TOO MANY ORDERS? WHAT A GREAT PROBLEM TO HAVE!

Drop Shipping:

Problem Solver or Just Another Expense ?

Many soon-to-be, on-line entrepreneurs create business plans that assume that these fledging, commercial sites will handle order fulfillment in-house. That means the Chairman of the Board and CEO will not only empty the waste baskets, she’ll also pack up orders and make a daily trip to the post office.

With any start up, “cash is king.” You need it for everything from hosting fees to site development to postage stamps. Oh, then there’s inventory – 2000 basketballs stored in the spare room. Most start-ups handle every chore, and for some that’s fine. For others, that daily trip to the post office is the least productive chore of the day.

Drop Shippers

These companies are in the business of order fulfillment and there are two kinds in this broad category. The first ships only products it manufactures or distributes. You’ll often see these companies in affiliate programs wherein your site captures the order, it’s sent automatically to the company warehouse from where the product is shipped. You receive a commission and/or flat rate on each affiliate sale you make. That’s drop shipper type one.

The second is the drop shipper for hire. They’ll store your inventory in their warehouse (usually for a fee) then pack and ship as orders are received from you. Some of these businesses are also called fulfillment houses. In addition, most fulfillment houses will assemble, pack and ship items so if “some assembly is required,” look for an active fulfillment house. By the way, it doesn’t have to be close by as long as they have an email address so, if cost is a factor, consider outsourcing assembly and shipping overseas.

In any case, shop around and do some comparison shopping for your shipping. This is a highly-competitive niche sector so you can find good value for your money. And haggling is allowed most times so engage in some negotiation before accepting the drop shippers “standard” S&H fees.

Do I Need One?

Well, obviously if your product is information (data) then no, you don’t need one. But, if you plan to sell a product, or lots of products, consider hiring a drop shipper. Here’s why.

Let’s say you sell aquarium supplies on line and on a typical day you receive 30 new orders. (Good going, btw). Okay, first you need the room to store your inventory. It must be dry and secure. The garage may not be the best place to store aquarium supplies.

Then, you have to pull the 30 orders. Some will include multiple items. Once pulled, you must review the paperwork to determine which customer receives which item(s). Then, there’s the actual packing with bubble wrap or popcorn, taping and securing. An address label must be affixed. The package must be weighed and proper postage glued in place.

Next, load the packages (some are heavy), drive to the post office, wait in line, off-load 30 packages, go back to the office and finally get to work. You can see how much of each day is taken up with shipping and handling. And even if you put the kids to work handling orders, how long do you think that’s going to last?

Lots of start-ups begin as part-time jobs. Come home each day from your 9-to-5 job and start working on your digital dream. In this case, you could find yourself wrapping orders at midnight when that dream starts to look more like a nightmare.

There’s no doubt that drop shipping should be included in many on-line business plans. If you’ve got the time and patience to do it yourself, great. Save the money. But remember, you’re giving up business-building time to handle administrative chores.

How much?

Of course, it depends on how long it takes the drop shipper to wrap an order, its weight, postal zone and other unpredictable factors – another good reason to shop around. The lowest per unit price may not be the lowest total cost if the package is being shipped from half-way around the world.

With affiliate programs, all shipping and handling is managed by the mother company so you don’t have to worry about it. It’s already figured into your commission or fee.

The key is to figure what your time is worth and how it should best be spent - packing orders or building your business to increase the number of orders that need processing each day.

If you're getting too many orders to handle, you've got the best problem in the world.

Part of the success of any web-based business is a procedures model that works. Right products, right tone for the web site, convenienece, trust - all have to be a part of the procedures you employ in order to build a stable base of clients or customers.

Drop me a line. Web success requires planning for growth and, on line, growth can come in the blink of an eye.

Webwordslinger.com

MONETIZE YOUR WEB BIZ: SUPERCHARGE SITE REVENUES

Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

It Does and Here’s How

Affiliate marketing can make you a lot of money – in some cases, more than you make on direct sales. The owner of a popular web site for information on women’s health averages $400 a day just in affiliate earnings. And he’s just begun. Adding affiliate marketing to your plan for an on-line business may make a so-so idea a great idea.

What is affiliate marketing?

It’s pretty simple, actually. You become an affiliate of another company that maintains a web site. You place a link to the home site on your “affiliate” site. Then, whenever a visitor to your site clicks through to the home site and performs the MDA (most desired action) you make money.

With some companies, you get a flat fee for each “referral.” Other companies will cut you in on the total spent by one of your customers. Either way, it’s totally passive income (you don’t have to do anything in addition) and it’s a great way to increase the bottom line productivity of your site. If you do it right.

How do I find companies that have affiliate programs?

There are sites that do nothing but hook up web store owners with affiliates. Two of the most popular are Commission Junction and Click Bank. These sites (and others) list hundreds of companies with affiliate programs. On some sites, you can see a list of interested companies. On others, you have to sign up and open an account first, which is no big deal.

Each affiliate agreement is different so be sure to read and understand all of the agreement a company offers. You’ll find companies that are huge, multi-national conglomerates to Pete’s Drywall, all willing to take you on as a partner in selling their goods or services.

There’s another way to become an affiliate – one that can return even more. If you see a product that you think your site visitors would buy, call the producer or the distributor of the item on the telephone or drop the company an email through its company site expressing interest in selling the company’s products on your web site.

It’s not a tough sale because it’s a “no-lose” proposition for the company – it doesn’t cost them anything – so you’re in a good position to negotiate a good deal. All you have to do is capture the sale, pass on order information to the manufacturer and enjoy your margins on each sale you make. Now, instead of being an affiliate, you’ve become a retailer buying at wholesale (usually 40% below retail) and selling at retail. This strategy has worked well for many successful sites and it’s brought in a lot more companies that now recognize the value of these affiliate marketing programs. This gives you more options, but read on. You don’t want to overdo this thing.

What’s the most desired action (MDA)?

In many cases, the MDA is pretty obvious. The visitor has to make a purchase. If the click-through doesn’t buy anything, you don’t make any money. Some companies identify a customer as “yours” for a period of time – six months to forever – and you receive payment even if the visitor returns a few weeks later.

