HOW DO I

BUSINESS ADVICE

Edited By Frank Parker:

Ian Del Carmen is an online business professional running his main site at http://www.ianDelCarmen.com

His other sites include:
http://TheOnlineBusinessProfessional.com
http://MobileEbooks.net
http://InfoProductLaboratory.com

and many more!

Note: These articles are initially intended for American readers so any prices stated below will be in Dollars! Some advice/links may be different for the UK e.g. tax laws etc. so you may have to search in your favourite search engine for more relevant local information!

GO TO ARTICLES 6 TO 10

Articles 1 - 5 on this page!

(1): Make Your Ad Copy More Effective.
(2): 3 Things You Must Include in Your Next E - book or Report.
(3): Build Excellent Lifetime Relationships!
(4): Do You Have an Info Product to Offer?
(5): Evaluating Your Business Idea.

(1): Make Your Ad Copy More Effective:

Telling a story or sharing product and service information is fine in an ad. But the bottom line is that you want to close a sale. The difference in ad copy doesn’t have to be earth shattering. It can be very slight, in fact. Here are ways to make your ad a little more effective come closing time.

1. TESTS: Make public knowledge the results of your product and service testing. Share how your items stand up against the competition; how durable they are, how safe. Discuss the quality and unique features. Let people know “why” they should choose your items. And present the material in a professional way with statistics, graphs, before and after photos or other graphic images and a well-written report or case study documented.

2. YOU: While you’re at it, let them know why they should choose you! Don’t hide behind a P.O. Box and Yahoo email address. Add your background information, a nice executive resume, testimonials from clients, work samples, community involvement projects, industry awards, educational courses you continue to take for self improvement, workshops and seminars you attend, etc. let people know who you are. Add a nice, professional photograph of yourself, too, if you like.

3. CHARITY: Tie in a percentage of your sales with one of your favourite charities. And make mention of this in your ad copy. This is a win-win strategy because your company gives back to society plus your clients read about it; it improves your image in their eyes and shares your concerns. And they give, too. Everyone helps each other.

4. GUARANTEE: Include a good, solid guarantee in your offer. For examples, look at the last thing you purchased and check out the guarantee. In a nutshell, make it a lifetime offer and / or give them back MORE than they gave you.

5. PS: Since most people look for this feature, add it! Say something in your P.S. – like give them a Bonus offer if they reply by a certain deadline. Or focus on your best reason why the reader should buy – and NOW.

6. CONTACT: Do include complete contact information – that works! Test any email addresses and telephone numbers before going to press

So next time you need to ace your ad copy, go back over what you wrote and tweak it here and there for improvements. Better yet, have a contest and invite your readers to do it for you! How’s that for a win-win solution?!

(2): 3 Things You Must Include in Your Next E - book or Report:

Many people are now using e - books and reports to promote their business. Sometimes those reports are aimed at turning the reader into a subscriber; sometimes to turn the reader into a customer; and sometimes to turn the reader into a purchaser of an affiliate product.

But whatever the reason you are writing an e - book or report, there are three things you should include every time:

1. A resources section:

Let's say your e - book is about dog-training, and aimed at convincing the reader to join your membership site on dog training tips. Well, as well as writing about your site, you could also include other useful resources:

* Other sites that they might find useful
* Other reports or e - books that they might find useful
* Details of some of the best newsletters on dog training
* Links to Amazon for books or DVDs on dog training

And so on. And of course, any of these could be your products, affiliate products, or just normal links to normal sites.

If your e - book or report is rebrandable, you might even want to include details of the rebranding software that you're using, with your affiliate link on it.

2. A "freebies" section:

As well as reading the report or e - book, let the reader know about other freebies they can get from you. These could be in return for joining your mailing list (if they have not already joined when they downloaded the report), or just a way of saying "thanks" to new subscribers.

Again, these freebies might include affiliate links or links to your own products. They might also be viral tools you use to promote your site, such as rebrandable e - books.

Or maybe you have a free "dog training hints" newsletter which offers small snippets of information based on your membership site. And you then use the newsletter to convert free subscribers into paying customers.

3. A "work in progress" section:

Do you have other sites that are perhaps not related to dog-training? Share those as well, in case some of your readers are interested.

Do you have forthcoming products that you want to promote (perhaps a dog-training DVD set to complement your membership site)? Write a little bit about those, and point readers to a lead-capture page for that product.

Maybe you're interested in surveying readers of the report - let them know about the survey so that you can get some more feedback.

There you go, three things you can include in your report or e - book to help further promote you, your business, and your products.

(3): Build Excellent Lifetime Relationships!:

Do you realize relationships begin shortly after birth and are ongoing ways of life for every person on the planet?

An important part of life depends on how we develop our relationships with others. Perhaps, if we consider examples of this development, a better understanding will enable us to think more clearly before we interact with others.

Examples:

1. At birth we acknowledge a relationship with our mothers
2. Growing up, we build friendships with family members
3. In school, relationships with peers and teachers are normal
4. Most begin their dating relationships along the way
5. Searching for first employment, relationships must be formed
6. To market products, relationships are tried, tested, used

Most sports require close relationships to build a winning team. How far would the space programs have gotten without close working relationships? Would we marry without an excellent relationship with our partner?

