never ends because there are new online stores showing up and you have to compete with them and any local stores that can and will sell to your customers. In other words the work never ends if you want to keep brining in customers and making sales.
So if you are thinking about opening up an online store because it is easy money, think again. You only get out of it what you put into it. If you plan to put product out and sit back and wait for the sales to come in, save your money and find something else to do. There is no easy money to be found on the Internet anymore, it is a highly competitive market that is becoming more competitive everyday.
Friday, July 18, 2008
You always need updated anti-virus programs on your computer.
These days you cannot have a computer online and not have some type of anti-virus program. If you don’t have a firewall and a million and one safety features your system is going to get hit with something nasty. Even with a top of the line security system your computer can still be hit by something designed specifically to get past the anti-virus program. That is why the best ones update all time.
We got hit with one that was designed to get past Norton, it turns out we were the first to notice. We contacted Norton and they spent 4 hours on our computer, found and copied the virus and then used what they had to send out an update to block it and prevent others from getting hit. Then they told us it was going to take months of work to analyze the coding so they could come up with a way to destroy it. We were very lucky that we have our anti-virus program set up to automaticly run a diagnostic everyday at the same time. We got hit a few minutes before Norton ran its diagnostics. With in those few minutes it hit and damaged a lot of our core data. I am so glad we back up everything. It is scary how much time people put in to nasty programs designed to damage or destroy your data or even computer hard drive, or to steal your information so that they can drain your bank account and wreck havoc in other areas of your life.
Not every one understands that you have to upgrade your security every year and that you need have whatever system you are using to update as often as possible. I know people who thought that they only had to buy the program once and never update it. Yes they lost their computer and had no idea why. Also don’t go with a system just because it is what you know. Computer technology changes fast and what is available to protect your computer has changed as well. Take the time to check out the top 10 anti-virus programs before you buy any anti-virus program.
We just made a change to Bitdefender from Norton and are very happy. However both of these can be found as #1 on any number of top ten anti-virus lists. You need to take the time to figure out what anti-virus program will be best for your budget.
We got hit with one that was designed to get past Norton, it turns out we were the first to notice. We contacted Norton and they spent 4 hours on our computer, found and copied the virus and then used what they had to send out an update to block it and prevent others from getting hit. Then they told us it was going to take months of work to analyze the coding so they could come up with a way to destroy it. We were very lucky that we have our anti-virus program set up to automaticly run a diagnostic everyday at the same time. We got hit a few minutes before Norton ran its diagnostics. With in those few minutes it hit and damaged a lot of our core data. I am so glad we back up everything. It is scary how much time people put in to nasty programs designed to damage or destroy your data or even computer hard drive, or to steal your information so that they can drain your bank account and wreck havoc in other areas of your life.
Not every one understands that you have to upgrade your security every year and that you need have whatever system you are using to update as often as possible. I know people who thought that they only had to buy the program once and never update it. Yes they lost their computer and had no idea why. Also don’t go with a system just because it is what you know. Computer technology changes fast and what is available to protect your computer has changed as well. Take the time to check out the top 10 anti-virus programs before you buy any anti-virus program.
We just made a change to Bitdefender from Norton and are very happy. However both of these can be found as #1 on any number of top ten anti-virus lists. You need to take the time to figure out what anti-virus program will be best for your budget.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Gas prices are changing how we do business
The price of gas is changing how people buy. The higher the price of gas, the more expensive everything else is. This is reducing people’s disposable income dramatically. People are less likely to give into impulse buys; they want to feel they are getting great value for their money. They are less likely to buy something just because it is there and it catches their attention.
People are buying less luxury items, such as jewelry and purchasing necessities instead. Buying over the Internet is also down as the cost of shipping is up. Why buy something that has to be shipped when you can find a similar product at a local shopping mall and don’t have to pay for shipping. Just because an item seems to be a deal online does not mean it is once you include shipping and handling charges.
So how we market product has to change. You have to concentrate on the perceived value of the item, or that it is cheaper to buy from you then the local store even with shipping charges. Some places are even covering the cost of shipping. With fewer dollars available the competition for those dollars is becoming even more intense. I am quite sure that some small businesses and some big ones are not going to be able to survive for very long unless things change.
So the real question is how do we stay in business with a reduction in sales? For us it will be by cutting costs wherever we can. We are offering several different shipping options so people can get the one that fits their budget. We are reducing the amount of packaging that goes with products to reduce shipping cost. We are not purchasing any manufactured products for our inventory. Other then what we already had to put onto the website we are only adding our own handcrafted pieces to the website inventory. That is about all we can do. We don’t have staff to let go, other then ourselves. But until we make more sales we are not paying ourselves. It is going to be hard and our ability to stay in business will depend on how long this goes on for. We will be fine for at least a year. Hopefully things will be better by then.
People are buying less luxury items, such as jewelry and purchasing necessities instead. Buying over the Internet is also down as the cost of shipping is up. Why buy something that has to be shipped when you can find a similar product at a local shopping mall and don’t have to pay for shipping. Just because an item seems to be a deal online does not mean it is once you include shipping and handling charges.
So how we market product has to change. You have to concentrate on the perceived value of the item, or that it is cheaper to buy from you then the local store even with shipping charges. Some places are even covering the cost of shipping. With fewer dollars available the competition for those dollars is becoming even more intense. I am quite sure that some small businesses and some big ones are not going to be able to survive for very long unless things change.
So the real question is how do we stay in business with a reduction in sales? For us it will be by cutting costs wherever we can. We are offering several different shipping options so people can get the one that fits their budget. We are reducing the amount of packaging that goes with products to reduce shipping cost. We are not purchasing any manufactured products for our inventory. Other then what we already had to put onto the website we are only adding our own handcrafted pieces to the website inventory. That is about all we can do. We don’t have staff to let go, other then ourselves. But until we make more sales we are not paying ourselves. It is going to be hard and our ability to stay in business will depend on how long this goes on for. We will be fine for at least a year. Hopefully things will be better by then.
Monday, June 23, 2008
I would like to win big at poker or the lottery someday
Every time I buy a lottery ticket, play a game of Bingo or Poker I like to think I can win big. So far that has not happened. I still like the occasional game of chance though. It is the idea that maybe this time I will win.
For me the lottery ticket is that you cannot win if you don’t have a ticket, and it only takes one. That does not mean I buy a ticket for every draw, but I usually buy a couple a month on the off chance I might get the big one.
Bingo was always a social outing. Yes I have won the big one a few times over the years, but that was many years ago. To be honest it was more that it was a night out with my friends with the chance of winning something. I have played some online bingo and it is fun and I can chat without leaving my home.
Poker I like to think of as a game of skill and chance. I love playing it at online casinos, and yes the 10-cent game is more thrilling then a free roll any day. The money does makes a difference, even just a dime, but I like to see how far I can get and if I can place. I keep to the 10-cent tournaments because I know I could spend a lot if I did anything else. I only gamble what I am willing to loose, which is about 10 cents. One day I hope to play a game face to face, not just online.
I do admit that I actually like watching poker on T.V. and like to read up on the game. Poker just never seemed like something that would make a great spectator sport, or that people would want to read about it. Seems it is, On Line Casinos has a community area for individuals blogs about gambling, forum discussions and more. I actually enjoy the thrill of a good game even when I am not playing it. Today gambling is news on some sites like On line casino reports. They have interviews with the big players, event coverage and even tips on how to play better. I guess money is not just made at the table anymore, big winners are celebrities now and are being treated as such.
Here is one of the stories found on “On line casino reports”. They actually do relevant and interesting news reports on gambling. Who knew it could be news?
I have found that I am not into sports betting, I guess you have to be big into sports to get into it. Though that is not actually the case because I have met a few people who will bet on anything and everything.
I am more interested in a game of skill like poker or backgammon, though I have never bet on backgammon. I guess I am not much of a risk taker or gambler when it comes to real money. I still like to play though. I did spend sometime looking around at different casinos to find ones that had free games so I could learn and improve my game. Then I ended up playing free rolls, won some money and started playing for money. Now all I have to do is go to an online casino guild to find what promotions are on, what the payouts are and more. It makes it easer to find a game I can afford to play in at a time I can play.
I have to admit that I have a long way to go before I could ever try to make a living from playing poker. For me it is just a fun game with as little or as lot of risk as I want to take. I don’t like to take a big risk, so I guess it will always be the penny tables and 10-cent tournaments for me. Unless I win the lottery, that is.
For me the lottery ticket is that you cannot win if you don’t have a ticket, and it only takes one. That does not mean I buy a ticket for every draw, but I usually buy a couple a month on the off chance I might get the big one.
Bingo was always a social outing. Yes I have won the big one a few times over the years, but that was many years ago. To be honest it was more that it was a night out with my friends with the chance of winning something. I have played some online bingo and it is fun and I can chat without leaving my home.
Poker I like to think of as a game of skill and chance. I love playing it at online casinos, and yes the 10-cent game is more thrilling then a free roll any day. The money does makes a difference, even just a dime, but I like to see how far I can get and if I can place. I keep to the 10-cent tournaments because I know I could spend a lot if I did anything else. I only gamble what I am willing to loose, which is about 10 cents. One day I hope to play a game face to face, not just online.
I do admit that I actually like watching poker on T.V. and like to read up on the game. Poker just never seemed like something that would make a great spectator sport, or that people would want to read about it. Seems it is, On Line Casinos has a community area for individuals blogs about gambling, forum discussions and more. I actually enjoy the thrill of a good game even when I am not playing it. Today gambling is news on some sites like On line casino reports. They have interviews with the big players, event coverage and even tips on how to play better. I guess money is not just made at the table anymore, big winners are celebrities now and are being treated as such.
Here is one of the stories found on “On line casino reports”. They actually do relevant and interesting news reports on gambling. Who knew it could be news?
I have found that I am not into sports betting, I guess you have to be big into sports to get into it. Though that is not actually the case because I have met a few people who will bet on anything and everything.
I am more interested in a game of skill like poker or backgammon, though I have never bet on backgammon. I guess I am not much of a risk taker or gambler when it comes to real money. I still like to play though. I did spend sometime looking around at different casinos to find ones that had free games so I could learn and improve my game. Then I ended up playing free rolls, won some money and started playing for money. Now all I have to do is go to an online casino guild to find what promotions are on, what the payouts are and more. It makes it easer to find a game I can afford to play in at a time I can play.
I have to admit that I have a long way to go before I could ever try to make a living from playing poker. For me it is just a fun game with as little or as lot of risk as I want to take. I don’t like to take a big risk, so I guess it will always be the penny tables and 10-cent tournaments for me. Unless I win the lottery, that is.