Sometimes, however, the MDA is something other than making a purchase. In some cases, the MDA is an opt-in. If the visitor from your site signs up for a weekly newsletter you get paid. The home site develops a very nice database of subscribers and now that the company and individual subscriber have a relationship, the company can contact the new subscriber and it doesn’t fall into the spam category. Many companies use newsletters or other products (e-books, for example) as bait to build a subscriber list. They then follow up with a series of auto-responders – computer-managed e-mail campaigns – to solicit additional business from the opt-in.

Finally, the MDA may be the completion of a form. It may be an application for a new mortgage or your opinion on world events. You, the affiliate, only get paid when a visitor from your site completes the form.

From this, you can see that the MDA might be harder to achieve if it’s an opt-in or a form to be completed. These are discretionary actions. They aren’t necessities. You’ll have more success if you become an affiliate of a company that sells products. Often, these are needs-driven sales so you’ll see a higher conversion rate.

How do I know how much I’ve earned?

When you decide to become an affiliate, you register with Commission Junction and/or Click Bank and you open an account. These companies then manage all of the book work for a small percentage, of course, but you know you’re being paid what’s coming to you.

With your registered account, you can also track your progress each month. You can see how much each affiliate is making for you, how many have clicked on the link and how many have performed the MDA.

There’s absolutely no hassles or additional bookkeeping involved. All you’re doing is renting a little space on your site in return for (hopefully) steady revenue each month.

How do I choose the companies that I want to work with?

You have to do your research. Take your time. Compare programs.

For example, you’ll find a number of companies listed on Commission Junction that sell products specifically for children. If your site is “family-oriented,” you could become an affiliate of all of these companies, but some are going to draw more attention from visitors than others. It helps to know what your customers like, and what they want and need.

Now, it’s not a good idea to load up your web site with affiliate links. It makes your home page look cluttered, for one thing. But more importantly, each one of these links is a doorway off of your site. With dozens of doorways to other sites, you may find that you’re losing direct sales in exchange for affiliate earnings. Not a good idea.

You have to grow your business, your mainline, direct sales business, and view affiliate income as an adjunct to your main revenue stream. Chances are, if you load up your site with affiliate links, you’ll lose in the search engine page rank competition, too. Spiders will count up those links and, if there are too many, identify your site as a “links farm” – a site that simply contains links to other sites in order to generate PPC and affiliate income. Basically, a waste of time for the search engine user and a big no-no for site owners.

Limit the number of companies with which you partner. Select the company that offers the best terms and has the widest brand recognition within a particular product category, i.e., children’s toys, children’s furniture, kids clothes and so on. This, of course, assumes the site is kid-related, which gets us to another critical consideration when selecting companies with which you might do business.

Don’t become an affiliate of a company that sells products that aren’t related to the topicality of your own site. If you sell home furnishings, a link to a tire company, no matter how good the terms, is not going to do you any good.

First, it’s not going to generate many click-throughs because the visitors arriving on your site are looking for drapes or a couch, not snow tires. Second, and more importantly, search engines take a very dim view of this type of non-related link. Remember the prime objective of a search engine is to deliver relevant, useful results to its users. Well, if you have a link to a tire manufacturer on your home décor site, spiders will determine that’s a useless link and you’ll get spider-slammed.

Stick with links that will actually help your visitors further their searches, but don’t overstuff your site with affiliate links. It won’t deliver the desired results and you may get hurt in your PR.

Affiliate sales are growing and more site owners are using them to grow their bottom lines. Just move with care, read the complete affiliate agreement and don’t turn your site into a links farm. Follow those simple guidelines and watch your revenues grow – fast!

CAN A MACHINE DETERMINE CONTENT QUALITY? PEOPLE CAN'T EVEN DO IT!

Sometimes metrics deliver mixed signals that can lead to assumptions that are like totally bogus.

Quality content makes Google bots happy, and metrics glow.

Bask in the glow of quality.

BOYCOTT CONTENT SPAM

How Does Google Measure Quality, Any Way?

64% Of Search Engine Users Want to Know

Google owns search engine marketing with 64% of all search traffic, and seems to be solidifying that position by, not only providing directions to content, but by being the content provider as well. Type in the flavor of the week in Google’s query box and up pops links to print content, but now Google offers a “Watch Video” button (where vid-clips are an option, of course) keeping you on Google. No more YouTube. Google finds and provides the content.

But Google doesn’t just want content. It wants good content. (Maybe they should check some of the garbage on YouTube?) Fresh content. Green, informative content that hasn’t appeared already on 100 different sites. Naturally, this hasn’t prevented the sewer rats of the W3 from purchasing software that “generates” (in the broadest sense of the word) content.

There are lots of tools that’ll jiggle your nouns and verbs, and the text looks new to a spider but it’s going to leave a human reader wondering what planet the author came from. Software like spam site generators (create site and content by the long ton), automated text generators (just add words in no particular order) and scrapping tools to spread this hackneyed tripe is the cheap way to go. Ah, but you are wrong, grasshopper.

Content is NOT King

Every SEO and SEM professional will tell you content is king. Not true.

Even these so-called professionals confuse quantity of content to quality. Content generators can crank out pages by the ream but a lot of it is going to be gibberish – at least to human readers. Spiders gobble up letter strings so as long as those strings taste different, you score for the green.

Other site owners buy 100 cheapie articles at a buck a piece, written by an outsource in Bangalore. These articles sound as though they were written by ESL writers and I wouldn’t bet a nickel on authenticity. When you’re getting a buck for the piece, double checking isn’t a high priority.

Google defines quality content as “…link-worthy content which is original, conceptually unique and serves as a useful resource for information.” The Mighty Google continues,”…it refers to the text of your website. Though keywords matter in your page copy, your page should not look like a keyword studded page [designed for] search engine robots. You should write for your site visitors focusing on readability and usefulness.”

Now, that’s what Google says. Right from the company’s own site. But it appears that Google talks a good game, but those Google spiders ain’t so smart.

What is Quality Content?

Even Goog-people are a little vague on this one. Informative? According to whose criteria? Conceptually unique? There hasn’t been a new idea since eBay. Useful resource? How does a search engine evaluate whether the information is useful.?

