Jere answers:

This is a very common problem. I ended up getting 200 emails daily in my inbox. Here is what i did to stop these marketing emails.

As mentioned below you can mark them as spam but it will go to the spam folder and as days go by the spam folder will fill up with a lot of emails.. And some times even a few legitimate emails also end up going to spam folder…

What should I do now?

All you need to do is… Open that marketing email and look for a link that says “unsubscribe” or “opt out” or “change email preference” any where at the bottom or at the top (which are usually in very small font ) click that and it will unsubscribe you from that email list…. And you no longer get the emails from that company…

If you think this is very difficult and you don’t have time or if you have toooo many of them…. Then you should mark them as junk/spam (look for this work next to somewhere at the top near reply botton) and click it…next time it will automatically go to the spam folder.

Jere answers:

One of the most important advantages of email marketing is that it allows you to reach global audience with minimum effort. There is no geographical limit when it comes to email marketing. Although it is still possible to reach global audience with other offline advertising channels like radio, TV and other printed media, email marketing is absolutely the cheapest.

The biggest disadvantage of email marketing is that your emails will sometimes be regarded as spam. Today, people are overloaded with lots of unwanted emails. Email service providers have taken action to enforce more powerful spam filters. Although spam filters are good at blocking spam mails, sometimes they also block legitimate emails too. To prevent this from happening, the subject line and content of your emails should not imply that they are spam. Avoid using words like “Free”, “Discounts”, “Coupon”, etc.

Jere answers:

Setting up free email accounts is easy. I personally like to have at least two working emails and from my point of view if you have more than one account it is good to have free email account. I have Yahoo and hotmail free email accounts and I am fully satisfied with the service they provide..

You can refer to this blog which show you a article about email marketing campaign
http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/

How To Set Up Free Email Accounts
http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-set-up-free-email-accounts.html

Thanks for the Great articles showing me about Email Marketing

http://email-marketing-info2u.blogspot.com/

Jere answers:

List building helps facilitate the process of converting subscribers into active customers, since once your prospect has been added to our mailing list, you are able to develop a relationship with them by communicating with them directly through your follow-up email broadcasts.

In truth, there is no faster or easier way to maximize your online income than with a relevant, targeted and responsive mailing list. You can get 10x the work done in half the time when you are able to instantly touch base with a built-in customer base, who are interested in specific topics or niche markets.

For example, with a mailing list you can simply create broadcasts that go out to your entire subscriber base that feature a blend of high quality information and content with promotional based offers and promotions.

You can then include affiliate promotions for products and services that are relevant to your list, but more importantly, you are able to generate feedback, tap into your market in such a way that you know exactly what they are interested in receiving and what they are most likely to respond to.

Imagine the potential when you have an active subscriber base, right at your fingertips. You can email them any time you like, with fresh offers, high quality content and valuable resources that work towards helping you establish yourself within these niche markets, while building a solid relationship with your subscriber base.

Jere answers:

1. Send Introduction letters to the prospects by mail/post or do little mouth publicity of your product.
2. Offer something FREE material like some digital Ebook. Let them get that from Site.
3. When they come to site , there will be a Sign-up form. They will need to sign with their email address.
4. After that , in their email box , they will receive the FREE Gift – Ebook.
5. They are on your list & have opted in , you will have permission to send them emails – no SPAM.
6. This assures trusted delivery of all emails directly to their inbox.
7. You make a campaign & schedule further emails which may be having your affiliate links OR sales coupons OR some call to action.

This is the best way i know email marketing.

The best email software in the market is : http://www.internetconsultantindia.com/Aweber

If you are intersted , we can do all this job on a professional basis for you.

Jere answers:

I don’t like the website the first guy directed you to.

I think he was trying to send you there becasue its simple and he probably makes money somehow asking those companies to pay to be on his site…

Whatever…

First things first go online to www.SBA.gov this is the small business administration and they will have a listing of their workshops. I think you should find a local workshop that you could bring some examples and ask that same question to one of their mentors that show up.

I also think you should go to score.org and set up a time to meet with one of their mentors…they are a free service and would love to help you more than anything.

I like the idea alot that you have…

You might even want to see about coordinating with your local chamber of commerce to see if tey woould sponsor you or help you somehow.

Also you should join the American marketing association at www.marketingpower.com

Jere answers:

Try calling 1-888-567-8688.

Or you can write to the following;

Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmington, NY 11735

Jere answers:

We are getting inundated with junk mail, so I’ve decided it makes sense to send one dollar to the DMA and get off a lot of these lists. It supposedly is very effective, per our consumer protection folks here in Nevada. Since I just sent mine off yesterday, I will have to wait a bit to see if it really cuts down on the solicitations. Here is a copy of the letter to send, and be sure to enclose the $1 (no, this is not a scam, it’s for real, came out in our local paper by respected columnist AND the form was sent to me by the University of Nevada). Good luck. Http://www.lvrj.com/news/15934232.html

I know it may be tricky, though, to get your relative to sign the form. But it is really important to take care of our elderly relatives–when my stepmother died at age 85, she had a room full of junk stuff she had ordered–boxes and boxes. The nursing home said it was very common to see this type of thing; they try to alert relatives but apparently her daughter (my stepsister) was not able to convince her mom that this was a waste of money.

You can also check out the DMA website at http://www.dmachoice.org

Here is the form letter to send:

Direct Marketing Association
MAIL Preference Service
Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512
1-212-768-7277
www.dmachoice.org

Date:_____________________

RE: Stop Junk Mail

Dear DMA:

This letter is a request for you to remove my name from your members’ mailing lists. I do not wish to receive these mail solicitations at any time. I have enclosed my $1.00 processing fee.

I am:

_____________________________________________________________
Name

_____________________________________________________________
Address

_____________________________________ __________________
City State Zip Code

(________)____________________________
Area Code Phone Number

Thank you,

____________________________________
Signature

Jere answers:

I for one would love to help you or create a business to business association with you.

I lived in NYC for 10 years ! I loved it.

I am a marketing professional and a printer….I would first encourage you to read my business card and direct mail tips at www.doranpeck.com

If you would like to have a professional quality printing source, go ahead and register at www.myezprinter.com

we can set up a special discount for you through that site.

Another thing to consider is designing forms and other interoffice printed materials. Alot of busineses use forms on NCR (carbonless paper)

email me and we can talk more about it

Jere answers:

Sometimes 3rd party validation can be beneficial when we’re evaluating something of importance. Here is some information that helped me better understand how Corporate America views Networking and Direct Sales.

In a past issue of Fortune Magazine (the one with Bill Gates on the cover) there was an interesting article focusing on the sputtering economy, and the independent contractors (associates) who are re-energizing the retail industry through the art of direct selling.

Here are a few paragraphs I that caught my attention:

“Call it the age of direct selling. With its emphasis on personal, one-on-one relationships between distributor and consumer, convenience, and a high degree of consumer education, the industry may be tailor-made for today’s consumer and company.

“The result: The industry, with sales of $28.7 billion in the early 2000’s, up 7.5% from before, has become a magnet for both corporate behemoths lured by its efficiencies and dozens of entrepreneurs attracted by the lower cost of market entry .

“…for example, Warren Buffett’s biggest purchase was The Pampered Chef … Hallmark’s Binney and Smith is launching its own direct-selling company, called Big Yellow Box by Crayola .

“Most direct-selling businesses now employ a multilevel system, in which distributors earn money on their own sales in addition to those of people they recruit (called the ‘downline’) and individuals brought in by their personal recruits.

“That’s different from the single-level approach, in which you only get commissions on your own sales. In 1990, about 20% of the Direct Selling Association members in the used the multilevel plan; today, it’s about 80% …

“‘I saw … Something that I could do with my sons,’ said Russ Widger Sr., a former manufacturing company owner … ‘I thought, with this business, they could do in about 10 years or less what had taken me more than 20 years with my conventional business.’

“‘[Direct sales] provided me with security that I would not have achieved if I had continued working a regular job,’ claimed Meg Kelly-Smith, a former banking executive. ‘I compressed an entire career’s worth of earnings into about five or six years.’

“A growing number of distributors are placing orders through their company’s web site instead of using the usual faxes or snail-mail orders. Distributors are using … Web sites for help in recruitment and training … And as a channel for customer reordering.

“In 1990, Lisa Wilbur was laid off from her $15,000-a-year secretarial job, living in a 12 by 70 foot trailer with her husband, and trying her best to stave off creditors. Then she decided to sign on with Avon . Over the past ten years she’s made more than $1.4 million in bonuses … Not every representative makes nearly that much money or wants to. Many reps … Get into the business with the intention of working part-time or even, say, earning a little extra around the holidays.

“Although today’s economic times offer a variety of challenges, solutions are available for those individuals willing to seek them out. With direct selling companies providing alternate avenues for income generation, more and more people are able to give their current jobs the pink slip.”

– Fortune, The Power Issue, vol. 148, No. 3

This industry is being embraced by not only corporate America but business minded people around the globe. Network Marketing is no longer considered fringe. It is turning into mainstream business.

If you’d like to discuss this with me personally I’d be happy to give you a call. Make sure you leave your contact information at my website and I’ll get in touch with you right away.

Http://www.maximumglutathione.com

Best Wishes
Rex White
503-463-7336

Jere answers:

Not “live” payroll, but many accounting/bookkeeping practices offer ATF (After The Fact) payroll services.

The software doesn’t calculate withholding (except maybe FICA) and merely takes your information and compiles it into a Tax Return or Report for filing.

Many states have mandated filing business returns, like payroll, online.

Jere answers:

Http://www.payroll-taxes.com/index.html

that site, free, taught me all my federal and state payroll needs. Its actually pretty simple. Go to irs.gov and they have a “start new business” link that explains forms you need to fill out. Also, search google for “(your state) articles of organization” if you want an LLC (its a pass threw company, so you are only taxed once on the money you make and are not liable for anything. Meaning, your house cant be taken away if you are sued. I hope everything goes well for you 😀

Also, your state website should have a lot of information too.

And, you will need to find your county’s website and file for a Business License. I live in New Mexico, it cost me $75 to start my own business 😀

Jere answers:

Have you tried Quickbooks online? Intuit Online payroll is $10-25 per month and does everything, you can print out the checks.

Http://payroll.intuit.com/payroll_services/online_payroll.jsp

Everything You Need from Payday to Tax Day With reminders, automatic calculations, direct deposit, and electronic filing, Intuit Online Payroll has everything you need to pay employees and taxes accurately and on time – you just enter time and approve amounts.
Payroll Features
Automatic paycheck calculation for 21 pay types, including salary, sick pay, and commissions
Email reminders when it’s payday
Instant paychecks, direct deposit, and W-2s
Free direct deposit, or printable checks
iPhone app for mobile payroll
Reports on employee pay and deductions
Unlimited number of payrolls each month
Free support from experts
Tax Features
Automatic federal and state tax calculations, guaranteed accurate
Email reminders for taxes and unemployment insurance
Electronic federal and state tax filing2
No tax payments until they’re due3
Automatic W-2 preparation for all employees
Electronic W-2 filing
Reports on tax liability, wages, pay, and more

Free Templates:

There are free timesheet schedule templates in Excel, if you have 2007 they look nice. Just click on New and go to the bottom of the list and click on timesheets, select the template you want. One is called Employee Timecard and it looks good for time tracking.

Jere answers:

In home based businesses, depending on which one you get involved in, it usually takes about 2 to 4 weeks to start making an average income. (about the same time frame as your first payroll period) Then as you keep working your business, 4 to 6 weeks to increase that income, and 3 to 6 months to be self sufficient. That is only if you put the time and effort into it. If you just say “I started a business” and don’t put any time or the effort needed in your business, then you won’t make an income.
Most people have full time jobs and run their business on the side. When their business reaches the income level they desire, they put their normal jobs down and continue with their business growing. Other’s dive into it head first and tackle it and get it going faster. Either way, you have the same opportunity to make a sufficient amount of income.
I don’t know what you enjoy doing, hobbies, interests etc, so I’m not sure which home based business to refer you over to.

Jere answers:

In small business, there’s often a temptation to try to save money by doing everything in house, but this can turn out to be a costly, time consuming mistake. Identifying and outsourcing time-intensive tasks in the workplace can enable business owners to devote more energy to the activities in which they are most adept. Today, many small business owners outsource a variety of technical jobs to experts over the Internet, enhancing the quality of the company’s output and putting the focus back on marketing and building the business. Here are five activities that all small business owners should consider outsourcing.

1. Taxes

While tax preparation can be handled by non-accountants, the intricacies and laws involved in business tax preparation can be mind-boggling. The area can be a veritable minefield of potential infractions and tax penalties. The peace of mind that comes with having this work done by a professional is well worth the premium price tag. With the help of an experienced tax preparer, companies can save a huge amount of time and money while staying on the good side of the IRS.

2. Administration

Businesses who try to have all administrative work handled in house may find themselves buried in paperwork. Continual administration tasks can sap morale from regular employees while keeping workers specifically for these tasks may be less than efficient over time. Fortunately, the Internet has revolutionized administrative outsourcing. Virtual assistants can take care of a wide variety of routine jobs including returning emails and calls, generating reports and setting appointments. This is often a huge saver of time and energy for in-house personnel.

3. Payroll

Even very small businesses may have to devote many hours each year to the time-intensive task of processing payroll. This can cost companies both in terms of hours paid to employees and in possible tax penalties related to incorrect payments or filings. Doing payroll in house also requires keeping up with current tax tables in order to avoid headaches with the IRS. By outsourcing this work to payroll services, business owners can concentrate on the aspects of business that they enjoy while saving money and avoiding responsibility for tax errors.

4. Training

Bringing new employees up to speed and keeping long-time employees current on modern skills is important for staying competitive, but it’s easy to become overburdened with training. Instead of having staff trained in the office, businesses should consider arranging employee training at a local community college. In some cases, companies have also made training easier on employees by reimbursing them for their education-related expenses.

5. Reputation Management

Today, keeping track of online reputation is an important part of any comprehensive marketing plan. Social media is a major contributor to the performance of businesses with an online presence, and while maintaining social profiles may be simple in many cases, online reputation monitoring usually isn’t. Even with the online tools available, this job can take incredible amounts of time. Outsourcing this work to an online service means receiving regular reports that are far easier to work with than the endless stream of data that would require analysis by office staff if reputation management were performed in house.

Thanks to modern technology, outsourcing is now easier than ever before. By identifying tasks that should be sent to outside workers, companies can improve productivity and spur growth. The powerful combination of saving time and money and magnifying in-house strengths shouldn’t be ignored by today’s small business owners.

Jere answers:

Affiliate programs are the first choice of most newcomers to net earnings because they have many advantages:

1. All you have to do is to join a merchant program as an affiliate and send visitors to the merchant site

2. All other work such as making a sale, delivering the product or service, receiving payment, attending to the complaints or making a refund, is handled by the merchant site.

3. The merchant site also sees to it that you are paid commission when a sale is made through your efforts.

4. You are also rewarded when a sale is made through the efforts of an affiliate referred by you to the merchant site.

All easy and simple. But most affiliates soon find that in spite of their best efforts they are not making any money.

This is because the affiliate earnings depend not on how many visitors they send to the merchant site, but how many of them buy the product or service of the merchant.

So just sending visitors to the merchant site is not enough.
You can do this easily by joining traffic exchange or autosurf programs. Your merchant site will be seen hundreds of times but it will not make a sale. This is because these visitors are not interested in your site. They are looking at it to earn credits so they can show their site to others.

This is not to say that traffic programs have no use at all.
I have used them successfully to build my downline in free-to-join programs, but have never made a sale through them. Most members of such programs are promoting their own programs. They could get interested in joining other opportunities, but would rarely go for a product themselves.

So if you want to earn from affiliate programs, the thing to do is to send interested visitors to your merchant site.

Who is an interested visitor?
This is the visitor who reached your site by himself. He is looking for the product you are promoting. This is why he took the trouble of finding it from a search engine or from the particular kind of ads or forums.

This visitor is red hot for a sale. He is already interested in your product. If he finds what he wants on your merchant site, he is very much likely to look at the product’s features, mentally compare it with other similar products, ask for more information by giving his email address. All this can lead to a sale and a commission for you.

How to target interested visitors
The best way to reach interested visitors is promoting your products through search engines submissions, placing catchy ads, posting in forums or through your own website.

This may sound daunting to newcomers at first but all these are do-able with a little effort. You can get help for mastering all these skills from the resources freely available on the internet.

Joining right affiliate programs can also help a good deal to gain affiliate mastery. While great many affiliate programs give you a few text ads and banners and be done with you, there are some programs that give valuable training to succeed.

Be positive
Most newcomers to internet earning fail because they expect to be rich in a week, if not overnight. When this doesn’t happen as it rarely does in real life, they get discouraged. They are also influenced by others who like them tried but failed to earn with affiliate programs. The result — they give up, frustrated.

The reality is that nobody becomes rich overnight in internet marketing. You have to work at it consistently. Most important of all, banish negative thinking from your life and believe that if others have succeeded, you, too, can and will.

That perhaps is the most important ingredient for your success.

Jere answers:

If you do it right then you social media is a great source of traffic. As by your question you sound like a beginner (novice). If you are serious about your business opt for an internet marketing agency and you will see results. Professionals who has worked and who knows what they talking about will show you the results.

People here will suggest you all sorts of links (most of them are their owns), just search for a genuine company with good track record and buy their services.

There are many sources for traffic and if you do not do it right then all these resources will sound or look a big waste..

Jere answers:

First get to know how good you are.
Why not join an online forum

I found you one, actually I’m a member:

www.everyauthor.com/forum

for poetry: www.everypoet.org/pffa

and here are some publications:
www.stickmanreview.com
www.barcelonareview.com

Goodluck!

Jere answers:

There is no “system” that I know of that is legit. But there is money to be made online! Don’t buy into any business opportunities, do your research and start a real online business of your own.

Check out internet marketing forums like www.warriorforum.com or www.associateprograms.com . I tried project payday but that’s not a viable business model, it will make you some quick cash but it isn’t sustanable.

There are internet marketing courses that are real and will teach you how to make real money online. Check out the warriroforum’s product review section for good courses. I’ve also read that wealthyaffiliate is a good site to learn from but haven’t tried it myself.

Jere answers:

Hi, first and foremost welcome to the internet marketing world and I wish you all the very best in it.

To answer your question about hosting I think Hostgator are really good and I think they are the number 1 at the moment, Webhostingpad and bluehost are also very good. It will also be very useful for you if you get a web hosting company that has live chat as I have found that to be very useful (as a newbie – when you have so many questions) when you need an answer in a hurry cos it is sometimes a real pain when you have to submit a ticket and then have to wait.

If you are looking for Cheap web hosting I think WebhostingPad has hosting for $1.99 a month.

As a newbie which was not too long ago I came across a site http://www.cheapbusinesshostingblog.com/ They have a list of web hosting companies you can choose from and they also have coupon codes and some good rebates. I bought hosting from them (hostgator) and they did send me a rebate.

Once again all the best with your online business

Jere answers:

Mr some one in india you need registration for starting a site .You get a package to construct your site

Jere answers:

I do not know if it is appropriate to write for our self-promotion in response to your above question. However, I am taking the risk of getting a violation notice and providing the following information. Hope the readers would let this go without reporting (lol).

Please knock me if you need a helping hand to establish MT business online from Bangladesh since I had been working in two MNCs before and acquired some knowledge as to how to run shops from far away places than the mother company. I was taken as Maintenance Engineer and subsequently promoted as Shift Manager in the first MNC (1980-87). I also worked as Application Engineer in a famous Swedish MNC (1991-96). I now own a small company established in 1993 and had been dreaming to be associated with big-time activities like call-centers by which many Indians could change their lot, which unfortunately we in Bangladesh were lagging due to our misplaced government policies/priorities.

Wish you luck in your new venture and please do not hesitate to ask for any help you need to make your mission a success.

Jere answers:

Step by step tutorials.
Http://www.webmasterautomation.com/videos/

Jere answers:

Join RMP – Asia’s and India’s biggest network marketing company. You can work from home. For details, contact me or see website below:

http://www.rmpinfotec.biz/

Jere answers:

Hi Pad,
The best way to run an online business is with automation, by this I mean all you have to do is advertise your business… No product storage, no dealing with customers, no headaches and you can run it from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world.
If this is sounds good to you check out my website and get all the information at www.MyAutomatedMailbox.Info
Good luck to you.

Jere answers:

First get an Income Tax PAN card,

Secondly, Open 3-in-1 Account with HDFC Bank / ICICI Bank (Savings Bank Account + Demat Account + Trading Account)
Or
Open Only Savings Bank Account with HDFC Bank / ICICI Bank and Demat and Trading Account with any reliable stock broker (Reliance Money / India Infoline / Indiabulls / Kotak Securities / Edelweiss Capital / Geogit Securities).

Start watching CNBC TV 18 everyday from 9 a.m. To 1 p.m. And from 9 p.m. To 10 p.m. Every night for a week.

Invest only in Top 5 to 10 Scrips of Indian Stock market:

Reliance Industries (RELIANCE), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), NTPC, Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL), ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK), Larsen & Toubro (LT), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

You can email / message me anytime if you need more advice. My Email address is aramaiya@yahoo.com .

Jere answers:

Generally, you want to save on listing fees and let the (ebay) market to set the closing price. In most cases, this means starting the initial price at $9.99 or less. However, the only exception is for expensive items. With the current recession and sales at ebay (and most everywhere else) soft now, you don’t want to get burned. Use you discretion with expensive items.

Some tips that may be helpful to you……….

Be honest and accurate in your descriptions – One-sentence descriptions are for lazy sellers. One paragraph should be sufficient for most items. My general guideline is the more expensive (read higher priced) an item, the more you should ‘talk it up.’ It won’t be time wasted. Use lots of adjectives in your descriptions. Adjectives make prose and your items come alive. Without them, prose is dull and your items less appealing. Just add a little ‘sizzle’ and even have a little fun with it. In short, make your descriptions stand out above the crowd.

Be professional – use good English with no spelling errors

PICTURES:

ALWAYS include at least one picture, more pictures for higher priced items. Make sure your pictures are clear. There are far too many pictures on ebay that are dark. If prospective buyers can’t see your items clearly, your items, more than likely, will not fetch the closing prices they deserve. To remove darkness, use any photo editor to add some brightness and a wee bit of contrast.

Eliminate clutter. Prospective bidders don’t want to know what kind of cereal you eat or what kind of kitchen table or bedspread you have. Use a SOLID backdrop when taking your pictures as you want to focus all of the attention on your item. In short, the one and only thing you want in your picture is the item being sold. A SOLID white or light blue backdrop is best. However, there are certainly items that won’t show well on a light backdrop. In these cases, use a darker backdrop. And for gosh sake, don’t even think of using a plaid blanket as a backdrop for your pictures as I once saw on ebay. You should also crop the photos in your photo editor. Good pictures can add 5% to 10% to final closing prices.

GOOD DESCRIPTIONS + GOOD PICTURES = GOOD PRESENTATION. This is what you should strive for.

COMMUNICATION:

GOOD Communication is a must – Always notify buyers when you mail their items. It is not only a courtesy you would want and expect as a buyer but it is also both good customer service and good business practice. After all, you are the ‘President & CEO’ of your ‘company’ running your business but using ebay as your selling medium. In short, conduct your business so that it reflects well on you as a person. Treat everyone as a human being, not a living being and this includes people who have inquiries about your items, not just your buyers. Prospective buyers making these inquiries could ultimately be the winning bidders and possible repeat customers.

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE PROFITS:

Do not limit your auctions to one country. SELL WORLDWIDE. The reason is elementary. You now have access to the largest market ebay has to offer. Limiting your auctions to only one country also limits your potential profits. A basic business tenet is, ‘the greater the potential market, the greater the potential to maximize profits.’ But do note in your listing that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from overseas bidders/buyers. Through experience, you will learn that there are certain problem countries. Italy seems to be one of them. Mail sent to buyers in Italy very often ‘mysteriously disappears.’ If this is the case, just note in your listing you sell to all countries EXCEPT (name(s) here).

However, if you decide to limit sales to only one country, such as the USA, never say NO when you receive an email asking if you would ship to Taiwan, Germany, Australia or wherever. The reason is that you have a ‘FISH ON THE HOOK!’ This person will bid! When he or she does, this may force a previous bidder to enter another, higher bid or force later, first time bidders to come in with higher bids. So always say YES to these emails if you want to maximize your profits. But do say that PayPal is the only form of payment you will accept from these overseas bidders

Avoid selling ‘nickel and dime’ items. People who list and sell a steady stream of items that close for $5 or less are wasting their time. Less expensive, similar items ($5 or less) are best sold as a group to save time. If you have a large number of these cheaper, similar items, divide them up into sub lots of three, four or five.

More expensive (higher priced), similar items are best sold individually to maximize profits. There are ebay ‘vultures’ who just love to swoop down on similarly grouped items in one listing. When they win these auctions, they turn around and sell the items individually and, in most cases, get one and a half to 2 times and sometimes three times what they paid for them on an average item basis. I know this works. When I had more time (read unemployed), I was one of these ‘vultures.’ This is one of those situations where the parts are worth more than the whole.

Short of items to sell and where to find items to sell? Garage and yard sales, church bazaars, flea markets are obvious as are ‘junktique’ shops. If you want to let your fingers do the walking, you too can be crafty ‘vulture’ like a select group of other ebay sellers. Become a member of several smaller auction sites and search for bargains there. But as before, ‘stick with what you know.’ These smaller auction sites are great for buyers for the same reason they are bad for sellers:

Far fewer potential bidders = less competition = lower closing prices

Once you have your bargains, turn around and sell them at ebay. Ebay has the largest membership of any auction site. There isn’t another auction site that is remotely close and I do mean remotely close to having the number of members that ebay has. Here is the ebay formula:

Largest, by far, of any auction site = MAXIMUM competition = HIGHER closing prices,

If you want to do your listings OFFLINE, download the TURBO LISTER program free from ebay. Once you have finished with your listings, you can upload them anytime or schedule a date and time when you want your auctions to start.

Lastly, keep in mind that experience is the best teacher. Start off slowly listing only two or three items and see how that goes for you. Once you get your feet wet and gain confidence, start listing more items on a weekly basis. You will soon learn the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts in short order and ultimately settle on a system that works best for you. The more items you list, the more items you will sell, the more $$ you will make and the harder you will work. Nothing in life comes easy and that includes becoming a successful seller at ebay. Good luck & happy selling!

Jere answers:

Starting with your friends and family is good. Anyway starts with the following too,

– set up social network for your business eg twitter, facebook, myspace etc. Its free anyway
– do you own blog. This is free too.
– your friends and family can spread the good news to their friends and families provided that you did a good job in the cake.
– make your own flyers and carry them wherever you go and give to people you meet & also distribute in your areas.
– design your own business card.
– you can also sms (cost a bit of money) & email (free again) to people you know. Just remember , do not spam.
Once people had a good experience and very satisfied with your cake, the marketing just gets easier.
Good Luck

Jere answers:

You can earn the sort of money you’re talking about at Mechanical Turk which is like a web based market place where you agree to carry out various online assignments for a set fee. Mechanical Turk is run by Amazon – so it is genuine and not a scam.

Just type Mechanical Turk into Google / Yahoo etc and go from there.

Good fortune

Stuart Warner
Home Based Business Specialist

Jere answers:

Market, market, market. Web Design is a large and competitive field. If you dont have one yet, get a portfolio setted up. The more proven experience you have the better. Sole Propietership is the easiest but riskiest legal structure you can have. It’s only risky though if you make a mistake or defy your own contract. There are ebooks out there specifically for the business side of Web Design, so do your own research for that. The one tip I do have for you though, is to get a resellers account with a web hosting company and host the sites that you design. It won’t bring in alot of income, but it’s definitely another source of money. If you have any other questions feel free to email me at pcguy1989@yahoo.com

Jere answers:

Betty there are differents and excelent opportunities on the market no only in the direct selling companies, Network is one of the best option, only is important to choice the correct Company.

My suggestion because is working for me, it’s before you involve in any business,
Looking for:

1.- a product that to many people wants
2.- a stable company in the market
3.-good costumer service
4.-good payment
5.-no competition
6.-work from home

I was looking too and I found this, If you like go to the following website.

Good look
Sincerely

Blanca

Jere answers:

First came direct marketing. Relationship marketing came later, although it is part of direct marketing. It emphasizes the building of long-term relationships with a company’s customers. It differs from, say, old-fashioned mail order marketing, which years ago would sell one item to one customer one time only — much like buying something from a street-corner vendor.

The mail order operator would buy a lot of some gimmick or gadget and then sell everything very quickly via mail order. Sometimes he would keep the same corporate name. Other times, a new corporation would be used. Late night TV was often the preferred medium. A carnival atmosphere, a whiff of over-sell and ridiculous pricing pervaded the enterprise. That was then. Mail order marketers today are aware of the need to keep that customer and enhance the relationship.

You will hear the term “Customer Lifetime Value,” or CLV used a lot in direct marketing. This plays an important role in calculating customer retention (another way of saying relationship marketing).

Jere answers:

Direct Marketing in general means that you have a known database of people who may/may not be interested in your product – this may be wrong because these databases can be bought from companies who have no direct interest in what you are trying to sell.
Basically, you have a database with people’s names, addresses or other contact details and you bombard them with anything you want to sell. This can be by post, or email or mobile phone etc.
If you got involved with this, you would find that a lot of people will not reply to your letter, or slam the phone down on you, or not return your email, or delete your number off their mobile phone numbers. It’s a really “hard” way of earning a commission, which is what you would be getting if you worked for them.

Jere answers:

Good questions. Here are a few answers for you:

WHY USE DIRECT MARKETING:

COST EFFECTIVENESS
Not every business can afford to do traditional mass marketing in television, radio or print, – it’s just too expensive. The cost of media alone is just too prohibitive.

TARGETABILITY
Traditional media doesn’t make sense for every business. If you are a company with a very select target audience, it doesn’t make sense to tell your message to millions of people all across the country. Direct Marketing allows a business to reach its target audience and key decision makers on a more targeted basis.

CREATE URGENCY
Direct Marketing is highly effective at creating a sense of urgency about an offer, product or service.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DIRECT MARKETING:

ESTABLISHING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Traditional marketing is not conducive to establishing
“relationships” with customers. By virtue of how it is produced, the message has to be much more universal and generic. In other words, a television commercial cannot be customized for each of one million viewers. Direct Marketing can. Through digital printing, ink jetting and other tactics, a marketer can reach different customers – or even all of its customers with a slightly different message. Say for example that you are a long-time customer of a customer. The offers and messages that you receive might be a lot different than the ones sent to a new or prospective customer. This type of direct marketing enables companies to reach out to its customers on more of a one-to-one basis and supports the development of more personalized relationships.

BUILD LOYALTY PROGRAMS
One of the ways Direct Marketing is being used today is to build and maintain customer loyalty programs. Each time you use a company’s credit card, loyalty card or savings card, you are feeding information to a company’s database. This database can then be used to trigger any number of direct mail responses, based on your purchasing history or customer profile. So, for example, a company can offer you something special on your birthday or send you offers that they know will be of particular interest to you. They can also send you specific messages or offers when you reach a certain level of purchases. Loyalty programs are being used by thousands of retailers these days, but the same tactics can be utilized by any company willing and able to collect customer data.

BUILD THE BRAND
Good Direct Mail, like any other form of advertising, helps build the corporate brand. For many of the reasons I mentioned earlier, such as through the establishing of one-to-one relationships between the customer and the company, Direct Mail puts a company’s brand front and center with the customer.

I hope some of this helps you with your report. Good luck.

Jere answers:

If your just looking for a company to produce the mailings for you, just about any local printer can accomodate you. If you are looking for assistance in crafting the mail campaign, you want to look at a marketing company.

