Offline Advertising Tips
By Scott Hollingsworth

Many different sources were used for this article. I hope you find it both interesting and helpful.

Many people jump into online business enterprises and neglect real-world or offline advertising opportunities to grow their operations. A good mix of offline ads with your online campaign is good strategic planning. It helps present your message and even reinforce it for those who have already spotted your online presence. Plus you can target people who have Internet access and email capabilities by remembering to add your URL or web site address and / or your e-mail, autoresponder, or ezine subscription address in all of your promotions.

To make the utmost of your offline advertising, here are a few tips from the pro's.

1. COMPUTER RELATED ' When placing print classified or display ads targeting a website, target magazines that have a computer related section for your ad, when attainable. This will help attract people with Internet access and email.

2. LISTS ' Purchase or rent postal mailing lists and set up normal direct mail campaigns. If you make sure the lists include email addresses, you'll be able to cross promote via email and know they probably have Internet access, too, to help invite them to your site.

3. COMMERCIAL SPOTS ' Check into commercial spots on local cable television. Pricing ranges vary, and you could get a bargain early morning spot & catch business people who are early risers. Target your campaign around shows that feature Internet use / computers, too, when you can. See about being in the same spot just before or after a regularly scheduled program to target the same readers over and over, so that they'll commit your site to memory and click it on.

4. DECKS / MAILERS - Advertise with other businesses in card decks or direct mail packages. Check to make sure they are targeted for your audience.

5. EVENT MARKETING ' Create a CD-ROM, disk or DVD about your website, products and services. And dispense them at trade shows, workshops, and other special events. Have your contact information and website on the cover in case the items do not function right when installed.

6. FREEBIES - Give away free pens, pencils, mouse pads, note pads, yellow stickies, etc. that convey your website on them and contact information. Put your advertising on the mouse pads and give them away at computer or Internet events.

So reach out and advertise offline to compliment your online strategy. And remember to include your URL or web site address and / or your e-mail, autoresponder, or ezine subscription address in all of your promotions

So that's the suggestion I have on that subject. I hope it was helpful and you were able to get something out of it.

Scott Hollingsworth
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitMakingSite.com
  

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Getting Started: Creating a Business Plan
By Scott Hollingsworth

You're excited. You have a great idea for a profitable
online business. Maybe it is an original idea that has
not been marketed online before. Maybe you have come
up with a new spin on the ordinary. Whatever it is
that has influenced you to start your online business,
be sure that you have a plan before you begin. This is
not the time to pick it up as you go. These are some
basic things that should be included in your business
plan.

The business summary should give a brief description
of the entire business and is an integral part of the
overall business plan. After you have completed the
business summary you should begin to list the
objectives or the goals that you want to accomplish
through the business. Next and perhaps most
importantly, you should develop your marketing plan.
The marketing plan will address all the specifics of
the business. When developing the marketing strategy
you should consider the following:

The target market. The target market is the customers
that you expect to see visiting your site. For example
will your product be more appealing to college
students or those who are in retirement?

Consider the competition for your product when
determining the marketing strategy. Choose a product
that will be seen as unique and useful. Visit sites
that are offering the same or similar products. Find
out the cost, and how they are marketing their
product. Finds out the pros and cons of their business
and try to improve your product based on their flaws.

Research the various methods for advertising online.
You should become educated about search engines and
how they work since each one is different. Also be
sure that you know how to submit your site to search
engines. You should be prepared to spend a small
amount of money on advertising, but the profits that
you will gain from the advertisements will prove to be
money well spent.

Think about pricing. Again, look at the competition
and see what similar products are selling for. Pricing
can play a big role in the success of your product
since selling a product well below the average price
may lead customer to think that there is a problem
with the product or that it is not of the best
quality. However, pricing items too high could also
deter customers.

Determine the shipping method. Be sure that you know
how products will be shipped so that you can have
shipping details clearly posted on your site. If you
are shipping things of great value, you should
consider providing shipping insurance. Also think
about shipping outside the country that you live in.

Think about the different methods of payment that you
will accept. If your business does not accept credit
cards, you should be ready to give up half if not more
of your sales. If you decide to accept credit cards
will you use a merchant account or will you use a
third party credit card processing center? Both will
help you get started and the third party processing
center will handle all of the business so you do not
have to. You should decide which you will use and also
if you will accept checks or money orders. It is
essential to have a secure server when taking credit
cards.

These few things will help your online business to
become a great success and also provide you with peace
of mind knowing that you have thoroughly thought about
and planned for the opening of your online business.

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Designing A Website That Sells
By Scott Hollingsworth

Would you buy meat from a grocery store that left the
bad meat in with the good meat or was not clean? Would
you buy a car from a sales lot that had totaled
automobiles on the front lot? I would not and neither
would you. Your website is your grocery store; your
car lot. You must have an atmosphere that is pleasing
to buyers. One that tells that buyer that you are not
an amateur, but instead a trained, seasoned
professional. Your site is a direct reflection of
your product and that is why that having a well
designed website can make or break your sales.

The first thing to keep in mind when designing your
website, is surfability. Take a few minutes a look
around at several web pages. What makes them
appealing? Were there some that you closed out of
immediately? Why? Take notes and do your research.
Keep in mind that when a person visits your site they
have a goal in mind. They are either seeking
information or shopping for a product. Give the
person what they want without having to search for it.
Be sure that all the information on your site is
relevant to your product. Make the buyer think that
they need your product to solve their problem.

Your main page serves a very specific purpose. It
should be an avenue by which the customer can shop
your site. It should be easy to view and load very
quickly. This is your first impression and we all
know that first impressions can either close the deal
or loose the deal. Make it simple. It is best to
have links that are easily viewable by the reader that
will navigate them to where they want to be. Tables
are often a great choice when deciding on a way to
design the main page of your site. Your main page
should load very quickly, chances are if it takes the
page more than ten seconds to load even on a 56k
modem, the customer will click away to save time,
hoping to find the information or product elsewhere.
To increase the loading speed of your main page you
should avoid large graphics or excessive graphics. To
many banners or special effects can cause a page to
load slowly as well.

To make your web site more appealing to the eyes, you
should stick to mild colors. If your site is a
content site where the user will be doing a lot of
reading, it is best to stick to black and white.
Color can be added when using tables, as a way to
brighten up the page, but remember to keep the overall
look of the page professional and appealing to the
audience that will be visiting most often. Since
screen resolutions vary among monitors, it is a good
idea to set the pixels to a standard 800x600. You may
also choose to set the tables in your web page to span
a percentage of the page rather than a set number of
inches. This will be sure to accommodate all screen
sizes. You should remember that a lot of Internet
users will not use the same browser as you, and
therefore you should be sure that your site looks as
good on other browsers as it does your own. You can
do this by downloading several browsers through which
to look at your page.

Be aware of the fact that the overall look of your
website is a way to make money. The appearance of the
site, if designed properly, can be an excellent
marketing strategy for your product or service.

About the Author:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.ProfitMakingSite.com
  

Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online

Click Here To Follow 3 Easy Steps And I Will Personally Build A Money Making Website For You That's 100% Ready To Take Orders And Pull In Massive Residual Profits...

Newbie Training Videos - 47 High Impact Internet Marketing "How To" Videos