Archive for December, 2007

This year has been amazing and I’ve already been writing out plans for 2008.

My plans for 2008 are to do more marketing, gain more press and exposure. I have a notebook detailing out all of what I’ll set out to accomplish in 2008. I’ve included everything from main tasks and goals and over to new ideas.

But the one thing I’m going to continue to do is FOCUS on my existing projects and “market the snot out of them” as Nicole Dean so eloquently put it in the latest edition of the WC Mini Mag.

Thanks Nicole, that gave me a chuckle and put a smile to my face. But you know what? You’re right!

Have you sat down yet and write down everything you want to accomplish yet?

Here are the 5 Winners who are receiving a copy of my new report Partner Profits.

1. Deb Packwood
2. Ria Phillips
3. Donelle Moore
4. Annie Belott
5. Melissa

Congrats Ladies! If you haven’t already claimed your prize please do so. Enjoy!

Yes it’s true, I want to give away 5 copies of Partner Profits for FREE. This year has been a great year for me and I’d like to share with you some strategies that will help you with your own business.

I’ve been adding new reports to ScrapVentureReports.com all to help you grow your scrapbook business online and have a clear guide on what you need to do.

How To Win:

1) To win your copy of Partner Profits all you have to do is submit a comment here on the blog that you’d like to be included.

2) Then submit an email to me at vera@veraraposo.com to claim your prize.

That’s it, pretty simple!The first 5 win.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

Do you need a website, but can’t afford to hire a website designer? No

problem! You can build your own website.

I hear the gasps and groans. Creating a website is super easy. You just

have to have the right tools in hand. I’m going to show you how you can

build your own website in on time at all.

The first step is registering a domain name. Perhaps you already have

some idea of what domain you’d like. Before you set your heart on any

certain one, you’ll need to do your research to make sure that domain

isn’t already taken.

Internet Based Family is an excellent service for first-time website

builders. With Internet Based Family, you simply pick a template from a

large variety of website templates, choose what type of pages you’d like

your website to contain, and type in the domain name of your choice.

(Be aware that when using a service, like Internet Based Family, your

website address will include their domain name as well but it’s VERY easy

Once your website is up and running, it’s time to start building traffic. This is achievable through various methods. However, many scrapbook online business owners grow discouraged and want to give up too soon before they apply enough sweat equity.

Gaining traffic to your website is a process that requires much time and effort on your part. It isn’t something that you can sit back and wait to happen. Creating a website and putting it online does not ensure that you will pull in the traffic, and essentially the customers, that you need to keep your business growing.

A popular advertising method right now is article marketing. Article marketing is so trendy because it’s the best form of online advertising—free. You simply write quality articles about all kinds of scrapbooking topics, together with a link to your website in your bio. Then submit these articles to free article directories. Your articles are then read and picked up by other publishers looking for quality content.

Another way to pull in website traffic is to leave comments on scrapbooking blogs. Don’t “spam” the blog by leaving a short, “Hi, visit me at…” message. Take the time to read the content or surf through the blog first. Then leave a comment on a recent entry, along with a link to your website.

Wow I cannot believe how busy I’ve been this winter. I managed to re-create Scrappers Talk Radio & Scrap Venture. I changed both of those sites completely to a blog format (which you’d probably never know it because it’s a really neat theme) and I absolutely love it all!

I changed it all over to blog formats because I know how much easier it is to update my content or have a virtual assistant be able to get it all done for me. And I can tell you it’s a HUGE relief!

I’m so very excited about what the future holds, I’ve been approached by another magazine to write and I’m just thrilled with it. This is what I truly love to do.

Your time is a valuable commodity. Are you spending it wisely? As an internet marketer, your time is most likely spread across a wide variety of tasks and projects. Optimizing and managing your time more wisely will lead to a more productive work day.

Ask yourself: What are my top priorities? Don’t squander precious time on anything that isn’t aligned with your business goals. Knowing exactly what your priorities are enables you to aim realistically towards the best possible end result.