I get excited when people choose to use direct mail, because I am convinced it is one of the most powerful marketing mechanisms in existence. To be successful at it though, you’ve got to do your homework on what makes direct mail successful. I see too many businesses make attempts, doing as much of it themselves to save a penny, and they largely fail simply because they don’t know what they are doing….then they blame “direct mail”.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. Dhpeck@myezprinter.com

Jere answers:

Most people will be happy with Mozy or Carbonite – however, make sure you check the small print. For instance, Mozy will delete the backup copy of a file if it has been deleted on your PC for over 90 days. Remember you’re not permitted to back-up business data with MozyHome – you’ll need to go for the more expensive MozyPro package.

If you have more than one computer to back up, or if you want to backup external hard drives or business data then you might want to try Angel Backup as an alternative to Mozy or Carbonite.

Jere answers:

Online Document Storage is the new age electronic system that helps business organizations to store, monitor, distribute and archive essential documents and keep track of all their records effectively. By means of online file storage systems, computer users are served with an innovative and reliable method to backup files which surpasses other forms of external hard drives and USB drives. Using an online solution to storage and manage your data has many advantageous features. You can access your information from any part of the world and from any computer and the data is stored securely.

Jere answers:

We have an excellent and affordable solution for online backup for home and business – check out our Equity Data Protection product!

– We dont limit you on the number of workstations / servers you can backup with an account or confuse you with home and business plans.
– We allow for unlimited version history and only use recognize size of most recent file version for space allocation against account.
– Our pricing is simple, you pay for the space you need by GB so you can choose any of our online package options or call us to get right amount of space for your needs.

Visit our website at www.EquityDataProtection.com and click on the Tech Specs link for a pdf with further information about our branded product offering.

Jere answers:

Most people don’t back up enough or often enough.

Study the problem of backup and the best way to solve it. Divide the solution into two parts: for home users and for small businesses. Small businesses have the most to lose and will pay the most.

Use Goggle Ads to advertise online. For small businesses, have some businesses cards printed up. The cards should be very conservative like a lawyer’s card. Drive around and drop these off to the local businesses – try to speak to the owners or make an appointment.

If you back up their computers for them on a regular basis, and they get a virus or a problem, they may accuse you. Design a method to prove that, at the time of your backup, the system was safe and virus free. This may involve storing an image of the hard drive online at carbonite.com or one of these sites.

As for the web site, find a web site you like, and then download the script for the site and simply change the wording to your business.

Jere answers:

IBackup is a popular business-class online backup service, although Mozy and Backblaze also offer “Pro” accounts with a single administrator login to manage all the machines. IBackup also has super-fast transfer speeds. If you have a lot of data to upload initially, they also offer “Rapid Serve” which allows you to transfer your data to a USB drive, then mail that to them for the initial “upload.” Then, all incremental (daily) uploads are done via the Internet

Jere answers:

10 low cost ways to promote your website

1) add your site to as many search engine listings as you can find, ie http://uk.search.yahoo.com/freesubmit/submit

2) make sure you add meta tags to your website (key words which you list then when people search for those keywords your site will come up in the results) – all part of SEO – search engine optimisation

3) put your website address on all your business stationary – letterheads, invoices, compliments slips, delivery slips, envelopes, parcel packaging, business cards etc etc

4) promote your website by adding it to your email signature on both business and personal emails

5) join as many social networking sites as you can ie hi5, bebo, tagged, facebook, myspace, yahoo 360 etc and add your web address in your profile or notice boards etc

6) add yourself to online directories who give free listings ie http://www.yelldirect.com/freelisting/home.html

7) get some stickers made for your car, and window stickers made for car windows of friends, family, customers etc

8) PR is always a good move, ask your local paper(s) to run a feature, get your business start-up story on business sites like http://newbiztips.net/startupstories.aspx

9) use http://www.vistaprint.co.uk to get some free/low cost marketing materials and leave them everywhere you go – cafes, train stations, libraries, school, community centres, college

10) word of mouth is a great way to promote something – and it’s free! Tell everyone you know and get them to tell people they know

Jere answers:

First decide exactly what it is that you want to do.

Starting an Internet company is too general. What kind of Internet company do you want to build? Do you want to provide online services? Or sell products online?

You need to make a quick business plan.

For exmaple; If you want to sell products online then write down your step-by-step plan on paper. For example;

1.Create your company name.
2.Register your name.
3.Form your business structure; Sole Proprietorship.
4.Obtain your business/occupational license.
5.Obtain your resellers license (sales tax license).
6.Get signed up with the distributors.
7.Choose which products/product lines you are going to specialize in.
8.Read about the products
9.Decide if you are going to build your own e-store or have a design firm build it for you.
10.Choose your domain name.
11.Register your domain name
12.Choose a webhost provider and a hosting plan.
13.Choose your web development software.
14.Start building your e-store.
15.Set up your merchant account.
16.Complete your e-store.
17.Promote, market and advertise your e-store.
18.Then wait for the orders to start rollin in.

Of course it’s not that simple but it can be if you just take it one step at a time. Write a simple step-by-step business plan just as you see here. Then follow each step and then scratch it off of your list as you complete it. Before you know it you’ll be taking your first order.

Hope this helps.

Jorge Fernandez
Start an Online Store
www.estorefrontguide.com

Jere answers:

Making sure how you got paid – and promptly – would be my main concern.
You can’t go and bang on their door if they don’t pay!

Jere answers:

..assuming you want to do this from scratch

1. You must have a historic traffic report. This means you need to know how much traffic will flow through your site and be able to back up claims to advertisers. This will lead to the creation of your ‘rate card” – which is the amount each ad will cost and how much traffic people are buying.

2. You must specify the size/format of banners. I strongly recommend using standard sizes so that it’s easy on advertisers. Google adsense formats are the de-facto size standard. There is little reason to go off the standard.

3. You must set pricing based on your traffic levels, cost per click, or cost per action. To track this, you’ll need an ad rotation script with reports that let the advertiser log in and see their ad performance in a tansparent fashion. There are ad rotation scripts that lare less than $100 so don’t build it from scratch.

4. If you plan to just do period-of-time ads, you don’t need the script but you do need a lot of discipline in your process to be sure to put up and take down ads on schedule.

5. You need a way to accept payments. Ideally you have an auto-renew process that charges their credit cards on a schedule until they renew.

7. You need a legal agreement for advertising services.

.. Ad networks make this all easy but take almost all of the profit out of it. With your own setup, you get all the profit for the ad-runs.

…the hard part is finding advertisers. Most will expect a lot of traffic and costs between $20 and $30 per thousand impressions.

….if you don’t see 1000+ unique visitors per day ads are a waste of time in my opinion. Fill the spaces with high quality, relevant, affiliate program marketing that’s far more profitable.

Scott Clark

Jere answers:

Don’t know and don’t care ._.

Jere answers:

Advertise your business on every snail-mail,
e-mail, you send out.

Visit forums, social networks, and
anywhere else people go online.
Always mention your URL.

Use link strategies, ads with
affiliates, or swap ads.

Jere answers:

There aren’t any home based businesses on the web that aren’t scams. However – there are plenty of things you can do as a home based business. Go to Yahoo Finance and search for ‘home business’ and read their article on the top 25.

Ripped Wallet is a total scam as is the YTB travel business and Treasure Trooper. In fact YTB is under investigation by the SEC and IRS, as well as being reprimanded for violations within the industry for false advertising and recruiting irregularities.

If RippedWalletFrancis posts – he is a major scammer – please be wary. So is Cruz52. Both have been banned repeatedly for massive TOS violations, but they keep creating new accounts and spamming. I just keep reporting them and any other scam spammer I find.

BTW RWFrancis – are you 13, 14, 15, 16 or some other age? Your story keeps changing depending on the age of the question.

Jere answers:

You might have a problem locating “free” classes online, since online schools are businesses, they exist to make money, and they don’t offer anything “free.” There is another problem to consider. You are going to use the credits you earn by applying them toward your graduation from the high school you are attending. You need to be sure any credits you earn online will be accepted. It would be tragic for you to sit at a computer for many hours only to discover that your school system does not recognize or accept the credits. It would be a total waste. Go to the guidance counselor and ask for a list of online schools whose credits will transfer back to the school you are attending. The counselor will tell you what to do. Don’t take any chances with this. You need real, trustworthy information, not guesswork. Do not sign up for anything online until you have an absolute guarantee that your work will be rewarded.

Jere answers:

Sorry to tell you, but your not going to be able to start a business for free. Businesses cost money to start and run. That’s a fact of life! Businesses give you the opportunity to make what you want to make, but you have to be willing to do what it takes to make the income you want.
If you really want to go into business, the least expensive way, but with the same income opportunity is a home based business. Plenty of opportunities out there in several different industries in which you can collaborate with (don’t let that word scare you), make the same amount of income as a traditional business, but with out the over head expenses. So many different industries to look at. Most home based businesses don’t cost thousands of dollars. In fact, most home based businesses cost under $500.
Also understand that businesses take time to build. The income doesn’t start pouring in over night. You have to really work and build a business. You can make a sufficient amount of income within a month or so, but you got to put the time and effort and do what it takes to have a successful business. If your not willing to do that, then don’t go into business, get a home job that pays minimum wage.

Jere answers:

For your first question: the easiest way would to be to use remote access but you can only access your computer if the computer that you are trying to access has xp pro or vista business or vista ultimate, the computer that is accessing the other computer only needs to have any type of XP OS or Vista OS on it.
For you second question: in order to store that much memory over the internet i would believe that you would need to pay for such a thing

Jere answers:

My opinion is that he subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Kiplinger, or any of the other financial reviews available online. The best thing he can do is become informed about the market, types of investment options, and the risk associated with each option. Investing decisions are very, very important, and the more information he has the better he’ll do.

If I can offer and advice it’d be the following: buy and hold. The stock market is too vulnerable to expect consistent, short-term gains. Think 5-10 years out, or more. Statistics show that the more one trades, the less likely that person is to beat the market’s average rate of return in the in the long term.

The economy’s still not very strong now, but if he’s committed to entering the market, beware! There is potential to make money, but there’s potential to lose a lot, too.

Step 1: Consistently check the following websites for relevant financial information, and become informed:

http://online.wsj.com/home-page
http://www.bloomberg.com/
http://www.kiplinger.com/

Jere answers:

Vince doesn’t give out his email address for a very good reason.

People who Vince wants to get emails from know his email address. If you don’t know Vince’s email address, then you are not supposed to know it.

Fan Services
If you would like to make a comment on our programming or Superstars, please click here (http://corporate.wwe.com/company/contact_form.jsp?dept=fan) to send a message.

Please do not send or e-mail any ideas/proposals for storylines, character development, scripts, marketing or business operations. WWE, Inc., does not consider or review these materials.

Jere answers:

Depends on your budget. Depends what you are doing to.
Some FX companies do branding and use sponsorships to advertise their brands.
Egsample:
Alpari: has sponsored west ham football team, and the Alpari World match racing: wmrt.com
IBFX – Sponsors the Automated Trading Championship (ATC)
ironfx.co.uk – Medical Research, Community Support, Child Welfare, Education
Keytomarkets.com – Forum sponsorship

Here is a list of what type of ads and sponsorships that have been done so far to my knowledge:

(I hope you find this list useful)

Advertorials
Affiliates
Billboard adverts
Blog/microblog
Celebrity endorsements
Content marketing
Digital banners and signage
Display remarketing
Email
Events
Facebook advertising
Film/TV product placement
Forums
Images & Infographics
Influencer outreach
Inserts
Kiosks
LinkedIn advertising
Local search marketing
Loyalty card
Magazine adverts
Marketing email
Microsites
Mobile advertising
Mobile app
Paid placements
Paid reviews
Pay per click
PR Stunts
Presentations
Press releases
Prizes/Exhibitions
Product listing adverts
Product packaging
Program sponsorship
Promotional items
QR codes
Radio advertising
Report sponsorship
Research paper
Search engine optimisation
SMS
Sports sponsorship
Street vendor
Transactional email
TV advert
Twitter advertising
Videos
Wearables
Website via tablet/mobile
Youtube channel

Jere answers:

Good reviews don’t just happen, they’re carefully cultivated and encouraged by business owners. So how do you get good reviews? The answer is simple, they ask for them. Really…it’s that simple.

Keep in mind, the further away your customers get from their experiences, the less likely they will be to leave a review, period, so strike while the iron is hot and get them at their most satisfied, Encourage them to leave a review on Yelp, for example, right when they pay their bills, either with signage in the store or a message printed on their receipt.

If you have s an online business, ask your customers to leave a good review on Yelp, TripdAdvisor, Angie’s list, etc., and add links on their confirmation pages or receipt emails to your business. Don’t forget to add the site’s logo instead of just a blind link. Ask them by saying something like, “Are you happy with your experience? Let us know!” or “We love to hear how you liked us! Leave feedback here.”

GO AHEAD, YOU CAN BRAG A LITTLE

Most people disklike people who are constantly bragging about themselves. But in the world of business, bragging is called “marketing.” If you’ve got good reviews or good press, show it off! Customers in every industry want the best they can get, so show your customers that not only are you the best at what you do, but your customers think so, too.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Link to good articles and interviews on your blog.

• Put pictures or logos of rewards you’ve won right on your homepage.

• Highlight a few glowing reviews on your website or email marketing.

• Link to your review pages so people can read the good reviews

Asking for good reviews at the right time, when the experience is still fresh, is the secret to getting more of them. If this all seems deceptively easy, that’s because it is.

Remember, in the game of business, you’re never competing against the best, you’re competing against masses of average businesses with poor marketing skills. Employ some simple tactics like this one, and you’ll be performing better than significantly better than other businesses in your field.

Jere answers:

As well as the pointers above, check out the trade press e.g. Marketing week, precision marketing, marketing, creative review, the retail bulletin, new media age – a lot of these also do free to sign up to weekly/daily emails which summarise what a lot of the big brands are up to

Jere answers:

Generally marketing is any sort of brand publicity. Some direct, like advertising (radio, tv, billboards, print, web, etc.) some is indirect, like public relations, blog/review “seeding”, news releases, PR events, direct mail, product placement ( a can of soda drank by a TV character, etc.)

on a drive to work the 2 most obvious marketing pieces Joe will encounter are billboards and radio ads. He can (depending on his commute) also encounter mobile billboards (trucks, cars, with ads on them) newspaper print ads, ads on tollbooths (and toll tickets) giant blow up gorillas at used car lots… Anything that draws his attention to a certain brand… Heck, even the logos on the cars around him are marketing…

Oh and most radio is heavily marketed, it used to be called payolla.. When a certain record label throws kick-backs and special promotions to a station to heavily play their artist in the rotation… And these days, almost all political speech and clips are intended to be played and replayed to sway your political opinion, again, marketing…

Jere answers:

ONE DAY WONDER and here’s why:
Generally a one shot news item that is of no direct consequence to the market itself is quickly forgotten. However, yesterdays news gave hope to the theory that the Fed was done raising interest rates for the time being. Today however, 4/19/06, the morning news told of March CPI (inflation) being up .4%. Multiply that by 12 months and it is an annualized inflation rate of 4.8%…much higher than Jan and Feb, which together averaged an annualized 3.8% The stock market HATES inflation because it a precursor to higher interest rates and that hurts the market by making bonds more attractive and also because higher interest rates hurt business profitability and slow down the economy. Today’s bad news neutralized yesterday’s good news.

Jere answers:

Advertising: A McDonald’s billboard or televesion advertisement.
Personal Selling: You own a vacuum shop and personally sell a vacuum to a customer
Sales Promotion: The Coke bottle top promotion is a good example where they had that number you hae to go enter into the Web site to see if you win. Buy One, Get One; buy one @ full price, second half off, etc. Gimmicks are also sales promotions.
Public Relatiions: Your company donates $xxxx to a charity adn a local news station picks up, that’s PR. Gives your company good branding without “paying” for it (minus the donation or volunteer hours)
Direct Marketing: Sending a credit card offer to someone in the mail. (Junk mail/telemarketing is direct marketing)

Jere answers:

No the only way you could accomplish that is if you were moving. DirecTV bases your local programming off of the nearest major market to your home address. If you really want local, you can buy a cheap-o TV antenna since most of LA gets decent OTA signals if you really want to watch the news that badly.

