Posts Tagged ‘guide’
10 Totally Free Blogging (among other things) Guides…Totally!
Friday, March 21st, 2008
There’s no question anymore as to whether or not blogging is beneficial to businesses–it IS. Wait. Allow me to rephrase…GOOD blogging is beneficial to businesses. If you run your blog poorly, it becomes a waste of your time as well as the time of your readers (dare I say customers ?) and no one likes to be inconvenienced, especially not consumers. I know, I know…nothing you don’t already know.
Well, if you have decided not to pursue blogging due to time, money and/or resource constraints then I suppose you needn’t read on. But if you do run a company blog and are looking to make it worth your while, by all means, check out these 10 completely free guides to building a better blog courtesy chrisg.com :
1. The Blogger’s Guide to SEO - Written by Aaron Wall of SEOBook, learn how to optimize your blog.
2. Remarkablogger’s How to Start A Business Blog - 12 Step Business Blogging eBook
3. "Attention Age" - Web 2.0 Marketing by Rich Schefren
4. Forget Everything You Know About Making Money Online - Brian Clark’s free ebook shows you how to forget everything you know about making money … and start making some.
5. Blog Profits Blueprint - ebook about how to make money with a blog.
6. SEO Benefits of Press Releases - optimizing your web page with good content.
7. Authority Black Book - Social Media Marketing ebook.
8. Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging - Chitika’s ebook…also links to the BlogBash ebook.
9. Keyword Research for Bloggers - the title says it all!
10. The 4 Phases of Internet Marketing - This report provides you an overview of all the tactics you should be looking at building into your internet marketing strategy.
Do you find these helpful? Let me know so I can either keep trying to find similar resources or move on to different ones. Also feel free too add your suggestions to the list!
Tags: Blog, blogging, E-Commerce and E-Business, free, guide, internet, Marketing, Rebecca Button, SEO, tips
Posted in News & Articles | 1 Comment »
Guide to Online Business Model Types
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
During the 1990’s, the term business model became very popular amongst online businesses. However, the plans did not have a clear focus on how traffic to their sites would generate revenue and profits. In order to determine where you are and where you are going, a business model should include sales, costs, profits and expenses, along with strategic goals, a vision and mission.
There are numerous business models for internet businesses. Some websites focus on sales, other focus on reducing costs or improving customer satisfaction. Whatever the reason, there is a reason for you developing an online business; therefore, you should be able to attain a payoff for your efforts.
There are several different ways to make a profit from your online business:
Portfolio Site - this model operates much like a business card on the web by offering information to target users about a business. In essence, they generate leads either for themselves or for another business by providing information to help aid the visitor’s buying decision.
Commerce Site - The basic commerce model is focused on making sales and profits. This is your basic e-tail store, where orders for products are taken on the website, customers are charged for those products, and then they’re shipped. This model can also apply to downloadable products, such as e-books or web-based applications.
Content Site - Another model is the content model, where it is based solely on advertising, such as banner advertising and sponsorships. For instance, the content is free to users, but is paid for through the companies advertising on the sites. A search engine like Google is considered a content model, because the content is free and paid for with advertising. This is not a new business model - many newspapers and magazines operate in this way.
There are also the community sites, where it does not cost anyone to either post or browse, but the business is responsible for the upkeep. The sites usually offer email, bulletin boards and forums. The site is commonly sponsored by a store that supports the community interest.
Most sites are a combination of different models in order to build traffic and visitor loyalty. A good example of this would be Yahoo, which combines content, community and commerce.
When determining the type of business model for your online business, think about how you will measure the visitors to your site and the money generated - either by sales or advertising. Determine your sales forecast based on the website’s benefits, if you will try to increase the closing percentage, customer satisfaction or retail traffic. Once you determine your sales forecast, then you will be able to compare it to the monetary benefits and expenses.
Tags: business models, E-Commerce and E-Business, guide, larry Slusser, Starting a Business, startups, websites
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What’s all this about “bootstrapping?”
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Have you heard the term "bootstrapping" and always wondered what it was or how to do it? This article explains it all!
Bootstrapping Your Small Business
Tags: article, bootstrapping, Finance and Accounting, guide, Rebecca Button, small business, Starting a Business, startups, tips
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Small Business Finance Terminology Guide
Thursday, December 6th, 2007
A great reference article!
Small Business Finance Terminology Guide
Tags: Accounting, Finance, Finance and Accounting, guide, Leeia Ladipoh, small business, Small Business Resources
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Going, Going, Gone - A Beginner’s Guide to Selling on eBay
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
So, you have a pile of junk you are ready to get rid of? Have you considered turning that junk into money? Many people are using eBay to turn their trash into treasure! But if you are not experienced using the auction giant, you can be taken for a ride through listing fees!
The first step to selling your things on eBay is determining whether or not they are of value. Just because they are not valuable to you, does not mean they are not valuable to someone else. That old broken laptop you are still hanging on to could sell for a couple hundred dollars if the screen and hard drive still work. The easiest way to find out if the stuff you want to rid yourself of is valuable is to use eBay’s searching tool.