As people mature in life, many relate an emptiness that is often difficult to understand or comprehend if a relationship has not been established with our creator. This personal relationship will fill a void that no other can fill. This is the most important relationship of all in every life, for complete fulfilment and joy.

The purpose for these examples are to enhance our willingness and desire to work on developing meaning in our lives, our families, and our businesses to become better persons and better marketers with positive relationship building goals.

A few very important traits in relationships are integrity or honesty, trust, and a willingness to open ourselves to others and be examined.

Have you ever seen failure? Perhaps it was caused by the lack of trust or integrity in another. Can relationship building with other persons prevent failure? Would your business become more successful with many great relationships? Think on these statements and make the adjustments in your life that you feel may improve your disposition.

These basic groundwork ideas on relationships are written to jog thinking and perhaps increase your business skills until they direct you to where success in business is inevitable and joy in your work becomes a normal lifestyle.

You may find varied and rotating articles on relationship building on our website, along with tips you can possibly use for your business.

Many times along the path of life, failures occur. It is good news to recognize and know the importance of earning good relationships during these trials and to be well prepared for the needed improvements.

Expect the best, prepare for the worst, and take what comes, is a great buffer for the many trials that happen in life.

Great relationships developed over a lifetime, yield great rewards!

(4): Do You Have an Info Product to Offer?:

If you have been researching or involved in online business for very long, you have no doubt seen a multitude of offers for "e - Books", books, reports and training course on every subject imaginable.

Why? Because information is the hottest product on the market! (At the foundational level, it's actually the Only product, but that's another article.) Information cuts straight to the root of all selling, which is answering the customer's question: "What will this product do for me?"

There's another reason, though. Pure information is a product that doesn't require a huge financial overhead to produce (other than the hard knocks you got in gaining the experience and information), and is easy and relatively low cost to deliver to the customer. That is what makes it such a great product for us, as entrepreneurs, to offer.

Everyone has life experience, training, and skills that others don't have. Everyone knows something that others want to know, or can do something that others want to learn. That's how I know you have an Info Product inside you, everyone does. Your first assignment is to decide which of your many gifts you are going to offer to the world!

Does that mean you have to be able to write a book? No. Not necessarily. I'm talking about what is known as USP...Unique Selling Position. Your USP might be that you have detailed knowledge about someone else's product that you are selling as an affiliate. It could be that humorous way you present the information you have collected on some subject of interest, or the fact that you offer the best customer service available for the service you offer. You may offer the same products that others are also selling, but find your own unique market for them.

But whatever you decide to use for your information product, your USP, you need to find one. If you were to research the online marketers who are honestly making the money they claim to be earning online, you would discover that they all have a USP. Your USP IS your product, however you package and deliver it.

If you are working a Multi-level Marketing program or one of the BIBs (Business in a Box), you are not left out of this concept, but you may have to work harder to figure out how to be unique. You can still go for the niche marketing idea. Find a group of people who aren't usually reached by these kinds of businesses, or aim your advertising at people in the countries that are just now going online.

You may, of course, actually write a book, eBook, or training course and sell it. Many are making good money doing just that. The list of helpful software and online publishers is growing every day. But even if you write your own product or design your own software, you will still need a well-thought-out USP to stand out in the crowd. It's like your business plan -- you need a firm foundation before you can build your future online success.

(5): Evaluating Your Business Idea:

You may have several ideas for a new business or only one. Before you start pouring your effort and money into an idea you need to see if it will stand up to some analysis. Try a SWOT analysis. This requires you to think about the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities your business will have, and the Threats it may face.

A high level of skill with a range of equipment, or a friend that is prepared to loan you some money would be strengths. If you have never run a business before that could be a weakness. A ready, enthusiastic market would be an opportunity, while several businesses almost identical to the one you are thinking of starting or a weakening economy would be threats. This type of analysis can show you if your business idea is viable and should encourage you to exploit opportunities and help you decide how to tackle threats.

Decide on your Unique Selling Proposition:

Why should a potential customer come to you and not a rival? Will you specialize in a certain area? You should be able to identify where and how you can contact your potential customers and have an idea of the demand for your type of service or product.

Write a Business Plan:

There are many versions and it seems every bank and business advisor has slightly different requirements. However every version should keep you focused on what you want to do with your business and the strategies to achieve this in a certain time frame. It should identify the services or products you intend to offer initially, and those you hope to expand into later. Remember the plan is a working document. If you miss deadlines you should be able to modify the plan to get your business back on course.

Once you have decided on the type of business you want to start do some research to see if there are any gaps in the local market. Find out your competitor's pricing. You could get friends to ask for quotes from the competition, or use a more direct approach and have discussions with a local expert. Remember, a company could be a potential competitor or a potential joint venture partner. Perhaps you could approach them with an idea for a product or service that would complement theirs.

When setting prices do not immediately assume undercutting is the only solution. You need enough income to cover your overheads and a low price may give the impression that your skills and work have little value.

Cash flow is another important element in starting and running a business. Make sure you do not have to make too big an investment before you get paid. You should know how much you have to earn to at least break even.

After working through your business plan and giving cash flow a good deal of thought you should know whether your proposed business is viable.