Jere answers:

There are many ways to advertise that.

One way is to do a press release that you have this contest where a visitor can win a free candle. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

Http://www.prleap.com/sign_up.html
http://i-newswire.com/
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi
http://www.pr.com/press-releases
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.clickpress.com/releases/index.shtml
http://www.theopenpress.com/
http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com
http://www.newswiretoday.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/

You can also try pay per click programs such as Google Adwords http://www.google.com/adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com – though the key is to carefully track your ROI and which keywords actually perform well

Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/…
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/

Jere answers:

I have run a full time online business for several years now and I can tell you that your question could potentially take literally a week to answer. Let me give you a starting point.

First, your business should be based on market demand. That’s where you need to start. Don’t think about what you should sell or how to build your website or how to get people to your website until you do some market research. While doing market research isn’t that difficult, you do need to get educated on how to do it.

Next you develop or otherwise source the products to fill the market demand. One question I have for you is this: Is there some particular reason that you want to sell physical products? I’ll be very honest, and don’t take this as a slam against your judgement but, Selling physical products is pretty much the very last thing I would ever consider doing as an online business. I have done it. It sucks. In a major way. I would rather work at McDonalds. My opinion, unless you have a very large budget and a very high tolerance for frustration, I would stay away from the whole importing and distributing thing. Personally, I had nothing but problems at every phase with a similar business. Just my opinion based on my own experience.

After your source your products you will want to build a website as packaging for your products.

Then you start your marketing to get visitors to your site.

There are really only those four steps. You will really want to educate yourself well on each phase of the process. Even if you intend to outsource some of the work (highly recommended) you still have to understand what you are doing in order to convey that to someone else and to be able to determine if you got your money’s worth.

Starting an online business is the best choice I have ever made, but it was not as easy as many would have you believe. But it is totally doable if you arm yourself with the right knowledge and mindset. Both are critical to your success.

Good luck to you. I wish you much success!

Jere answers:

MASSIVE ACTION!

If it is a blog, start writing a blog post every day or if it is not, create a blog and write about the topic of your online business and then include the link to your business site with each blog post so people can get to your site from the blog.

Create an Ezine.com account and write articles about your business and include link

Create a twitter account centered around your business topic with a link to your business site in the description…

Same thing with YouTube.com Start making video’s talking about your business but do not make the mistake of trying to sell people to your idea, instead give them something valuable like some information about the importance of something. People buy from people not companies my friend.

Provide solutions to other people problems in your area of business and they will follow you and ask for your advice because you proved yourself as the expert.

You then can use list build sites like list joe, ad jockeys just to name a few.

The most important thing to do is take massive action! Find a business your passionate about so you will enjoy learning more about the subject when your not making money so you can develop more as the expert my friend.

I have created a free training for people to get started on the right track instead of wasting time..

Oh yeah, and keep your wallet in your pocket, this training is 100% Free

you can learn more about it by visiting my personal blog below

http://DavidSaundersBlog.com

Jere answers:

Even for a freelance online business you need a business plan. If you’ve never been in business before, I would strongly recommend that you talk to a business counselor before you do anything especially spend money. I’d call the local office of SCORE (go to http://www.score.org and input your zip code to find the chapter nearest you), the advice is FREE.

The counselor at SCORE will most likely advise you to write a business plan which is very good advice because it will force you to dig out all of the start up details and the costs of starting a freelance online business and force you to also understand all of the aspects of this business including the customers you’ll concentrate on (your market ) and how you’ll go after them.

Try this link :
http://www.ychange.com/small-business-consulting-articles.html
and read some of the articles especially the ones about a business plan and starting a business.

Good Luck

Jere answers:

What I’ve personally experienced and found that’s better, if you want to work online, is to start up a business and partner up with a company that direct sales a product or service. My wife and I got involved in this type of business over six years ago. We collaborated with a company and had them set up a web site for us to sale the products and services that we were providing. After doing this, you’ll have to generate traffic to your site. The most effective way we’ve found is simply word of mouth, or referring people to our site.
You can partner up with a company that gives you monthly earnings from services that you put people on either by in person, phone or from your web site. What I mean is for instance, my wife and I partnered up with a telecommunications service provider and all the cellular phone companies. Someone purchase a cell phone from our web site, or a land line or Internet service or whatever, the product itself your able to provide at a lower cost through the providers. When someone gets on the services, the company pays you a percentage of that person’s billing every single month, month after month for the referral from you by word of mouth or by your web site.
If you’d like to see an example of what I’m talking about, your more then welcome to take a look at my wife’s web site at www.tiffanyvague.acnrep.com Take a look at the products and services there, tour the company etc and to give you an idea of how you should have each of the companies and make a continued monthly income off the companies rather than just a one time sale, off the effort that you provided to these companies.
Once you decide on a product and/or service, you need to start driving “traffic” to your web site. A lot of work but well worth the effort when your income starts going and continues to increase as the more you sale and having loyal customers bring in more customers from their referrals that get linked to you and you make more money.
Offer a product and/or service that’s high in demand and something that’s going to continue monthly income regardless if they buy or replace a product. That’s my advice.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at kaiden4@aol.com

Jere answers:

Hi!

Starting an online business can be at any part of the world since the internet connects you to almost anyone who has connection with the internet. However, in China, sometimes, the authority can blocked websites and even all websites that are from a particular zone.

In business, you need to know what target market, where they are, and what they want. If you are thinking of a market in China, there are not many people using English and the other thing is that not many people trust the internet. However, that does not mean you cannot do anything. Paypal has set up a Chinese system and they have good reputation, so this might be a good payment system option to consider.

If you know Chinese, try marketing highly priced branded goods (provided you have means to get it into China), since most people that surf the net in China are young people and many Chinese went overseas to get branded products.

It is important that you need to know what you are good at and can offer. In business, there are three Cs to consider in order your business will be profitable and these are :

– Competency; your skills, experiences, etc.
– Connectivity; a hungry targeted market
– Creativity; your unique selling proposition

Hope this information helps to get your mind going…

Patrick Stephen Oh
(Located in China)

Jere answers:

Stuff like this makes me laugh. Sure your getting traffic, but what kind of traffic? There is something in the internet advertising industry called a “return on investment”. That means that you must at least, get back in revenue what you spend on internet advertising. This includes outfits like the one you mentioned. If all your interested in is traffic and your not selling anything, you got what you wanted. Keep in mind that the traffic you are getting may not be the kind of visitors you want your site viewers to be. The only way for you to know this is to check where your traffic is coming from and perhaps offer some incentive for visitors to fill in a feedback clip for you. Most users take advantage of services like the one you are using for network coverage only and spend very little on the advertising. The more your website comes up on many different networks, the more important Google will think you are. And Google is god, make no mistake about it. If you advertise with Google, Yahoo and MSN you will drive an unbelievable amount of traffic to your website, but it will cost some big bucks. And you have to know the tricks. It’s not as easy as you think. That’s why there are companies that specialize in targeting internet traffic. The competition is relentless.

Jere answers:

Off page and on page seo strategies and link building tactics are the best topic for internet marketing.

Jere answers:

I’ll help answer the first question. Companies seemed to be targeting… Younger people (Demographic) and people who are concerned about they’re weight or skin.(Psychological) Notice most commerical and infommericals advertise “healthy” food/drinks. Food companies seem to make a big deal about lower calories, sugar, and soduim. It’s a trend. & infomercials like pro-active, sheer coverage, bare minerals, and etc. Are played out.! Oh, and younger people have always been highly targeted. We run the country! Whoo!

Jere answers:

Realtors don’t sell anything.
90% of houses are sold, after somebody searched for one on the internet.
Your house will sell for todays right price, which is 30% lower then 2 years ago. That’s for a 400,000 house from 2 years ago today 280,000.

Jere answers:

Armand Morin is a good Internet marketer, however you don’t need to go to an expensive seminar to learn about online business.

I will contact you at your email.

Jere answers:

To start a business online you will require a website, a list of products to sell. Best way is join as affiliate and build a store at your site.
This is easy as you earn commission over the product and the company site take care of all transactions related stuff.

You can join some affiliate by visiting the link below
http://www.akashganga.org/india/ebusiness

Chitra

Jere answers:

There are many ways of earning a handsome income from home if you have a computer with internet connection.I know people earning more than 10K dollars pm.I myself making a good income.Contact me at tours.travels@yahoo.co.in. For now, just check the URL i provided below.
They pay you just for being online,while you work or play on your computer. All you need to do is keep their software – the FiestaBar™ – active while you are online. They even pay you when your friends are using their computers.
Http://www.cashfiesta.com/php/join.php?ref=shiva4uf

Jere answers:

If you are already a registered business you will not need to supply any new information to the Government. Make sure your online business has the same name as your offline business.

Jere answers:

Most Profitable Business in India

Profit is the ultimate aim no matter whatever the business is. Actually in simple words, profit is the extra amount which you receive after a product is sold or a service is rendered. There are a variety of businesses in India but to find most profitable business in India, you need to make some effort and invest some time. Before taking the final decision, it should be assured that you end up selecting the most profitable business in India.

The most profitable business in India is not the same for all as the capacity to invest and other factors such as skills etc vary with the investors. Thus the most profitable business in India is obviously a relative matter. You should always select a business which suits your skills, knowledge and capacity to invest. This does not mean that the trade you are starting can’t be the most profitable business in India. Creation of business plan is a must before you start off with your business. You should always remember that in most of the cases profit never starts flooding the same day when you start the business. You will have to wait and if you do well, surely you can turn your business to one among the most profitable business in India.

The basic idea for the most profitable business in India is that only the least possible investment should be made. Courier business would be a nice idea. Either you can start the business yourself or assist the major service providers. You are thus self-employed and all you need is a van along with contacts of the major courier services. Most profitable business in India may sometimes demand eradication of ego and keep your-self motivated. It should be kept in mind that there is no need to feel ashamed when you are making profit in an ethical way. Starting a mobile coffee shop is a profitable business as the initial investment required is very low. You can get customers from almost any busy areas like parking places, bus stands, and railway station premises etc. Car washing service is yet another option where the investment required is for rent, washing detergents and accessibility to water. Even though you may require license for doing business, the cost is really low. The standard of living for people is increasing and many prefer catering services for their private functions rather than preparing meals in the home itself. You can start your own catering services from your home itself or from any small premises. If possible selecting home will be more sensible as the cost of rent can be eliminated.

If you want to work only from home and enjoy the status of white color jobs, you should be proficient in English language and should be aware of the concept of internet marketing. The present era of technology has made the life of man easier and he manipulates his needs with computer and internet from his home itself. By selling online or starting a promotional blog etc you can be the initiator of the most profitable business in India. It is completely your choice that which business you should choose so that you can make it the most profitable business in India.

Jere answers:

Dont get in this business.
This bushness will not have scope in the future
now the internet charges are little bit expensive and also IT literacy is not much.
But in the future allmost all will use regular internet coz of cheap rates and also people wilk learn using internet coz it will be a need of time.
And even all info is available on internet. People can easily plan their tours using that.
In early days i used to go to agents to plan my tour but now why should i go coz i can plan it more better on myself and also agent cant give me that much time to plan it.
Some years before peoples were liking the business like cd shops,cyber cafe and all that
but now noone think bout that.
I am not discouraging u but think before taking any decision…..
Thank u

Jere answers:

Most ISPS do not allow users to send ‘millions’ of emails a day, and there are new ‘do not spam’ laws in effect that have serious consequences if you get caught. And if you don’t know what you are doing, you wIll get caught.

I suggest you reconsider your marketing strategy.

The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

The law, which became effective January 1, 2004, covers email whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site. A “transactional or relationship message” – email that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship – may not contain false or misleading routing information, but otherwise is exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, is authorized to enforce the CAN-SPAM Act. CAN-SPAM also gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to enforce its criminal sanctions. Other federal and state agencies can enforce the law against organizations under their jurisdiction, and companies that provide Internet access may sue violators, as well.

What the Law Requires

Here’s a rundown of the law’s main provisions:

It bans false or misleading header information. Your email’s “From,” “To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.

It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.

It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future email messages to that email address, and you must honor the requests. You may create a “menu” of choices to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to end any commercial messages from the sender.

Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor’s email address. You cannot help another entity send email to that address, or have another entity send email on your behalf to that address. Finally, it’s illegal for you to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who choose not to receive your email, even in the form of a mailing list, unless you transfer the addresses so another entity can comply with the law.

It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.
Penalties

Each violation of the above provisions is subject to fines of up to $11,000. Deceptive commercial email also is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.

Additional fines are provided for commercial emailers who not only violate the rules described above, but also:

“harvest” email addresses from Web sites or Web services that have published a notice prohibiting the transfer of email addresses for the purpose of sending email

generate email addresses using a “dictionary attack” – combining names, letters, or numbers into multiple permutations

use scripts or other automated ways to register for multiple email or user accounts to send commercial email

relay emails through a computer or network without permission – for example, by taking advantage of open relays or open proxies without authorization.

The law allows the DOJ to seek criminal penalties, including imprisonment, for commercial emailers who do – or conspire to:

use another computer without authorization and send commercial email from or through it

use a computer to relay or retransmit multiple commercial email messages to deceive or mislead recipients or an Internet access service about the origin of the message

falsify header information in multiple email messages and initiate the transmission of such messages

register for multiple email accounts or domain names using information that falsifies the identity of the actual registrant

falsely represent themselves as owners of multiple Internet Protocol addresses that are used to send commercial email messages.

Additional Rules

The FTC will issue additional rules under the CAN-SPAM Act involving the required labeling of sexually explicit commercial email and the criteria for determining “the primary purpose” of a commercial email. Look for the rule covering the labeling of sexually explicit material in April 2004; “the primary purpose” rulemaking will be complete by the end of 2004. The Act also instructs the FTC to report to Congress in summer 2004 on a National Do Not E-Mail Registry, and issue reports in the next two years on the labeling of all commercial email, the creation of a “bounty system” to promote enforcement of the law, and the effectiveness and enforcement of the CAN-SPAM Act.

See the FTC Web site at www.ftc.gov/spam for updates on implementation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The FTC maintains a consumer complaint database of violations of the laws that the FTC enforces. Consumers can submit complaints online at www.ftc.gov and forward unwanted commercial email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Jere answers:

Email marketing is used by lots of businesses of all sizes across the world. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of advertising may not immediately understand why it is so popular among the companies in a variety of industries. Here are ten reasons why email marketing is used by most of the business organisation.

1) Low Cost
2) Target fans of your brand
3) Segmentation
4) Calls to action
5) Easy to create
6) Easy to track
7) Easy to share
8) Global
9) Immediacy
10) Return on investment

And your earning will be depend on how much you time you spend on it and how good are you at it and how’s your business organization financial state.

Jere answers:

Email marketing is like that there will happen marketing through email.
All the buyer can be well known about their product or services from Email.
For more details you can go for the below link

Jere answers:

I would recommend that you make a very targeted list (or at very least a customer profile) of the kind of bulk buyers you are looking to sell to. I would recommend an email campaign over a direct mail campaign at first because as a small business you likely have a very tiny marketing budget. For an email campaign you would ideally want to compile your own list of prospects – with contact names and titles names in addition to email address so you can personalize it. You can build this list yourself but you would have to do some online digging to get email addresses (Hoovers or a free subscription to Leads411 might do the trick). Alternatively, find a reputable list owner/broker and make sure you get all the contact criteria you need (name, company name, title, email address) for only the specific type of prospects you want to reach (by region, industry, size, etc.) Bear in mind that there are minimum list size requirements (usually 2,500 – 5,000 unique contacts) that list owners apply to their services. That may be way too large an audience for your email campaign. The main thing is to identify precisely the kind of customer you are looking for and obtain their contact information. You also may want to think about getting phone numbers and doing some cold calling to these prospects if you (or someone who works for you) has that skill-set.