It can count the number of bounces, but that’s not a measure of usefulness. It can determine if visitors go to other sites in search of other information. Okay, that doesn’t demonstrate that the first site had insufficient and/or unreliable information. The visitor could simply continue his or her search so no judgment calls here.

In fact, the only barometers of content quality that search engines have are social book marking sites and cookies. Without digg.com, no one would ever notice that piece on refraction you worked so hard to produce and upload.

The point is, search engines are limited in determining quality. Quality is 100% subjective so what’s quality to one person is “classy” (said in a Brooklyn accent while chewing gum) to another reader. It’s amazing, if the reader likes the piece, chances are s/he agrees with the opinions or views expressed. Vice-versa, too.

So Does This Mean You Can Ignore Content Quality?

Not quite, genius.

Spiders may not be able to tell the difference between Hemingway and me, but readers sure can and readers have come to expect quality content:

• Content that is accurate. (site your sources and stop making up stuff).
• Content that does NOT sell; it informs and teaches.
• Content that is written for the reading and skill levels of the ideal visitors.
• Content that isn’t simply a cut and paste job. Inject some of you into what you write. It makes it more…personal.
• Short and sweet. If I wanted to read a book I wouldn’t be sitting at this computer.

Forget the spam generators, the robo-writers and the dollar an article guys, NOT to appease the search engine gods but to keep your visitors on-site longer. Oh, and it’d be real swell if they book marked your site, too.

Now, they’re regulars and it’s all because your wrote it. Straight up and from the heart. Now that’s something Google won’t tell you, but it will grow your revenues. The fact is, people are surprised to find good content on the web (there’s so little of it) that when they do, they bookmark the site and keep coming back…

…exactly what you want them to do.

If you're building your first web site, or simply contemplating the possibilities, drop me line and welcome to the jungle. We're all trying to manipulate the machine.

Webwordslinger.com

BUILDING TURST AND CREDIBILITY WEB-WISE

ARE YOU THE CAT EVERYBODY'S

RAPPIN' 'BOUT?

BECOME AN AUTHORITY AND YOU SOON WILL BE.

Become a W3 Mover & Shaker:

Authority Works for Small Service Providers

You may have a sleek-looking site design for your service-oriented business and wonder why you don’t see better conversion ratios – even if you are the best financial advisor/real estate agent/accountant/attorney or other service provider looking for some business via the world wide web.

The issue may not be your site, its design, navigation accessibility or content. The issue may be you and the ability to trust you. It’s true, on the web no one knows you’re a dog. Or a mover and shaker who employs digital technology to build professional authority. Without this authority, it’s much more difficult to build trust and without trust…well, you get the idea.

The Invaluable Value of Trust

Think about it. Every time a stranger contacts you, there’s the demonstration of some level of trust on the part of the new prospect. Either you were recommended by a close friend (WOM, word of mouth advertising), your yellow pages ad looked professional, the stranger heard you speak – there are lots of ways to build trust. But it’s critical to growing a client base. It’s also self-perpetuating. The more people who benefit from your advice or message, the more respected you become. And the more respected you become, the more people you reach.

Building trust is one of the most important and difficult tasks facing a site owner. Building you professional authority online simplifies the task, though you still have to know your stuff.

Building Authority – Seven Easy (But Time-Consuming) Steps

Sorry, it is a time consuming, labor intensive task to create the image that projects authority and creates confidence within your market segment. For example, a web owner, who uses hypnosis, meditation, and other alternative medicine protocols, changed the picture of himself on the home page.

1. Picture Yourself Properly

The home page used to show this alternative healer in a three-piece suit – standard corporate shot. The site was getting hits but the conversion ratio wasn’t up to par. So, the site owner started paying more attention to his clients’ clothing. Believers in alternative medicine come from all demographic strata, but this therapist saw a lot of old hippies – boomers moving into seniority.

So, he had a beautiful muslin robe embroidered, completely changed the backdrop (no more office with shelves of books; just green, sunshiny love). And more specifically, targeted his marketing, changing his online image from three-piece suit to a flowing robe. The change in conversions was almost immediate. Within 90 days, the site owner had nearly doubled his opt-in rate and saw an increase in sales of several meditation CDs that had languished in the warehouse. But that’s just the beginning.

2. Publish a book.

Being an author is a great way to build authority and credibility. Even if you can’t write a lick, you know your business (you’d better if you’re writing a book), so outline your key points, log on to elance.com and hire yourself a freelance writer.

Make sure you state that this is a work-for-hire project, that you will own the copyright upon final payment and make the writer sign a non-disclosure agreement. You can find samples all over the web.

Now, you can sell this book directly on your web site, delivering passive revenues. You can also sell the text on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other book outlets, assuming you go to the trouble and expense of printing the text.

Managing book orders from retail outlets can generate cash and creds, but you may also spend four hours each day prepping that day’s orders, so think about it.

3. Blog relevant sites.

If you’re a CFP, blog personal finance sites.

Sites with blogs are looking for new, user-generated content – especially if it’s well-written, on topic and downright pithy. So, as a certified financial planner, post well-written, insightful responses to other blog posts. In open blogs, start your own threads with short, 600-word-max posts. Then, track those posts, respond to them and keep building longer and longer blog threads.

Be sure to include you full name (don’t use your screen name) and your site’s URL. This way, blog readers from other sites will be intrigued by your thoughtful thoughts and link back to you to read more. Each blog post with a back link creates interconnectivity, essential to long-term site success.

4. Use the latest media.

Podcasts are easy to produce and disseminate. These voice-only pieces put a voice to your words and allow the listener to better gauge your qualifications. Easy, low-cost and trust building.

Webcasts add pictures to the pod casts. Now the visitor can see and hear you. The impression the you make on film is the impression people will take with them. If you come across as a confident, reliable and 100% no-nonsense professional, you build trust. Conversely, if you stammer your way through the webcast production, sweating buckets the whole time, you’ll do more harm than good.

Webcasts are produced once, uploaded to the site and left as site elements. Note that this is still one way communication. The authority talks. The visitor listens. This is fine for a once-over lightly. However, remember, the listener has to listen at the pace of the speaker. If the content is dense, the frustrated webcast listener may not want to rewind so keep your web casts on point, simple and use graphics when you get to the hard stuff.

