Archive for August, 2008

Starting an affiliate program can be one of the easiest ways to start a home based business. The beauty of having an affiliate program is that you only pay your affiliates when you make money.

An affiliate program will allow you to save money while still achieving valuable advertising. It is the perfect marketing tool because you literally implement an automated advertising campaign that will promote your product or service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Starting an affiliate program should not be a bank breaking investment. You can hire an affiliate network such as Commission Junction, LinkShare or Performics (Google Affiliate Network), however the start up cost can be expensive and may not fit into your budget. An alternative is to purchase your own affiliate tracking software. This will allow you to start an affiliate program quickly without being required to develop your own software.

Cire Web Site Design & Hosting is using Post Affiliate Pro to manage the Cire Affiliate Network. The software is inexpensive and has many quality features. Post Affiliate Pro is a fully automated and flexible system which allows you to attract, motivate, and reward affiliates who grow your business.

If you cannot find an inexpensive web hosting service to host and support Post Affiliate Pro, contact Cire Web Site Design & Hosting. They have the expertise and experience in using and installing the Post Affiliate Pro tracking software.

Once your affiliate program is launched, a press release should be distributed. PRweb.com allows you to easily send the press release. If you pay them $80, they will guarantee that your press release is picked up by all major search engines, potentially sending you thousands of new affiliates willing to market your products and/or services.

The more affiliates that join your affiliate program, the more money you will make. Manage your affiliates as if they were your most valuable employees. Offer contests, incentives and other perks to keep them motivated.

Starting an affiliate program is a long term commitment and sometimes it may take a while before you really see your program taking off. Remember the main purpose of an affiliate program is to save money while still achieving valuable advertising. If you devote the time and effort to build an affiliate program and if you do it right, affiliate marketing will be your highest return on investment (ROI) of all your advertising efforts.

Affiliate marketing is a way for you to make money by placing advertisements on your Web site or E-Mail. It is also one of the most cost efficient methods to promote a business. You earn commissions by marketing and selling another person’s products or services.

Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing in which a business rewards its affiliates for the sales and marketing efforts that they undertake on its behalf. This is similar to multi level marketing and is a rage among users of the Internet, but it does not equate to build it and they will come.

Affiliate marketing is not complicated. However, it becomes complicated for people who fail to grasp the simplicity of it. At its core, affiliate marketing is user-friendly. An example of affiliate marketing is Amazon.com. Amazon provide links that affiliates place on their website. When visitors click on the Amazon link and make a purchase the affiliate earns a commission.

Cire Web Site Design & Hosting has an affiliate network that markets their affordable web design and hosting services. They pay $50.00 every time a visitor orders a web design. They also pay the affiliates $10.00 in commissions on sales made by anyone the affiliate recruits into their program. You can join their affiliate program be clicking on the following link: http://www.cirelive.com/join

Affiliate Marketing is not about generating “cheap” advertising but rather about developing profitable, strategic, long-term win-win relationships for both the merchant and the affiliate marketeer.

Choosing a Web Hosting Company

If you are currently engaged in any facet of online business, even service sectors, it is a safe assumption that you pay for hosting your website in some fashion.

Web Hosting choice often comes down to cost, speed, stability, and security.

Cost: While cost is an important factor in choosing a website hosting service, it should be your least important factor. There are many low cost hosting services available, but do they provide support, speed, stability, and security?

Dependence and support: Does the web hosting service provide 24×7 support? Do they respond rapidly to your issue? Can you depend on them?

Degree of reliability, security and speed of access: Speed, security and stability are extremely important for the success of any online business. While choosing a reliable web hosting service you need to ensure that this is taken care of. Your site also has to be secure of intruders at all times. A site that is not available, not updated on time or is down, will lose many online visitors. If an online visitor finds your site listed on a search engine, and he tries to access it but finds it down, he is will move on to the next link and you will lose a potential customer. Even slow working websites are very frustrating.

So how do you know if a hosting company is reliable or not? By word of mouth or feedback from others! If that’s not possible then let me recommend Cire Web Site Design & Hosting, they have been in business since 1996 and have a proven track record. They also guarantee a 99.9% up time and provide 24×7 support. Up time refers to the percentage of time your website is accessible via the Internet.

Web hosting is something that you should just purchase and forget about. Choosing a reliable web hosting company will allow you to focus on your customers, your business and your profitability.