Jere answers:

Email marketing = spam

At best you will find yourself losing your network connection for being a spammer. At worst you may find yourself in court.

Jere answers:

I got a two year degree at the Art Institute of Seattle and got a job designing advertising at a small town weekly newspaper. After six years there, I moved to a daily newspaper in a city, and then to a bigger one after that. After 17 years in the business, I am now the Art Director who runs the creative department for the Advertising Director. It’s a great career for someone who is driven by results and likes being creative under the pressure of a deadline.

I don’t know how they run things in the UK, but here in the US, a good way to get your foot in the door is to take an unpaid internship at a marketing firm. Getting a degree in marketing would help, but so will the B&E and IT never hurt anybody. It depends on which side you want to work: sales or creative. They complement each other as one cannot exist in the absence of the other. If you have the ideas, but lack the talent to execute them in relevant and attention grabbing visuals, then becoming an account executive would be the path to follow. They make the sales and have a direct hand in steering marketing campaigns. They direct the graphic artist in what the client will see, so ideas are a premium in this endeavor. If you can create a campaign for a potential client, have your graphic artist create something dazzling with your information, research and guidance, then sell it to that client who then gets more business because of it, you will start making good money. At my paper (we do tons of commercial printing as well as web design and online campaigns), we pretty much hire anybody off the street to try their hand at being an account rep. We prefer sales experience of some sort, but management is willing to give anybody a try who can sell themselves at the interview. The logic behind that is simple, really. Credentials and experience don’t mean much when someone can talk a person into a decision. It’s a gift, but can be learned.

Jere answers:

Not that I know of. There might be some laws regarding registered broker-dealers or securities sales-people, but years ago my friend was in in Excell, and he was a broker-dealer, also CPA. If there was a conflict, or it was unlawful, he would not have done it. Now we are in FHTM (owner of company used to be in Excell; in fact, was highest-earner ever in any direct-marketing company).
Primerica says they don’t allow their reps to join another company where they have to recruit, as they are similar to network marketing and just recruit, recruit, recruit. It’s really the only way to make money. But they cannot call themselves “financial advisors.”
That’s what network marketing is all about–recruiting and building a big team. Sounds like you are doing a good job. Good luck. I recommend network marketing on here and get “flagged”. Too bad. People are missing a huge opportunty.

Jere answers:

There are a number of firms in Vancouver that find people with your background for clients. Here are a few sites to check out
www.goldbeck.com
www.discoveryvancouver.com
www.allstarjobs.ca/British_Columbia/Vancouver/Employment_Agencies
www.wood-west.com/company
they are all Vancouver based firms.

Jere answers:

You should have a long term ideal to bare something (especially forking for someone else)
If you get stocked at a point think about your ideal and do what is best to reach it.
Changing lots of jobs is not a good reference.
You may have career tests on reputable companies which may be free of charge and direct yourself in that way… I had one and seen that I am highly suitable for sales and marketing (now I like my job on this field)
PS: I do not say these all that I can succeed in it. I have changed 4 jobs since 2004. I am trying to do what I told you here..

Jere answers:

An internship would have been your best bet, or an associates’ program. What you need to figure out is what part of publishing are you interested in? Editorial work, Marketing, Subrights, Design, Managing Editorial? It’s not the type of industry where you take a job in any department and switch over later. It’s rarely done (although not unheard of). If you don’t know where in publishing you’d like to start, I’d suggest starting in production/managing editorial. You need a strong background in grammar, since you’re basically a glorified copy editor. But this department will give you the opportunity to see what every single department does toward the production of a book. Once you get your feet wet in production editorial, try to find a job in the field you feel best fits you–at another house. Same house wouldn’t be a problem, but it can get pretty uncomfortable.

You can try looking for jobs at the websites of publishers (you can get names of houses from the LMP–the Literary Market Place; should be at your library or local bookstore), posting your resume on LinkedIn (I found my direct report that way), or checking Publishers Weekly.

Best of luck!

Jere answers:

Most employers do not give much credence to degrees from “online universities” like University of Phoenix / Axia, AIU, Capella, Penn Foster, etc. AIU recently lost its accreditation as well, so that’s a big red flag.

However, many longstanding, regionally accredited, and completely reputable state universities now offer courses and even degrees online. This is called “distance education.”

The links below are the absolute best you will find. They contain more links to many well-respected state university distance education programs.

What distinguishes these sorts of programs is that the courses are generally transferable between regionally accredited institutions. Sometimes, the degrees offered are identical to those earned on campus.

I would advise you to start by looking at various state universities and check to see if they offer the programs and courses in which you are interested. (Pennsylvania has a great system, for instance.)

Just avoid the “online universities.” These for-profit businesses are not the same as non-profits institutions of higher education, and they are notorious for not delivering on their promises. I can also assure you that these degrees are laughed at in academia.

Note: In institutions of higher education, regional accreditation is better than national accreditation. This sounds odd, but I assure you that it is the case. The regional accreditors are:
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS)
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NCCU)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

If a program is not accredited by one of these associations, it is best to stay away.

Best wishes to you, and good for you for asking the question before wasting your money!

Jere answers:

Http://www.wannalearn.com/Business_and_Careers/Accounting/

I typed in google “free online accounting courses” and this is one of my hits. Good Luck 🙂

Jere answers:

I have checked on this for my husband’s friends. There are two things.
1. An online degree and 2. Just courses

Saudi Arabia will not accept an online degree, regardless of the university. Even if the university shows up in the list of approved universities, you still have to call and ask if the program is accepted. I was told by the Saudi rep at the mohe that if the degree is offered online, it will NOT be accepted period. Private companies may acknowledge it though, however they wont certifiy it at Saudi Arabia’s ministry of higher education.

2. If you are already enrolled in a degree program, you may be able to take an online course, but you will need approval first. I know a Saudi guy here on a scholarship (my husband’s friend) and he is enrolled in a business program. They allowed him to take two online courses. However, he is here on a student visa. I’m not sure how you would be accepted into an accredited university without coming here though… From what I’ve noticed, to be accepted to universities here as a student one must either be a citizen, legal resident (green card holder) or be here on a student visa.

Jere answers:

Well let me be the first to say online college is not easy. I have invested a lot of time to my business courses online. Sometimes probably a bit more then if I was in traditional college as a lot you are learning yourself.

If you choose to get a full degree online you will only have to take the courses that are outlined by the school which should all be online depending on your choice of major. If you choose something that has labs then you will have to take these courses at a school.

Jere answers:

I would try the following sites.

#
Learn German online – free Internet course
Beginners and advanced German courses with 34 lessons, German orthography, exercises, tests, jokes, German Job application, 15000 online Penpals …
Beginner’s German Lessons – Test Your German – Lessons 1-8
www.deutsch-lernen.com/ – Cached – Similar –
#
BBC – Languages – German
How to watch German programmes on TV and online, tips for getting the most out of it … Complete our beginners’ course in 12 weeks with our weekly tips …
Www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/ – Cached – Similar –
#
German for Beginners: Contents – Free online German course …
German for Beginners – A free online German course with lessons and references designed for beginners and intermediate learners.
German.about.com/library/anfang/blanfang_inhalt.htm – Cached – Similar –
#
German Lessons and Courses
How to be a better German-learner. Learning tips and hints for our online German course for beginners and intermediate learners who wish to review. …
German.about.com/…/onlinecourses/Lessons_and_Courses.htm – Cached – Similar –
Show more results from german.about.com
#
German language course online
German language course: learn German online with LearnPlus.
Www.learnplus.com/learn-german.html – Cached – Similar –
#
German Online : Learn German Online : Online German Lessons
Online German lessons with a live native language teacher, one-to-one or in groups, general or for business. Using webconferencing software, any time, …
Www.languagetrainers.com/online_lessons/german/ – Cached – Similar –
#
Languages Online : Learn Languages Online : Online Language Lessons
Online language lessons with a live native language teacher, one-to-one or in groups, general or for business. Using webconferencing software, any time, …
Www.languagetrainers.com/online_lessons/ – Cached – Similar –
#
Paul Joyce Beginners’ German
Welcome to an online Beginners’ German course designed by Paul Joyce of the University of Portsmouth. It currently contains twelve chapters of dialogue and …
Userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/ – Cached – Similar –
#
GERMAN COURSES | Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle: GERMAN COURSES, Deutsch lernen! Interactive German language programs for all German learners from Deutsche Welle.
Www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2469,00.html – Cached – Similar –
#
Online German course – Learn German Online
The DeutschAkademie’s Online German Course is the most comprehensive grammar … The DeutschAkademie Online German Course is free and has been designed by …
Www.deutschakademie.de/online-deutschkurs/english/ –

Jere answers:

I’ve tried several online business cards printers before. There are lots of options with several big players in the online printing company.

But what I’ve found is that the bigger companies offer less customer service they offer – and i’ve seen some very bad stories. And their products are too geared towards their own agenda and money saving that it doesn’t really make it worthwhile for the average consumers (me) that wants a quality product on a budget.

For example, they’ll offer you a great deal like FREE business cards, only for you to find their there are thieir own marketing logos on the back, and you need to pay to have it removed. Or, you have to pay extra to get a decent enough stock (thickness of the cards), or pay to have it UV coated… So on and so on… It just gets frustrating. For me I just need something simple and straight forward.

So Yes… I agree with the previous poster, I like ez-ink.com. They are very personal and friendly when you call with questions. A very boutique feel. And best of all they have great high quality business cards and postcards products that are simple to design and very affordable. In fact, I believe they have a price match guarantee. So you really can’t beat that. Go EZ-Ink!

But this is just IMHO.

Good luck.

Fiber

Jere answers:

These sites (from Avery, HP and Microsoft) provide business card templates. You can create your own business card and print them on your printer:

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-&-Software/Templates/_/Ns=Rank

http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/office/buscards.html

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT102532231033.aspx

have fun

Jere answers:

I doubt if anyone is going to give away free business cards, but you may be able to find designs for them.

If you have a printer, you can get letter size business card stock at any business supply store that you can print multiple business cards to which then breaks apart into the cards. If you have an ink jet printer make sure you get suitable business card stock.

Jere answers:

I am in the greeting card business and I’m here to tell you that it is Thriving right now!
My business is a little different, you work from home, online.
What we do is either choose a card from over 11,000 cards in the database, or you can design your own. You can upload photos, add frames, voice bubbles, captions, etc, and then sign the card in your own handwriting. Once you click send, a REAL card goes out in the mail complete with postage.
You can also add gifts and/or gift cards.
This is something we market to small business owners, salespeople, hairstylists, mortgage brokers, chiropractors, etc. As an effective but inexpensive tool to keep in touch with clients or generate referrals.

You can add your own artwork as well. The choice is yours.
An excellent income can be made in the greeting card industry.

Best of luck to you!

Jere answers:

Advanta Life-of-Balance Platinum Card is a best option.
This credit card issued by Advanta is very popular among the balance transfer community. The reason being that it offers a low 2.99% Fixed APR for LIFE on balances transferred within 3 months. That is an offer which few credit card companies can match. With this excellent balance transfer rate the Advanta Life-of-Balance Platinum Card offers Up to 6% Cash Back or Travel Rewards. The credit card has No annual fee, and the reward program has no limits on earnings. On the whole a good credit card to transfer the balances.
Apply online at: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/Advanta.html

Jere answers:

One of the first things I would recommend that you do is start thinking about your interests/passions… And go into an internet business that is based on that. Why? Because it makes the work a lot easier.

Answering the following questions should help you develop ideas:

1) what websites do you visit when you’re just surfing online?
2) do you have pets?
3) do you play and sports?
4) do you collect anythings?
5) do you have any specialized education?

See what I mean….

After that,you’ve got to decide the business model that you want to use – do you want to develop you own product or do you want to be an affiliate marketer (market other peoples products)?

Then you’ve got to learn basic skills such as building and uploading websites, setting up autoresponders, setting up a merchant account to take orders, etc.

And then, probably the most important part… You have got to learn how to market you business. If your interested in starting up your own internet business, then I would like to suggest the following:

if you don’t have much experience with computers and the Internet – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/warpspeedwealth.html

If you have good experience with computers and the Internet – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/IS2006.html
(TIP! – A trial version of this training is presently being offered for a limited time – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/IS_trial.html)

In both cases, the money back guarantee is rediculous…you simply cannot lose and they can do that because of their success rate…

If your interested in affiliate marketing (marketing other people’s products/services) then you’ll want grab a copy of this book – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/superaffiliate.html

If your interested in joining an existing internet business, then I would recommend SFI Marketing Group (http://affiliatemarketinglessons.com/SFI.html). I would recommend that you join this opportunity either way because 1) its Free and 2) you’ll learn a lot through their training.

Anyways, I hope this helps… And I wish you much success.

For more information, you can try out the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs – http://www.affiliatemarketinglessons.com/iahbe.html

Jere answers:

Ephedra can kill you.

Ephedra is an herb used in dietary supplements sold as weight-loss aids and energy boosters that have been associated with serious health problems, including hypertension, irregular heartbeat, strokes and seizures. Some of those problems resulted in death or injury in previously healthy people.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has compelling data showing that ephedra poses serious and unreasonable health risks to consumers. To date, the FDA says that at least 100 deaths have been linked to the use of ephedra. Other studies reveal that risks from the use of ephedra far outweigh any benefits

From January 1993 through October 2000, the FDA received 1,398 reports of adverse events linked to herbal supplements containing ephedra, including 81 deaths, 32 heart attacks, 62 reports of cardiac arrhythmia, 91 reports of hypertension, 69 strokes, and 70 seizures. Complaints about herbal supplements containing ephedra constituted 42 percent of all dietary supplement complaints and 59 percent of all reported deaths.

A comprehensive report appearing in the March 26, 2003 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, links the use of ephedra with risks of heart, psychiatric, and gastrointestinal problems, while finding insufficient evidence to support its use to enhance athletic performance, or to promote long-term weight loss.

According to an analysis released by the Annals of Internal Medicine in February, products containing ephedra accounted for 64% of all adverse reactions to herbal products reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 2001. The researchers calculated relative risks for an adverse reaction to ephedra compared with other herbs in the database and found huge (100-fold or more) increases in risk for those taking ephedra.

The American Medical Association has called for ephedra’s removal from the marketplace. In addition, a host of other organizations representing athletes, including the International Olympic Committee, the National Football League, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, have already banned ephedra’s use among their members and players.

The Feb. 17 death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler has focused new attention on the dangers of ephedra. Bechler, 23, died of heatstroke after a spring-training practice.

Http://www.lifescript.com/channels/well_being/News_Bites/study_reiterates_dangers_of_ephedra.asp
http://www.neighborhood-heart-watch.org/newsletter/article_144.shtml
http://www.nmafaculty.org/news/ephedra.htm
http://www.consumersunion.org/supplements/ephedra-dangers.htm

Jere answers:

Have you thought about pay per click programs? The two biggest, I think, are Yahoo! And Google

A few free resources – check out the sources box for links:

1) Create a blog pertaining to your field

2) Use Yahoo! Local & Yahoo! Groups – Be sure to read the TOS for each one!

3) Write articles pertaining to your field and/or expertise.

4) Advertise on Craiglist

Associations may be a good avenue to explore as well. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you’ll inevitably have as well as many you haven’t anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Also, consider signing up for an affiliate program. These programs enable you to advertise on other’s sites (your affiliates) and once a sale is made to you, your affiliates & the program are paid a commission.

I listed a few handy sites & articles relating to marketing, promotion & advertising. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* 301 Do-It-Yourself Marketing Ideas: From America’s Most Innovative Small Companies by Sam Decker
* Off The Wall Marketing Ideas: Jumpstart Your Sales without Busting Your Budget by Nancy Michaels, Debbi J. Karpowicz
* Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits by Jay Conrad Levinson
* Entrepreneur Magazine’s Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide: Over 1500 Great Marketing Tricks That Will Drive Your Business Through the Roof by James Stephenson

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Jere answers:

Look them up on the internet (google) and call them on the phone.