Webinars are interactive. They are scheduled for a certain time or times of the month. Visitors sign up, sometimes free, other times for a fee. If you’re simply trying to build name recognition within your niche, keep webinars free.

Webinars are live, moderated by an expert who delivers a presentation. Attendees can contact the expert with questions via IM, telephone or email. Webinars are an excellent means of building credibility and generating revenue – especially if the information delivered has real value. Fluff is NOT acceptable.

5. Sign Up With Yahoo Answers

People email their questions. Once you’ve registered as an authority within your field, you can answer questions from Yahoo users. It’s pro bono but who cares. It’s a great reputation builder.

6. Syndicate content.

Write articles and submit them to syndication sites like goarticles.com or helium.com. Syndicated content delivers a couple of authority-building benefits.

First, these articles are picked up by other sites and used for content. In return, each user-site provides a link back to your site. Great. A prospect reads your insightful comments and is immediately provided with a link to your site where s/he can learn more about your, your company, your credentials and the services you offer.

Second, each time an article is picked up, it has your name on it as the author, your URL, too. So, when potential clients Google your name, you have a few pages of links to show off, thanks to all of those sites that picked up your article. Again, if writing isn’t your forte, hire a ghost to do the heavy lifting and send the articles out with your name on them. That’s what ghost writers do.

7. Register with speaker bureaus.

There are lots of them. Some specialize in specific areas – medical speakers, business speakers, financial speakers and so on.

Find the bureau that specializesin, or at least has a category for your expertise. Write a short autobiography, describe your presentation in terms of scope, length, special requirements, etc. And finally, list your fees.

Some speakers like the big auditoriums, others prefer the corporate round table where ideas can really fly. One note, speakers are expected to provide their own PowerPoint programs, hand-outs and other takeaways. Before registering with a speaker bureau, make sure all of these materials are either in development, or in the can, as they say in the media biz.

Credibility is the number one weapon in the small service-provider’s marketing kit. Building credibility and authority is time-consuming. There’s a lot of research and writing involved. But, if you’re running on empty and you’d like to see more business funnel through your web site, build your authority and become a mover and shaker within your industry.

You’ll like being the trendsetter. You’ll like the trust and the increase in confidence. And you’re going to love what authority does to your bottom line. Love it!

Starting to see some web success? Cool, and congratulations. Ah, but now what? How do you move to that next level? And what's a mastermind, any way? Let's talk about branding You. Give me a call and let's see how to do this best.

Content Syndication: Build Links The Easy Way

NOT ONLY DOES CONTENT SYNDICATION CREATE IN-BOUND LINKS, IT'S ALSO A TRUST BUILDER WITH SITE VISITORS.

POST YOUR EXPERT AUTHOR BADGES WITH PRIDE. YOU'VE EARNED THEM.

Content Syndication:

A Links-Building Strategy That Actually Works

Do a little Google research and you’ll quickly discover that there are a million e-books, seminars and webinars about building links to your site. If your site isn’t plugged into the grid – a stand-alone – you’re all but ignored by search engines because your site has no context. Search engine spiders can’t determine your site’s taxonomy – the categorization of the site into a class or group based on the site’s topicality.

Search engines look for links to and from your site. If you have a lot of reciprocal links (link exchanges), you score some points but you’re not knocking ‘em dead. Spiders know a link exchange when they encounter one so a reciprocal link has less value than a non-reciprocal link – an in-bound link without an outbound link connecting back.

The Value of the Non-Reciprocal Site Link

Spiders crawl a site and assess what they find based on top-secret formulae called algorithms. These algorithms are complex weightings of various site components. So, for example, content that changes often (green content) is a plus built into the search engine algorithm. Thus, a site that provides fresh, informational content scores higher than one that’s as stale as last week’s doughnuts. Spam – useless gibberish created just to attract search engines – loses you points in the SEO Sweepstakes, too.

Now, there are plenty of search engine optimization (SEO) pros willing to take your money to show you how to improve or optimize your site so that it moves up in the search engine rankings. Less face it, if your site is entombed on page 68 of Google’s SERPs you won’t generate much organic (search engine driven) traffic.

One thing that spiders look for in assessing the quality or usefulness of a site is the number of non-reciprocal links connected to that site. Why? Because it’s an indicator of quality and utility. That’s why other site owners are recommending that their site visitors click off and go to your site. Quite a feather in your cap, eh? Collect enough non-reciprocal links and search engines may come to “see” you as an authority site. This coveted designation moves you right to the top of search engine results pages.

Bottom line: spiders use links as a measurement in site assessment. The more quality non-reciprocal, inbound links there are, the higher the site ranks (page rank or PR).

Content Creates Links

Good, fresh content is a highly-prized commodity on the world wide web because search engine spiders like to see up-to-date, relevant information for their users. Spiders take snapshots of each website they visit. It’s called the cache view on SERPs. When a spider crawls a site, it compares the cache with the current content. If nothing has changed, your content will ultimately be considered stale and, as a result, you’ll fall in the SERPs.

Every site needs new content and one way they get it is through article syndication.

Web Article Syndication

If you’re an expert on the subject of your web site, you can develop non-reciprocal in-bound links through article syndication. It’s perhaps the least expensive, most effective means of improving your site’s search engine ranking.

There are sites like goarticles.com and ezine.com that syndicate content within a wide variety of categories. This content (articles) is posted by the author and is free for the taking by any web site for display.

The way you benefit? Part of the deal is that any site that uses your article must provide a link back to your site. At the end of an article on antique watches you’ll see an author’s box that says something like:

Author John Smith is an authority on antique watches and offers free

appraisals at johnsmithantiques.com

That’s a non-reciprocal link which is given more value than a simple link exchange.

The Benefits of Web Content Syndication

The most obvious benefit, from the SEO perspective, is that every site that picks up John Smith’s antique watch article must provide a non-reciprocal, in-bound link to Mr. Smith’s website. So, if Smith’s article is picked up and used by a couple of dozen web sites, he’ll end up with a number of inbound links from a single article.