Friday, May 30, 2008
What you need to know before contracting a web designer or developer
We learned a lot over the last few years about the do’s and don’t when dealing with a web designer. We had some real problems. I would like to keep others from having the same or similar problems. The first thing you need to understand is that there is a big difference between a web designer and a web developer. A web designer will make pages for a web site and are wonderful if you have an information site. Web developers create the coding and programs that web designers use to create the web sites. Web design is the icing on the cake; the web developer made the cake the icing goes on.
If you are doing anything that is more then just an information site I recommend going with a web developer or learn to do it yourself. If you have just an information site that does not require the integration of other programs like a shopping cart then a web designer is the right person to go to. However, if you have the time and inclination you can also pick up a great book called “Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML modern guide and reference” by David Schultz and Craig Cook. My husband used it to create our new web site.
There are some wonderful web developers who can integrate existing programs and software into the pages they create for you. The main purpose of a web designer is to design the look of your website and that the programs being used on your site function well together. The more complex the site is the more knowledge and experience will be needed. You need to understand what you want and need your web site to do before you design how it looks.
This means that you need to find out if pre-existing programs will work for you and will work together with any other programs you want. If they do then great find a web designer, buy the programs and let the designer make your site look and work how you want it to. If there needs to be a lot of tinkering with the programs you are interested to make them work the way you want and together then you need to make sure your web designer can do the work, or find a web developer who can make them work or create a new program that will do what you want. Do not assume that a designer can do it; their job is to design the look of the site, not create programs.
That is the biggest thing most people do not know, a designer creates the look, a developer creates the programs and can create the look you want. We made that mistake thinking that a designer was a developer. We needed a developer as our site was more complex then what our designer could do and he used up our service contract with our shopping cart program provider to get them to do the installations of their programs. We know this from the from our shopping cart provider after we forced our designer to transfer our shopping cart licence to us. We now have to buy a new service contract if we need their help with the shopping cart program. This would not have been the case if we had hired a web developer. Know what you need for your website and hire the right person for the job.
If you are doing anything that is more then just an information site I recommend going with a web developer or learn to do it yourself. If you have just an information site that does not require the integration of other programs like a shopping cart then a web designer is the right person to go to. However, if you have the time and inclination you can also pick up a great book called “Beginning HTML with CSS and XHTML modern guide and reference” by David Schultz and Craig Cook. My husband used it to create our new web site.
There are some wonderful web developers who can integrate existing programs and software into the pages they create for you. The main purpose of a web designer is to design the look of your website and that the programs being used on your site function well together. The more complex the site is the more knowledge and experience will be needed. You need to understand what you want and need your web site to do before you design how it looks.
This means that you need to find out if pre-existing programs will work for you and will work together with any other programs you want. If they do then great find a web designer, buy the programs and let the designer make your site look and work how you want it to. If there needs to be a lot of tinkering with the programs you are interested to make them work the way you want and together then you need to make sure your web designer can do the work, or find a web developer who can make them work or create a new program that will do what you want. Do not assume that a designer can do it; their job is to design the look of the site, not create programs.
That is the biggest thing most people do not know, a designer creates the look, a developer creates the programs and can create the look you want. We made that mistake thinking that a designer was a developer. We needed a developer as our site was more complex then what our designer could do and he used up our service contract with our shopping cart program provider to get them to do the installations of their programs. We know this from the from our shopping cart provider after we forced our designer to transfer our shopping cart licence to us. We now have to buy a new service contract if we need their help with the shopping cart program. This would not have been the case if we had hired a web developer. Know what you need for your website and hire the right person for the job.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Be smart when starting and running your own business
Over the years we have built up our business the hard way, mostly with luck, hard work and unexpected opportunities. The biggest thing we have realized is that you have to be constantly learning and changing. Just because something works or sells today does not mean it will tomorrow. It is a lot harder running your own business then being told what to do by a boss.
If you are your own boss then you need to be smart about it. Put the time into market and product research. Don’t assume that because you can sell something at place A that you can sell the same thing the same way at place B. We started selling to a very large hobby group, with a very focused market.
I started buying and selling used items to a medieval historical re-enactment hobby group. I was doing what everyone else was doing and that was working well for me. I made some money and had fun. Then I started talking to everyone, found out what they liked and were searching for; Market research. I made sure that is what I brought in; Meet the needs of the target market. I ended up having people giving me shopping lists and they would pick up the items from me at the next event we were both at. This was great, I was making money and people where getting what they wanted. I soon discovered that I could not always find what people were looking for as used items. I saved my money and then started buying from wholesalers and designing my own line of jewelry; Created a new way to better meet the target markets needs.
Suddenly it was a whole new ball game. I was the only local merchant selling new product; Created a market. My sales when out the roof, I had cornered the market. I re-invested the money into more stock and displays; Meeting ever changing needs and building a brand image. Sales increased and I started selling all over Ontario; Increasing my target market. After about two years other people started to copy me and eventually I started to loose some sales as the market was small; Recognized a change in the market. I expanded to a larger market, selling at craft fairs and then moved to large festivals all over Ontario; Changing my target market.
