Category: Internet Marketing

Thinking Big – The Art of Internet Success                   by Alex Boyd of Earn Money with a Website Thinking big means different things to different people. In my circle, thinking big means focusing on progression, on growth, on the achievement of goals that appear, initially, beyond ourselves. To others it refers to a sandwich. You know the one – special sauce, sesame seed bun. But shall we stay focused here? There are many guiding principles when targeting success in both our daily lives, and in our businesses. One that I tend to dwell on from time to time goes something like this: ‘Times change. Adapt or fade away. You choose.’ It’s a rule with application to virtually every aspect of our lives, from familial relations, and friendships, to the planning of a successful community, the management of metropolitan governance, and in political relations across the globe. It can certainly apply to the world of business, and clearly, to you and I. An unwillingness to accept change as an integral part of our lives, relationships, and business orientations, is one way to ensure their abrupt end. On a personal front, this can translate into an entirely unexpected visit to the divorce lawyer. On the business front, say hello to an ongoing array of not so friendly calls from your creditors, and yet another form of legal representation, the bankruptcy folks. Thinking big is not just planning large things for ourselves, and our companies. Thinking big requires maintenance, a willingness to change, and an ability to see the value in the adaptation of a plan, or relationship, to the ever-changing circumstances that surround us. Each of these focal points should be viewed as living, breathing creatures, always growing, shifting in perspective, and with needs that adjust from time to time. Thinking big takes guts, a willingness to make mistakes, and a passion for forward movement. Are you ready? Thinking Big On the Internet As is true of every relationship, each of our business ventures, as well as our ultimate goals within them, differ. Each is an original work of art, or at their worst, an original, and innovative bad idea. The challenge inherent in defining a means of implementing ‘big thinking’ into your organization is clear – your company is far different from my own, with different products, different clients, and certainly, different organizational and relationship issues. You may sell ebooks, vitamins, advertising, design functions, or god help us all, the ‘incredible product that adds up to 3 inches to your member’, in which case my only advice to you is that you stop sending me emails – you’re hurting my confidence. To the remainder of our internet based business readership, with your varied focuses, perspectives, and goal sets, let me say a few things that may help twig some new ideas, and shifts in direction. Here’s a first step to ‘thinking big’ that you may like: ‘Never give up’ I realize I’m likely not the inventor of the phrase, and that each of you have probably heard it said at one time or another before I chose to dredge it up – but it holds a truth that applies to all long term investments. ‘Never give up’ means retaining focus, fighting fear, adapting as need be, while consistently keeping your eye on the end goals – goals that may themselves shift from time to time. No one ever said it would be easy folks – and for the most part, it ain’t. Don’t expect miracles, only long hours, little initial reward, and the potential financial and personal satisfaction that comes from an approach built on consistency of purpose, relative to a high quality product or service, over an extensive period of time. ‘Believe in your product’ In any relationship of length, one of the most often reported factors in its success is the strength of its core. Without a base that is solid, there is little room to build, nor the will to survive inevitable moments of turmoil. The same holds true of any business. At its core are many things, but most importantly, is its product. This one element is relative to everything the business is, and if you don’t want to find yourself perpetually justifying its existence, you must ensure that you are working with something that is ultimately of value to its users. The key is that this is something YOU must believe in first. Without that belief comes a business without passion, and from that lacking grows indecision, indistinct direction, and ultimately an experience of as little long term value as a quick cup of coffee. All jolt, then evacuated within hours. ‘Believe in your Customer’ The start of any new business requires investment. That investment can take many forms. Time, money, and ultimately, faith. One area worthy of a hearty amount of all of the above is your customer. Thinking big requires that you step outside the box, review your products and processes through the eyes of your client, and that you blow them away at every stage of the game. Don’t ever take your customers for granted, or rest assured, they’ll reciprocate, and drift away. ‘Show ’em you Believe’ One of the most common mistakes made by the new internet entrepreneur is to take a product or service with appreciable value, and detract from its salability by marketing it from a website that looks like the personal home page of a twelve year old from the mid 1990’s. Poor layouts, lagging download times, animated graphics galore of folks dressed for the disco era bouncing about beneath flickering rainbows dropping into glittering pots ‘o gold, all brought to life via the dated technology known as the animated gif. Dump it. Clean it up. Organize, and revitalize with informative, easy to use, quick to download, blow their buns off web site design and functionality. If you can’t do it yourself, find someone to help you, because as we all know, first impressions take the cake. Thinking big means not accepting substandard presentation as sufficient ‘because we’re on the internet’. It means taking every step possible to ensure your organization’s future, and in doing so, ignoring the value of nothing. Thinking towards the Future There was a time when organizing next week’s sale event was considered aggressive future