Jere answers:

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), according to The American Marketing Association, is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” (Marketing Power Dictionary)

Integrated Marketing Communications is a term used to describe a holistic approach to marketing. It aims to ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, from search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, radio, and television. A company develops its integrated marketing communication programme using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion).
[edit] Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC
Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary strategy for marketers:

From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.
From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered around specific target audiences.
From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled market.
From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.
From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly in advertising.
From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation (increased sales or benefits to the company).
From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and services.

Selecting the Most Effective Communications Elements

The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with the greatest breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points within each.

Although integrated marketing communications is more than just an advertising campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the creation and distribution of advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the research budget is also spent on these elements of the campaign. Once the key marketing pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then be applied to other contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics, customer service training, and more, to complete the IMC cycle.

See also
Advertising
Advertising Research
Brand infiltration
Direct Marketing
Global Marketing
Marketing
Marketing Research
Public Relations
Sales Promotion
Sponsorship

Jere answers:

Anyone can create a website with many of the programs and templates that are available from the hosting companies. The difficult part is getting traffic to your website from people who will actually buy the products you offer.

You need products that people are looking for – either because they are popular, unique or fulfill some unmet need.

It would probably be easiest to get started as an independent distributor or rep for a company that provides you with a company website. Then you will already have the products and the payment gateway for online sales and you earn a commission from the sales. Look for products that you like, are consumable and purchased by most families several times a year. Most companies will also offer free training to teach you some marketing techniques.

Then drive traffic to your company website by purchasing a domain name and creating your own personal website with links to your company website. You may eventually want to sign up as a distributor for more than one company or add some affiliate program links for other products related to your website topic or theme to earn multiple streams of income.

Then to market and send traffic to your personal website you will need to learn and use several techniques: email, blogging, social networking other ways to create back links. It takes time, but through consistent effort it can be done.

There are so many websites out there that simply building a website with a bunch of products is not likely to be profitable. It is easier if you have the products, support and training from a company who uses independent distributors to market their products.

Jere answers:

What you’re basically thinking is a survey, where you have a bunch of questions that you want your users to answer, and a way to collate the data to make it meaningful.

The application I use is SurveyMonkey http://www.surveymonkey.com . For $19.95 a month, I can put in a survey (either as a popup, a link on the site, or even as email to my subscribers) with all the questions I want. SurveyMonkey collects all the information exportable in various formats in REAL TIME. For open ended questions, SurveyMonkey simply lists the responses received. You can opt to get demographic info of the respondent or not.

This is the CHEAPEST way to do market research online.

Jere answers:

As I know, most of the email blast service providers charge by the email amount you send at one time with a bottom line ( such as $5 for 500 emails at least). So if you don’t mind paying for 500 while sending only 5, there will be no problem using a service provider. And my suggestion is combining your campaign and individual emails as much as you can so that you can take most out of the services.

BTW, I use Comm100 for my newsletter sending. Like their HTML templates.

Jere answers:

Starting a new business takes a good deal of planning not just for the business but for you own finances as well. The rule of thumb is to have enough in savings to cover your personal expenses for 3 years because that’s generally how long it takes to get a business up and running and on a stable footing.

If this is something you want to do, start out with some good solid training and education. There is a national group called SCORE who’s members are successful business men and women who have already gone through the steps, trials and tribulations you’re facing. Where to get started, what to do first, how to decide if you need financing and where to get it if you do. All these questions can be answered through a SCORE ‘starting your own business’ course. They have many of these of varying lengths depending on where you are and what the local chapter offers. Typically they offer a nationwide one day course that you would probably find helpful.

If you really want to do this, your next step is to write a business plan. There are tons of resources online for how to do this, including templates and categories to include in your plan. Again this is where SCORE can help you. You can sign up for a mentor who can guide you toward resources for your area to look at competition, expenses, marketing and much more. You can also tap into their knowledge for areas you feel you have weaknesses. For instance, if you’re great at marketing, but terrible at accounting then turn to a professional for help. Don’t think you have to go at this alone because there are tons of services and support out there.

For a retail store, consider starting a shop online to limit your start up and overhead costs. If you have an extra room or basement in your house for storing product, you can start out with an online shop. Many physical stores started this way, or if they started in a physical space, they also have an online shopping service which expands their market and opens the door to a larger source of revenue.

Just do some googling and a little research. Don’t be afraid to email existing shops and ask them what they did or how they got started. Most small business owners love talking about their business and are willing to share what they’ve learned with others.

The biggest suggestion I’d have for getting started is to start a business plan. It puts your dream into form and reality. It makes it something tangible that you can work on and organize. And as you write your plan you’ll realize you know a lot more about starting a business than you thought you did. You can do this, just plan and write it out! Hope this helps. Good luck and I hope you dream of owning your own shop come true.

Jere answers:

Http://fotoflexer.com/
FotoFlexer is one of the most advanced online digital photo editor. It performs advanced effects previously only available to professionals using expensive software. FotoFlexer integrates with leading photo sites and social networks. Import and export photos with ease.

Http://www.pizap.com/
piZap is an online photo editor that allows anyone to add objects and text to their pictures to give them a goofy look.

Http://www.finetuna.com/
Upload an image or design to FindTuna, and add your comments. Then send image & comments by email or simply copy & paste a link, and allow your friends to comment on your image/work.

Http://mypictr.com/
Try mypictr. Upload and crop your photos right from the web. No download or registration needed.

Http://www.pikipimp.com/
pikipimp is a web based service that allows you you to edit your image online. No registration require.

Front page

Fotobabble lets you create talking photos in two clicks. Simply upload a photo and then record your voice directly through your computer to create a talking photo. You can easily share it by e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or embed it into a blog or website.

Http://phlook.com/
Interactive photos, create slideshows, sell photos on your blog and website to share with friends, family and the World.

Http://pho.to/
Pho.to lets you enhance your photos and have fun with them – easily, anytime, anywhere. Its editing tools let you make the best of your photos with a single click, as well as apply different artistic effects and have fun with your favorite pics.

Http://www.hazelmail.com/
HazelMail allows anyone anywhere to easily create and mail real postcards online using their own photos in minutes. With just a click of the button, Hazel prints and mails your custom postcards for you.

Http://www.imagechef.com/
With ImageChef anyone can create a custom image without any technical knowledge or advanced tools. Modify text in a variety of image templates to create professional quality images with your own personal touch.

Http://www.magmypic.com/
MagMyPic allows users to combine their picture with custom made Magazine covers in the likeness of popular Magazines. MagMyPic is an affiliate marketing effort that works to distribute and market subscriptions to each of the magazines displayed on MMP while providing a fun and entertaining way for users to display their picture.

Http://gui.picresize.com/
PicResize is and easy-to-use online picture editor. Just upload your picture and select from bunch of editing options.

Http://www.loonapix.com/
LoonaPix is going to beautify your life in 3 ways:- LoonaPic effects. One-click effects that embed your picture into interesting situations.- Photo frames. Dozens of photo frames for all tastes.- Trim templates. Trim your photo to make it unique. It is easy and fast way to make funny things online. Flickr is supported.

Http://www.pikipimp.com/
pikipimp is a web based service that allows you you to edit your image online. No registration require.

Http://www.photofunia.com/
http://www.deefunia.com/

http://en.picjoke.com/
http://funny.pho.to/

Jere answers:

You have the right to be notified when they will be showing potential purchasers round the property, and the right to remain there until you are asked to leave.

By whay you said above, you have a 2 month rolling contract, so you will have a minimum of 2 moths notice before you have to move out of the property. Likewise, if you find a new property in the meanwhile, you only have to give 2 months notice.

As you will have a shorthold tenancy agreement, you will not have any rights as s sitting tenant, and will need to be out of the property before the landlord can exchange contracts (on a vacant posesion basis). On the other hand, if they are selling to another property ‘investor’ the new landlords may want or be willing for you to stay in the property. If a new ffamily buys it, however, they will want to take posession themselves and you will ave to move out.

Either way, it its not your property so your options are limited, unless you can buy the property from your landlord, which may be a good solution!

Jere answers:

Hi noodles
i suppose the cheapest laptop at the moment is the asus ecc pc which is £199 however its limited to just a 5gb solid state hard drive,great for travelling but no good for general use
for a good all purpose laptop then the MESH MSI VR601 T2 (http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=355423)is a class laptop and has some class hardware aswell
the processor comes in the shape of the Intel® Core™ Duo T2330 Dual Core Processor (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB),a good all round cpu,with some excellent power,and the memory is supplied in the shape of a 2GB DDR2 667MHz Memory (2x1GB),this is the standard offering in most of todays laptops and is plenty for most everyday tasks
the graphics card is the 128MB Intel GMA X3100 Integrated Graphics,this is the first of intels direct x 10 intergrated chips and is pretty good for a onboard solution,and can play some games at lower resolutions
the 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive is quite big for a laptop and the DVD Super Format Dual Layer DVD Writer +R/-R/RW/RAM has plenty of formats including the much neglected dvd-ram format
the 15.4″ WXGA TFT display is also a standard offering however its picture quality is good,however if you want a 17″ display then the MESH MSI ER710 (http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=332739&APPS=234471)is a better choice,and this also uses the AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK53 Dual Core Mobile Processor ,a good and powerful laptop processor,this also uses the 128MB ATI Mobile Radeon Xpress 1270 Integrated Graphics,still not brilliant but better than the intel onboard solution
both these laptops have some sterling qualities and are powerful in their own rights,however if you dont want to play games then you can make some good savings when buying a laptop,as the price of laptops with powerful graphics adapter are much higher then laptops with intergrated solutions
also try http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/,this company stock surplus laptops and desktop p.c,s and have some excellent “new” and “used” laptops,they also come with some decent warrantys
any problems let me know
good luck noodles !

Jere answers:

Ways to advertise your Electronic Security Systems(including CCTV,Fire Alarm,Burglar ALarm Smoke Detection etc.).

1) You need to create your cooperate identity with a custom embroidery company. Create your logo and business name on your cooperate apparel.

2) Put the logo on your Auto

3) Make up business cards and hand them out. Every time you see someone you know hand several of them out. When you give people your business card, always give them more than one and ask them to give them to their friends/coworkers, etc. Print up flyers and post them on public boards if there are any near you and post in a forums that related to your location if there are any!

4) The key for this kind of business is word-of-mouth. Think of some clever ways to encourage your existing clients to tell people about you. Perhaps you could start with a friend or family member to be one of your “spokesperson”. I owned a convenience store for 10 years and a lot of business deals started in the checkout line by strangers. Tell everyone about you and ask if they know anyone that could use your service. Ask for a referral from an existing client

5) Start a website as a way to advertise you. Let your website work for you and your clients swap links. When making your own web site do some research on how to optimize your site so that you get a good ranking with a natural search. You do this by embedding smart key words. Your website could show your community involvement and you could have questions and answers on the site.

6) Look for websites that you can advertise for free. Advertise in the Yahoo local. Find free on-line classified web sites for your community. Typically the local chamber of commerce will offer such a service. You can advertise here for free: http://www.hits2u.com/?149843
http://goldbizz.localads.co.uk
http://www.trafficswarm.com/go.cgi?48605

Automatic Contributions to Your Gold Individual Retirement Account Account

Post a link to your site for free when it is allowed
Try These:
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/…
Here is a comprehensive list of Classifieds http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20080114075709AAtlrLP

7) A Yellow page ad seems to work great also.

8) Try to get your local newspaper to do a free article on your business.

9) Sponsor local sport teams or ballparks that hang up banners. There are also inexpensive ways to advertise like a local penny saver newspaper, high school yearbooks and newspapers, etc.

10) Call radio show call in and contest and always answer or make the statement with “your name and company name and you have been working hard” free radio ads are great.

11) Telemarketing

Jere answers:

This website gives you a solution…
Www.infobanc.com/trade_leads_ind_biz/indexp_h3_34.htm

Jere answers:

First of all, make sure you know your definitions. Instead of ‘doing the solutions to negative externalities’ you should say correcting market failure – a misallocation of resources, where resources are not used to gain the best possible good.

The ways of correcting market failure can be remembered by TENCLL – Taxation, Education, Nationalisation of businesses, Compensating the victim, Laws, Legislations.

Advantages of correcting market failure are that you can ‘internalise the externalities’. In a market, businesses are only in it for their own self interest and so they do not consider the social cost (private cost + externality). From a business point of view, vodka companies are only interested in profit and not compensating and paying for the problems of liver disease, noise pollution and violence etc. Ryan Air are not interested in paying to compensate for the air pollution caused by excessive air travel. This is why the government need to impose taxes (direct and indirect) to ensure that this market failure is corrected and that the companies accept responsibilty for the externalities they cause.

Advantages – Businesses pay for the externalities so other people and the government don’t have to. In the case of alcohol, any VAT and excise taxes are given to the government and can be reallocated into merit goods and services such as hospitals, health centres etc. So even though consuming alcohol may produce health problems for consumers, the businesses are paying for treatment and effectively donating money towards improving fitness of citizens.

Taxation increases the price of demerit goods and a higher price should lead to a fall in demand for the product, depending on the price elasticity. Education makes people aware of the negative effects of what they consume which may lead people to cut back on consuming demerit goods and services. Nationalisation means that the government can control the supply of demerit goods – in some American states the government owns distilleries which means they can control how much alcohol people consume. Compensating the victim is like what I said about reallocating taxes from demerit goods/services into merit goods/services and laws and legislations also give the government more control over businesses.

Advantages of a subsidy is that it incentivises a firm to produce at a social optimum level (MSB=MPC), which would have been expensive to a firm prior to the subsidy.

Disadvantages – (I keep using the alcohol example but it’s one I know a lot about lol) If a good is inelastic in demand, then adding high levels of tax may lead to a decrease in the quality of life for the consumer. Say that a man is on a minimum wage and likes to drink alcohol to unwind, or maybe someone is alcoholic and spends most of their money on alcohol. An increase in tax will lead to an increase in the price of the alcohol, but as alcohol is addictive and there are few substitutes, the consumer will continue to buy the good. The higher price means they are spending more of their disposable income and therefore have less to spend on vital needs such as food, clothing, hygiene products, rent etc. This could drive people into poverty. Or it may drive them onto other cheaper demerit goods and substitutes such as drugs. A similar situation occurs when companies shift the tax onto the consumer as a form of ‘hidden tax’ – it leaves the consumer more out of pocket. Higher prices may also result in inflation in the economy which is not desirable.

If businesses are heavily taxed then they are disincentivised to produce as the have smaller profit margins. Firms may be driven out of the market – why should a company carry on producing if they are being heavily punished for it?

Main disadvantage of a subsidy is that it is the taxpayers who are paying for it, and this is often very unpopular with the public!

Http://everything2.com/title/Externality < found this handy link for looking at tradable permits too 🙂

Jere answers:

If your priority is just for backups, I use Mozy Home and I’m quite happy with it. If you want something as a sync service and backup, you can see a comparison of several online storage solutions here :

http://yourcomputertricks.com/how-to-pick-an-online-storage-service/

Jere answers:

You can use any of the ElephantDrive business editions to back up from the NAS.

Also, depending on the make/model, you may be able to run the backup directly on the NAS so it will run even if/when your laptop is not connected. The currently ship an embedded NAS backup with QNAP and NETGEAR NAS (the NETGEAR version is branded).

Jere answers:

Hi..i don’t actually have an answer..but a warning. I have been contacted by many clients. Telling me their online backup service went out of business without warning or was bought up and their files disappeared with them never to be seen again. Sadly there is no way to get the information back when these places pack up their tents and vanish into the night…please be careful…R.

Jere answers:

Computer Backup Options

Backing up your company’s computers is absolutely essential — if you lose computer data, you could also lose your business. The more you can do to protect against data backup nightmares, the more time and money you can reserve for moving the business forward. But there’s more than one way to back up your data, depending on your company’s budget, the number of computers that require backup, and whether or not you use a network.

Here are a few of the backup options available:

1. Use recordable media. Once upon a time, you could back up your entire computer on a few floppy disks or Zip disks. Those days are now long past — but now we have CD-R and DVD-R media. CD-Rs can hold up to 700MB of data, and double-layer DVD-Rs can hold up to 8.5GB. Depending on the size of your hard drive, though, you may end up spending lots of time burning multiple disks to safeguard your data.

2. Get a second hard disk. You can install a drive that’s just as big as your existing hard disk and then copy, or “mirror,” all of the data on the second drive. Hard disk prices have dropped considerably, and mirroring a disk makes it easy to replace lost data. But keeping all of your backup data on the same system leaves it vulnerable to the same problems that might affect your primary hard disk.

3. Use an online backup service. These services allow you to upload your data over the Internet to remote servers — if you need to restore lost data, you simply log on to the backup service and download your files. Internet backup services offer several benefits: they’re cheap, easy to use, and very reliable. But Internet backups can be slow, and you’ll need Internet access to retrieve your backup files. You should never rely only on Internet backups; if the company storing your data goes out of business, your data might vanish too. Read Is It Safe to Store Files on the Internet? To allay some of your concerns about this method.

4. Use a software backup program. A backup utility, like Norton Ghost or the backup utility that comes bundled in Windows XP, can take the headache out of backing up your data. It’s not meant to replace any of the three methods above; rather, it just automates the backup process. You tell it when and where, and the program can automatically back up your data to the location of your choice.

What’s Better: Local or Network Backups?

If your business uses a network, you’ll have to decide whether to back up all of your computers over the network or back up each computer separately. In most cases, you should back up all of the computers on a network along with your file servers; that way, you can purchase a single high-end backup system for your whole network. It’s much more expensive to buy a separate backup unit for each computer, and it’s a waste of time to lug a portable backup drive from one computer to another.

Jere answers:

Yes, it is a great business to be in. As a technical support person, I upsell MyPCBackup to people all the time to make backups of their files. Pays well. Http://online-backup.topfiveawards.com/

Jere answers:

Honestly, just take what you need to get your degree. Your schooling is going to help you get a job, if that’s what you want. You are definitely going to learn from your classes, but from my experience you will learn far more from your own experiences.

What I’m saying is this:
Get your degree to help you get a job, but use the internet and get all the experience you can for you real “education”. People coming straight out of school tend to be real green 🙂

That’s assuming you want a job, of course. I learned marketing and I began making my living from home using the internet. No more jobs, bosses, etc. For me. The freedom is wonderful, and the money is just as sweet!

Jere answers:

No degree can guarantee that the job you get will involve travel. Many MBA jobs require travel, and many do not. This is true of many other degrees, such as engineering or any science, political science, international relations, diplomatic service, etc.

MBA programs accept students in any undergraduate field. They prefer students who do not have a business background because they give you the business training but they cannot provide the broad background that managers should have. I have taught MBA students with degrees in Music, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Psychology, Political Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, and many other fields. Most MBA programs prefer students with 2-3 years work experience after the first degree., Some accept students right out of college if they have good grades and a high GMAT score. Some MBA programs are designed specifically for new college graduates without work experience. But in those programs you don’t get the benefit of learning from other students who have work experience. A lot of valuable learning takes place through class interaction.

Before you decide on an MBA program explore the Internet for information on available programs. There is a lot of information available. Some sites are limited to specific countries, such as Germany, UK, or Australia. There is a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. The nice thing is that it allows you to find the program that best fits you. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc.), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc.), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status (look for AACSB accreditation or at least AACSB membership), tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, joint degrees such as MBA/JD, and much more. You can use it to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre-applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria. Some of the other sites are less comprehensive, but all are useful.

Jere answers:

You can definitely get a programmer’s job after getting the Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science but you will need to have thorough knowledge of and experience in some popular language like PHP, C#.net or Java.

It is hard to get any job these days but if you are bright, you can definitely get one. You can also freelance on sites like elance.com and getafreelancer.com while you are waiting to get hired. This will also add to your profile and experience.

I am an internet marketing expert and do website development for clients.

Jere answers:

All medical schools are created equal and that equality is assured by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the accrediting authority, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. People who allege one medical school is better than another, based on the education provided, are wrong. If any medical school was inferior to another it would lose its accreditation or, stated another way, no medical school is permitted to graduate a majority of “C” students while other schools graduate a majority of “A” students. All medical schools are required to administer the NBME’s Shelf Exams at the end of each class. These exams are scored by the NBME, not the schools. If Harvard produced superior results to the Medical College of Georgia, do you think that MCG wouldn’t adopt Harvard’s curriculum or that MCG would be continued to be allowed to produce inferior doctors?

Would you accept that a Volkswagen was the best car based on 5 people saying that it was the best car? Would your opinion change if all 5 worked for Volkswagen? Many people respond to questions about “the best medical schools” and cite the US News and World Report’s annual article about medical school rankings. They don’t have a clue how the magazine made those determinations. In the most recent published rankings list there were as little as five respondents and those were all medical school college Deans. Hardly a statistically valid sampling, wouldn’t you agree? Why were there so few respondents? Because the Association of American Medical Colleges objects to the criteria used and the method of sampling, so the majority of medical schools refuse to participate.

If you’re going to become a physician you need to know the source of any data you’re going to rely on or prove it yourself–and in this case, the information is readily available on the Internet–all you have to do is Google it.

To correct some other misinformation–all medical schools have to have research opportunities available for medical students (it’s an accreditation requirement). At primary care oriented schools the research is an option. At research oriented medical schools it is mandatory and the focus for the students is not the research itself but the proper scientific method for conducting and reporting how research is done. The research is done by both instructors (that’s one of the carrots used to attract top research scientists to teach at medical schools) and paid researchers.

In addition, most medical researchers have advanced science degrees, not just the MD.

So why do the Harvards and Johns Hopkins of the world have reputations as being “the best”? It’s a three part answer. First, the “best” known names have earned their reputations on the quality of the residency programs provided (and residency programs have nothing to do with a medical school), the quality, number and types of research conducted (again, nothing to do with the medical school itself) and the medical centers associated with each program. Secondly, the history of the Ivy League schools arises from over a century ago when only the wealthy could afford to go to college. As the economy changed and more of the ‘common’ people could afford college, the “Ivy League” schools raised their tuition to keep out the riff-raff, thus maintaining their standard of catering to society’s elite class. But many of the programs at Ivy League schools do produce superior graduates. The MBA programs at Harvard and Wharton are the ‘Gold” standard in business. The law programs at Princeton and Yale are also “Gold’ standards. The same for engineering, physics, etc,, but not medicine. Medicine is the only specialty that has a quality assurance governing authority. Third, reputations are really marketing’s sleight of hand. For example, the National Insitute of Health is the other often-cited ranking system for medical schools. However, this ‘ranking’ is based on the amount of research dollars given to each school, which, again, has nothing to do with the quality of the education provided at a school. But that doesn’t stop some schools from claiming “We’re # X according to the NIH”.

So, to answer your question in a different way, would you be heads above other people with a degree from an Ivy League school? Maybe to the naive. But the medical community only cares where you did your residency, as that denotes the quality of your education. You can spend $50,000/semester at an Ivy League school or less than $20,000/semester at your own state’s university medical school and both will get you to your MD. The name of the school on your diploma doesn’t get you into the better residency programs. What does get you in are the scores you obtain on the USMLE exams and the quality of the reviews you received during your clinical rotations.

One last little poke in the ribs–UCLA came to the University of Maryland to copy UM’s Emergency Medicine residency program and that’s why the University

Jere answers:

Bachelor of Science degree programs that focus on entertainment business are typically found under program names such as ‘entertainment and media business’ or ‘entertainment, media and technology business’. These programs emphasize core business skills, such as marketing, finance, and management, as well as media formats, such as video, film, Internet media and music media. In addition, students learn how to create, manage, distribute and market entertainment media and talent. That you career aspects you can look out for by doing this degree are:-

* Producer
* Publicist
* Marketing director
* Talent manager
* Public relations specialist

Jere answers:

AS PER THE SITE http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/forum/f39-legal/what-legal-documents-will-i-need-to-start-an-online-clothing-store-50968.html,

“While it’s hard to give a complete answer without knowing more details about your overall business plan for the clothing store, here are a few thoughts:

The general package of documents you would need for that might include the following:

Incorporation documents – Articles and Bylaws, as well as Shareholder Agreements and instruments setting up voting trusts/irrevocable proxies/etc in the event of multiple owners taking shares.

Generally, city and state business licenses, as well as a Federal EIN.

If you will have employees, you will need employment contract(s), which may need various provisions including nondisclosure.

Depending on the types of clothing sold, certain intellectual property due diligence may need to be performed and documented for (including acquisition of associated IP licenses).

Website legal assessment will be a must since you will be regularly selling goods; including user agreements, privacy policy, terms of use, etc. IP clearance is also probably a good bet.

Lastly but not least, you will need uniform commercial code article 2 (sales) contractual instruments to be designed specifically for your business’s needs; you would then be able to copy and fill in the blanks of such a contract to suit each order and have a solid sales agreement in place in case anything goes wrong in a given sale.

I would strongly advise against using legalzoom for the formation and/or conducting of any real business, as they only provide the most basic forms and they are very generic in nature and not specific to any one business… This creates ambiguities now, which can cost much more later.”

Jere answers:

First of all you need hosting and domain name which should preferably contain you business keywords. Domain name is very important for search engines to find your site. But even more important is your website’s content. You should write description of your company and products and this description should contain keywords (never try to copy content from other sites).
You need an e-commerce website with the integrated payment gateway such as PayPal and shopping cart. This kind of websites requires PHP programming and database. This is one of the most expensive parts of building of a website. And you are unlikely to be able to make it by your own unless you know HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript. I must warn you that you will have invest in such website professionally designed and developed at least $2500. But it will be paid-off soon if your business is really good. More over you will probably need to invest some money in advertising. So it’s up to you to decide whether you would like to go online.
In case of interest I can recommend you a web design company with which I work a lot. They can advise you on any issue concerning building your website and search engine optimization. A good thing about these guys, except comparatively low prices, is that they offer free life-time technical support and guarantee to their clients. See the link in my source.

Jere answers:

It is extremely difficult. During the bubble years the Georgia Securities Commission had brokers give them copies of all traders living in Georgia. For every 100 traders, 90 lost 100% of their investment and only 1 was profitable. Amateurs have no business in trading.

Investing on the other hand can be profitable for most people. I would recommend reading Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor,” and a good book on securities analysis which was written as a college textbook. Since you do not seem to have experience, until you learn how to do on your own, I strongly recommend going to a full service broker or bank with a good reputation in your area.

Jere answers:

1. Http://sites.google.com/ (Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share.)

2. Http://www.moonfruit.com?cc=407902 (do-it-yourself website builder with lot of social networking tools like youtube, facebbok, twitter integration.)

3. Http://www.yola.com/ (drag and drop interface. You can create a website or a blog, and then pick your design layout. They provide free service without imposing banner ads. Good support.)

4. Http://www.weebly.com/ (Create a free website & blog.)

5. Http://www.piczo.com/ (Share photos, make slideshow, play videos, games and music. With featured sites section, plus see who’s on-line now feature. Also blogs and text can be implanted on your website)

6. Http://www.wetpaint.com/ (Useful hosted wiki tool. Functions of a wiki, blog and online discussion forum. Good support.)

7. Http://www.wix.com (Create interactive flash sites, myspace layouts and flash widgets. Simpler, faster, better way to create stunning Flash web content. Good support.)

8. Http://www.viviti.com/ (a website builder that lets you create a web site easily, with no code and no hassle.)

9. Http://www.squarespace.com/
(A fully hosted, completely managed environment for creating and maintaining a website, blog or portfolio.)

10. Http://www.sproutbuilder.com/ (Sprout Builder is a web-hosted, visual authoring solution that allows creative professionals to quickly and easily create branded, rich-media content and widgets.)

Jere answers:

The best way to market your business is online. If you can share more about your business, then I can provide you with more pointed information.

Jere answers:

First, don’t send daily emails. Sending emails too frequently will either annoy people or allow them to develop an indifference to seeing your emails and ignoring them.

Secondly, consider offering more than just your usual product offerings. Give something of value to your customers, even if it’s just information. Give some tips and advice on how to use the products you’re offering or some other general tips and advice related to your industry that someone might be able to use without necessarily needing to make a purchase.

Maybe you can start sending your “newsletter” once per week with an article related to your industry and then follow it with a product that you might have that’s related to the article.

Jere answers:

1. One way could be liveperson.com, sign up there with your expertise, complete profile and wait for response from audience.

2. Create a blog, write up your article with your expertise, people will find you.

3. Create your own website. Start e-Training from your website to the learner.

4. Find and visit universities/colleges forum/chat channel, present your expertise.

5. Create Facebook fan page and request your friends to join there and ask their 1st degree friends to join in your page. Do same thing other social networking site.

6. Collect students cell numbers from college/universities monthly/quarterly/yearly magazine books.

7. Publish classified ads in classified sites, such as craiglist

8. [you already applied this tip:] Ask yahoo 🙂

9. Publish news paper ads

10. Send newsletter to the target group from mailer service provider.

11. Recruit consultant for web marketing (I may available upon request with consulting fees)

Jere answers:

Advertising agencies need all types of people with many degrees- not just in advertising and marketing.

A company I’ve worked for in the past hired people from all backgrounds including: sports management, business, economics, communications, web development, creative design and graphic design.

More and more, advertising agencies are combining their traditional services (print, tv, ad) with the internet (ad banners, click ads, email marketing, and websites). This provides a great opportunity for you; there are tons of agencies that need individuals to help support both areas.

I recommend enrolling in a degree that you are truly interested in. If you are simply enrolling for the sake of gaining employment with an ad agency, you may be miserable at work for the next decade or so.

Additionally, have you researched what it is like working for an agency? Many require above-average weekly hours without OT, and deadlines make the office a zoo. However, that isn’t to say that there are no 9-5 agencies out there.

The link below offers a variety of schools; you should compare costs and programs available and find something you enjoy, and that hopefully will not depreciate in the forseable future (ie web design).

Good luck!

Jere answers:

Getting traffic is a combination of a lot of things. The key to success is to create great content that visitors want to use, search engines will love and other websites will naturally link to. Of course, it’s easier said than done.

You can use pay per click advertising in the search engines to reach audiences looking for your products. You can use Google Adwords http://www.google.com/adwords

Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:

1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement – if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.

2. Use social media. Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn, Reddit, Digg and others can be a big source of traffic for your business. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important — and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools.

AddThis http://www.addthis.com

3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.

Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF format) http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf
Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com’s “Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day.” http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2010.htm

4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

Http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com

5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.

Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006022407481

6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article ” How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site ” http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecommerce.htm for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.

7. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com

Jere answers:

HOW TO SELL ORGINAL ARTWORKS:
You can get your own website. You can get a FREE one at Weebly site, Wix site, Blogger site. Sell your art on your own website using a PayPal account. Go to PayPal website. Click on GET PAID. Select SELL ON YOUR WEBSITE. With this feature, you can add a payment button to your website and accept credit card orders securely. You can also add the Ebay button to your official website like this artist did, look under each picture http://kimsartblog.blogspot.com/

HOW TO SELL PRINTS OF YOUR ORIGINAL ARTWORKS
Make your original artwork into a DIGITAL IMAGE by using a digital camera to photograph it or using a scanner to scan it. Upload those digital images to these sites to make money. Fast forward the video to 3:00 to read the info. Also read the IMPORTANT TIPS starting at 5:32, this info applies to all DIGITAL IMAGES. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5LhMCAK4nk&context=C4161594ADvjVQa1PpcFPmw4P89iEWe7XGowlMlVSIYl42RUPurxE=

MARKETING TIPS:
1. Get an OFFICIAL WEBSITE to display your artwork. When you are talking to people and the subject of art comes up, they are going to want to see it. Plus, people always surf the internet looking for artists, so by getting a website you increase your chances of someone finding your art.

Learn “search engine optimization”, which is the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engines. If your website is ranked high in search results, it will more than likely get alot of visitors. Google search the words “search engine optimization” for more information or buy a book on the subject at Amazon website.

