Back to basics…
OK, I am back again today! I have been thinking about where to begin and how much detail to include for these early entries. I have decided that information can still be added at a later date so if I miss some thing out or spot some thing note worthy I will come back to it, or you can let me know if you want to add to it.
Because we are going to be selling or promoting some thing, I shall assume now then that you are planning to or already have some sort of web site or a blog that you have started recently?
Starting a web site might be OK for the technical people amongst us but for some it may seem quite daunting. First you will need to find a provider to host it and you will also need to think of a domain name (a name unique to you and your place on the Internet). The main point is that you need to establish a presence on the Internet so that the search engines such as Google and Bing can find you and so can people and hence any prospective customers when they conduct a search!
May be a web site isn’t for you at the moment and a Blog would be a better method of establishing a web presence:
You can start a blog for free on many sites including:
These blog hosts offer enough help and support for any one starting out in the World of blogging.
When you first begin writing your blog you of course can see its published, no one else will know it’s there and as part of the move to promote your Internet presence you need to start submitting it to blog directories, Social Bookmarking sites and of course to search engines like Google and Bing. Here are some important places that you should visit and make sure you put your blog URL address in!
There are many other directories and sites that you can submit your details but the ones I have mentioned will enable searches on Google and Bing for instance, to come up with your website/blog details. Importantly you should make sure to use Digg and Stumbleupon regularly, making sure that you are including your blog posts and site updates. You should also submit other important web site and blogs to them and leave reviews and comments for them. More Reading.
Why all this important I shall come back to later, so keep reading my updates!
Plain and Simple
I’ve been looking into forging new links and growing my profile on the Internet. This is by no means a simple thing to do, there are many site devoted to marketing and advertising, some offer some plain and easy to understand advice which I welcome especially now in these early days! A lot and I mean A LOT of sites require that you join their scheme that they don’t really explain properly, they use long words and scientific terms because they think it demonstrates their expertise in the field.
Lets say you joined up there and gave them an e-mail address? What happens now? Nothing, you will get messages marketing other ways to make money demanding that you sign up with them and maybe some e-books, some of which may be useful in some way to keep you interested and locked in a baffling circle of selling and advertising.
There are no “get rich quick” schemes, it is just a clever ploy. By participating in this all you are doing is assisting the scheme owners plan to bring in traffic to their sites and further line their pockets. When one of these sites claims to bring in cash at the push of button, there is a lot that they don’t tell you.
First they dazzle you with fantastic claims and stories of profit-making, there is usually a video so they can show you proof of this by logging into a ClickBank account with five and six figure balances and while they are doing it they will be telling you that this can be you too. There is an upfront cost to buy their product (its been reduced specially for you!) that may seem small but in reality this is only the beginning of the draw that they can create on your bank account, because there are a lot of other costs that are involved and more products and services they want to sell you.
They are exploiting you and they exploiting the system by pushing next to useless information up the ranks of search engines to pull in revenues for them and not you; a system that relies on people that they don’t know personally to do all the hard work for them.
OK, I’ve said my piece on it for now and if you happen to read this and have a different experience of this area and lets say that you are successful at it then please contact me through this Blog and let me know me just how you did it? My main aim now is to begin to build some articles week by week to provide some plain and simple tips and advice about how to succeed in Internet Marketing. This involves the old-fashioned way of honest hard work and a lot self promotion!
In my next post I shall take a back to basics approach to help those who are starting out like me. Using plain English and a step by step system to begin making money on the Internet. I am sure there are other places that can provide this information too and if any of you would like to link to me here, please let me know.
5 Reasons You Should Work With Cashback Websites (via Indium Web Management Blog |Online Marketing News, Tips & Advice)
Cashback websites can drive enormous amounts of traffic and generate lots of sales for the merchants who work with them. They do this by sharing commission payments with customers who make purchases using their cashback website account rather than visiting the retailer directly.
via Indium Web Management Blog |Online Marketing News, Tips & Advice
Advertising your software on Facebook (=Fail) (via Successful Software)
Facebook previously didn’t allow the advertising of downloadable software. Someone told me that they had relaxed this policy, so I checked their guidelines. Sure enough they have removed the offending line in their guidelines that used to say: No ad is permitted to contain or link, whether directly or indirectly, to a site that contains software downloads, freeware, or shareware.
Marketing your software through affiliates (via Successful Software)
Very good information, well thought out, I learned a lot from this post.
Wedding Planning on a Budget
New Year and new resolutions?
Perhaps like me you are planning to get married this year? In this current financial climate we all seem to be very cost conscious and rightly so.