One terrible time-eater for wahm internet marketers is surfing online. Because you work on the internet, it’s all too easy to hop online to search for something, then get wrapped up in surfing while time ticks away. Before you realize it, hours have passed and you haven’t accomplished a thing. To prevent this, set a time limit on your frivolous online activities.

Procrastination is most commonly known as the worst time-thief for internet marketers. Don’t wait until the last minute to meet deadlines. Plan your calendar months in advance and set weekly goals. Putting off what you know needs to be done only leads to frustration and anxiety.

As a scrapbook business owner, your time may be spread thin among many avenues. Being a good manager of your time is important to the health of your business and yourself.

Time management is such an essential part of your scrapbook business that you can’t afford to not think about it. As a small business owner, it is up to you, and you alone, to build good habits. These routines can make or break your business.

Do you prepare schedules ahead of time for yourself? Taking the time to create daily, weekly and monthly schedules could save you a huge chunk of time in the end. Planning your time and generating a task list allow you to maintain focus on the areas of high importance in your scrapbook business.

How often do you check your email during the day? Email and internet surfing are two major problems for internet business owners. If you’ve taken your scrapbook business online, then you’ve probably already experienced this.

All successful business are the same in the method by which they start and successfully run. They all have an individual or group of individuals who have an idea or vision and move forward to manifest it. Putting a business plan to pen and paper is highly suggested, because a written business plan always gives you something to fall back on. If you don’t know how to write one, do your research. There are countless resources that are available for someone who is trying to write a business plan.

If you are needing help writing or developing a business plan you can start by searching on the internet. There are many services that will help you develop, write and understand your business plan. If you don’t have the financial resources to pay someone to help you develop a business plan you can always use free templates that are posted all over the web. If you don’t feel comfortable using the methods above your local book store or library will have published books that can walk you through the process step by step. It is also always a good idea to talk to another successful business person about how they developed and implemented their plan.

WordWeb defines a press release as an announcement distributed to members of the press in order to supplement or replace an oral presentation. In simple terms, a press release alerts the media of a newsworthy story.

Writing a press release to announce your scrapbook business is a fast and easy way to get the news out about your business. If you have an established scrapbook business, a press release can gain immediate attention about your special events or news.

A press release is only effective when it is used properly. You should not submit a press release if it does not contain significant information that is pertinent to the press. Be certain that the release you send out is creditable and includes interesting and exciting information.

You should write your press release on a company letterhead. Your scrapbook business/company is the “limelight” of your story. Thus, you want to accentuate your scrapbook company’s name. This will be the first thing noticed.

Next, be sure to write an attention-grabbing headline for your press release. A headline like, “NEW SCRAPBOOK COMPANY OPEN FOR BUSINESS,” probably won’t grab as much attention as one that reads something like, “CROWN YOUR GRANNY QUEEN WITH A HERITAGE ALBUM.”

Promoting others may seem like a foreign concept. You may think, ‘Promote others? Won’t that hurt my business, not help it?’ No, and I will explain why.

Have you had a customer that made a request for a certain scrapbook tool or item, but you didn’t carry it? What did you do? Did you refer them to another scrapbook business? Chances are you offered them something similar or just didn’t make a sale at all.

The problem with this is that this customer most likely went to another scrapbook business to find what she wanted anyway. Let’s face it, scrapbookers love their craft, and when they need supplies, they need them yesterday.

What if you had referred her to another business that offered that essential item she needed? You would have had her undying gratitude. She would remember that you helped her out in a pinch when she needed that final page to complete her daughter’s scrapbook.

Another reason you should promote others is because it will be reciprocated. There’s an old saying, and it’s really true: A good deed never goes unnoticed. Building a good rapport with your fellow scrapbooking businesswoman can create a “ping” effect. You refer customers that you can’t help to her, and she’ll return the favor to you.