2. Open an account on photo sharing or video sharing websites (YouTube, Flickr, DeviantArt, etc.) that gets HIGH volumes of traffic everyday! Post your BEST artworks on these sites. The goal is to remain active by posting comments to get more exposure! If you post comments on other people’s pictures or videos, they will more than likely check out your account as well. Do not Spam! Your comment should be about the person’s picture/video! After each comment, type your name, Example: John Doe, Watercolor Artist. Also, use as MANY tags as possible so your photos/videos can be found by alot of people! Use a picture of your BEST ARTWORK as your AVATAR. You can’t state that you sell artwork on these sites because they generally don’t allow commercialism, so simply type your email or your official website address under your profile, so people can contact you directly about your artwork.

3. Join Facebook. Create an account that has an art word in it, Example: Go to Facebook and search the words ART, ARTIST, DRAWING, PAINTING, WATERCOLOR, etc….. You will see alot of artists that come up. Visitors come to Facebook and they will generally type in art words to find artists. Also, these art accounts will generally allow you to be friends quickly and post comments, which can be used to your advantage and to gain more exposure.

4. Ask your family/friends to post a picture of your art and a link to your website on their personal website or blog site to get more exposure.

5. Always carry business cards with you! When the subject of art comes up or you think someone might like to know about your art, give them your business card. Your business card should have your contact info and a picture of your art on it.

Jere answers:

Advertising is a single component of the marketing process. It’s the part that involves getting the word out concerning your business, product, or the services you are offering. It involves the process of developing strategies such as ad placement, frequency, etc. Advertising includes the placement of an ad in such mediums as newspapers, direct mail, billboards, television, radio, and of course the Internet. Advertising is the largest expense of most marketing plans, with public relations following in a close second and market research not falling far behind.

The best way to distinguish between advertising and marketing is to think of marketing as a pie, inside that pie you have slices ofadvertising, market research, media planning, public relations, product pricing, distribution, customer support, sales strategy, and community involvement. Advertising only equals one piece of the pie in the strategy. All of these elements must not only work independently but they also must work together towards the bigger goal. Marketing is a process that takes time and can involve hours of research for a marketing plan to be effective. Think of marketing as everything that an organizationdoes to facilitate an exchange between company and consumer.

Jere answers:

The Chinese market is extremely price sensitive, and COMPUTERS have become a commodity business, as Lenovo’s purchase of IBM’s PC biz demonstrates. Dell’s weak competences for innovation make it difficult for Chinese competition, so it is pretty much left with a penetration strategy- where it would focus on one particular niche or market segment in an attempt to create a beach head for further product deployments in the larger Chinese computer market.
I would think that it would do what it did successfully in India, which was agree to establish assembly plants or customer service centers in China in return for preferential access to some of the markets entrenched by Chinese firms. Dell can do this thanks to its size.

Jere answers:

Simple.

1. Direct Mail Niche Marketing. You find someone who provides niche marketing lists to your select audience then you hand write letters introducing your products and offer a discount to all responses through your ad.

2. Referral Marketing. Ask your friends and family members or your colleagues if they might know of anyone who would be interested in buying what you have to offer and tell them you will pay them a “finder’s fee” for any leads they can provide to you which actually make a purchase.

3. Networking. Look for other people in your area who are selling similar items to what you are selling and ask them if they wouldn’t mind joining forces with you to help promote yours and thier products together. Offer them a small cut of the profits if they help you display thier products and they should offer the same incentive.

Personally I would go with Option #1 because this is how I make the $300k a year I do right now.

Jere answers:

Here are a few Marketing 101 ideas:

Sharpen your focus by deciding who comprises your customer base, who are you trying to attract? It will make a difference in your marketing plan. Are you seeking seniors? Young families? Singles? Business owners? Real estate professionals? Then develop a marketing strategy that works best for that group.

Targeted direct mail
Telephone solicitation (keep it short, keep it simple)
Ask for referrals
Consider authoring a blog that showcases your insurance knowledge
Build and promote a web site
Twitter
Facebook page
You Tube
Advertise in church bulletins (inexpensive)
Join local non-profit community boards
Join business marketing groups
Write an article for the paper
Attend networking events
Join the chamber of commerce
Sponsor a local sports team
Join a golf league

Jere answers:

Breweries will deliver direct or through a distributor for a particular area. Because beer pricing is very competitive it might be difficult to get exact wholesale pricing from them. Try contacting the marketing department of a brewery and tell them your problem.

Jere answers:

Try out http://www.torn.com/1632703 it’s free, no downloads. You level up, make money, work for player owned and operated businesses. Own a business and manage your own employees. Player driven economy. Purchase real estate to live in, rent, or sell in the real estate market. Commit crimes, attack other players, create factions and go to war with rival factions and tons more. Very large player base, with thousands playing per day! You chat with friends, and post pictures enjoying the social aspect of the game. Or play as a loner choice is up to you. I personally love the game.

Jere answers:

Http://www.bsg-online.com/

i play there once in a while .. Give me ur info after signing up

Good Luck 🙂

Jere answers:

Business Tycoon Online http://games.bbgsite.com/games/businesstycoon/index.shtml
Business Tycoon Online, a business simulation browser game produced by a famous Chinese corporation Dovogame LLC, is sweeping the whole Asia with many agencies in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. It reached one million concurrent online players in Asia, Ranking in the top list of browser games. And now, this great game has entered the US and Europe market.

Footballidentity http://gamelist.bbgsite.com/io/index/id/1682.shtml
Foorballidentity is a football (soccer) world where all characters are controlled by real users. Managers, Players and even Journalists have a user behind them and together they form teams and play matches together in the world’s first turn-based strategy game based upon football. Players play matches, train and develop their skills. Managers handle transfers/contracts, match tactics and manage their team members.

You can find more in http://gamelist.bbgsite.com/index/gamelist/all/default/genre/_2_simulation_2_/0.shtml

Jere answers:

If you selling things, you definitely need to create an eCommerce based site. . If you’re new to website building, you won’t want to jump into that before you tackle the basics. That is, HTML (basic framework of a webpage), CSS (formatting and styling) and a little bit of Javascript (functionality). The next step would be to learn about SQL and databases.

If you simply didn’t familiar with programming, you can hire a dev instead, pay them to create an eCommerce site for you, and sit back thinking about your business plan.

There are several platforms available both free and paid out there to support creating of an eCommerce based site, I create list here :

1. ECommerce platform which designed to create, host, and have tools to support transaction, payments, even marketing system. Platform like this generally suit for medium level of business and for people who doesn’t familiar with programming. An example is Izzonet

http://izzonet.com

2. If you run a small level of business, you can give WordPress a shot. WordPress known as open source CMS which easy to use, SEO friendly, moreover it has eCommerce plug-ins.

Http://wordpress.org

3. If you are good with programming, or have someone who can done the website jobs for you. You can try to install open sources shopping carts software. Don’t even dare to use this kind of services if you don’t have any experiences with programming as it’s not user friendly but can afford your business if you have a well programmer.

Jere answers:

So your selling games on the internet and selling them for less well if you are you will eather have to make a deal with ups and shipping or get lots and lots of boxes at your house. And buy lots and lots of games lots of people like to get the old and the brand new games so you might have to wait at gamestop at 12:00 to get the brand new games

Jere answers:

I have found a wonderful home-based business opportunity that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and has been in business for over 35 years. I have been working with this company for over two years. There is potential for multiple streams of income [ i.e. Bonuses, overrides, residual, and direct compensation]. They are nationally known and have been featured in popular magazines like Success from Home. I have been made aware of a promotion for the month of January 2008 in which new associates can have their start up fee reimbursed and receive a Palm TX (nearly a $400 value) by meeting specified requirements. They’re looking for outgoing motivated, and goal oriented individuals. There is less than 2% market penetration nation wide, leaving the market wide open. Great training tools, one on one coaching, and a valuable and affordable service with little to no competition, make this home based business stand out from the rest. If you would like more information please feel free to contact me a Pre-Paid Legal Independent Associate at RexWhitePPL@gmail.com. Or call me at 503-463-7336.

* Promotion is responsibility solely of Independent Associate Rex White only. Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., any of its subsidiary companies, or any other person involved with Pre-Paid Legal is to be honest responsible.

Jere answers:

I am Tadar Wazir who was born in the U. S. A. During WWII.
I have some college majoring in Mobile Emergency Medical Technology/the Administration of Justice, which I received my A.A. Degree in.
I am a veteran, U.S.M.C., who served two (2) tours to Vietnam. While there as an Infantry Fire Team Leader on my second tour, like the Biblical Prophet Job, I got to know the only true Deity (G’d), as Jesus calls Him in John 17:3.
I have held several different professional positions: Insurance salesperson (Western & Southern Life, New York Life, and Roosevelt National); Banker (1st National Bank of Kansas City [supervisor in the Check Transit Department, and a Methods Analyst {Efficiency Expert} in the Systems Department]); security guard; entrepreneur; paramedic (St. Joseph’s Hospital of Kansas City, MO, operating its Mobile Intensive Care Unit); Iridologist (Natural Health Care utilizing ones eyes to find the problem[s] those from: disease(s), accidents, and where drugs are influencing ones organ[s]); a prison chaplain/hostage negotiator; I was a participant in the 1993 Council for a Parliament of the Worlds Religions in Chicago, IL; and I have had other jobs. It seems that I am a workaholic trying to make up for the mental damage that war causes its warriors.
I have authored some essays, made a few quips about different subjects, and one digital book via Kindle, to date some of them have made it to the internet. Just Google my name Tadar Jihad Wazir and you will find them. The digital book is in the Amazon.com, Kindle Store, Kindle e-Books titled “What am I? An: Accident or Intelligence, Intelligently Designed? And I try to carry on daily conversations with people along these lines that are stated in the questions.
I have been honored to have been elected to be a representative of 1st National Bank at the 1970 Bankers Convention in Milwaukee, WI; a Union Steward (Yellow Cab, school bus line in Kansas City, MO); Missouri State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. Chaplain, Central Area; President of the Mar-Saline branch of the NAACP; Marshall Optimist Club Chaplain; part of the “think tank” for the formation of the Restorative Justice Program in many facilities in the U.S.A.; a Board Member of Butterfield Youth Services in Marshall, MO; a member of the County Prosperity Team for Saline County, MO; an Election Judge (as an Independent-Independent); on the Board for the Saline County University Outreach/Extension Service; and I know that I am forgetting something.
I have been honored to be mentioned in:
Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals, Third Edition;
Who’s Who in Religion, 4th Edition;
Who’s Who in America, a couple of editions (I quit filling out the nomination forms);
Who’s Who in the Midwest, a couple of editions;
Men of Achievement, Sixteenth Edition.
I have been nominated for honorable mention in several more prestigious books but I just did not fill out the paperwork. I do what I do as an act of penitence for the being that war made of me and others who were, and are, similarly situated.
I am usually found studying something about this creation that we “man” is charged to “dress and keep” while having dominion over it.
I have a website: tadarwazir.youngevityonline.com, and two under construction: http://www.1wp.com/go/mindseye; and http://mindseye.sbuilder.net. Just letting you know about them to let you see that TODAY you can make your own way, IF, you have the courage to stand your ground and go for what you know.
Believe it or not, I am usually quiet, but when I talk, I try to talk from revealed scripture and show how it relates to our daily lives.

Jere answers:

“If a company requires initial payment from you in order to work for them, they are not legitimate.”

There are a few legitimate data entry companies but are not hiring and have large waiting lists (1-2yrs). The majority of data entry jobs you seen online are scams. A real company will want you to have skills inc fast typing, may want you to know MS Excel, and will usually ask that you have high speed internet. Once in a long while you may found one online on a job website but thats rare.

If you do an advanced search on yahoo, you will find previous answers, sometimes the info on these is good as the info they gave is likely to have been verified if the answer was voted as ‘Best’.

Jere answers:

You will need the best of the best in literary agents if you want to be published by Scholastic. The top publishers are incredibly selective and won’t be taking manuscripts from the slush pile. So look at a copy of the “Guide to Literary Agents” or “Writer’s Market” and start finding agents who have sold similar projects to yours to the top publishing houses.

Here are some websites that can help. Read them thoroughly and research, research, research!
Http://www.agentquery.com/
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com
http://www.absolutewrite.com/
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/

And be warned of the people on this list:
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html

If you posted a section of your story on the internet, would you want people stealing it? Of course not! Those photographers have just as much right to protect their work as you have to protect theirs.

Don’t worry about the photography right now, because often publishers will want to choose the art themselves. They can help you gain the permissions when you get to that point.

Jere answers:

Charlott… You could start your search on Google by typing in “formaldehyde free cosmetics” and then hit SEARCH. Information on formaldehyde free cosmetics found on Google include the following sites:

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics : No More Toxic Tub
Despite marketing claims like gentle and pure, top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals, according to our product tests.
Www.safecosmetics.org/ article.php?id=414 – Cached
Formaldehyde Free – Makeup & Cosmetics: Find, Compare, Read …
Yahoo! Shopping is the best place to comparison shop for Formaldehyde Free – Makeup & Cosmetics Compare products, compare prices, read reviews and merchant ratings.
Shopping.yahoo.com/ t-Makeup-Cosmetics-0/formaldehyde-free – 66k
Organic Cosmetics, Fragrance Free Lipstick, Formaldehyde Free …
We do offer samples of our liquid and powder foundations as well as blush colors. Organic Cosmetics, Fragrance Free Lipstick, Formaldehyde Free Nail …
Www.refreshinglyfree.com/ Online-Catalog/Cosmetics – Cached
Formaldehyde Free at ULTA.com – Cosmetics, Fragrance, Salon …
Each ORLY shade is free of DBP, formaldehyde and toluene, and features the award-winning … The entire line of ULTA Nail Lacquers are formaldehyde-free and toluene-free. …
Search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Formaldehyde Free – Cached
Formaldehyde Free Nail Polish at ULTA.com – Cosmetics …
All Essie nail polishes are DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde free. … The entire line of ULTA Nail Lacquers are formaldehyde-free and toluene-free. …
Search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Formaldehyde Free Nail Polish – Cached
Jessica Cosmetics
Jessica Custom Colours are Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP Free © 2007 Jessica Cosmetics International, Inc. JESSICA® is a registered trademark. All rights Reserved. …
Www.jessicacosmetics.com – Cached

Jere answers:

Are you looking it for domestic or international market?
Emails are the best options.

Jere answers:

Now that mobiles have moved into the affordable bracket, there is a great demand for additional mobile services such as mobiles, email, stock market quotes, and astrology services, just to name a few.

Jere answers:

An example of personal selling is when those annoying pop ups come up asking if you want to chat with a customer service person.

Direct marketing is selling directly from a web site, not just using it to promote products. Dell would be an example of direct marketing.

Sales promotion would be offering accessories free or at a special price with an order of a laptop, as an example.

Direct mail (e-mail) is used a lot by Amazon – they track your searches and purchases on Amazon’s web site and then send emails with products similar to those you have bought in the past (same topic of a book, for instance, or same artist for CDs or MP3s)

Jere answers:

If you are answering directly on an employer’s website or through a service that they are using, I would definitely complete everything applicable for which they are asking.

I frequently will disqualify applicants for not completing the information that I am requesting. Often times, employers need this information for tracking purposes, or for purposes of performing background checks.

However, with that said, the employer really shouldn’t be asking for your date of birth, race, marital status, maiden name, etc. Until they make an offer of employment.

Address is normally a required field. Particularly if the company will be sending out letters to request additional information, or to inform you about the status of your application.

Jere answers:

Fast food delivery, super markets, online shopping, phone directories, snail mail Vs email, speed post Vs courier services, land phones Vs mobile phones, making international calls directly Vs routing long distance calls through a third party, access of information at the click of a mouse Vs searching encyclopaedias or visiting public libraries, taking print outs Vs typing on a typewriter, sending texts on phones Vs telegrams, cooking gas Vs cooking on a stove, microwave cooking, internet connectivitity (dial up Vs cable/ broadband), internet/ phone banking………… The list is endless!!! 🙂