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List Building Article - A must read for direct sellers!

I've been completely sold on what this man has to say about building lists and driving traffic to your websites and more. Much of the info on the internet is not necessarily applicable to direct sales, but with almost all of his ideas, you can use them for building your DS business as well.

Enjoy!
Annette
http://www.funontheark.com

How to Pull In As Much Profit As Your Wallet Will HoldWith Opt-In Lists

By Jimmy D. Brown

The fortune is in the list.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that said, well,I'd already have a fortune! :-)

However "broken-recordish" it may sound, it is a truthfulstatement. The fortune REALLY IS in the list.

Fact is, if you possess the knowledge of how to grow and profit from opt-in lists, you can pretty much writeyour own ticket.

And, if you'll read the remainder of this article, I'llpass that knowledge right on to ya.

It comes down to getting folks to do four things...

1. REQUEST. First things first, you need to convincepeople to "opt-in" to your list. That is, get them tojoin your list of their own free will.

Usually, this involves giving away a mini-course, reportor newsletter from your web site. All you need is..

- An Attention Grabbing Title. (I could have chosen "4 Keys to Successful Email Promotions" for this article, but is that as attention-grabbing as "How to Pull in As Much Profit As Your Wallet Will Hold From Opt-In Lists"?)

- A Handful of Bulleted Benefits. (A short list of 4-6 desirable things subscribers will learn if they join your list. Think "what's in it for me?")

- An Opt-In Submission Form. (Your autoresponder system will provide this for you.)

NOTE: The BEST way to get folks to join is to embed theabove mentioned items DIRECTLY in the most prominent place you have your site visitors' attention. Usuallythis is 3-5 paragraphs into your sales letter or 1/3of the way into an ezine article.

2. RECEIVE. After visitors to your site have "requested"information by joining your list, it's critical that youremails be delivered successfully to their inbox. With allof the filters in place (among other hazards) this can bequite a chore.

One thing you'll want to do for certain is check yourSPAM rating to make certain it's in an acceptable range.Again, most of the better autoresponder services offer thisfeature for you.

If yours doesn't, you can use the free tool athttp://spamcheck.sitesell.com/

- Get your subscribers to "approve" mailings from you.

- Authenticate yourself as a legitimate mailer when you receive a "response challenge" from protection services such as Spam Arrest.

- Use alternative formats of your email messages such as "downloadable email messages" in PDF format. (Free report available at http://GetEmailResults.com)

3. READ. When your emails successfully arrive at theinboxes of your subscribers, another task awaits - gettingthem to actually open your message and read it.

This is going to depend upon your "subject line". It isparamount that your subject line be intriguing enough toconvince your readers to stop what they are doing and takea look inside.

One way to get this done is to create a swipe file ofemail subject lines that have convinced YOU to read themessages and then modify those subject lines for yourown use.

Ex. I received an email that had the subject line of"This affiliate tip is almost too easy" that caught myattention and forced me to read the associated message.

This subject line could easily be used in a variety ofdifferent niches...

- This dieting tip is almost too easy
- This time management tip is almost too easy
- This marriage saving tip is almost too easy

4. RESPOND. When you have convinced your subscribers toopen your email message and read its contents, the onlyremaining "task" is to get them to respond.

You want them to take action. Click a link. Go somewhere. Ultimately, spend money with you.

The only way you'll be able to do this is follow a simplecatch phrase I've been teaching for years: "useful, butincomplete".

It simply means this: your messages must provide contentthat is useful to your subscribers (otherwise, they'll unsubscribe faster than you can say "oops"!), but is also"incomplete" in that there is some additional offer thatcould enhance or maximize that content.

Ex. You might write an article that shares "7 Ways toProfit With Autoresponders" to send to your list. That's"useful" information to those who are interested in thatparticular topic. It's also "incomplete" because theyneed an autoresponder service to put the information intoaction. That's your cue to promote your recommendedautoresponder service.

See how it works?

If you want to pad your wallet with profits by using opt-in lists, this is how you do it:

Get people to do these four things

- Request
- Receive
- Read
- Respond

This is a system that has never failed, will never fail.I've used it. Others have used it.

Now, it's your turn to use it.

------------------------------
Jimmy D. Brown is the owner of the "List And Traffic" membershipsite, teaching thousands of internet business ownersspecific things they can do every week to multiply profits. For video training, weekly updated content and printable checklist "systems" for growing your business, drop by
http://ListAndTraffic.com
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The REAL Secret to Building A High-Profit Internet Business

The REAL Secret to Building A High-Profit Internet Business

By Jimmy D. Brown

My wife laughs every time she sees me doing it.