The implications of a marriage in any case can be many and complex it might seem like it’s a simple thing but when you begin to think and prepare for it the implications are wide ranging.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage will likely cost the Royal House hold around £40 million pounds. Any bride would love to have a dream wedding and not have the costs to be an issue but sadly with financial constraints this won’t be possible for most of us.
That is why like me you will have to set a sensible budget and stick it. We can still make it good though so that it’s an event to remember!
Some of the things that spring to mind immediately:
- Size of the wedding
- Location (indoors or outdoors)
- Time of year
- Photos and video
- Music
When I first began to look in to this I did a lot of research on the Internet as well as buying the usual magazines to get some useful tips and information. I’d really like to employ a professional wedding planner but the costs here are really off putting to say the least.
Let’s not lose heart though as I’ve discovered some really good web sites and they have helped me a lot in getting started with my plan.
Good planning is crucial to the success of any project, and thats effectively what your Wedding Day is – a big project. The only difference between this, and any other large project that you may have worked on in the past, is that this time you are doing it for yourself and your partner. Everything you are working on is for one 24-hour period in your life, and most importantly, it’s fun and exciting!
There are a number of ways you can cut the costs when planning your wedding – maybe you haven’t thought about it, but the tips below, will undoubtedly help to trim the excess from that budget, or allow for you to spend more in certain areas.
1) The wedding date
Obviously weekends are at a premium, and you can add on that little bit more in the summer months as well. Decide how important a weekend wedding is – in most cases it can’t be avoided, but it will have a significant effect on your budget when you realise how venues, photographers, car hire etc. all have increased prices for these prime days and dates.
2) The location
For both receptions and civil ceremonies in licensed venues, it pays to have a good look around before setting your heart on one. Compare prices for the room, the catering and the accommodation. Don’t be afraid to negotiate – remember, at the end of the day, you are business for them.
3) The guest list
Here’s a tricky one! We’re going to be mean here – now if you’re paying for the wedding yourself, only invite people you will be happy to see and share your day with. Imagine which of your friends and family will bring a huge smile to your face as you see them for the first time on the big day. If you only exchange Christmas cards and haven’t spoken to them in over a year, are they really worth all that cost?
When parents are involved with paying for the wedding, you have an obligation to listen to their requests. The best way to do this is draw up your own list as above and then allocate ‘x’ number of people to each set of parents. Let them make the hard decisions and it takes the strain off you. Don’t forget, for your sanity, if you have any family members you most definitely do not want invited, discuss this with your parents when giving them their list to fill. It’s always better to be open and honest from the outset.
4) The rings
Having your rings made especially for you may not cost as much as you think and you’re guaranteed something truly unique. If you want something special, discuss this with a local jewellery designer. If you have some ideas, sketch them and take them along – you’ll never know until you ask! You can find jewellery designers at this website http://www.gemget.com.
5) The dress
Magazines are great for ideas (or go to http://www.images.google.com and type in ‘wedding dresses’ as the search) – cut out pictures of your favourite styles and take them along to a few dress designers and get quotes for them making something similar. Ask for their advice when choosing fabrics that may still look fantastic, but may be more cost effective. As I’ve mentioned before, don’t be afraid to negotiate – especially if you have bridesmaids dresses or other outfits involved.
6) The honeymoon
As with any holiday, peak season will affect the price. You want a fantastic time and a holiday you will always remember – but don’t let that stop you from shopping around! There are so many travel websites offering amazing deals, that once you’ve decided when and where you are going, take the time to phone, visit or e-mail as many travel agents as possible to see what they can quote. Try http://www.expedia.co.uk/daily/holidayshop/default.asp as a starting point.
7) Photography & videos
Let’s start with photography first – you definitely get what you pay for, so my advice here for trimming costs is to spend time discussing what sort of shots you want, and exactly how many. Think about whether you want photos of the hours before the ceremony as well as the hours after. The fewer shots and less time your photographer is around, the cheaper it will get!
Video – do you really need this as well as the photos? If I’m being blunt, how many times will you ever watch this again in comparison to flicking through your photo albums. You will have to pay a fair amount to get a decent result so you could save the money here and get more photos instead.
If you really want to cut back, approach the local college and see if there are students on any photography or film & video courses that may be interested in the experience. Make sure you see a portfolio of their work first to have an idea of their style and talent. You will be amazed at the number of students that are desperate to get this sort of experience under their belts – and just how good they really are!
8) Florists & Flowers
Fresh flowers are beautiful, but they also come with a hefty price tag and sadly don’t last much beyond the day. Keep flowers to a minimum but with maximum effect! Cut the costs by doing the flowers yourself, or if you have a family member who’s good at arranging, I’m sure they’d be happy to help out. You, or a relative could always attend a night class for flower arranging at your local college. Flower arranging classes can last anything from 3 weeks to a few months – depending on how advanced you want to get.