When you enter eBay, click on "Advanced Search." Here you will find a screen with several different places to input search terms and categories. The screen has an option to search completed listings. Click this box, and then type in the item you are considering selling. This will bring up several weeks’ worth of auctions that have closed. You can see how much your item could bring, and also the best way to market it. If you sort the search to display by price with the highest listing first, you will see just how much your box of junk might be worth.
If you find that you have something worthwhile, you need to design your auction. eBay is in business to make money. One way they make money is through listing fees. Understanding these fees is essential to making money on eBay. The first fee you are going to face is an insertion fee. Whether or not your item sells, you owe eBay some money because of an insertion fee. The insertion fee is based on the price you set for the starting bid. The lower your starting bid, the lower the insertion fee. A starting price of $.01 to $.99 has an insertion fee of $.20. The highest insertion fee is $4.80 for items priced $500 or more.
If your item sells, you are faced with a final value fee. This fee is based on a percentage of the sale. For items that sell under $25, eBay charges 5.25% of the price of the sale. Items that sell between $25 and $1000 are charged 5.25% for the first $25, and 3.25% of the rest of the cost. Anything that sells for over $1000 is charged the same, plus 1.50% of any value over $1000.
Some people putting auctions on eBay will set their starting price low to attract bidders, but will add a reserve to the auction. A reserve is the lowest price they are willing to sell the item for. Adding a reserve to an auction also costs money. For a reserve under $50, the reserve fee is $1. Reserves between $50 and $200 have a reserve fee of $2. Anything above $200 earns a reserve fee of 1% of the price set as the reserve.
On eBay, the rule of thumb is anything you add to your auction is going to cost you. From Buy It Now to Gallery Listings, everything costs a few cents. The exception is including a picture with your auction. The first picture you include with your auction is free. However, if you want to add the little thumbnail picture to your auction that will show up in the search results when someone searches for your item, you will pay for it!
There are ways to get around the fees for the extras in eBay. Those people who make a lot of money using eBay know how to get around the fees as much as possible. One way to create professional looking auctions without building up huge fees is to use an auction template from a third party source. Websites such as Auctiva allow you to build your own templates and store your pictures directly on their website. Then, all you have to do to create a professional looking eBay auction is copy and paste the HTML code from the template creating website. Your auction will have a custom-made template, including as many pictures as you want, and all you pay eBay is the insertion and final value fees.
One of the extras that eBay offers you is worth the extra cost.To add the little thumbnail picture to the search results, you need to click on "Gallery Picture." This service costs you $.35, but adding a gallery picture creates more interest in your auction. Also, even when using a template from a third party website, you should still upload a picture to eBay. Even if you do not choose to add the Gallery option, your potential customers will know there is a picture in your auction, which makes them more likely to click on your link, because eBay puts a camera icon next to auctions with photos.
Once you have built your template, you need to go back to eBay to create your auction. The first item you will input is the title of your auction. Do not feel as though you have to use complete sentences in your title. You need to include keywords in the title that people will use when searching for your item. For example, if you are trying to sell your wedding dress on eBay, you may think to say: "Beautiful White Wedding Dress" to describe your auction. Instead, consider "sleeveless a-line wedding dress taffeta bride sz 12." While this is not a grammatically proper title, it contains the search terms that someone who would benefit from purchasing your item would use.
Sometimes it is helpful to include some eBay terminology in your listing title. There are several abbreviations that those in the eBay community have come to understand and accept. For example, when you say NR in an auction title, it means "no reserve." Here are some other common eBay initials:
* NIB - New In Box
* EUC - Excellent Used Condition
* NWT - New With Tags
* NWOT - New With Out Tags
* L@@K - Look (an attempt to draw attention to the listing)
* Sz - Size
* Lg - Large
* Sm - Small
* Md - Medium
If you need to save space on your title, take advantage of these abbreviations.
When describing your auction, paint your item in the best light possible, but be accurate. Lying about your item will hurt your reputation on eBay. However, if you are selling something that you never liked or found useful, you do not need to say that. Describe the item as it is, but let the bidder decide if it is a useful item or not.
Shipping is the last important category that you need to input into your auction. If you are serious about selling on eBay, invest in a quality postage scale. Your bidders are experts at knowing when they are over charged for shipping. You can enter the weight of your item and the type of shipping you intend to use, and eBay will calculate the shipping for your bidders based on their location. You can choose to add a handling cost to cover the shipping supplies you need to ship the item. The bidders are not shown the handling cost; it is just included in the cost of the shipping.
On the second page of your listing form, you will find several add-ons that you can purchase for your auction. If you are using an auction template, you do not need any of these items. All they do is add fees to your auction. Skip this page, and list your item.
Once your item has sold, ship it quickly. A quick ship will give you glowing feedback from your customer. Feedback is one of the most important parts of eBay. Your feedback score is the score you receive based on the experience that buyers and sellers have when working with you. If you are completely new to eBay, consider making a few purchases before setting up any auctions. If your feedback score is zero, many will not be willing to purchase from you, and you may end up getting less for your items than they are really worth.
So, there you have it! With this information, you can sell anything on eBay. Remember to use the template website to build a beautiful auction, and only buy extras that you absolutely have to from eBay. Doing this will bring you the most profit possible from your eBay auction. Happy selling!
Tags: E-Commerce and E-Business, Generating More Sales, guide, online auctions, Sales, selling on ebay
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