Matt Cutts from Google

February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Work at Home MOM

What Type of Website to Start

February 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment

By Nelson Bates, Author Best Website: Simple Steps to Successful Websites

I want first to mention the structure of a successful website. I’ll define a successful website as the website that makes the most money, takes the least amount of time to run, and provides the most flexibility. The most successful website structure I have encountered is managed by a single owner who hires out some of the duties of his or her website business, like graphic design and database design, and then manages the Internet marketing campaign and any website updates alone.

There are certainly many ways to build a successful website. For instance, if you have the Internet marketing knowledge, and someone else has the website design knowledge, you can partner to build a great website. Of course, this means you lose some control, and you have to split your profits. I will show in Chapter 4 how to get all the work done by either doing it yourself or hiring it out.

Deciding what “type” of product to sell is pretty simple. You’ll have the best opportunity of making the most money with a product to which you own the rights, whether it is a physical product, an information product, or a service.

If you have a product that can be delivered completely online, preferably without your involvement, this is probably your best bet at making a consistent and significant profit online.

I’d like to use BuySellWebsite.com as a great example of a service product. Among other things, BuySellWebsite.com sold classified ad listings to people wanting to sell their website businesses. The classified listings we sold were $99 and cost essentially nothing to provide. Whether we sold one or one thousand, it still cost the same small amount of time and money. Note: I sold BuySellWebsite.com in 2006.

The classified ad listing is a great example of a product that can be delivered online. If you have a product or service that is delivered online without your involvement, your profit margin will be much greater than with a traditional product. You’ll see, later on, that you’ll probably need this extra profit margin and any extra time to survive the startup process and pay for your marketing campaign.

By choosing a product that is delivered online, you are starting out on the right foot. I don’t want to make it sound like you cannot succeed with a traditional physical product. I’m just saying that, in general, on online product is probably the most effective and profitable option.

A few more examples of products delivered online are e-books or membership sites where users pay a monthly fee to access information. Another example is Website Appraisals. This is a service that we sold on BuySellWebsite.com and the appraisals were then delivered through e-mail in an Adobe PDF document.

Please visit BestWebsite.com for step-by-step instructions to building profitable websites.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM

Success Means a Profitable Website (and Profitable Doesn’t Require Perfection!)

February 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment

By Nelson Bates, Author Best Website: Simple Steps to Successful Websites

I believe people lose money online for two reasons. The first reason is because they get bogged down in the details of building their business. Things like server platforms, coding choices, graphic design, layout options, entity formation, and search engine optimization, among others. It’s very easy to get confused and lose track of where you need to go.

The second reason is that they don’t allow enough time for their business to succeed. Most people will not continue past three months if their business does not start to make money. They become frustrated with the process and give up.

In my opinion, you’ll need at least 3 to 6 months to establish a solid website and start generating enough traffic to become profitable. It just takes that long to refine your website and gain search engine traffic. But, as long as you know what the right path is, you’ll know to keep going.

Success Means a Profitable Website - The 100% Rule
There is one key difference between those who make money online, and those who lose money online. Those who make money online know about the 100% rule, which is that they don’t need things to be 100% correct before they move on. I’ll give an example:

When a friend was designing a website in the past, he needed a login function to check for a user ID and password to be able to view a membership section of the website. There wasn’t any sensitive information located in the membership section, so security was not high priority. Instead of hiring out the database design he needed to be able to validate logins, he just used a submission form where people entered their username and password, and it took them directly to the members’ section without checking to see if the entered information was correct.

Since he knew that the vast majority of people, probably 99% or more, would fill out the new user form first and then attempt to login, he knew it was fine not to have it 100% correct.

There were several reasons to do this. The most important is that he still had control over his website because he could easily create a login function himself using the tools provided by the Web design software. He also saved money that he would have needed to spend on the designer.

Having as much control as possible over your own website is essential. Also, saving time and money is critically important. Most of the time this advice is met with aversion, and I can understand the criticism. However, I am merely stating one of the differences between people who make money online and people who don’t. Those who do know how to build the function they need quickly without involving an outside designer or spending a lot of money.

Profitable Doesn’t Require Perfection!
Most people who start an online business will spend far too much time just getting things set up and won’t have enough time or money to spend on the things that will actually make him or her money. Whether it is dealing with web design, database design or internet marketing, the key is to not try and make things 100% right.