Now, if Smith then writes an article on antique sideboards, posts it on goarticles.com or some other content syndicator and gets picked up by more sites, the number of non-reciprocal inbound links continues to grow.

Onceagain, these inbound links are considered more valuable by search engine spiders than plain link exchanges. The fact that a site has linked to you without a reciprocal link is an indicator that your site is worth visiting, at least according to the referring site owner. In addition, you’re becoming a recognized authority on the topic pf your site. A two-fer!

Some Precautions

Perhaps the most important precaution is to limit the number of sites that post one of your articles. One thing spiders don’t like is duplicate content so if your article currently appears on 20 different sites, you’ll get credit for the in-bound links but the value of those links will be diminished because of that duplicate content. It’s all over the web!

Make sure you track the sites that are picking up your articles. Just Google your name or the title of the article to see what pops up. Visit each site to make sure that the promised link back to your site is there. Also make sure that your content isn’t being used for illegal or unscrupulous purposes. You write a piece on options investing and all of a sudden it’s being used as a “testimonial” by some sleazy scam artists selling options contracts to little old ladies. You have the right to request the removal of your article and most sites will comply. If they don’t, notify the syndicator who may deny additional content to the offending site.

What If I Can’t Write?

This is one links-building strategy that works. There’s enough cyber world evidence to prove that. However, if you can’t string words together to create a useful, informational article, find someone who can.

Your spouse, neighbor, even your kid might have a hidden writer just waiting for the chance to blossom. Or, you can find SEO copywriters on sites like guru.com and elance.com. Some of these professional writers (be careful who you choose) know how to craft an article that’ll get picked up by lots of sites that are topically related to your site. Keep track of how many sites run the piece at one time so you don’t overexpose it. You can find that information on the syndicator’s site.

Finally, to amortize your costs in money and/or time, re-use articles. After you’ve removed a piece from the syndication list, wait 12 months and repost it. You’ll pick up a bunch of new sites willing to publish the piece and you’ll have a bunch of new, non-reciprocal, inbound links that’ll make your site shine in the eyes of search engine spiders.

Content syndication creates lots of links. It has for me and my site. So stop by. A few well-laced articles can easily pay for themselves in a few days. Piece o' cake.

Webwordslonger.com

Problems With Order Fulfillment? What A Great Problem To Have.

HOW MANY ORDERS WILL YOU SHIP TODAY AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO PROCESS THOSE ORDERS?

You tumble out of bed, grab a cup of last night’s coffee, log on to your website and see you had a good night. 20 orders. That’s the great thing about the web. Somebody’s always buying somewhere – even when you’re sleeping.

So, how you going to spend your day? Filling orders and running down to the UPS pick-up before the last brown truck leaves for the coast? And what about inventory? How many silver-plated nut bowls can you stack in the spare room?

Success comes fast on the web, especially when word of mouth gets out there, on a global scale, that your nut bowls are the best. So, are you prepared for success when it smacks you with 250 orders in a single day? This is definitely one of those “be-careful-what-you-wish-for” things.

Order Fulfillment: Fast and Right

I can go to the big box store up the road and buy a computer. And I walk out of the store with my new laptop play thing and start to download games as soon as I get home. So, in buying from you, 12 time zones away, I actually make a trade-off. Okay, I’ll buy from your online outlet, put off the buyer’s rush and wait “3 to 5 business days” for delivery. (Longest three days ever!) In exchange, you save me a few dollars over the box store’s price and deliver my goodie quickly and in perfect working order.

When you’re competing against the real world, where the buyer receives instant gratification from the purchase, you better make sure you deliver each order you get quickly and correctly – right product, in mint condition, within the delivery window. So, are ready for site success? Do you have a Plan B to follow when your product catches fire and becomes the next “must have?”

The long-term growth of your web-based business depends on repeat buyers. It costs you six times as much to add a new customer to the roster than it does to maintain a good relationship with an existing, satisfied buyer. So, S&H should be more than an item on your “to-do” list.

What Are the Options?

It depends on how to best use your time.

If you’re a one-man band operating out of your house, you do it all – shipping and handling included. And, if you’re only shipping 10 orders a day you can probably handle that.

First, open a business account with one of the big shipping companies – UPS, FedEx or some other carrier. These companies have accounts for small businesses that offer plenty of time-saving benefits- like free pick-up on your front porch.

Maintain meticulous order tracking records. You should be able to track all packages through your carrier account and address delays before they become a problem. Stay on top of each order throughout the purchase cycle.

Create a dedicated packing space – the place you keep all packing materials. Create a system that employs as much automation as possible: computer-generated shipping labels, database automation, automated pick-up notifications, auto-responders and other solutions. In fact, if you’re using a quality web host, give their “business solutions” professional a call to see how you can sync up your database with your order-processing procedures.

The other option is to use an order fulfillment house – a company that does nothing but fill orders for lots of different clients. Some of these businesses provide turnkey client care, providing telephone reps to take orders, packing, shipping, inventory storage and so on. In other words, you sign off on order fulfillment and put the time you spend each day tearing sheets of bubble wrap to more productive use – like marketing.

If you’ve got a good product that’s selling well, you should be spending more time on finding new products, marketing the site and integrating all promotional activities if you maintain a real word retail outlet.

Shipping and Handling: Best Practices

• It’s tempting, but don’t use shipping and handling to extend your margins on sales. There are lots of sellers charging $5.95 for shipping and handling when the actual cost is $2.50. Nobody’s fooling nobody.

• You aren’t in the shipping and handling business. You’re in retail. You sell products. Secure your margins on the product line and keep shipping costs low in the red-hot web marketplace.

• Reassure the buyer with regular, automated emails: order received (with order number and tracking info) should be in the buyer’s inbox almost immediately, shipping date, order shipped and a follow-up customer satisfaction request.

• Don’t back order. This infuriates many buyers and will certainly lead to a lot of order cancellations, costing you money and time. If you don’t have the product in the warehouse or garage, remove the item from the site until you receive product from the wholesaler. Or, at least notify the buyer that the item is on back order. Then, if they still want to order you won’t be dashing buyer expectations.