Just for fun…we will assume (a bad idea!) that you are already in business. Your success will “HINGE” on your ability or savvy in hiring staff (personnel). This one responsibility will become your most important JOB!

Obviously, you have to FUND (money) the venture (your business). There are some things we will simply take for granted. You have to pay your staff; buy inventory; rent the building/office; pay for insurance; pay your lawyer and accountants. All of these expenses are automatic. No need to begin if you don’t have the money.

Hiring staff is extremely important. Get experts to help you set up your personnel department BEFORE you hire the first employee (unless it is your spouse or kids!).

You cannot LOOK at a person and make a judgment call simply because you LIKE them. I know, it may be your best friend. Don’t hire him/her! Usually a very bad decision. Remember, we are starting a business, not a buddy group where we will always eat together; work together; sing in the church choir together!

Do you get my point? Don’t do it! It is YOUR money! Your banker expects YOU to pay back the loan. No one else. YOU!! It is your neck that is on the line.

How do you go about hiring staff? Have you ever had the responsibility of hiring in a previous job? Deciding on the best candidate for you to hire? Maybe you have been the hiring authority for a previous employer; could have been a national firm or even a small privately owned firm. It really doesn’t matter. Could have been on a committee responsible for hiring your minister or the director of education or the choirmaster. The point is… this is an extremely important responsibility for any of us to undertake on behalf of our firm, church, association, fraternity, etc.

Investigate the Resume in Detail

It is estimated that over 40% of all resumes have some discrepancy….this means the truth has been stretched to make the person look better than they are. There are professional resume writers that know how to use words. Not always understood as presented…i.e. taking graduate courses, etc. (this apparently means to some that they are taking courses to graduate). I’m sure you understand the point. THEY ARE LIARS!

BUSINESS TIP: Inspect what you expect….an old saying but a wise one. HIRING a new employee is a critical process. Check backgrounds in DETAIL! Resumes are built by professionals…NOT on YOUR TEAM! Take absolutely No chances. Good employees WILL MAKE YOU. BAD EMPLOYEES WILL DESTROY YOU!

Mobile commerce is commonly referred to as mCommerce. It is the mobile version of e-commerce. mCommerce is where eCommerce was a few years ago, reasdy to explode over the next several years with many retailers from myriad industries all vying for the customer’s dollar. mCommerce will grow dramatically in the near future supporting simple to complex commerce transactions.

An Emerging Market

mCommerce is one of the most exciting ways that vendors can drive revenues and improve profit margins. It will dramatically enhance the customer experience both inside and outside the store. mCommerce applications can provide important assistance in acquiring and retaining customers while reducing the cost to service providers.

mCommerce can help consumers with quicker information access, increased productivity, and more timely responses to inquiries. It will give retailers the ability to service, sell and deliver to consumers anywhere, at anytime. mCommerce will help reduce operating cost and the risks associated with online Marketing. Mobile commerce has grown rapidly in Europe and Asia and it is only time before it dramatically takes off in the United States. One of the main factors contributing to the success mCommerce has experienced in Europe and Asia is directly related to the costs of mCommerce technology compared to the costs of substitute venues.

Mobile Phones

The Mobile phone is a great tool for merchants to diversify sales channels, expand the reach of their business, improve communications, and maximize profits. ShopRMall.com, a shopping portal that offers direct links, coupons, and special offers for online stores, has launched iphone.shoprmall.com, an iPhone/iPod Touch version of the ShopRMall site. The new site includes daily coupons and special offers along with easy access to over 1,000 name brand and specialty stores, all from a familiar iPhone interface.

Nearly all mobile phones, in Japan, have built-in bar-code readers, making it easy for users to scan a bar code from a magazine ad, which launches the phone’s Web browser and delivers the advertiser’s mCommerce storefront.

In the United States, only a small portion of mobile users are using their device for financial services but that number is expected to grow rapidly. mCommerce, is something that companies should not ignore. mCommerce will help them to reduce internal costs, improve relationships with customers, and build brand loyalty. One market leading financial services firm has stated that “early adopters have balances 10 times higher and trading volumes five time higher than average customers”.

Conclusion

mCommerce is here, and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes as familiar as a credit card transaction. It is certainly ready for the online merchant. mCommerce is an emerging market that offers huge opportunities for extending remote purchasing. Retailers should prepare for mCommerce by understanding how it works. This will ensure that their business stays ahead of their competition.