Archive for October, 2008

Many affiliate marketing programs compensate their affiliates in either of three ways: pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-sale (PPS), or pay-per-lead (PPL). In pay-per-click affiliate marketing, the affiliate is paid whenever he directs traffic to the merchant’s site. PPS and PPL affiliate marketing programs work rather differently. In PPS, the affiliate only gets paid when his referral converts into an actual sale. In typical PPS affiliate programs, the affiliate would usually get 15% to 20% commission for each conversion. PPL affiliate programs work the same way, although affiliates are paid a fixed fee whenever his referral converts into a lead for the company.

Some affiliate marketing programs are two-tier programs, wherein the affiliate is also allowed to recommend other affiliates to the merchant. In such affiliate programs, the affiliate would not only be paid for the traffic or sales that he would direct to the merchant’s site but also for the traffic or sales directed by the affiliates who signed up with the program through his recommendation.

Yet another way of earning more profits with affiliate marketing is through residual affiliate programs. Residual affiliate programs are affiliate programs where the affiliate gets paid a number of times for as long as the merchant keeps the customer the affiliate has referred to his site. One form of residual program gets the affiliate paid a commission every time the referred customer purchases something on the merchant’s site.

A lot of people are now getting into online businesses and online marketing either to supplement their “real world” income or for it to become their primary source of income. Why? Because online marketing just provides them a lot of benefits!

First, you can reach just about anybody in the world who has Internet access if you market your products online. That means a wider market for you, which can translate to larger profits. Second, setting up an online business requires only a fraction of the cost required to set up an actual business establishment, which means a lot of savings for the business owner.

Another aspect that has attracted a lot of people towards online marketing is the fact that you don’t have to have your own products to get started. In online marketing, you can start making a lot of money just by selling, or even by just trying to sell, other people’s products. And getting started with this kind of marketing strategy is actually quite easy. All you need to do is to set up an agreement with an online retailer or merchant, and after everything is settled, you can immediately start making money by selling the merchant’s or the retailer’s products.

Convincing your prospects to purchase from you is a hard job, but have you ever thought that you’re making the process twice as difficult? Do your potential customers know how to buy from you? No matter how good you are at convincing them to buy, they won’t buy if they find the process cumbersome.

First, can potential customers find your order form easily? Make sure you “clearly” tell them how to order. You can write a clear, concise paragraph to direct your prospects to your order form so that you can minimize the chances of them getting lost. You can also reduce the chances of losing prospects by putting a prominent link to your order page from every page on your site.

Do you offer multiple payment options? Some people may feel comfortable paying via Paypal, some may only want to pay with their credit card and others might prefer to send a check or money order. The more options you offer, the better your chances of covering your prospects’ desired payment method. After all, it wouldn’t make any sense to sell hard to a prospect only to find that they won’t be able to pay you when they want to.

Working from home can be very challenging. You may be under a tight deadline and it seems that a new obstacle creeps up at every opportunity. Perhaps your business isn’t moving as fast as you had hoped and you’re ready to throw in the towel. Whatever has you ready to give up, don’t let it win. Instead, grab your motivational toolbox and get pumped up.

Your motivational toolbox is your secret weapon against stress and anxiety. These are the trainings, the audios, books, emails, or pictures you keep stashed in case of emergency. Your toolbox can be a digital arsenal stored on your computer or it can be an actual toolbox filled with tangible items.

Audio
Audio trainings are great to listen to for motivation. They are quite easy to find on the Internet as more and more people are embracing audio technology on their websites. Another benefit is that you can simply download the audio to your MP3 player and go for a walk, which will get your heart pumping and help lower your stress. There are many Internet Talk Radio programs to choose from.

***Important Note***

Coming soon…ScrapVenture Podcast!

102ScrapbookingIdeas.com is for sale!

If you are interested in taking over an established website, visit

http://www.102scrapbookingideas.com/ForSale.html for more details.

This is an excellent opportunity to get your feet wet and learn how to run a scrapbook website for profit!

P.S. Check out the bonus!

ScrapVenture Changes Hands—and Direction Popular Business Resource for Scrapbooking Businesses Narrows Focus

(GRANITE CITY, IL.) ScrapVenture, a family of authority websites specializing in scrapbooking as a business, has been purchased by Dawn Stegall and is changing direction to focus on online business owners.

“I have been a fan and customer of ScrapVenture since its beginning,” said Stegall. “When I saw the sites were being sold, I knew this was a project that played to my skills. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 20 years, with nine years specifically in the scrapbooking industry. I immediately saw new and exciting directions the sites could take.”

Founded in 2007 by Vera Raposa, ScrapVenture taught scrapbookers how to profit from their scrapbooking passion. The family of websites acted as a business center, providing articles, reports and e-courses to scrapbook business owners.

“I wanted to show women how to follow their passion and make an income that would help support their family,” said Raposa.