You can look in Yellow Pages for a local flower wholesaler rather than paying full price from the florist – or take a look here for a uk list of wholesalers, http://www.flowers.org.uk/wholes.asp.
Instead of table centres, try floating nightlights in glass bowls with scattered rose petals and just have one large floral centrepiece on your top table or cake table. How about tiny potted miniature trees or box hedges on the table centres – you could even weave miniature lights through them for a truly magical display. (We sell the miniature battery operated lights in our online store).
9) Cake
Have you ever noticed how most wedding guests don’t get around to eating the cake? They’re usually so full after the reception meal that there’s just no room for cake! One option is to make your cake the dessert – and cut the costs of that third course. For this option, you may want to consider a more ‘dessert’ style cake like a croquembouche.
Croquembouche comes from the French “croquant” meaning crackling and “bouche” for mouth. Thus croquembouche refers to the crackling in your mouth when eating this traditional dessert. The croquembouche is often the dessert at a French wedding. For full details and a recipe to make your own, visit, www.boboli-intl.com.
Alternatively, have a smaller cake with guests being served ‘fingers’ rather than slices with their tea or coffee.
10) Booze & Drinks
Unless you want a massive bill and a free for all, do not waste money paying for a bar. By all means go for champagne (or Bucks Fizz is a cheap and popular alternative), wine and water but guests fully understand that you can’t be expected to pay for everything. If they want to hit the alcohol, let them pay for it!
If you want to find the best prices for champagne, beer, wine and other drink, visit http://uk.kelkoo.com/category.jsp?catId=128701 for great comparison shopping.
And finally….although budgeting and cutting costs will always be an issue, don’t let it give you sleepless nights. Your day is supposed to memorable and enjoyable and not a financial nightmare, so get as much of the cost cutting and budgeting discussions out of the way very early on so you can enjoy the weeks ahead, rather than dread them.
I’d like to recommend a useful planning tool to all prospective couples:
Wedding Planning on a Budget calculator
Links
Wedding Planning on a Budget
http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Money-on-Your-Wedding-Ceremony-and-Reception
http://www.creative-wedding-planning.co.uk/blog/hire-a-wedding-planner-and-save-money/
http://www.topweddingsites.com/
http://www.thehappyguide.com/marriage/
Discover How to Plan the Ultimate Honeymoon – great honeymoon planner and lots of helpful tools
Free Site Sign-up – An Honest Review
I’d like to tell you as much as I can about some thing I have discovered whilst researching about using the Internet to make money, at the moment its a second income stream, some thing to sweeten the meager salary I get!
Please don’t leave just yet, I think everyone who visits me should benefit from what I am publishing on this blog. I’d like you to know today about Free Site Sign-up and why I for one believe it’s a worthwhile opportunity. So if you’re still here and want to know more about this, then read on.
You are probably tired of all these “get rich quick” schemes and all the vast array of softwares that are available and they all claim to make you fast and easy money don’t they? They pull you in and then bombard you with an avalanche of up sell and you end up paying them more money and you get nothing in return except more disappointment and more heartache.
Well I am sure that if you merely expect to sit there and not do any work at all you cannot realistically expect to make any money in the process.
Free Site Sign-up is not about another money for nothing scheme, it’s about being involved in a structured educational program that both enriches you and informs you at the same time, you can learn at your own pace, using as much time as you like for the duration of the 6 weeks course.
There are helpful instructional videos and other resources that are available only to Free Site Sign-up members, during this time you will get an end to end insight into what is involved in the advertising, promotion and marketing of electronic products on the Internet. As well as top quality training and advice they also believe in providing good quality support to all their members who are encouraged to ask questions and for help at any time if its needed.
Free Site Sign-up give you all the tools that you need to do the job, included in this package is a free review site that is set up and ready for you to use the moment you start your account with them.
The main advice that you can apply here and indeed to any job in any business field is:
Don’t give up (if you do you gained nothing and wasted more time in doing so)
Don’t make up excuses to not do it (there are many and they are not worth a single cent in real terms)
Work hard and you will see results and reap the rewards
The whole point of the program is that you get out of it what you put in there, you have to work it and you must set yourself some realistic goals and targets regarding sales so that you have some thing to aim for in medium term. In the long-term you should want to be making a steady and decent income from the internet.
You can sign up with Free Site Sign-up as an affiliate too and make yourself even more money by promoting their services. Do it today, get set up and grab your affiliate links and then tell your friends and contacts about it.
If You Don’t Want An Online Affiliate Marketing Business That Earns You Money 24/7 While You Sleep – This May Not Be For You…
Get listed in the Hotvsnot web directory! Find sites like this in the Marketplaces Directory
Top Stories