• Immediately notify the customer of any shipping delays and provide an opt-out link that makes it easy for the buyer to cancel the order. Remember, customer good will goes a long, long way toward business success and a customer who can return items quickly and easily, or a buyer who can cancel an order before it’s shipped, is a happy buyer. Even if you don’t make the sale this time, you’ve created invaluable good will. And that creates word of mouth success.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep. A disappointed customer is a lost opportunity, and one you’re unlikely to recover. Exceed buyer expectations. You develop a client base that grows your site to real profitability and financial freedom faster. You also create positive webuzz – WOM marketing on a global scale.

Good client care keeps your business moving forward. You see the progress in the form of repeat buyers and buyers who recommend your site to their friends because they got it fast and right from you.

Look, if order fulfillment has become a headache, you know what to do. Drop me a line or give me a call and let's go over your options. What a great problem to have!

Webwordslinger.com

E-COMMERCE AIN'T FOR EVERYBODY. ARE YOU REALLY READY?

Should You Own an E-Biz?

Maybe You Should Think About This.

You read about the success stories and figure if those two teenagers can make a million on the web, so can you. Sorry, ain’t necessarily so – even if you’ve been in brick-and-mortar retail for a decade or two, the rules are different, the dynamics are different, marketing is different. It’s like comparing apples and applesauce. Sort of the same but not really.

So, here are a few questions to ask yourself before you decide to launch the next Amazon or YouTube. BTW, honesty counts. Don’t fool yourself as you answer, and no, this will not appear on your permanent record.

1. Are you ready to learn a new technology?

Actually a lot of new technologies. For instance, are you wiling to learn how to send out an auto-responder series and what that’s going to cost? Do you know what an auto-responder is??

The commercial web is a vicious, dog-eat-dog marketplace and if you’re going to compete, you’ll have to learn everything from keyword density to content management systems. Are you ready? If so, move on to question number two.

2. Do you have the time to run an online business?

A lot of new site owners picture a site with affiliate links and Google AdWords that magically draws traffic and returns pretty much a nice passive income each month. Ah, if only it worked like that.

But how are you going to get people to your site? They won’t find you on Google or Yahoo. You’ll be listed on page 121 of the search engine results pages so before you see some of that “passive” click-through cash, you have to get traffic to visit your site.

Think you can devote the time to run an online business? You can if you’re retired or a stay-at-home parent, but what if you put in long days at the office? Will you be eager to get to work on your real business – your online business? If your answer is yes, please move on to the next question.

3. Do you have the financial resources to grow an e-business to profitability?

The web is the last bastion for the do-it-yourself entrepreneur. However, there are expenses involved in launching and overseeing a cyberstore. There are web hosting costs, marketing costs (marketing should account for 60% of your initial capital outlay), the cost of inventory, shipping and so on.

You can get started on a shoestring and maintain a website for less than $7.00 a month – and that’s with a web host that offers a full bag of tools and a lot of other freebies (like free domain registration). But once you’ve launched, you have to market and, if you want traction quickly, you’re going to have to spend money to make money, just as you would in any start-up business.

4. Do you have access to support?

‘Cause you’re going to need it, unless you’re already a “behind-the-curtain” online commerce veteran. Sources for support?

Your kid probably knows more about computer security than you do. Your spouse may have a penchant for writing great sales copy. Your neighbor is a techno-whiz. There’s also tons (yes, tons) of information on the web – all free. Hey, reading this isn’t costing you a penny.

If you try to go it alone you may be overwhelmed by the learning curve. While you’re learning about keyword generators you’ll also be learning about content architecture, site navigation, product placement, affiliate programs and on and on.

The point is, you can learn all this stuff quickly – it’s not rocket science – but, at least in the start up phase, put together a list of sources that can support the effort. And don’t forget tech support.

You want access to U.S.-based tech support from your web host (when your server is down you’re out of business), the manufacturers of your business system, whether a single computer in the spare room or an ever-expanding network of work stations, and, of course, you want access to tech support or vendor support from the companies that produce the products you sell.

5. Do you like working with others?

You may be working alone at home but as an e-biz owner you are anything but alone. If you do it right you’ll be contacting wholesalers, drop shippers, customers, tech support personal and on and on.

An online business quickly becomes a part of your social network. You’ll make lots of e-friends and you’ll never be alone – even when you’re alone taking care of baby #2. Scared yet? No? Good for you. We’re almost to the finish line.

6. Do you have patience?

No matter how good you are, no matter how much of an SEO/SEM expert you are, success is almost always an evolutionary process with each new generation or iteration producing better and better results.

That means that you spend a lot of time on webmaster sites and designer blogs learning the minutia that’s now become such an important aspect of your site’s success. If you expect to turn a profit within the first week or two, it’s not going to happen. However, if

you can hang in there and overcome setbacks (all part of the game), your chances for success increase significantly.

7. Are you self-motivated?

When the alarm clock goes off and you’re faced with commuter traffic, you’re motivated – motivated to get to your desk at work on time. Working for someone else provides external motivation. You show up at work on time every day because you have to.

Not so when you run your own business. Sleep ‘til noon. Go see a movie or watch your stories on TV. If you aren’t motivated to get up, grab some coffee and log on in your PJs, you may have trouble getting down to business everyday.

The successful web entrepreneur can’t sleep. Her mind is racing and she’s at the computer at 3:00 AM – and loving it. You’re going to need that level of commitment, that drive and motivation to be one of the web success stories. No matter how many “How to Make a Million Bucks on the Web” books you read, you still need “the right stuff” to pull it off.

You have to be motivated to work long hours, to study new trends in web design (more interactivity, please) and to sit there over another cup of highly caffeinated coffee analyzing your sites metrics.

And you know what? You’re going to love every second of it. Go for it and may success greet you on Digital Boulevard.

A Cash Flow Timetable

There are lots of ways to monetize a site. The easiest for start-ups (that’s who we’re talking to today) is by signing up for affiliate programs that pay you for referrals (checkout www.cj.com) from your site and Google AdWords, a program in which you pay for placement of those little blue links on all of those billions of web pages. Talk about a cash cow! No wonder Google shares keep going up, closing today at $714.19.

Back to reality. Your cash flow timetable will be determined by the success of your marketing efforts. No marketing efforts, no success. There’s just too much competition no matter what you’re selling. So marketing is just part of the deal and always will be.