Originally the site cast a broad net—offering resources for online stores, brick and mortar store, kit clubs, scrapbook forums and custom scrapbook artists.

If you and your family were going to drive to your vacation destination, you wouldn’t just get in the car and start driving without knowing where you were going. Would you? You shouldn’t start a business without a map either. If you are planning to have a simple home business, built around the Internet, you may not think you need a business plan. You may think only high level businesses need them in order to secure corporate funding but that’s not true.

Every business needs a business plan.

When you sit down to write a business plan, you are literally mapping out the path you want to take in your business. Not only will your business plan help you define what you want to accomplish, it can help you streamline your business and create focus.

You may be under the impression that business plans are huge documents that can be difficult to write. On the contrary, you do not have to create a huge document at all. Your business plan can consist of a single page outlining your basic goals. The point is to put your thoughts and ideas down in writing. When you take the time to think about your business, where you want your business to go, and estimate your costs as well as your profits, you are much more likely to succeed.

Many new business owners start a home business and don’t take the time to write out a business plan. By failing to write a business plan, you greatly decrease your chances of success. The following are some reasons why every business needs to put a business plan into writing.

You have probably heard the old saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” That is very true when it comes to your business. The more planning you do in the beginning, the greater success you will see in the future.

If you decide to take your home business to the next level, a business plan can help you secure financing. A financial institution will want to see, in writing, the reasons that they should loan you money. Simply walking in and telling them why you know you’ll be a success isn’t good enough. However, if you can hand your lender a document that states your business idea, your business goals, a list of steps you plan to take in order to reach your goals, as well as your estimated earnings, you will be seen as a professional and the lender will take you more seriously.

Be honest, could you be marketing your business to the wrong people-scrapbookers? Now if you sell scrapbook supplies or kits, then yes, your target market would consist of scrapbookers. But if you are a custom scrapbook artist, your target market is not a scrapbooker.

When you market your business, you want to be sure you are reaching the right audience-potential customers! You don’t want to invest alot of money or time reaching the wrong crowd. Invest your time and money wisely, deliver your advertising message to your target market.

A target market is the business owner’s ideal audience. These are the people who would be their best type of customer.

For example, if your custom scrapbook albums contain several embellishments, sewing and techniques that are more expensive or timely to produce, you more than likely will want to target a higher end consumer. You wouldn’t want to advertise on a frugal mom website. Yes, moms want to showcase their children in a beautiful keepsake, but a site catering to moms who are trying to save money isn’t the place for the ad of a business which sells $400 albums.

In the previous post, I discussed the best way to find scrapbook customers. In two words, the best way is with craft fairs. Why? Because that is where your potential customers are shopping. I understand your initial reaction may not be in agreement.

Overcome Craft Fair Negativity
The sheer thought of building up an inventory that may or may not sell, packing up the car, driving, unpacking the car, setting up an attractive display and sitting all day hoping for some sales is just not my idea of a productive Saturday. Does this sound like you? If so, I’ve been there. However, are these thoughts realistic? In reality, this negative attitude probably will yield the results you fear.

Positive Attitude
If you want to succeed at a craft fair, you must start with a positive attitude. As you prepare for the craft fair, think positively about each part of the process. As you are setting up your display, think about your creations, what are the hot selling points? What are some conversation starters?

Be where your scrapbook customers shop!
What if there was a place where potential customers hung out and came on their own volition?( ones who enjoy a hand-crafted keepsake) Imagine if you will, a place where you can “set up shop” displaying samples of your work, finished albums, layout ideas and fun projects where these potential customers already are shopping. These places do exist and can be found in the form of craft fairs or craft malls. Selling at craft fairs is an excellent way to gain business and grow your customer base.

Take the Time to Plan
Before you sign up to sell your keepsakes at your first craft show, be sure to attend a few. Discover who is selling, what kinds of products are featured(and selling) and at what price range. Take some time to chat with the vendors to ask questions and get a feel for the environment. Find out which fairs are best for your creations.

Gather all the information necessary before you take the plunge. Be sure to find out the cost to have an exhibit and what the expected attendance is. When calculating costs it ’s important to factor in travel, shipping costs and the cost for your table and display. Determining your potential profit and loss will help you make an informed decision.

Regardless of the type of business you own, brick and mortar, internet based or a combination of the two there is one thing for certain � you�ll eventually have the pleasure of dealing with a rude customer. It�s a fact of life. We all have bad days and occasionally people forget and take it out on the wrong people � you.

So what do you do? How do you handle the rude customer?

Step #1 Understand where their anger is coming from. Quite often, it�s not about you. There�s something else going on and while you don�t have to empathize with a rude customer, communicating with them in a calm manner is the best reaction. A defensive reaction only fuels their fire.

If that means taking a wealth of deep calming breaths then take them. If that means you need to take some time before you get back with them then take that time. However, if you�re able to nip the issue in the bud and deal with it quickly then by all means resolve the issue and move on.