At least once or twice every week, I'll be at my desk (or
at the dining room table) with my Franklin Covey planner
open and a stack of laminated checklists in hand.

"What are you doing, honey?" she calls, already knowing
the answer.

"I'm planning," I reply with a smile.

She laughs and I get back to work.

She laughs because she swears I spend half of my time
"planning".  But, if you ask me how I'm able to get as
much work done as I do in only 3 hours a day, I'll point
to a black Franklin Covey planner with about a dozen
laminated checklists inside.

Building an Internet business is easy.  Seriously.  I'm
not saying that it's not complicated, because it is.  I'm
just saying that it's easy to accomplish if you just have
a system in place.

There's very little in this world that can't be
accomplished with the right set of action steps in front
of you.

Today, I'm going to give you such a system for building
your Internet business.  There are only 4 steps...

1. Decide What You Want To Do.  Do you want to run an
eBay(R) business?  Be an affiliate marketer? Buy and sell
reprint rights?  Get involved in niche marketing? While
all of those things will likely find their way into your
plan in time, you gotta begin with one thing at a time.

My recommendation:  Choose a "broad" topic you are
interested in and begin building a list of folks interested
in that topic.

2. Determine A Weekly Action Plan.  After you decide what
you want to do, it's time to determine how to get it done. 
What I do is this:  I create a weekly set of action steps. 
That is,I have a set of things I do on Monday, on Tuesday
and so forth. Decide how many hours (as little as ONE) you
want to work each day and schedule yourself a reasonable
amount of things to get done in that time frame.  Repeat
this process week after week.

My recommendation:  Begin writing ezine articles to
promote your list ... and affiliate programs.  It's the
easiest way to get free traffic and build your list at the
same time.

3. Devote Yourself To Staying On Schedule.  The important
thing here is to stick to it.  The easiest way that I know
of to make certain you develop discipline in your schedule
is to NOT set unrealistic expectations.  Give yourself ample
time to do each day's action step - don't overschedule. 
Look for progress along the way to celebrate.  Reward
yourself when you've reached a milestone.  And, remember,
you're GROWING a business.  Just like physical growth, it
takes time ... it WILL happen if you remain committed.

My recommendation:  Weave in simple activities related to
the following categories - List building (ezine articles),
product creation(conduct interviews or hire ghostwriters),
site development (making your site convert more visitors into
buyers)and education (continuing to learn new ways to grow
your business)

4. Develop Additional Shortcuts.  As you get better and
better at working with your lists, creating products and
tweaking your site,you'll want to continue to improve your
business with new ideas,strategies, tools and resources. 
The key is simple:  never stop learning!

Visit forums.  Read articles.  Download reports.  Identify
sites and resources that CONTRIBUTE to your success in
educating you. You want faster results, bigger increases,
automated processes,and other ways to get more accomplished
and more profit, with less work involved.

Everything depends on you developing a plan and sticking to
it.

And that is the REAL secret to building a high-profit
Internet business!

------------------------------
Jimmy D. Brown is the owner of the "List And Traffic" membership
site, teaching thousands of internet business owners
specific things they can do every week to multiply profits. 
For video training, weekly updated content and printable
checklist "systems" for growing your business,
drop by http://listandtraffic2.com/go.php?1741
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Free Advertising for your Direct Sales Business!

When I first purchased Jason Potash's Article Announcer software and course, I was BLOWN AWAY!  It's awesome and if you really want to get serious about article marketing it's worth every penny.  Not ready to dive in with a huge expense, then you should read the article I wrote below and sign up for the free course mentioned at the bottom.  Your online business will never be the same!

To our mutual success!
Annette

As a fan of direct sales marketing for 20 years, I'm always
looking for new ways to promote my business.  After several
months of studying the art of marketing businesses by using
informative articles I've been really impressed with the
tremendous information that's out there.  By writing a
content rich, helpful and informative article you can set
yourself apart as an expert in your field and generate
traffic to you and your business.

Most of my study has been in the field of Internet
marketing, but as the wheels of my mind have been turning
and with the experience I've had with Direct Sales, I want
to encourage you, Direct Selling Mom, to explore this as a
way to expand your business... and provide a new outlet of
fun for yourself too!

Why in the world do you want to spend time writing
articles?  If you're like me, you're business life is
already too consuming and you need to spend less time on
your direct sales business, not more!