I have seen many websites never get off the ground, mostly because they were trying too hard to make things 100% right at the beginning. Think about the aspects of your website that can be solved the easy way first. Then, once your website is up and running and you understand how people use your website, you can come back to that aspect and correct it or possibly realize that nothing more needs to be done.

My intention with the Best Website book is not to describe the Utopian way to build a website; it is to describe how successful business owners build and run their websites to earn significant money online.

Please visit BestWebsite.com for step-by-step instructions to building profitable websites.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM

Making Money Online- Traffic and Content

February 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment

By Nelson Bates, Author Best Website: Simple Steps to Successful Websites

The most important aspect of making money online is also the hardest thing to do. This is creating significant and consistent traffic to your website. To illustrate why traffic is the most important aspect, consider this: when I was running my website appraisal business, we received submissions from some of the most poorly designed websites that were earning $10,000 to $20,000+ per month in profit. The key was that they had a tremendous flow of traffic.

I never saw a single example of a great looking website, with no or low traffic, making lots of money. I did, however, see plenty of bad and mediocre websites making incredible money, simply because they had excellent traffic.

The second main point to making money online is designing a great website. This is split into two parts. The first is the modifications you do to your website to optimize it for the Search Engines. The second is everything else that makes up your website, like graphics, layout, navigation structure, and the sales process.
In the design of your website, you want to create immediate credibility in the eyes of the potential customers and effectively lead them through your website to make a purchase (i.e., the sales process), thus, maximizing the number of buyers you get in relation to the number of visitors you receive.

Also, the people who make the most money online, at the very least, know how either to manage their own website (e.g., being able to update content, add links and graphics), or to build the entire website themselves from scratch using one of the professional design tools like Adobe DreamWeaver or Microsoft Expression Web. There are certainly exceptions to this rule but, in general, this is true.

The reason is because knowing how to manage and/or build your own website allows all your ideas to come to life without having to pay a web designer (who usually can’t ever quite deliver what you intended anyway!).

APlease visit BestWebsite.com for step-by-step instructions to building profitable websites.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM

Make Money Online Blogging

February 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

HOT HOT TOPIC right? You see it everywhere, how there really are people making a nice living working “in their underwear” while on typing away on the computer. But HOW? Why not you?

There are several different monetization strategies to make legitimate money online, one method is that of blogging. You may have heard of Blogging for Dollars or Six Figure Blogging- I’m sure the numbers of people that are making six figures blogging are far fewer then you are lead to believe.. .but then again, anything is possible.

For now, I found this great article on one of my favorite blogs about that provides excellent detail and resources that will pay you to make money blogging. Go Ahead check it out and see if you find something that will fit you!

Dosh Dosh Blogging Post

The post has excellent content with great screenshots and details of requirements for each website so you can browse the pros and cons easily and not have to make trip after trip to blind links.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Reviews, Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM

Personalized Logo Gift

February 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Every business needs a unique gift for a client at one time or another. Putting a little effort into a creative gift can make the difference of a repeat customer or not.

A couple days ago I attended the open house at the Center for Women & Enterprise. I had a table displaying my wares and speaking to Mass State Representatives about the effects of women businesses in the state.

It was during this event that I spoke to a few women that were having wonderful things to say about these “italian cookies to die for” was more like the terminology. So I decided to check it out and offer support to another local women owned business.

The flavors are not your average cookies- mini whoopie pies, lemon filled, chocolate glazed, anise… ohhhh just take a look at the pictures and you know these are made with great care.

A dozen cookies will run you about $18.00 but come wrapped in a nice box with ribbon and personalized gift message. They even offer various cards for special occasions. Take a moment and check out The Italian Cookie for your next gift! I dare you to order one and not get one for yourself!

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Reviews, Work at Home MOM

Moms Business Coach Launched~!

February 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

I am excited to announce that my new venture- Moms Business Coach- has officially launched. This web site was created due to the increasing number of women I have that contact me for advice, insight or resource sharing about their own business venture.

I am fortunate that so many wonderful people provided me with mentoring and words of wisdom while starting my business and now it is time for me to return the favor to other women.

I find myself amazed at how much I have learned in my own business journey when I start talking to someone just getting ready to start. For that reason, if I can save another small business time and money from my experiences then it is all worth paying it forward.

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Work at Home MOM

Legitimate Work At Home Jobs Online

February 2, 2008 | 1 Comment

You get bombarded every day with emails or pop ups while browsing the internet with the promise of making money online or “legitimate work at home jobs online”.

As a result I found the following: Affiliate Programs are key to making money on the internet.

You are basically a marketer for a core product and when someone buys from your hoplink you get a little cash.

