Internet Exploder Mishaps

There seems to be a lot of "Buzz" in the Internet marketing circles about the latest Microsoft gaff. A problem that opens up your system to all kinds of malware. Of course the gang from Redmond is down playing this problem. Check out the article and how to fix it here!

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=108579

Well It's finally here!

FINALS NIGHT!
Yes!
I just couldn't end my blog on a down note. So tonight is the big night we've been working for. The chance to see what we really have learned in the class. Good Luck to all, and if I forget to say so tonight I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season!
It's been fun!
TRM.

This D*#n Thing

I'm not sure I have experienced so much frustration trying to do something that seems so simple. I have been working with this Banner Ad for hours now and I guess I just don't get it.
All the tutorials and online help and I can't seem to figure it out. To make it look like I want it to. I think I have learned a valuable lesson here. "It's good to be exposed to this stuff but find someone to do it for you!"
I don't have enough years left to learn what I need to know to make money online if these are the types of challenges that I will face. OR maybe I should enroll in another class. Hey, how about the web-design class! Yeah, That should be easy RIGHT? There you go!
OK, that's it! I'm going to cry out... UNCLE !

Week 5 Affiliate marketing homework

After reviewing the four affiliate opportunities listed in our homework I have chosen to sign-up for RocketProfits. I felt that this affiliate program offered the widest varieties of possible profits. The questions we were required to answer about the programs are as follows;

A) What is the fee or commission structure?

The commission paid out are based on a case by case basis and some programs are quite lucrative.

B) How frequently are payments made to affiliates?

The payments are distributed on the 15^th of every month

C) Are there any restrictions on the types of marketing tools an affiliate can use?

Yes, RocketProfits will not pay for any sales generated from Social Networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Craigslist or Tagged.

D) What are terms under which the merchant can terminate the affiliate agreement?

RocketProfit reserves the right to suspend the agreement without notice at anytime.

Want to go Broke? Then don't read this article!

Well maybe that’s a little extreme. But I have something for you to think about. We’ve all heard about the trend of going "Green." Really it’s more than a trend. It will become a way of life to all of us not only in the equipment industry but in all major industries moving forward. It’s hard to keep your eye on the environment when you are dealing with customers, employees, competition and of course now the financial climate that permeates the news these days.

Would you like to save money on your marketing, help your sales staff get more involved with your day to day operation and help the environment?

I’m a big proponent of the internet. Obviously you are reading this e-mail because of the online marketing we do at EquipWholeSale. But how can you make that work for you and your company?

If you have an outside sales force or even inside counter people here is one way to increase your marketing coverage, decrease your sales cost, save money on fuel and there by help the environment.

First off. Does your company have a website? Now I don’t mean just a business card on the internet. I mean an interactive site that your customers can use to contact you? Does your sales staff use it in their marketing process?

How many hours a day do your sales people spend driving to and from jobsites or customers offices? Have you wondered if all these trips were necessary?

Let’s say that the average sales person is in the field for 6 hours a day. He or she makes 10-12 calls in those 6 hours. Now when I was in sales a GOOD call would only last maybe a half hour. Most are over much quicker than that. (Didn’t take long to throw me out of an office!) So let’s average that down to 20 minutes per call. 12 calls take 4 hours. Ok so 2 hours are spent driving back and forth to the jobsite or offices. It’s not uncommon for a sales rep to rack up a hundred miles in a day visiting those customers. Nothing you can do about that right? Well maybe there is!

How about if just one day during the week the sales rep worked from the office? Maybe two?

Using a combination of the telephone and e-mails a sales rep can make 15-20 good calls per hour. On the low side that’s 90 contacts per day!

I know I know this isn’t new news but I’m surprised to find that most sales people I talk to NEVER use the phone to prospect new business or keep in contact with existing customers.

The biggest objection I hear is "My customers WANT to SEE me!" and in some cases and situations that’s true. But they are busy too. And many times I’ve found that a quick phone call will work just as well and is less disruptive to the customer than a face to face meeting. Plus they will cover a lot more ground, make more commission and save the company money if you adopt this philosophy.

What’s this got to do with the website? Plenty! If you have an informative well designed website complete with a list of equipment that you offer to rent or sell, the marketing force can give the web address out to your customers and it can help to answer questions that your clients may have. And make sure you have your contact information on it and an easy way to e-mail you.

If you don’t have outside sales people you can have your counter people make calls to your customers from your customer list. And again promote that website!

You will be surprised to find out how much more productive your marketing effort will become if you employ these simple steps.

If you need help implementing this type of online marketing, give me a call or e-mail me. I would be glad to help in anyway I can!

Yours for quality buying and selling!

EquipWholeSale

Hosting Providers Comparison Post # 4

Hi Class,

Well I decided to do my assignment on Hosting Providers as with regards to Domain Names I feel I'm pretty well versed. Between 3 different Domain providers I have over 75 domain names. That's not to brag! Actually it's a little embarrassing. I get these great ideas and register the domain name and then I never do anything with them.

But... With regards to Hosting Providers I currently use 3 different services in addition to hosting several domains on my own server in my garage. Steve is right though, if the server is down, your site is down and you are not making any money.

That's why I don't host any of my bread and butter sites on my own server.

My favorite Hosting service is www.IXHosting.com I have used them for over 2 years for my www.equip4sale.com site and have found them to be very user friendly and very reliable.

My next favorite would be www.HostGater.com. I use them for my www.golfvideos4u.com and in addition to being the most cost effective the dashboard is very user friendly and support is very good. Last on the list of the services that I use is www.Yahoo.com. I only used Yahoo because I purchased my original Domain Names there and didn't know any better.

In conclusion you should shop around and see which one you feel the most comfortable with and can use with the level of your personal abilities.

Domain Names

Here are three domain names that I would like to work on:

http://www.golfweasel.com/

http://www.moneycanmakeyourich.com/

http://www.divineaging.com/

One is a merchandising idea
the next is an Internet marketing promo idea.
Lastly is a health care idea.