And again, to market your site is going to take dollars or euros or rupees. The more you can spend each month on marketing (without betting the farm on your site’s success) the better. There are numerous ad placement programs and pay-for-play sites that’ll be happy to link into you. (Important note of caution, here. As far as search engines are concerned, you’re known by the company you keep. If you have 200 low-ranking junk links hooked into your site it doesn’t do a thing to improve the site’s quality in the eyes of search engine spiders.) Go for quality links from the start.

90 days. There’s a number for you. IF you launch, locked and loaded with AdWords ready to fire and affiliate programs set up, AND you aggressively market your site (check out this blog for lots of good advice on site promotion), you could expect to start seeing revenues within 90 days. But again, that assumes you’ve got your drop shipper plugged into your CMS, your navigation accessible to all (even those with poor eyesight and zero computer skills), your AdWords account is set up and funded and you’re looking like a business ready to hit the ground running.

90 days if you do everything right. However, mistakes will be made (you are human, aren’t you?) and glitches will gum up the works so assume a maximum of 180 days before real revenue flows just to be overly cautious (and not run out of $$$ before you even launch).

Do this. You can. And even if you don’t hit a home run, a double that brings in an extra $300 a month isn’t bad. In fact, it sounds pretty good.

For starters.

Thinking about start an e-business? Got one that's not performing to expectations. NP. Drop me a line. Let's drive some traffic, eh?

Webwordslinger.com

Is Your Web Biz Safe From Acts of God?

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? IS YOUR WEB HOST?

We’ve got drought in the midlands. We’ve got flash floods, mudslides, earthquakes and raging infernos throughout California (why don’t you people just move?). In the Northeast, there are blizzards and cold snaps that make grown men weep. Yep, you never know what to expect – but you can expect natural disasters and unnatural disasters to strike and when they do, are you out of your online business?

Web Servers – a Primer

A short lesson for those just joining the online community. Your website is delivered to the world wide web through a server owned by your web host. Now, if you have a shared hosting program (entry-level and low cost – good) you share a server with a couple of hundred other web sites.

That server, which connects your business to your customers, isn’t an abstract concept. It’s a piece of hardware. You can buy a network server from Dell for less than $1,000. No mystery. A server is just a big box with massive storage capacity that’s plugged into the web matrix so your site is visible from Singapore to Sandusky.

Small hosting companies have a few servers all chugging away. The big web hosting companies have dozens and dozens of black boxes (servers) all spewing forth the stuff we see on the W3.

Now, like all electronics gear, web servers aren’t partial to the elements. Leave one out in the rain and watch the sparks fly. Leave a network server outside overnight in International Falls, MN and you’ve turned a perfectly good server into a door stop. Get the picture? These pathways to the web are delicate, and they require protection.

What’s Your Web Host Doing to Protect Against Floods?

What’s the worst that can happen?

The building housing your server floods, cooking your site’s server in the process. Umm. You’ll be down for a while, that’s a fact. But wait, if the water cooked your server, all of the other sites on the server are in trouble. All need fixing fast.

Now, imagine the backwash from a busted water main wipes out 30 servers. Man, you are going to be down well past the holiday shopping season and you know that’s going to hurt.

A responsible web host prepares for the worst contingencies. For example, in the case of flooding, servers should be elevated at least a foot off the ground. If we’re talkin’ a Noah-sized flood, nothing is going to help, but that 12-inch buffer between your server and the raging tide may just keep you online – even during a flood at your server location.

Web Servers and Power Outages

Power outages are a commonplace annoyance but we accept them as we eat a barbequed dinner by candlelight. Tree limbs fall. But hurricanes and tornadoes also hit, uprooting trees and tearing down electrical wires in the process. Hey, if you happen to go for a low-ball web host, your server could be in a hut in Bangladesh for all you know and electricity may NOT be taken for granted.

Ask your web host how it handles power outages. Most will tell you there’s nothing they can do about the loss of power until power is restored. Ahh, but the good host is ready for any contingency. If the host loses power from the local grid, the host’s back-up generators automatically kick in without missing a beat. Online visitors won’t even see a blip.

It’s not always easy to tell where your host server is. Resellers by disk space in bulk from web hosts and sell it in smaller chunks to retail customers like you and me. So the company, our web host, may be red, white and blue and call itself The All-American Web Hosting Company, but for all you know, your host server is just west of Katmandu.

Ask your host for the physical location of your server. If it’s not at least in the U.S. keep looking for a host. Believe it or not, web hosting has become popular in Iran. Yea, that’s a good way to start your online business – with a server in Iran.

Fire! Fire!

What kind of fire suppression system does the web host have in place? Is it designed to protect non-involved servers, i.e. a smart system, or does the server room simply fill with fire-retardant foam, taking your database with it.

Don’t think it’s a problem? Servers use electricity and because they do, they create heat. Lots of it. That’s why server rooms are air conditioned. If they weren’t, there’d be so much heat build up you could cure hams in there.

Be sure to ask your web host what kind of protection they have in place to fight a small electrical fire or a catastrophic fire that melts 50 servers into plastic lumps. Hey, that’s your site on that lump!

Site Sabotage

So, okay, you’ve checked that prospective web host and found that all servers are on the 40^th floor (let it rain) and the company does have back-up generators on site to cover for power outages. So far so good.

But what about the proverbial “disgruntled employee.” The tech head who was just passed over for a promotion, or the new guy who’s just testing his hacker chops at the server level. Who’s working on your server?

It’s not a common problem among well-respected, long-time hosting companies who do background tests, random drug testing and take other proactive measures to ensure all of those who have access to the server room (the Mother Lode) are properly checked and rechecked.

In addition, quality hosting companies limit access to the server room and security is reminiscent of a Level 3 Max security prison. There’s usually a keyboard or some type of biometrics device used to gain access to the server room, and the entire place is under constant video surveillance. It won’t stop the major whack job, but whack jobs are usually detected before they reach the trusted level of server technician.

Beaucop Bucks?

Hardly. You should expect this level of security and protection for pennies a day. Literally. Pennies a day.