planning. Not so today, my friends. With large organizations across the globe preparing business plans well into the next decade, the ability of the small business to compete, and to perhaps overtake the goliath, may well lie in their foresight. Plan big, and plan long. Consider a single target, and how it can be achieved via multiple paths. Don’t let change surprise you – instead, welcome it’s arrival with open arms, and prepare your road to adaptation in detail, and well ahead of time. The Final Thought At the end of the day, thinking big involves risk – there’s really no way around it. But risk that is well planned, and then exceptionally well implemented, is rarely a risk at all – consider it merely an investment, one that is focused on the development of an endless variety of relationships. Relationships that are certain to challenge, frustrate, weaken, then strengthen again, and if you’re strong enough, to reward you beyond your wildest dreams. Good luck folks. Now go eat that sandwich. Related Subjects: Visit one of Alex Boyd’s Internet Business Projects Launch your online store – learn more about ecommerce     back to top

What in the Blazes is an Exit Exchange? featured exit exchange services >>> In this era of diminished banner value, growing internet marketing expenses, and a consistently expanding level of competition online, the need for new means of generating affordable visitor traffic has resulted in the creation of many a promotional resource. The exit exchange is one such resource, creating an opportunity for much needed exposure and branding for the startup web entrepreneur. Is an exit exchange the tool your property has been waiting for? Let’s explore the nature of this all too often maligned resource. What in the Blazes is it? Remember the good, old fashioned banner exchange? The banner exchange has been around nearly as long as banners themselves, and in the days where visitors would actually take note and visit the advertised properties, these exchanges played a strong role in the promotion of many a web site. A variety of ratios were offered by different exchange networks, with the most common being 2:1, or you show our banners on your site twice, we will show yours once somewhere within our network. The other 50% of available impressions were often relegated to the promotion of the network itself, or sold to outside interests. Enter the exit exchange. With the advent of the java based pop up window, many web sites took advantage of the opportunity to heighten value for advertisers by opening an additional window upon arrival to, or exit from a site, usually featuring information from an paying advertiser. With response rates to banner ads on the downslide, the hope was that pop ups would result in an improved reaction, and thus a higher potential revenue from advertisers. The reality was a little different. Though many properties continue to make use of page load based pop ups, the risk of doing so often outweighs their true value in achieving improved advertising revenues. Reaction to pop ups by internet travellers was inherently negative, often resulting in an immediate exit from the property as a reward for creating annoyance within their ranks. With visitor acquisition, and satisfaction playing such a strong role in Internet success, most customer savvy web businesses opted to discontinue the use of pop ups as an advertising medium, although many continue to use them as a means of bringing information of TRUE VALUE to the attention of their clientele upon arrival. But the pop up junkies were not yet done with us. If the page load pop up was too much of a visitor annoyance, why not load the ads when they leave? The thinking was that at the time of exit, the visitor has accomplished whatever they intended at your property, and therefore the annoyance would be of less risk to your revenue base, while maintaining the potential for advertising dollars. As an additional purported bonus, pop ups loaded upon exit avoid the problem of screened site content, an area of concern to those initially utilizing them upon page load. Isn’t this a fantastic idea? The correct answer here is… maybe? Research indicates a clear level of displeasure amongst Internet users with any advertiser based pop up window, be it generated upon entry to, or, to a somewhat lesser degree, exit from a property. To presume that the departing guest is no longer of value is like telling every customer you serve that you are only interested in serving them once, and have a nice day. The reality is that no business can thrive without the all important combination of repeat customer, and word of mouth advertising. As such, to deliver a negative experience following a potentially positive site experience otherwise should be weighed against the value of the inclusion of the exit exchange. With the exit based pop up window forming what is essentially your client’s final impression, a clear understanding of your visitor preferences, and their potential future value, must be added into the equation. There is without a doubt a time and place for everything. Pop up windows upon entry and exit continue to be utilized by thousands of site owners, and have proved their value in specific circumstances. The exchange concept itself can generate a tremendous amount of payback for the savvy webmaster. With a range of ratios available today, as well as the multi-tiered models that allow credits for traffic generated by other webmasters that sign up based upon your recommendation, the concept itself can assist the newcomer to the market in establishing their presence, and in ensuring their own online success. Take the time to research your options, and keep your visitors in mind throughout your decision making process. As is true in life, moderation can prove to be of ultimate value in business, and can make the difference in its ability to profit today, and in the future. Would you like to use this article on your site, or have it emailed to you? Featured Exit Exchange Services: ExitBlaze.com BannerAddict.com ExitDirect.com FreeVisits.com   Related Subjects: Online’s complete web site promotion directory Implement a banner exchange     top of exit exchange page