There are three keys to sucess for affiliate programs.

You need to have a well identified niche and it must me a niche you can leave a mark in.

A large email distribution for that niche market is crucial.

The ability to generate large traffic to your squeeze page- after all, who is going to buy it if noone sees it.

Two of the most popular affiliate programs you generally see are Ebay and Amazon. I’m not counting all the MLM businesses or the clickbank products since I consider those in a catagory themselves.

Ebay- The primary focus of making money with Ebay is for you to sell what you have to make money. While this method has never worked for me personally to make alot of money, it’s okay for a few dollars here and there.

There are some that do it and do it well enough by having hundreds of listings and sourcing products to sell that they make out ok. I found the cost of listing was a bit high, maybe their new price decrease will help encourage sellers to list their products but it looks like you still get hit with steep fees when the product sells.

I also have been turned off by ebay for the pure fact that so many people are “making a living” on ebay that you end up having a hundred of the same exact product listed instead of individual sellers that were selling something they had around the house. I preferred all the little sellers clearing out their house and selling what they don’t use- I just thought that was more fun and community like.

However, Ebay now has an affiliate program and this is of more interest to me. You sign up and get your ebay widget and if someone clicks thru then you get a few cents. It’s automatic… I like automatic. SQUIDOO has an easy pre made affiliate module that allows you to pick ebay products or fill in search terms and they will populate, take seconds to put one up.

The other popular affiliate program that can earn you as much as 10% of each sale is Amazon.com. Now that Amazon sells so much more then just books, it is easier to find products that relate to your posts or articles and link to it or review it and get a quick easy sale.

Not sure how to get started making money on line with affiliate programs? I’m just finishing up a little report that shows you the steps, what to look for and how to evaluate affiliate programs to get the most bang for your buck. Until next time keep searching for legitimate work at home jobs online and leave a post on what works for you!

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Tips & Advice, Work at Home MOM

Small Business or Not, Do You Know The Rules?

January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Starting a business is more then just buying a cheap domain, putting up your site and saying “Hey, Buy From Me!”.

The Federal Trade Commission is the primary federal agency that regulates e-commerce activities including commericial email, online advertising and consumer privacy.

They offer a few select resources including e-commerce, marketing, starting a business and internet tools and several tech tools.

I personally found the obstacle of SPAM sticky when I started my newsletter. You don’t want to let those customers slip away, but you don’t want to break the rules either.

The following is an article on SPAM.

Taking a Bite out of Spam; Unsolicited email an obstacle to business

Billions of e-mails offering the skinny on get rich quick schemes, Viagra prescriptions, and pornography infiltrate people’s inboxes every day. Spam costs billions each year in time and resources and threatens to undermine the convenience and security offered by e-commerce.

“The proliferation of bulk, unsolicited commercial e-mail has become more than a nuisance,” said Joe Rubin, the U.S. Chamber’s executive director for technology and e-commerce during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in July. “Increasingly, consumers are getting bombarded with pornographic and misleading e-mail that overshadows the online communication efforts of legitimate companies.”

Spam adversely affects both consumers and businesses. Consumers may be less likely to buy goods online if they think that including their e-mail addresses will lead to a storm of unwanted commercial e-mail. Further, they often delete bulk e-mail from their inboxes indiscriminately, unable to differentiate between spam and e-mail from legitimate companies. Businesses that communicate with their customers via e-mail risk being mistaken as spammers and then being hit with legal action. They also endure productivity losses when spam contains dangerous viruses that corrupt computer systems. And who can forget all the time it takes to download and delete unwanted messages?

To help address the growing spam epidemic, the Chamber supports the Reduction in Distribution Spam Act of 2003. Not only would the act empower Internet service providers to go after spammers, it would also create greater cooperation between business and government, strengthen the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement abilities, and create a single, uniform code for e-mail communicators. Such legislation, which is currently awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives, would decrease the harmful impact of spam without stifling the ability of companies to reach their customers, both current and potential.

Source: US Chamber of Commerce

Like my Post? Maybe you would like to Buy Mama A Java! It will help to keep me reading, writing and scooping out the info

Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Small Business Blogging, Work at Home MOM

Small Business Marketing Questions of the Day

January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment

A Small Business Marketing Strategy is an essential part of business to compete with the bigger corporations after the same customers. If done correctly, the small business can gain loyal customers from their initial marketing strategy. The statistics are clear that retaining your customer is more cost effective then trying to gain new ones. The questions of the day: