Be Proactive

"If you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own."

--- Stephen Covey

Assessing Your eBusiness Potential

by Michele Webb

Before you start an e-business (or any business for that matter) you should make an honest and critical assessment to determine its potential for success. Here are four questions to ask yourself.

1. Are you selling a product (or product line) that can a be delivered economically and conveniently?

2. Do you have a desire to market to customers outside your own geographic location and a product that has broad appeal?

3. What significant economic advantages are there to having your product(s) sold online?

If you thoroughly review questions #1 and #2, then very likely the profits will easily follow as implied here in the third point. However, you will find it helpful to you, and whatever marketing campaigns you undertake, to write down the economic advantages for the consumer should they purchase your product(s) online.

4. Can you economiocally draw customers to your site?

This is a very critical question to evaluate. Unless you have seven- or eight-figure budets for advertising to compete with companies like Amazon.com, Priceline or drugstore.com, and the like, you will need to find unique ways to compete and keep up with your competitors. When I launched my first website I was determined not to spend large amounts of cash in advertising, mainly because my budget was nonexistent. Now, it has become a challenge, and quite fun, to find ways to advertise that are either very low cost, or free. With five websites I have become quite proficient at seeking out free marketing and advertising opportunities and have had good success with doing so.

The good news is that there is still plenty of room for the "budget-challenged" players who have targeted small niches and have a solid business plan. All the experts agree that there will bee dotcom success stories now and in the future!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michele is a Netpreneur with five websites and five Blog sites (see links on this page). She has successfully marketed and achieved a #1 MSN ranking with a small niche market with little or no advertising budget. She likes to write articles and share her experiences with others as well as learn from others and their "secrets" and tips. She lives in Las Vegas, NV with her two Australian Shepherd dogs.

PUBLISHING AND REPRINT RIGHTS:
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted.

Copyright 2005, M. A. Webb. All Rights Reserved

Road Maps Help Your Business Grow

A good way to ensure that your business ends up where you want it to be is to set goals. Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up someplace else.”

The definition of a goal is very simple; it is just something you aim for in your business or life. But, at the same time, goals are very powerful contributors to the success if your business in several ways.

Setting goals force you to think through what you want from your business and how growth may, or may not, provide that. By reviewing the goals you have set, you can also pursue other directions for growth and improve your chances for success early on.

Goals help you to structure your work and give you a framework for how you think and process. You can focus your efforts by helping to rule out actions that do not contribute to achieving the goals you have set.

Good goals help you to establish timetables which will influence your actions.

It is not enough to just have good, or well written, goals. They need to be the right goals and ones that are matched with your ambitions and abilities. As you evaluate your goals and progress you should also determine if you are setting the best goals for your business and the success you have had in achieving each goal. If your goals appear to be holding you back or directing your efforts or priorities into unproductive areas of your business, then you should do something about it. Setting new goals, or road maps, for your business is not only easy but is essential if you are to grow and succeed.

About The Author: Michele loves reading, learning and sharing with others tips and information that helps us live life to the fullest and with the most happiness possible. She writes books, reports and articles for readers of all ages.

Publishing Rights: You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted.

Copyright 2005, Michele Webb. All Rights Reserved

Classified Ads That Get Results

Classified ads do not have the big market appeal that a full color display ad has, but they are still one of the most economical ways to get your business into the public eye. And, because classifieds do not demand expensive eye-catching designs or ingenious wording that you often see in direct-mail campaigns, they are a perfect marketing avenue for even new entrepreneurs. Here are some tips to help you write ads that will make the difference between mediocre ads to great ads that get good or even exceptional results.

Keep It Short

Ads that are short and precise have better results. Use white space to make your classified ad stand out from the rest of the listings. Look at the local classifieds and you will see that this works especially well for newspapers. With a little care you can apply the same concept to online ads,

Place just a few words in each line with: 1) the first line listing a benefit the reader will receive; 2) the second line containing the name of your company; 3) the third line your address or email. This results in a striking, centered ad surrounded by white space.

If you are placing an online classified ad and do not have the capability to insert line breaks or center the text, then you will need to keep the text short and use key words to attract the reader to your ad.

Goal of Placing Your Ad

The goal of placing your ad should only be to get the customer to click through to your site for more information. If your listing does not elicit that response, then you should rework it until it does.

Action Words

Use action words that will prompt a response from the reader. For example, words such as: amazing, attractive, confidential, etc., are all words that compel the reader to do something. There are a many resources available; one that I found to be particularly useful is Words That Sell, by Richard Bayan.

Unique Appeal

You want to make your product or service appear unique to all other products or services on the market (if any). Spend a few minutes to identify what is unique about your product or service or solicit feedback from friends or family about what would appeal to them should they need a product or service such as yours. Use this uniqueness to appeal to the market in the ad.

Do Not Try to Sell Your Reader

Whatever you do, do not try to sell your reader on your ad. What you DO want to do is evoke a response using action words. The ad is meant to entice them and evoke an action from them to return to your site and then prompt a sale(s) of your product(s).

Spark Interest and Curiosity

Using a combination of the title and the text or body of the ad you want to spark an interest or curiosity in your ad or product. Use the title to grab the interest and attention of the reader and the ad, or text body, to spark curiosity. You want to generate enough curiosity to have them act in response to your ad.

Avoid Saturated Ads and Products

If your product is already over-marketed on the Internet or your ad is one that is “canned” or pre-prepared you are less likely to achieve good results. Develop your ad so that it is unique, draws the attention of the reader and then guides them to your site or product that is also unique and fresh.

This does not mean that you should not sell information products, for example, which are in overabundance on the Internet market. Instead, think of one type of e-book or information product you can develop that will stand out from the others and meet some need that has prompted the reader to start searching.

Avoid Hype

Nothing is appealing about an advertiser that resorts to hype, threats, or false innuendo about their product. Avoid hype or false representation at all costs. I cannot emphasize this enough. Internet users have grown up and have become savvy, intelligent buyers and are not interested in purchasing products that are hyped. Just state the real facts and use some sound business principles and marketing methods to get the job done well.

Be Organized

Do not underestimate the power behind having a schedule for posting your ads. Post the same ads every 5-7 days. No more. No less. This will keep your ads in front of the readers and you will avoid being black-listed for spamming.

Spamming is an incredible annoyance that is truly deterring good customers from Internet buying. Simply do not send SPAM!

Let’s Wrap This Up

These simple and easy-to-use tips can make the difference between ads that deliver mediocre results or those that deliver eye-boggling, heart-pounding results. You will need to develop your own style for writing your ads and then practice, practice, practice. Few of us were born with the ability to write a “super” ad right away. Most of us have had to practice, watch for results and then tweak the ad to get the results we have wanted. Do not be discouraged if you find yourself in this group too, you’ll be a part of a much bigger group of entrepreneurs. What is important is that you learn from each ad and campaign that you send out. If you can infuse these simple steps into your advertising campaigns you will be well on your way to posting classified ads that get results!

AUTHOR BIO

Michele Webb is living proof that an “ordinary” person can be a successful Netpreneur who successfully launched a classified advertising website in a highly specialized niche market.

REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS

Reprints are available upon request at no charge. You have permission to reprint or use this article in your website or newsletters as long as the article is not modified in any way and is printed in entirety including the author's bio and links. We will happily provide a text or HTML version upon request

Copyright M. A. Webb, 2004-2005. All Rights Reserved