Again I had an unusual product as everything had a medieval theme to it. This helped make us stand out from other vendors; Creating an image branding my company. However we had to learn how to sell at festivals, it was much different from selling at smaller group events. Both my husband and I had to be there, selling and creating; Expanding the business to meet customers needs in a timely manner. Before I had an established market and because we had consistent contact with our customers we could take orders and almost guaranty sales at the next event. Suddenly we had to earn peoples willingness to part with their money to buy from us with out the established relationship I had with my other customers. We had to develop an entire different way to market our product and ourselves.
We were very fortunate in that we only sold at juried festivals, this limiting the number of competition and pretty much guaranteeing that no one else was selling exactly the same thing as us. We also had several different product lines and prices, that all fit the theme we were able to meet the demands of several different target markets at the same time. As one of the only theme vendors we stood out enough that people brought their friends just to look at our both, and usually buy something.
It was strange because what sold at one festival was not what sold at the next. We had to be able to quickly identify how to market our product and our company at each festival. This was usually accomplished with our displays and even what product we displayed front and center. It was learning experience every festival. Eventually we developed a brand image as we did the same festivals every year. Again though people saw what was working for us and suddenly we have competition starting to sell at the festivals. So we are no longer as unique and different as we used to be. Time to make some changes.
Just over a year and a half ago we opened a theme online store, http://www.medievalmagic.ca/, yet again expanding our target market. We have spent the time learning about selling online. It is a completely different beast then selling retail to impulse buyers or established customers. There is no end to the competition so you don’t market your product you have to market your site and build a brand image. It is a lot harder then it sounds unless you have a lot of cash to throw around.
We have taken what we have learned have made some drastic changes in our website this month. We changed the look, redesigned how our site works, whom we market to and how we market to them. We are even changing our product from mainly manufactured product and some of our handcrafted pieces to a 50/50 split. We will slowly move away from pieces we buy from a wholesaler to what we make. However the key is flexibility to change with market demands.
If you are your own boss then you need to be smart about it. Put the time into market and product research. Don’t assume that because you can sell something at place A that you can sell the same thing the same way at place B. We started selling to a very large hobby group, with a very focused market.
I started buying and selling used items to a medieval historical re-enactment hobby group. I was doing what everyone else was doing and that was working well for me. I made some money and had fun. Then I started talking to everyone, found out what they liked and were searching for; Market research. I made sure that is what I brought in; Meet the needs of the target market. I ended up having people giving me shopping lists and they would pick up the items from me at the next event we were both at. This was great, I was making money and people where getting what they wanted. I soon discovered that I could not always find what people were looking for as used items. I saved my money and then started buying from wholesalers and designing my own line of jewelry; Created a new way to better meet the target markets needs.
Suddenly it was a whole new ball game. I was the only local merchant selling new product; Created a market. My sales when out the roof, I had cornered the market. I re-invested the money into more stock and displays; Meeting ever changing needs and building a brand image. Sales increased and I started selling all over Ontario; Increasing my target market. After about two years other people started to copy me and eventually I started to loose some sales as the market was small; Recognized a change in the market. I expanded to a larger market, selling at craft fairs and then moved to large festivals all over Ontario; Changing my target market.
Again I had an unusual product as everything had a medieval theme to it. This helped make us stand out from other vendors; Creating an image branding my company. However we had to learn how to sell at festivals, it was much different from selling at smaller group events. Both my husband and I had to be there, selling and creating; Expanding the business to meet customers needs in a timely manner. Before I had an established market and because we had consistent contact with our customers we could take orders and almost guaranty sales at the next event. Suddenly we had to earn peoples willingness to part with their money to buy from us with out the established relationship I had with my other customers. We had to develop an entire different way to market our product and ourselves.
We were very fortunate in that we only sold at juried festivals, this limiting the number of competition and pretty much guaranteeing that no one else was selling exactly the same thing as us. We also had several different product lines and prices, that all fit the theme we were able to meet the demands of several different target markets at the same time. As one of the only theme vendors we stood out enough that people brought their friends just to look at our both, and usually buy something.
It was strange because what sold at one festival was not what sold at the next. We had to be able to quickly identify how to market our product and our company at each festival. This was usually accomplished with our displays and even what product we displayed front and center. It was learning experience every festival. Eventually we developed a brand image as we did the same festivals every year. Again though people saw what was working for us and suddenly we have competition starting to sell at the festivals. So we are no longer as unique and different as we used to be. Time to make some changes.
Just over a year and a half ago we opened a theme online store, http://www.medievalmagic.ca/, yet again expanding our target market. We have spent the time learning about selling online. It is a completely different beast then selling retail to impulse buyers or established customers. There is no end to the competition so you don’t market your product you have to market your site and build a brand image. It is a lot harder then it sounds unless you have a lot of cash to throw around.
We have taken what we have learned have made some drastic changes in our website this month. We changed the look, redesigned how our site works, whom we market to and how we market to them. We are even changing our product from mainly manufactured product and some of our handcrafted pieces to a 50/50 split. We will slowly move away from pieces we buy from a wholesaler to what we make. However the key is flexibility to change with market demands.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Medieval Magic web site dealing with unexpected issues with hosting company
We were contacted by EWD Hosting to find out if we were going to renew our contract with them in June. James replied that we had already found another hosting company and would be transferring our web site to them. Within an hour our web site was gone and our account with EWD was closed, a month and a half early. So our slow building of the web site on our new hosting company has just gone into overdrive. Thank God James had just done a back up of our website so we have some of the data and pages. Gone is our record of sales. That was to be down loaded just before we switch over so it would be right up to date. Nice shock. Good thing we printed off the invoices. Now we have to do a year’s worth of accounting manually. Nice of them to let us know that they were going to do this. Oh wait; they did not let us know that they were going to close down our account a month and a half early just because we were not going to renew our contract in June.