First, it's FUN!  Here's your chance to let your creative
juices flow!  You know how much you love your products.
And at your parties, you love talking about them to the
party guests.  But now, you have a chance to take it
another level.  Do you sell scrapbooking products?  Share
your heart about the importance of creating a legacy of
memories for your progeny.  Passionate about candles?
Write an article about the warmth of hospitality in your
home that can be created by simply adding some beautiful
candles to your decor.  Think beyond the specific products
in your line and create from your heart!  You'll see... it'
will stretch your mind and you'll love every minute of it!

Second, it's profitable.  As you send out valuable content
either online to article directories or offline to your
local publications, you're establishing yourself as an
expert in your direct sales field.  Because each article
has a resource box, an author section with your information
- name, email, website, email and/or phone, the people who
read your article, will know who to contact... YOU!

Third, it sets you apart.  Direct Sales is a competitive
business and most likely if you're in company that's more
than a year or two old, you're not the only representative
around.  By writing articles and establishing credibility,
you're setting yourself apart from other consultants in
your own company and in competing ones as well.

How to start?  Here are some quick suggestions:

1.  Read some other articles online that fit in with the
theme of your particular direct sales product line.

2.  Pick your favorite product from your direct sales
catalog.  Take a long look at it and think about WHY this
is your favorite.  What can it "do" for your
customers... what's it's value.

3.  Write down your thoughts about the product in list
form.  Look through the list and find some "key
words" that really stand out.

4.  Using those key words, start to build a story about the
experience of the product.... not the specific product
itself.  This is where you really begin to write an article
rather than a sales pitch.

5.  Now just keep writing...tweak, change, set it aside for
a day and come back to it.  Don't be discouraged if it
doesn't come to you right away, especially if you're not a
writer by nature.

6.  Take a risk and have a good friend read and critique
your thoughts.  Be open to her ideas and rewrite again.

When you think you and your article are ready, it's time to
submit it to your local paper or to online article
directories.  Just do an Internet search for "article
directories" as a good starting point.

So much information is available online for maximizing this
avenue of marketing. Take advantage of it ... and watch your
direct sales business grow!

Annette Yen is veteran Direct Sales Mom with 20 years
behind her. She highly recommend the free five day e-course
that you can find here:
http://www.easyarticlemarketing.com/course.

Autoresponder for your Direct Sales Business

This is an article I wrote a while back about the value of using an autoresponder in your Direct Sales Business.  You can sign up for my FREE ecourse below or just sign up for a free trial with my autoresponder service by CLICKING HERE for Aweber.com.

Enjoy the article and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Are you in a direct sales business and trying to figure out,
like me, how to streamline your systems so that you can
spend more of your precious business time working on income
generating activities?

Well, I'm here to tell you that there are some simple steps
you can take NOW to help your business for the long term and
an Autoresponder is one of those ways! An autoresponder is
an online program that takes a prewritten email message or
series of messages that you've created and sends it out
automatically when someone signs up either via email or a
web form.

That sounds a whole lot more complicated than it really is.
So let me give you examples that might work in various
aspects of your direct sales business to help you see how
easy this really is:

Lead follow up and tracking.
Do you advertise either online or offline? With an
autoresponder you can put an email address into your
advertisement and when one of your potential
customers/recruits emails you to find out more about your
company, they are automatically sent  your initial packet
of information instantly. Take it one step further and
you can even put a different email address into each ad,
making it easy to track which ads are producing results.

Lead Generation.
Do you have a coupon or e-book that you can give away to
potential new customers or recruits? Set it up in your
autoresponder and create a web form (all free with most
systems) that you can place in your blog or on your
website. Then just add a quick statement of "Request
more information on my business today and receive a free
gift" sending interested prospects to your
autoresponder where the gift and the information are sent
to them automatically!

Downline newsletters.
If you've built a team of distributors under you, you'll
want to stay in
contact with them regularly. An autoresponder can do that
easily, first
with a "welcome to my team" email and then later
as you broadcast your team newsletter through the list.

Help your new consultants get off to a great start in their
new business
with a series of email training messages geared toward
those days when they are waiting for their starter kit.
It's a great way to keep the enthusiasm high during those
first days!

Is there a specific area in your direct sales business that
seems to
generate the same questions from all the distributors in
your group? Set up another series of emails specific to
that business topic and set up your team members there as
the questions come in.

Leadership communication.
As your direct sales business grows you'll promote leaders
from your team. Set up a series of emails congratulating
them on their promotion and encouraging them in their new
role as leader. Many people in direct sales have no idea
what it means to lead a team of their own and you can set
up a system to get them trained and equipped as well. and
have it work for you continually.

Customer newsletters.
Stay in contact with your customers by using an
autoresponder series just like you do with your downline.
Have a welcome series for new customers to keep your name
and information in front of them.

Customer classes.
Set up a series of emails that highlight a product of the
month from your product line, or an email class on how to
use some of your products.