You can purchase quality hosting from a web host that has contingency plans for everything from massive flooding (elevate the servers) to hoards of locust (Please shut the door so the locusts don’t get in. Thank you.)

Hosting is competitive. Just Google “web hosts” and you’ll get the idea. The premium web hosts have a long history (at least 10 years), near-perfect uptimes (accept nothing less than 99.9%) and both security and contingency plans in place. The small timers have a single server in Mumbai and during the annual rainy season service is…umm intermittent.

So spend a little to get a lot. A lot of protection. A lot of security. And contingency plans for any event. (Okay, maybe not a UFO attack, but if that happens, you’ll have more important things on your mind.)

When shopping around for a web host or a new web host, go with one willing to spend the time, money and effort to provide multiple layers of protection for your website. You may not need it today, but when those locusts hit, you’ll be glad you spent a little extra to get those locust-proof doors at your server site.

Looking for the right web host? Got questions about the wacky world of e-commerce? Drop me a line. It's fun.

Webwordslinger.com

On The Web, Your Web Host Is Your Partner. Choose Wisely.

Want to Work At Home?

Start Looking for A Web Host

We could all use a little more “walking around” money, but most of us are overworked and underpaid or, we’re stay-at-home parents who can’t go to a daily job. So, the only way people like us can ensure that our income matches our outgo is to get a work-at-home job.

Let’s Start With What Doesn’t Work

Anything you see in the newspaper or the back of magazines on making $$$ while working at home is most likely a scam. You’ll have to buy some kind of “kit” required to do the job and you’ll never hear from the goons who scammed you. If anyone is recruiting you to work at home for them, run for the hills.

What Does Work?

Your energy, enthusiasm and your need for more cash each month can lead to a profitable business – an on-line business. Don’t know anything about the world wide web? That’s not a problem. Today, anyone can own a web business without taking out a second mortgage on the house.

The Benefits Of An Own On-line Business

Low start-up costs

Really, you can have a nice, professional-looking web site up and running on-line for less than $100. True. The web hosting industry is highly-competitive so web hosts (they’re the ones that hook up your store to the web) have to provide a lot of services for a little money. So start looking for the right web host – a host that delivers enough digital space for your enterprise, the tools needed to build a site (it’s all done with templates, just pick and click) and run a site. Go with a web host that offers low monthly fees but packs a wallop with a trunk full of freebies.

Passive Income

If you already have a job, or you’re chasing after the kids all afternoon, you don’t have hours a day to tend to another business. No problem. Once you get your site set up, whether you’re selling products or services, you can automate the entire transaction process from purchase to shipping to customer satisfaction.

Now, don’t think you can just open a little cyber storefront and it’ll generate enough for you to move to the Riviera. If only it were that easy. You will have to spend some time taking care of business but you can minimize that level of participation. What’s even better? You can work when it’s convenient. Put the kids down for a nap and you’ve got an hour to process some orders or handle customer queries. Someone’s got to do it, but there are pop-in software modules that’ll take care of everything from building a great looking storefront, to processing and tracking orders, to shipping and handling, to customer queries.

So, you do have to spend some time running that on-line business but you pick when and how often.

Right Place. Right Time.

The world wide web is the fastest growing medium ever. Faster than newspaper, radio or even TV, which changed our lives in profound ways. The W3 is growing in importance to commerce at a truly phenomenal rate.

That means you’re entering the fastest growing market in the history of the world. Billions are being spent by on-line advertisers who now recognize that the interaction with our computers is much more engaging (addictive) than channel surfing for something – anything – to watch passively.

The web delivers interactivity, billions of pages of indexed text in search engines and the almost irresistible urge to communicate and interact with the rest of the world.

Risk Versus Reward

Always a crucial consideration when starting up a business. How much risk are you taking in order to reap the reward, i.e. the big payoff? In the case of an on-line business, your downside risk is limited to $100 if you do all of the work yourself – and these days you don’t have to know anything about web design to build and run a website.

You can earn a few extra bucks each month to make life a little easier or you could become the next youtube.com, which was sold to Google for $1.6 billion and it had only been on-line for two years!

Okay, it’s not likely that your idea for an on-line business will sell for a billion bucks, but it is likely to deliver some extra earnings - whether it’s a hundred dollars or a couple of thousand – each and every month.

It’s Not Brain Surgery

That’s a fact. There are a lot of dim bulbs on the web who are working at home, naming their own hours and making a living, or at least supplementing the family income.

Start by coming up with the right idea for you. It should be something about which you’re passionate, something you love because you’re going to spend a lot of time working to build your home-based, web-based business.

Next, find the right web host. Shop around. A lot. You can even get free web hosting as long as you’re willing to display the web host’s paid advertising on your “free” site. Not a good way to go.

Find a web host that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg for a monthly subscription (less than $10 a month is good). Some excellent web hosts cost even less than that. Finally, look at the tool box the web host offers. Does it have everything you need to build and run your on-line business? It should, and you should be able to get all of this for less than you spend at a fast food place for a family dinner.

Build It and They Will Come

There’s software today that does everything but suck up the dust bunnies behind your computer. Site builder software. Merchant account software (so you can accept credit cards). Checkout software with built-in security. Software to measure your site’s performance, start your own blog, advertise and market your web site. There are dozens and dozens of software packs that make it easy to build and run an on-line business. Your kids could administer the site. (Well, maybe not the four-year-old but who knows?)

Here’s the key distinction between work-at-home jobs: if they’re coming after you, you’re about to be scammed. If you’re working to build an at-home business and you started it all on your own, you have to consider the world wide web for its risk versus reward equation.

No, it’s not easy but nothing worth having ever is. You will have to work at it. Pay attention to it and oversee daily functions – on your schedule. And that’s what makes the difference. It’s your business and you receive the benefit of your hard work and solid marketing instincts.

You can do this. For pocket change, just to test the waters. And if you start growing and becoming more profitable, you can gradually build your on-line presence from a small storefront for your hand-made ceramics to “Sue’s Ceramics Barn, Best Prices on the Web.”

Hey, it could happen. The simple fact is, you’ll never know unless you try.

Need some advice on building a web-based biz. NP. Drop me a line. I specialize in start-ups and guerrilla marketing.

Webwordslinger.com