The best part is that because our web designer did the contract in his name if there is any refund (and there should be) it goes to him, not us. We suddenly have no web site, and no shopping cart. It is a good thing that James has been building our new website for the last month and we at least have a home page up and some information pages. Suddenly we have to try and get our new shopping cart installed on a Friday night. I don’t know if we are going to be able to have it installed before Monday. I don’t know how long before we work out any bugs and can transfer the inventory over. We had expected to have some time to make sure the new site was complete before the other one was shut down. Now we are scrambling around trying to get every thing done fast. We are going to have to work out any bugs live. It is going to be interesting to see how things go and how people like the changes we have made. I just hope that we get the shopping cart up and running sooner then later and can download the inventory data successfully. Then all we have to do is put the pictures in and clean it up a bit. Otherwise we are going to be spending a lot of time redoing our inventory.
I just hope that people like the changes enough to forgive the time it is taking to change it up. I don’t like being thrown to the wolves like this by a hosting company that we had paid for our space till June. I am so glad that we started looking into this before Christmas and then actually started working on it in January. Otherwise we would have been completely hung out to dry and SOL with out any type of web site. We would have just vanished for a few weeks. Something told James that he needed to have what he needed for the new website months before our contract with EWD was up. He was in the process of getting the new shopping cart installed next week when this happened. So we are doing much better then we would have if he had not done all this work.
For those who love checking out what we have, please have patients and know that we are trying to get the shopping cart up as fast as possible.
The best part is that because our web designer did the contract in his name if there is any refund (and there should be) it goes to him, not us. We suddenly have no web site, and no shopping cart. It is a good thing that James has been building our new website for the last month and we at least have a home page up and some information pages. Suddenly we have to try and get our new shopping cart installed on a Friday night. I don’t know if we are going to be able to have it installed before Monday. I don’t know how long before we work out any bugs and can transfer the inventory over. We had expected to have some time to make sure the new site was complete before the other one was shut down. Now we are scrambling around trying to get every thing done fast. We are going to have to work out any bugs live. It is going to be interesting to see how things go and how people like the changes we have made. I just hope that we get the shopping cart up and running sooner then later and can download the inventory data successfully. Then all we have to do is put the pictures in and clean it up a bit. Otherwise we are going to be spending a lot of time redoing our inventory.
I just hope that people like the changes enough to forgive the time it is taking to change it up. I don’t like being thrown to the wolves like this by a hosting company that we had paid for our space till June. I am so glad that we started looking into this before Christmas and then actually started working on it in January. Otherwise we would have been completely hung out to dry and SOL with out any type of web site. We would have just vanished for a few weeks. Something told James that he needed to have what he needed for the new website months before our contract with EWD was up. He was in the process of getting the new shopping cart installed next week when this happened. So we are doing much better then we would have if he had not done all this work.
For those who love checking out what we have, please have patients and know that we are trying to get the shopping cart up as fast as possible.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Debt consolidation sooner then latter is better
Most families are in debt. Credit cards make it so easy to spend more then you have and then you get stuck with interest rates that eat up all your payments so you don’t ever get ahead. All your doing is paying off the interest and a very small part of the principle. Then you find that you have to pay so much on the card that you have to use the card to live. You can never get out from under the debt load with out winning the lottery or getting some help. The credit card system is designed to get the most money out of you as possible. To clear up your debt with them you need to deal with people who understand how to best work within the system to get you out of debt.
There are a lot of debt consolidation companies out there now because there is such a big need. The good thing is that there are local debt consolidation places that you can walk in and deal with someone face to face or you can go with online debt consolidation where you can deal with it in your own home, when the time is right for you. Both have pros and cons all dependent on what you are most comfortable with. With walk in places you will need to make appointments with in their business hours. With using an online debt consolidation company you can deal with your debt when the time is right for you. Which is really good because what usually happens is there is a moment that you just cannot deal with being in debt anymore and you want to fix it right then and there. With doing it over the Internet you can get the process started right away. No waiting to get an appointment and then start the process.
The other problem is that people tend to be embarrassed about being in debt and will just keep putting off dealing with it for as long as they can. This is bad because it just gets worse, not better. The longer you don’t deal with it the more money you end up owing, and the more stress you are under. Dealing with it online takes out part of the embarrassment because you are not dealing with someone face to face. For some people it does make it easer. What is really important is to recognize that you are in over your head and get help. Find the right debt consolidation company for you and use them to get out from under the debt. The sooner you do so the better off you are.
There are a lot of debt consolidation companies out there now because there is such a big need. The good thing is that there are local debt consolidation places that you can walk in and deal with someone face to face or you can go with online debt consolidation where you can deal with it in your own home, when the time is right for you. Both have pros and cons all dependent on what you are most comfortable with. With walk in places you will need to make appointments with in their business hours. With using an online debt consolidation company you can deal with your debt when the time is right for you. Which is really good because what usually happens is there is a moment that you just cannot deal with being in debt anymore and you want to fix it right then and there. With doing it over the Internet you can get the process started right away. No waiting to get an appointment and then start the process.
The other problem is that people tend to be embarrassed about being in debt and will just keep putting off dealing with it for as long as they can. This is bad because it just gets worse, not better. The longer you don’t deal with it the more money you end up owing, and the more stress you are under. Dealing with it online takes out part of the embarrassment because you are not dealing with someone face to face. For some people it does make it easer. What is really important is to recognize that you are in over your head and get help. Find the right debt consolidation company for you and use them to get out from under the debt. The sooner you do so the better off you are.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Benefits and risks or running an online business
So you see all these work at home, start your own online business ads. You think, "Hey there must be some thing to this. I would like to stay at home and make lots of money just like all these ads say I can." Before you leap you need to find out what are the benefits and risks of running an online business.
There are a lot of benefits for running an online business.
You are your own boss. This way you control what you do, how you do it, and when. So if you are a stay at home parent, you can work around your kids. If this is a second source of income, then you can work around your regular job. I like being able to spend time with my kids and work when they are asleep.
There are a lot of different types of online businesses you can get into. It is easy to diversify by having several different online businesses at the same time. It is quite possible to have multiple streams of income with the same business.
The potential income is often only limited by the time and money you choose to invest. Once you have your online business set up most of your time and money is going to be spent on getting people to find your site, also known as online marketing. This will be done through a high rank on search engines, links, ads, word of mouth and any other way you can think of. How well you did your work setting up your site will determine if they buy from you, or sign up or click what every ad system your using. When your site is successful you may be busy shipping, restocking and putting new product on the site. However, no matter what you will always need to invest in bringing new, and old customers back to your site. You never stop your online marketing.
There are online businesses that are almost self-sustaining with only a little work or money from you. You set up the site, maintain it, and keep it online, and away you go. A lot of this type of business is in partnership with drop-shippers, some who will even set up the site and maintain it for you. There are always already established online businesses up for sale. You just have to get people to go to it. The real work of anyone with an online business is getting people to come to their site.
There are a lot of risks to running an online business.
Getting scammed is a big risk for those who do not do their research or go for the get rich quick schemes. There are a lot of online businesses out there that only make the seller rich.
Not cost effective. You invest your money and time and make a little money but nothing like you expect. The competition online is great. It is not like you are the only supplier of product "widget" in a small town. Your competition can already be well-established selling "Widgets", "Wedgets" and any other type of "ets". It’s an uphill battle getting people to find you and then buy from you instead of company ABC or XYZ. You could have the greatest product, best price and service but if people don’t know you are out there, they are not going to be looking for you. How much do you have to spend in time and money to become established and get the sales you need to break even? Is it cost effective in the long run, or throwing good money after bad. You can be doing every thing right and still not succeed.
It always cost more then expected, in money and time. You may find yourself spending all your time on click exchanges trying to build up hits in the hopes of making some money.
Your email and web site becomes a prime target for spammers. You end up with 100’s of spam emails a day if not more. Most of them seem to want to sell you an online business or get you to pay them to do online marketing for you.
Having to spend lots of money to keep your computer system upto speed with the needs of the anti virus programs. The anti virus programs out there are not going to be compatible with older systems soon. Can you afford to upgrade your computer system to the newest technology so your system can support the newest anti virus programs? Can you leave your computer system vulnerable with out the most up to date anti virus programs?
I have an online business; it is an extension of our already existing business. Online businesses are completely different then off line businesses. I like what I do, but it has been hard and I had to learn a lot, and am still learning. We have a retail site and we don’t use drop-shippers so we have been able to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of running a retail site. But the amount of established competition can be very daunting at times. And new sites show up every day. I some times have to question our expectations for our web site and the time lines we have set for it to be cost effective. I think it is going to take more time and money then we first thought simply because marketing online is very different then marketing offline. An online business can be great and successful, but only if you go into with your eyes open. As with any and all business ventures do your research.
There are a lot of benefits for running an online business.
You are your own boss. This way you control what you do, how you do it, and when. So if you are a stay at home parent, you can work around your kids. If this is a second source of income, then you can work around your regular job. I like being able to spend time with my kids and work when they are asleep.
There are a lot of different types of online businesses you can get into. It is easy to diversify by having several different online businesses at the same time. It is quite possible to have multiple streams of income with the same business.
The potential income is often only limited by the time and money you choose to invest. Once you have your online business set up most of your time and money is going to be spent on getting people to find your site, also known as online marketing. This will be done through a high rank on search engines, links, ads, word of mouth and any other way you can think of. How well you did your work setting up your site will determine if they buy from you, or sign up or click what every ad system your using. When your site is successful you may be busy shipping, restocking and putting new product on the site. However, no matter what you will always need to invest in bringing new, and old customers back to your site. You never stop your online marketing.
There are online businesses that are almost self-sustaining with only a little work or money from you. You set up the site, maintain it, and keep it online, and away you go. A lot of this type of business is in partnership with drop-shippers, some who will even set up the site and maintain it for you. There are always already established online businesses up for sale. You just have to get people to go to it. The real work of anyone with an online business is getting people to come to their site.
There are a lot of risks to running an online business.
Getting scammed is a big risk for those who do not do their research or go for the get rich quick schemes. There are a lot of online businesses out there that only make the seller rich.
Not cost effective. You invest your money and time and make a little money but nothing like you expect. The competition online is great. It is not like you are the only supplier of product "widget" in a small town. Your competition can already be well-established selling "Widgets", "Wedgets" and any other type of "ets". It’s an uphill battle getting people to find you and then buy from you instead of company ABC or XYZ. You could have the greatest product, best price and service but if people don’t know you are out there, they are not going to be looking for you. How much do you have to spend in time and money to become established and get the sales you need to break even? Is it cost effective in the long run, or throwing good money after bad. You can be doing every thing right and still not succeed.
It always cost more then expected, in money and time. You may find yourself spending all your time on click exchanges trying to build up hits in the hopes of making some money.
Your email and web site becomes a prime target for spammers. You end up with 100’s of spam emails a day if not more. Most of them seem to want to sell you an online business or get you to pay them to do online marketing for you.
Having to spend lots of money to keep your computer system upto speed with the needs of the anti virus programs. The anti virus programs out there are not going to be compatible with older systems soon. Can you afford to upgrade your computer system to the newest technology so your system can support the newest anti virus programs? Can you leave your computer system vulnerable with out the most up to date anti virus programs?
I have an online business; it is an extension of our already existing business. Online businesses are completely different then off line businesses. I like what I do, but it has been hard and I had to learn a lot, and am still learning. We have a retail site and we don’t use drop-shippers so we have been able to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of running a retail site. But the amount of established competition can be very daunting at times. And new sites show up every day. I some times have to question our expectations for our web site and the time lines we have set for it to be cost effective. I think it is going to take more time and money then we first thought simply because marketing online is very different then marketing offline. An online business can be great and successful, but only if you go into with your eyes open. As with any and all business ventures do your research.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tips for a successful internet business
Like with any business you need to do your homework. Do not waste your time on the get rich quick types of Internet businesses. Even if the costs less then $10.00 to get started. If it seems to good or easy then it is. There are a lot of scams out there, do not be one of the people taken by them. Taking surveys from home is not going to bring in the money, just suck up your time. You get paid pennies for reading emails or surfing/clicking web sites. It all takes time and work. However you can make money as an affiliate getting people to sign up to do surveys, read emails, or surfing/clicking for money. Do the research on any type of business before you go ahead.
A business plan works just as well for an online Internet business a for a non-Internet business. You need to know what you want to do, and how to do it. You need to know what Internet business’s are out there.
1) The most common one is a retail site of your own. This can be costly to start, as you have to make it yourself or pay some else to make it for you. Then you will have to pay for your domains name every year and monthly hosting fees. However, you have control over content and revenue streams. You can sell product directly, sell dropship items, get money for being an affiliate with retail stores, or get paid for putting other peoples ads on your site, or have something like Google ads where you get paid each time some one clicks the ads.
2) You can also have a web site that sells a service like hits to websites, or connect advertisers to people with sites to put ads on or people to take their surveys or read their email ads. Or be an affiliate broker, getting sites that are looking for affiliates connected with people who want to be affiliates and you take a % of all sales through all the affiliates. You can sell a “How to run a successful Internet business” package for $7.00 or $9.00 a pop. You get them to register for $7.00 and then they get a letter that explains how to be successful making money on the Internet. You might even send them a monthly newsletter with tips for a successful Internet business so they feel they got their moneys worth.
3) A free web site that is really just an affiliate program where they provide you with your own storefront, but you sell someone else’s products that they dropship.
4) A free web site that is actually free. With most free web sites you are limited on your options of what you can do. The company giving you the website is usually getting advertising revenue from companies like Google ads. You may end up having to pay a hosting fee, and they give you the template for your website to work with. Just remember even free comes with a cost these days.
5) A free selling site like Kijiji, livedeal, or Blujay where you advertise products for free. There are usually some limitations to what or how many ads you can have. Though for a monthly fee on livedeal you can have a storefront that you can sell your items. Blujay does not charge you for your storefront. There are 1000’s of these types of sites out there you just have to find the right one for you. There are often limitations with these sites, such as not being able to do link exchanges.
6) There are the auction sites out there, most well known is eBay. You pay a fee to list your item, more fees for any extra features, and a fee if you sell it. You can have a storefront, for a monthly fee, as well as still having to pay all the other fees. Keep in mind that you have to pay a fee when you use an online payment system like Paypal. This all cuts into your profit, but for the most part people can find you and buy from you. So it is all a cost of business. You do not have to pay as much start up money as you would to have your own retail site, and the auction site does the marketing and advertising for you. If you do start selling on an auctions site just figure out what the real cost is so you don’t end up spending more money selling an item then you receive. i.e. all the $1.00 or less items on eBay. Look at the cost of the item, fee to list, end of auction fee, and Paypal fees. It actually cost you more then you made to sell the item. You can be very successful with this if you do your homework on what to sell and at what price to start your auction at.
7) Blogs. You can make some money from having your own blog. You can put advertisements from places like Google ads, or any of the other advertising companies out there. You get money whenever some one clicks onto one of the ads. You can also have affiliate links on your blog. If some one clicks on the link and then buys something or registers you get some money. If you are interested in being an affiliate, www.medievalmagic.ca has a good affiliate plan with contests for the top affiliates. However, you cannot just sign up and expect money to roll in. You have to use the promotional tools they provide, and promote the link or banner to the site, or the actual product links. You can always find sites that will match you with other affiliate programs as well.
8) Splash pages or sites that are just links to retail sites. This is for when you are an affiliate, you get a % of sales when some one uses your link to go to the store and buy something or registers for something.
9) Sign up to read emails, take surveys or click/surf for money. There are 1000’s of people waiting to sign you up so they can get their $5.00.
10) Write on blog sites that share the earnings from people clicking on the ads, like Google ads. There are a lot out there that claim to do this. You have to figure out what ones actually do. Helium not only gives you part of the revenue from the ads, they help sell your articles to publishers. You can make money several ways on Helium, compete to sell articles on the marketplace, compete to place or win in the many writing contests every week, and in the shared ad revenue.
You need to figure out what of all these options work for you. Then you have to realise no matter what option or path you take you only get out of it what you put into it. You still have to know if there is a market for what you are selling. Then you have to market and promote your website, blog, splash page so people can find it and buy, click or register. If you are doing surveys, read emails, click or surf or write for money, you still have to actually spend the time and do it. If you do not do the work, you don’t make any money. No matter what, time, energy and knowledge are required for any one to succeed on line or off line.
A business plan works just as well for an online Internet business a for a non-Internet business. You need to know what you want to do, and how to do it. You need to know what Internet business’s are out there.
1) The most common one is a retail site of your own. This can be costly to start, as you have to make it yourself or pay some else to make it for you. Then you will have to pay for your domains name every year and monthly hosting fees. However, you have control over content and revenue streams. You can sell product directly, sell dropship items, get money for being an affiliate with retail stores, or get paid for putting other peoples ads on your site, or have something like Google ads where you get paid each time some one clicks the ads.
2) You can also have a web site that sells a service like hits to websites, or connect advertisers to people with sites to put ads on or people to take their surveys or read their email ads. Or be an affiliate broker, getting sites that are looking for affiliates connected with people who want to be affiliates and you take a % of all sales through all the affiliates. You can sell a “How to run a successful Internet business” package for $7.00 or $9.00 a pop. You get them to register for $7.00 and then they get a letter that explains how to be successful making money on the Internet. You might even send them a monthly newsletter with tips for a successful Internet business so they feel they got their moneys worth.
3) A free web site that is really just an affiliate program where they provide you with your own storefront, but you sell someone else’s products that they dropship.
4) A free web site that is actually free. With most free web sites you are limited on your options of what you can do. The company giving you the website is usually getting advertising revenue from companies like Google ads. You may end up having to pay a hosting fee, and they give you the template for your website to work with. Just remember even free comes with a cost these days.
5) A free selling site like Kijiji, livedeal, or Blujay where you advertise products for free. There are usually some limitations to what or how many ads you can have. Though for a monthly fee on livedeal you can have a storefront that you can sell your items. Blujay does not charge you for your storefront. There are 1000’s of these types of sites out there you just have to find the right one for you. There are often limitations with these sites, such as not being able to do link exchanges.
6) There are the auction sites out there, most well known is eBay. You pay a fee to list your item, more fees for any extra features, and a fee if you sell it. You can have a storefront, for a monthly fee, as well as still having to pay all the other fees. Keep in mind that you have to pay a fee when you use an online payment system like Paypal. This all cuts into your profit, but for the most part people can find you and buy from you. So it is all a cost of business. You do not have to pay as much start up money as you would to have your own retail site, and the auction site does the marketing and advertising for you. If you do start selling on an auctions site just figure out what the real cost is so you don’t end up spending more money selling an item then you receive. i.e. all the $1.00 or less items on eBay. Look at the cost of the item, fee to list, end of auction fee, and Paypal fees. It actually cost you more then you made to sell the item. You can be very successful with this if you do your homework on what to sell and at what price to start your auction at.
7) Blogs. You can make some money from having your own blog. You can put advertisements from places like Google ads, or any of the other advertising companies out there. You get money whenever some one clicks onto one of the ads. You can also have affiliate links on your blog. If some one clicks on the link and then buys something or registers you get some money. If you are interested in being an affiliate, www.medievalmagic.ca has a good affiliate plan with contests for the top affiliates. However, you cannot just sign up and expect money to roll in. You have to use the promotional tools they provide, and promote the link or banner to the site, or the actual product links. You can always find sites that will match you with other affiliate programs as well.
8) Splash pages or sites that are just links to retail sites. This is for when you are an affiliate, you get a % of sales when some one uses your link to go to the store and buy something or registers for something.
9) Sign up to read emails, take surveys or click/surf for money. There are 1000’s of people waiting to sign you up so they can get their $5.00.
10) Write on blog sites that share the earnings from people clicking on the ads, like Google ads. There are a lot out there that claim to do this. You have to figure out what ones actually do. Helium not only gives you part of the revenue from the ads, they help sell your articles to publishers. You can make money several ways on Helium, compete to sell articles on the marketplace, compete to place or win in the many writing contests every week, and in the shared ad revenue.
You need to figure out what of all these options work for you. Then you have to realise no matter what option or path you take you only get out of it what you put into it. You still have to know if there is a market for what you are selling. Then you have to market and promote your website, blog, splash page so people can find it and buy, click or register. If you are doing surveys, read emails, click or surf or write for money, you still have to actually spend the time and do it. If you do not do the work, you don’t make any money. No matter what, time, energy and knowledge are required for any one to succeed on line or off line.
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