Contests
Set up a series of contest emails for either your customer
base or your
downline. For instance, have a "scavenger hunt"
through your catalog and use the autoresponder system to
create the excitement over a series of days.

I'm guessing that most of you, unless you're brand new to
direct sales, have much of the information for many of the
above ideas already in your computer somewhere. With an
autoresponder it's just a matter of transferring that
information into the system where it can work for you, even
when you're off doing other things. Give it a try. Many
autoresponders have a free trial offer so you can check out
how they work before you take the plunge. but after just 6
months of using it with my own direct sales business, I can
tell you it's well worth every penny!

Annette Yen is a home schooling work at home mom who has
worked in Direct Sales for over 20 years. See how an
autoresponder can help your direct sales business by
requesting your free new recruit training course at
http://www.showmomthemoney.com/directsalestraining.htm .

Automating Your Home Based Business - Saving You Time

by Nell Taliercio.com

Automating Your Home Based Business - Saving You Time

First of all, what is automating a business? Simply put, it’s having today’s technology do the tedious and time consuming tasks that you currently have to do manually. This in turns frees up time that you can work on other business building aspects or spend it with loved ones.

Today’s technology gives you a multitude of programs to smooth your way to owning a highly successful business. Using automation programs are a necessity for every business. It can give you back hundreds of hours a year for the more important things in life. It’s like having a personal assistant at your fingertips 24/7.

Why do some businesses struggle year after year and others seem to take off like a rocket right from the start? Well, if you were able to see “behind the scenes” of those highly successful businesses, you would find that one of their secrets to their success is using technology to automate as much of their business as possible so that they can continue to grow their business in other areas.

Automating Your Business Will
Increase traffic to your site or store - Did you know there are ways to automatically send your articles and messages to all forums that you are a member of? Automating your submissions increases your link exposure, which will build your search engine rankings and traffic to your site. Learn more about this at Forum Fortunes

Streamline your website administration - One of the most time consuming tasks is replying to individual emails. By automating your email program to respond to every inquiry immediately, create mailing lists for your newsletters and sending out your Ezine, you will save countless hours that you can use for other business growing projects. Learn more about this at AWeber

Improve customer satisfaction and make your life a lot less stressful - Offering a good shopping cart to keep track of items your visitors choose to purchase from your site until they are ready to “check out” will assure that your customers are getting exactly what they want. Many shopping carts come with special features to calculate discounts and coupons as well as offer secure payment transactions instantly. Learn more about this at Store Front Ecommerce

Increase profits - Again, by building traffic and improving customer satisfaction, your sales will increase and you will see more repeat customers.

Protect your computer and your business - By filtering and deleting all spam and dealing with suspicious email before it reaches your in-box, you can prevent viruses and other malicious content from being downloaded to your computer which will save you time and money. Read more about this at Mail Washer Pro

Allow you to run your business from virtually anywhere - Wouldn’t it be nice to take that much needed vacation yet still be able to run your business? If you are like many business owners, it seems that every time you go out of town for an extended weekend or vacation, your business has some sort of meltdown.

Though most times they are minor problems that can be fixed fairly quickly once you get home, they still cost you time and quite possible customers, both of which equal money. By automating much of your business, you will decrease the amount of problems while allowing you to fix any others even if you are in Cancun or Paris! Now that has to give you some peace of mind.

With all of these benefits, why wait another minute to find out how you can start to improve your business and gain much needed time?

Nell Taliercio is the owner of a leading work at home mom resource website packed full of fresh content for the telecommuter, business owner and virtual assistant. Visit http://www.mommysplace.net today!

Work At Home Moms
MommysPlace.net is here to help connect you with your virtual career, and offer support and resources to make your career a success.

Are you a Sweetie?

My friend, Alice Seba, has been using another tool to build her business and she's sharing her very best strategies.

If you don't know Alice, she is one of the most generous people you'll ever meet and she has built a profitable business around the principle of giving and being nice to people.

Her "Internet Marketing Sweetie System" shows you, in very specific ways, to:

- increase your website traffic
- build better relationships with your prospects
- get more referrals to increase your sales
- networking for longterm success
- transform your competitors to partners

...all with "Internet Marketing Sweetie" principles in mind.

Now, Alice's course is geared specifically toward internet and online businesses... but what I love about her approach is that it can be completely transferred to your direct sales business as well. Plus with so many Direct Sales businesses offering websites for their consultants, many of these principles apply directly as well. And I can tell you that Alice practices what she preaches wholeheartedly!

It's nice to know nice guys and gals can get ahead in their online business. Check it out: