Five Ways to Improve Your Bottom Line

“A penny saved is a penny earned”, the old adage attributed to Ben Franklin, only tells half of the story. A penny saved is really better than a penny earned, because you don’t have to pay taxes on it. Here, then, are some time-honored ways for you to save money and improve the bottom line for just about any business: 

1. Review and Update Your Business Goals 

Many people are adept at staying very busy while accomplishing nothing of value. Don’t fall into this trap—and, if you do--dig out as quickly as possible. 

In order to succeed, you must set clear goals. If you have employees, those goals also need to be communicated to them. While there are many good and noble goals you can set for your business, one of the most profitable that I often ask myself is “what can I do that will make the most money the fastest?” 

This doesn’t mean that other goals such as contributing to good causes or providing excellent customer service aren’t important. If you don’t provide excellent customer service you won’t be in business very long anyway. But goals can often be clarified by setting them in order, and determining which will bring the quickest, most long-lasting financial results to your business is a great place to start. 

2. Find your Niche and Develop a Competitive Edge 

While it’s hard to compete with the “big boys”, there is plenty of room for small businesses to find their competitive niche. My competitive niche happens to be log furniture. While there is competition in that niche, I don’t have to compete with the “big boys” such as Walmart when it comes to selling log furniture. Tracking down Amish suppliers on lonely country roads, developing relationships with those suppliers, picking up, packing and shipping log furniture just isn’t part of their business plan. And it probably never will be. 

Your niche will probably be something different than shipping log beds, but you can be sure that there is a niche open to you. The key is to find the profitable activity that your business does best, and focus on that. 

3. Hire Superior Employees Who Share Your Company Culture 

If your business is large enough to require employees, be careful who you choose. In my experience, it’s better to pay more for top-notch employees who won’t require daily baby-sitting, than to nickel and dime it with job-hoppers who are perpetually unmotivated, late to work, or enmeshed in personal problems so deep that they can’t perform their job. 

Everybody goes through difficult times in their life, and you need to be sensitive to that. Your company will be miles ahead, however, if you can find employees with the emotional energy to buy into your vision and get excited about their jobs. 

You can find, develop and keep that kind of employee by investing significant amounts of time to recruiting and training. Make sure your compensation package is attractive, and, if at all possible, offer health insurance. Incentive compensation or profit-sharing plans can also be quite helpful in motivating employees to previously unheard of heights of achievement. 

4. Standandize and Simplify your Procedures 

It’s amazing how much time developing a simple form can save a company. The more people involved in your business, the more important it is that you have a set of standard procedures to follow. This will reduce training time when employee turnover occurs, lower the chance of errors, and increase efficiency in all aspects of your business. 

5. Measure the Results of Your Efforts 

Company and personal goals need to be quantified to determine if the desired results are being achieved. Key areas of measurement include the cost, quality, quantity and timeliness of work to be done. Each of these areas can have a profound impact on the bottom line of a business. 

Cost: It goes without saying that if two Amish furniture suppliers offer similar quality, furniture design and delivery timing—but one is substantially lower in cost than the other, I go with the lower cost supplier. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but not many. 

Quality: Quality is everything in most businesses, and log furniture is no exception. I’m not the least bit interested in shipping defective furniture from Michigan to California and back again, all because a customer wasn’t happy. That is a total waste of money, and hits the bottom line directly. This is why we are such sticklers about quality control, and why it’s been nearly four years since a customer even thought of returning an item. 

Quantity: Generally speaking, if you sell more, you make more. This is certainly the case with rustic furniture suites, especially with the high cost of shipping today. As a result, our website is focused around selling larger orders. We’re always happy when somebody orders a log bed, but we try to make it appealing for them to buy a nightstand and dresser too, by offering truly significant discounts. Regardless of your business, you can likely do the same. It’s generally easier to sell more product to an already existing customer, than to go and find new customers. 

Timeliness: Late deliveries cost money—at least they do in our business. It costs money to overnight packages that could have been sent by UPS ground or the postal service. It costs big money to expedite pallets of furniture. In addition, there is the stress, hassle and disorganization that comes with rushing around to do things at the last minute. This is why I try to leave a timing “cushion” in every furniture order I process. Regardless of what you’re selling, you should too. 

Doing things in a timely, organized manner gives a sense of professionalism and control—and that practice, together with the other suggestions mentioned in this article, can also have a direct and positive impact on your company’s bottom line. 

CYCLING PROGRAMS & PONZI SCHEMES

People make money and people lose money with cycling programs. People also make or lose money with network marketing and any other kind of legitimate business under the sun! While Ponzi schemes are illegal, some people make money with them, too, while many more lose money.. 

In this article, I would like to give the reader some information about Ponzi schemes and about “Cycling” programs. 

PONZI SCHEMES 

Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme, named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents. In the year 1920, Ponzi offered 50% profits every 45 days. He collected $9.8 million dollars from 10,550 people and paid out $7.8 million in just 8 months. 

This was a kind of swindle, also called a “bubble” and has existed for hundreds of years. In reality, it is not an “investment” as people are led to believe. Money is simply being transferred from new investors to earlier investors. It is a fraud in which the “investors” are promised extremely high returns over a very short period of time. 

This short payment time and high rate of return soon attracts large numbers of people. Initial “investors” make a lot of money, but their profits are not a result of the success of a business. Their profits actually come from the contributions of those people who later join, thinking they are participating in a legal business investment. 

Ponzi schemes typically claim that their moneymaking abilities are because of their elaborate, inventive investments or business process. Because of word-of-mouth advertising about this great “opportunity,” new depositors are quick to jump on board. Usually a Ponzi scheme will not last very long. It eventually collapses since it was based on something that either never existed, or was grossly overvalued. 

A major attraction of a Ponzi scheme is that it appears to be a high paying investment opportunity. As a passive type of program, a person does not need to work in order to generate great profits. The impression that people are given is that they need only to put their money into it and wait for the money to come rolling in! 

Unfortunately, only a few “early birds” actually make money, which they actually receive by fraud, while everyone else loses most of or maybe their entire investment! 


CYCLING PROGRAMS 

Most people who are looking for ways to make money, truly just want to find something that is legitimate and is within their ability to do. A conventional business generally requires a large investment and long working hours. Network marketing, even though it is also a business that takes investment of time and money before a great deal of success is realized, has the advantages of being able to work part time and takes far less investment than does a conventional business. Unfortunately, with network marketing or MLM, there is a lot of hype. Often people are made to believe that they should be making lots of money in a short time. Since that usually doesn’t happen with MLM, as in any other legitimate business, people may begin looking for something that has less involvement and is more “passive” in nature. 

So along comes an offer of a promise to make money in a short period of time. All you have to do is invest your money…and wait. There may or may not be some sort of product involved. A product of some sort at least keeps the program within “legal” limits. The so-called product may be leads that have been used over & over again, or some other internet thing that a person would not normally spend their hard-earned bucks for. 

The promoters can be very skilled at making a person think that they are getting into a type of investment that really pays off. Indeed, a person, provided they are in “early” enough, does get paid. Investors are led to believe that the “investment” is what is paying off, when in reality, it may be they are being paid from new people investing their money, or even may be getting part of their own money back. These high-yield investment programs (HYIP’s) are actually much like the “cycling” programs only they are not called that. Most of those programs last no longer than about 6 months or so, and then collapse. 

Then there are the programs that tell you that you will get paid when you cycle, or it is your turn. At first it takes only a few days to “cycle” and your money may double. The longer the program lasts, the longer it takes for a person to cycle. Eventually the cycle program collapses and the promoter starts another one. Most likely the same people that got in early on one program, will be the ones who get in early on the next program, and so on. A few people make real money, while the majority of folks are left holding the bag! 

The promoter of this kind of program, I believe, is running an illegal Ponzi scheme! Even the people who get in early and make money are actually making money at the expense of those who invested later on, and may be in legal trouble, at least in the United States. 

From the little bit of experience I have had with both the HYIP’s and the cycling programs, even though at the time I believed each was probably legitimate, a close analysis now tells me different. In general, I would advise anyone to stay far, far away from HYIP’s and from cycling programs. 

However, I believe there may be some exceptions to the above information: there are at least a couple companies which have been around for several years that offer cycling plans to their members to help them in advertising or obtaining leads for their business. It should be noted, though, that the members purchase product from these companies each month. Their compensation plan is not based on when they “cycle.” 

Dear reader, face up to it, if you are going to develop an income in a legitimate business, you will need to be prepared to work, invest some money, and allow time before you realize the income of your dreams!

Convenience Fee Rip-Offs

Convenience Fee Rip-Offs

Today's tirade: Convenience Fees.

It sounds appropriate, the business or organization goes out of it's way to provide you a new or extended service that saves you time and money and you pay a small fee for this added service.

But most of the time this "convenience fee" is applied to something that is actually saving the business or organization thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of dollars a year. Not only are they cutting costs but they are increasing revenue by socking you with another fee for a service you already pay for through your regular payments or fees.

This tirade was sparked by my having to pay a $2 "convenience" fee to pay some state sales taxes. While $2 isn't much and it was more convenient to be able to pay on-line rather than having to write a check, find a stamp and remember to mail it, I am annoyed that it was charged in the first place.
Since the transaction was done entirely on-line, the state saved on payroll costs for a state employee that would have to open my letter, extract the information, figure out what the payment was for, lookup my account on their computer system, enter the payment information, and prepare the check for submission to the bank.

This may only take a state employee a grand total of 10 minutes, but if that is all the person does all day long and they get paid $10 an hour (though most likely it is much more when you add in all those great state benefits), then it would cost the state $80 for that day's work.

But if I do the work myself through my on-line payment as do another 48 people, not only does this poor employee have nothing to do that day, but the state saves $80+ in payroll costs. But also the state charges each of these 48 people a "convenience fee" of $2. So the state also increased revenue by $96. For a total net gain to the state of $176+ per day.

What is interesting is that the $80+ dollars that was saved is less than the total of the convenience fees.

But I can see a reason for the convenience fee. If I owe $100 taxes and I want to use my AmEx card to pay it, AmEx charges for the transaction. So the state is right in charging me extra for the "convenience" of using my credit card.

But if I just saved the state by doing the transaction and recording the information myself on-line, didn't I just save the state some money. If AmEx charges the state a high 3% fee on tranactions, my $100 trasaction would cost the state $3. If the total cost for the 10 minutes the state employee to open and process my payment is more than $3 then the state saved money.

If the state pays the employee a measley $10/hour plus benefits and we estimate the total payroll costs at $14/hour and add in half again for the costs of the building, utlitiles and equipment that employee uses we get a total of $21/hour cost.

So the 10 minutes it would have taken the state employee to process my payment would cost the state about $3.50. If the state saves $3.50 by giving me the convenience of paying my bill on-line and it costs the state $3.00 for the credit card processing fee, didn't the state just save an additional $0.50 on my one transaction alone.

$0.50 is not much but add that up over the state population and over several years and it is significant savings. Also, it these times of tax increases and government budget woes you would think that any savings or reduction in expenses would be a welcomed thing.

So why is the state being stingy and additionally charging me a "convenience fee" when I am helping them to save money? Should they give me a discount to encourage me to try their new system.

Once I have used the system (if it is a well designed system) I will probably use it in the future, thus saving them additional money for years to come. People should be encouraged and rewarded for going out of their comfort zone to try something new, especially if it saves the business or organization money.

And don't even get me started on bank ATM fees. This same argument can be used on banks and their ATM "convenience fees". Everyone knows that they saved billions of dollars over the last 20 years with ATMs.

In the meantime, I will use and even appreciate the convenience of paying my tax bill on-line, but I will cringe each time I am charged a "convenience fee" for helping my state save money. Tax breaks anyone?
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© Simple Joe, Inc.
David Berky is president of Simple Joe, Inc. a marketing company that sells simple software under the brand name of Simple Joe. One of Simple Joe's best selling products is Simple Joe's Money Tools - a collection of 14 personal finance and investment calculators. This article may be freely distributed so long as the copyright, author's information and an active link (where possible) are included.

Designing a Budget Around Your Take-Home Income

Designing a Budget Around Your Take-Home Income

Have you ever found yourself wondering where all the money has gone and its not the end of the month? There are things we can do to help ourselves eliminate being in this situation. Listed below are the steps you may follow, along with a brief discussion of each:

1. Determine monthly take-home income
2. Understand all bills and expenses
3. Tracking expenses
4. Building up savings and retirement
5. Spend less then you make

Determine Monthly Take-Home Income

Whether you are a single individual or a family, you need to determine how much money is being made each month. Once this is determined the family or individual knows how much money there is to work with. If we find ourselves spending more than we make, then some decisions need to be made.

There are basically three options: get another job to subsidize your income, get more education or training to get a better paying job, or decrease your spending. Each option should be considered carefully by the individual or family.

Understand Bills and Expenses

Account for your bills and the money you spend during your daily activities. This can be done by saving copies of your paid bills and recording your daily expenses in a small notebook. Once or twice a month take inventory of your expenses. Daily expenses would include all money paid out of pocket except your monthly bills.

Tracking Your Expenses

We have created a budget using the computer to track our finances. A good spreadsheet or financial software will help track your expenditures. We create categories in our budget that allow us to micro-manage our expenditures.

A brief example will help in better demonstrating this point. We have categories like food, insurance, auto, fuel, clothing, savings, children's expenses, etc. You can come up with whatever categories fit your needs.

After you have determined what your monthly take-home income is, you need to divide it up between your categories. The total amount placed in all the categories needs to equal your take-home income. The key to making the tracking effective is to enter your expenses regularly and stay within the amount allotted in each category.

If your track your expenses effectively, in just a few months' time you will find areas where you might be able to make changes and save money. We have noticed how much money we spend on frivolous stuff. Following a budget and tracking expenses takes inner commitment to be effective.

Savings Account and Retirement

A big part of any budget should be setting aside money into a savings account. Money in a savings account provides a little cushion in case of an emergency, loss of employment, or disaster. The amount that should be set aside in a savings account will vary depending on your circumstances.

The important thing is that you start. Over time your savings account will grow larger and accrue interest. As your employment circumstances improve, you may want to increase the amount you are putting into savings.

Just a side note about saving for retirement. If your employer has a 401K program, it would be beneficial to look into the program. Many employers have a matching program where they will match a certain percentage of what you contribute.

If your employment does not have a retirement savings plan, then you may want to look at budgeting money for your own long-term savings plan. This plan could be investing in the stock market or an individual IRA. You may want to seek advice from a financial expert.

Spend Less Than You Make

This has been a age-old problem. People in general have a tendency to spend more than they make. It takes strength and inner commitment to live within one's means and save for a rainy day.

A simple rule of thumb is to spend less then you make and save as much as you can. This practice does not have to be done overnight, but steady improvements will yield great financial dividends.

Setting up your budget takes time and effort, but can be very rewarding. Getting in control of your financial future can be done with the help of a budget and some personal discipline on your part. Good luck in your budgeting endeavors.

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© Simple Joe, Inc.
Lyle Evans is a software testing specialist for Simple Joe, Inc., makers of the popular Simple Joe's Income & Expenses PC software. Income & Expenses is a quick and simple way to keep track of your cash flow and stay within your budget. Income & Expenses is ideal for personal, business, home and club accounting.. This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author's information and an active link (where possible) are included.

Offline Promotion Guide

Offline Promotion Guide

Banner ads, search engines and link exchanges. We've all tried them while promoting our sites and online businesses, some have worked more successfully than others mind you but just because you run an online business doesn't mean you've to always promote it online. In fact on many occasions a websites marketing budget can be spent just as effectively using offline methods as it can be using online methods such as the ones mentioned above. Indeed website branding seems to be much more successful using offline methods such as TV and Radio. This article is your guide to promoting your website offline, I hope you enjoy it.

Your URL is very important
The basis behind any offline promotion campaign for your website is of course to get your website visited more often and if your sales letter is good enough to get more sales from these extra visitors. This can only be done by getting the address of your site 'out there' and visible to lots and lots of people. It's for this reason that your URL is very important, it's your lifeline in the offline world, the amount of exposure it receives will make or break your offline campaign. It should appear on any material you send to customers or clients, others businesses you deal with and most importantly potential customers.

More on where you can put your URL offline a little later, but for now here's a little paragraph or two regarding things which you can do online to help your offline marketing efforts. First off your website should always have a banner (a standard 468 x 60 or larger banner works best) at the top of every page with your website address clearly visible on it.

The reasoning behind this it that many people prefer to print out larger webpages with articles, stories, tutorials and the like to read later and then keep for reference rather than read them online as they're surfing. Without your URL on your banner people may re-read your content but never revisit your site due to them simply forgetting your website address and you may have lost a customer.

It's also a good idea to make available online any recent press releases you may have issued. This is due to the fact that many journalists and editors surf the web, if they like your company and product they might be inclined to let their readers know why. A press release will provide them with the latest information regarding your company helping them to do this.

Now we'll go through where you can promote your site offline.


Put your URL on all day to day business items 

In the day to day running of your business you'll use many document type items. By these I refer to invoices you send, faxes you send, checks you send, product packaging, business cards etc. Your URL, email address and an attractive website slogan which makes people want to visit should all be present on each of these items either in the form of a banner used with faxes, invoices or other letterhead paper items or simple text which is generally used for business cards and checks. You could even include your URL and if space permits your website slogan on all the simple letter envelopes you send out.
Television
Next we'll talk about the big one - TV. This may well appear to be financially out of reach of all but the biggest websites with very large advertising budgets, but no this is not true. OK admittedly you probably don't and never will have the financial capability to run ads on mainstream Cable such as Fox in America or Sky in Britain and Ireland, not to worry though as such advertising is usually targeted very generally and is useful only to sites with broad appeal such as Amazon.com or Yahoo.com.

Local cable television advertising is much more feasible and effective for the more 'ordinary website'. This type of advertising appears to be very reasonably priced at the moment and is particularly effective if your product or services is oriented toward a specific geographic target market, for example imagine if you were a Detroit web design company, simply advertise your company and URL on a local Detroit channel. Contact a Sales representative from your local cable company to find out more. You should of course mention your URL on numerous occasions within your ad spot.

Radio

Radio advertising can be very effective in advertising your URL if your domain name is short, catchy and easy to remember. Creative webmasters could develop short scripts themselves whereby their ad incorporates their slogan which in turn incorporates the benefits of visiting their URL. As with TV advertising radio ads work best when targeted towards a specific demographically segmented market such as a certain cities residents. Again price wise you mightn't be able to compete with the big boys and have ads on very popular stations, but local stations offer good prices. Keep in mind however that prices all depend on when and how often your ad is run.

Newspapers, classifieds and related magazines

The print media which includes newspapers, journals and magazines is another avenue where your can have your URL exposed for everyone to see. It's best first to start advertising your products, services and URL in local newspapers and then if successful continue onto regional and national publications. If you can't afford the common graphical advertisement as seen throughout newspapers and journals related to your industry don't worry as most of these publications have classified ad sections. Classified ads allow you to reach a targeted audience very cheaply with a simple short message and of course your URL is included in there somewhere too.

Company vehicles

We all see vehicles with company names and telephone numbers on them driving our streets and motorways. This is a great idea as it gives potential customers the chance while out and about to learn about the company and also learn about how to contact them should they need the service or product they offer at some stage in the future. I often wonder why more websites aren't promoted in this way by simply adding the company website URL also, you definitely should do this.

If your business is an exclusively online entity then your URL should be large and very visible to anyone who glances in the direction of your vehicle. Again many people would be driving or walking by as your vehicle drives by and wouldn't be able to write down a long website address so it would be an advantage to have a short, easy to remember URL.

A word of advice before we move on, if you do choose to brand your personal or company vehicles with your URL have it done professionally, if your design looks poor people might be inclined to believe your site and products are poor too. Check a local business directory to find out who can do this for you. 

Overture Tips and Suggestions

Last time (AdWords Article) I talked about AdWords and how to make a killer AdWords Campaign. This article will show you when and why to use Overture and how to get the most bang for your buck.

I highly recommend using these two PPC engines together... Both have advantages and disadvantages and really compliment each other well. I have found that I get very similar amounts of traffic from each for the most part, but the type of traffic is very different. Basically, I use Google for the "Main Industry Keywords", i.e. the more expensive keywords. I try to list in the top 5 for these keyword in Google and do that by using the tips given in the last tutorial. I will alway list my sites for these keywords in Overture also, but I will only list them highly if they are affordable, which varies by industry.

Overture Advantages

1. You know your price. Unlike Google, Overture is based 100% on how much you are willing to spend. You know exactly where your ads will showup the first day you start your campaign and you can check them every day and tweak your cost to move up or down in the rankings.

2. You can be more selective with your ads. Unlike Google, you don't have to worry much about your CTR. Overture will turn you off if it is horrible (or so I am told) but I have never had any turned off. This means you can really "pre-sell" your product or service from the ad, rather than just trying to get them to come to your site to keep your CTR above .05%. This means you can add the price of your product, etc. so they know EXACTLY what they are getting into before coming to your site. If they won't be interested, they won't click. This will save you money! Warning: Try this out, but don't oversell everything... some people need to get to your site and see your killer copy, promotional text, demos, and testimonials before they will buy!

3. Overture always shows "Exact Matches" over "Broad Matches". This means if you have a very specific keyword that you are paying just 10c for... and someone else is paying $1 for a more broad match your results will come up first. This give you incentive to find LOTS of keywords and customize ads for each one.

Overture Disadvantages

1. Usually more expensive, especially for the top keywords, and also the starting cost (10c rather than 5c for AdWords). This can be a substantial difference with the higher priced keywords, so often times I will list where my budget suggests rather than for position.

2. You have to do more research to get bargins and keep overall costs low. Like I said before, you can get great deals on specific keywords... you just have to find them all and write ads for each one... this is time consuming and sometimes difficult, but worth the effort.

3. No "discount". Unlike Google, your ads are only based on price. For marketing managers who need to know exactly how much they are spending, this is the PPC Engine for them... Therefore, most large companies eat up Overtures top keywords with $10,000+/month budgets. It can be a tough place for a budget of $300/month but you can still get results.

Overture Tips
1. Write an Ad for EVERY Keyword. Don't be lazy. Take the time and do this right. No one has every made their millions by taking the shortcut.

2. Use the Keyword that the add is for in EVERY AD. Yahoo's Engine BOLDS your keyword to make it stand out. I just see that MSN now LINKS your Keyword in every Ad! This means you get more chances for your ad to be clicked if you put your keyword in the ad. This is another reason you need to write an ad for every keyword!

3. You get a little more room and flexibility in writing your Overture ads. You aren't tied in to that 3 line box like AdWords has. BUT it is VERY IMPORTANT to say what you mean at the BEGINNING. Many of the users of Overture CUT OFF YOUR ADS and put a .... If you wait till the end to say what you are selling, it might get cut off.

4. If you are in the top 5 positions, you get a little bonus. For Yahoo's Engine, you get listed TWICE on the homepage if you are in positions 3-5. You will get listed on the SIDE and AT THE BOTTOM. Check it out! The ads are the same for 3-5 as the very bottom under the results. This used to be the same on MSN, but they are now repeating ads 1-3 AT THE TOP and AT THE BOTTOM. Therefore if you are not in 1-5, you are missing out on FREE exposure.

5. Check, Check, Check, Monitor, Check, Monitor, Check. Don't create your Overture account and then leave it. You should go in at least once a week and make sure you are still in the position you want to be. You need to check your competitors and see what they are doing. You need to write down every time you think of a new keyword and add it to your campaign. Every time you launch a new product/service, tweak the ads that need to reflect it.

6. Be creative! Make Overture ads for Specials you are running on a product. Are you offering Free Shipping? Tell them in the overture ad! Are you giving away a prize? Promote it! Use it for things that no one else is!

Choosing an eBook Compiler

What is an eBook compiler?

You've written and revised your ebook, hired an artist who has produced outstanding graphics, and now you're ready to actually put together your ebook. What you
need to make an ebook is software called an ebook Compiler.

There are many different compilers to chose from, but first, you need to know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the simple explanation:

An ebook compiler is a software program that converts either text pages or HTML text into a single executable file or an ebook.

If you or someone you hired has created a file with graphics in HTML, you will need an HTML ebook Compiler. This type of compiler requires a working knowledge of the HTML tag language. You can also use software to do this for you, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.

How do you choose an eBook Compiler?

There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the market, all with glowing sales copy and tekkie language. It can get very confusing and overwhelming very fast without some simple guidelines to help you figure out which compiler is right for you.

Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on a number of factors:

1. How did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF format? There are many more compilers available for HTML, but you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF files into an ebook.

2. Consider how easy the program is to use and the thoroughness of the software's instruction manual. It is absolutely necessary that the compiler you buy have an instructional manual, documentation, or online "wizards." If it doesn't, your chances of figuring out how to correctly use the program are compromised, and the time required doing so is going to be significant. Many manufacturers of compilers offer a free trial version so you can play around with it and see if it suits your needs. Download the trial version and ascertain that it actually does what it claims to do.

3. Security features. If you plan to sell your ebook, check out the security features of the compiler software carefully. Security features should include: prevention of the reader from modifying text, access only to the pages you assign or by entering a password, different ways of generating passwords such as secure passwords, user friendly, and open passwords.

4. Supported scripting. Find out what scripts the software supports. Scripting allows you to create special effects, customize menus, and create and modify other user interactivity. Choose a compiler that permits you to include graphics, search windows, hyperlinks, forms, surveys, etc.

5. Pricing. This is a factor that is not always easy to gauge. The highest priced compilers are not automatically your best choice. Choose your compiler based on the necessary requirements for your Ebook. That means you need to know exactly how you plan to use your Ebook and what functions you require.

Let's look at some of these factors in more detail. First of all, make sure you have the correct browser to run the compiler. The majority of HTML compilers use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape. Check out the version that the compiler supports. Compilers that require a browser will not run on a computer that does not have the required browser installed. However, there are ebook HTML compilers that don't require you to have any browser installed on your computer. These compilers run on any Windows system.

If you choose a compiler that requires a browser, check to ascertain that the browser is installed correctly and that it is properly configured to the specifications of the compiler. Check to see if certain functions are turned off or on, and make any adjustments according to the compiler instructions.

Security is an essential element of any compiler, regardless of whether you plan to sell or give away your ebook. One of the main reasons for using a compiler is to prevent the reader from modifying the contents. A secure compiler allows access only to the pages you want the user to access unless they enter a correct password.

To find out how secure an ebook HTML compiler is, open an ebook on it. While it is open, check the temporary directory of your computer. This can usually be accessed by typing in C:Windows emp. If you see a bunch of files when your ebook is open or running, it means that your computer is decompressing the secure data from your ebook before showing the ebook to the viewer. This method is not secure! It means that anyone with the knowledge of how to access these temporary files can steal the secure data and then they can fiddle with your ebook to their evil heart's desire. Remember, one of the main purposes of buying and using an HTML compiler is to protect your property.

Next, let's discuss passwords. When trying to choose an ebook Compiler, check out the type of passwords that the compiler supports. Almost all compilers offer some kind of password protection that insures that the user can only access the contents they have purchased from you. However, the best compilers offer varied ways to generate different types of passwords. Choose a compiler that gives you the options of secure, user-friendly, and open password generation.

Another important factor when it comes to passwords is how the compiler generates them. A compiler that has internal password protection generation built into the
software is more secure than compilers that link to live Internet password control systems.

Find out if the compiler generates passwords online. If it has this option, it allows you to choose any payment processing system you want or to do the payment processing yourself.

Next, look into the size of ebook the compiler supports. The best compilers can create ebooks up to 2 GB in size without decompressing the HTML pages or images to your hard disk. Usually, ebooks that are 2 GB in size can easily support 6 GB of compressed data. The catch here is that only text files will generally be compressible.

You do not want a compiler that decompresses this amount of data when the user attempts to open your ebook. This would mean that anyone who purchases your ebook will have to wait for all the data to decompress before they can access your ebook right after downloading it. So look for compilers that only decompress temporarily files that are NOT HTML to the local hardisk. Non-HTML files include Flash, Word, and Acrobat files. This type of compiler is more secure and certainly faster.

Make sure the compiler you choose is compatible with your system software. Check out what version of Windows it requires, and make sure you have that version before buying your compiler.

Support issues are extremely important. Choose a compiler that includes an installation program. This program allows your user to choose a number of different places on their computer to install the ebook, to place a shortcut on their desktop, and to add the ebook, if they choose, to the Start Programs menu.

You also want excellent and accessible vendor support. Make sure you can access quick technical support! At three o'clock in the morning, this factor will be VERY
important. Also, check to see the terms of free technical support offered. Unlimited technical support is obviously the best option.

Check to see if the company that puts out the compiler software offers a service level agreement. This agreement is to assure you of their quality response to your questions or problems.

A good thing to consider is how long the compiler has been on the market. Usually, the version number will give you an idea. The longer the program is on the market, the higher the version number, the more bugs have been worked out.

When choosing an ebook compiler, do not be swayed by incredible promises and dazzling sales copy. Do your homework first, and then consider all the above issues and factors before choosing an ebook compiler.

Brought to by Larry Strawson author of many articles  and ebooks on internet marketing.

RSS vs Email: Its Not An Either-Or Question

If you’ve been getting caught up in all this talk of RSS versus email, its time to stop wondering.

Marketing Sherpa just posted a new report that stirred up the old RSS vs Email debate again. http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2988

The report starts out by stating, “It chills our blood when we hear email marketers and publishers blithely state, “I’m thinking about switching over to RSS entirely!” Oh no. Please don’t. RSS is worthy of testing, but it’s not an email replacement and it never will be.”

A report in Jupitermedia titled “E-Mail Marketing: Alive and Well” notes, “RSS won't be immediately effective as an alternative to e-mail marketing. (But) for some companies (primarily publishers who cater to a technical audience), it's sensible to press forward with RSS now as a supplement to e-mail marketing.” http://www.jupiterresearch.com/bin/item.pl/research:concept/1103/id=96103/

A lot of people think this debate has been going on for long enough. RSS is NOT a replacement for email. It does not (and may never) rival the marketing reach and immediacy of an email message.

Those who’ve been mourning the death of email marketing don’t seem to “get” the fact that RSS hasn't reached the tipping point yet. More people read email than RSS feeds – many more.

I believe that a smart publisher or marketer must use both - Email and RSS. Its not an either/or question.

I know for a fact that my blogs get read more when I send out an email with a “blog post roundup.” I personally prefer email and tend to read those blogs more frequently that use email notification.

But the news is not all good for email marketing. According to DoubleClick, 64.7% of all legitimate email being sent (based on their own customers' stats) is never opened. Email delivery is cited as the #1 email marketing headache.

The good news is that email marketing has a terrific Return on Investment (ROI) bringing in $15.50 per dollar spent on a campaign according a report in Email Sherpa. http://www.emailsherpa.com/emailblog.cfm?ID=360

That $15.50 per email-marketing dollar spent is roughly 17% more than in direct-mail campaigns and 73% more than telemarketing campaigns.

eMarketer reports that email is still a powerful marketing tool if used well in a new report, "Email Marketing: How to Improve ROI." http://www.emarketer.com/article.aspx?1003369

Some points it notes:
· 71 percent of US online advertisers used email marketing in 2004, while 77 percent using paid search.
· Despite spam and email overload 45 percent see email as a good way for companies to stay in touch with customers.
· Customer retention and increased loyalty is the main objective for email marketing among 63 percent of surveyed marketers
· 62 percent also see email as a way to acquire new customers.
· Email volume in the US is expected to rise from over 2 trillion message this year to nearly 2.7 trillion by 2007.

Even though both email spam and email delivery are on the rise, end-users are getting used to spam and it's bothering them less than it used to.

The Marketing Sherpa report also notes that 91% of US Internet users use email on a regular basis, while roughly 4% use RSS feeds on any sort of basis at all.

It suggests that publishers do test RSS, but recommends that they not treat RSS as “shovelware for email content” because it is a new medium.

Other disadvantages it notes for RSS publishers is the challenge of metrics.

“No deliverability, open rates, hard vs soft bounces. No a/b tests, no usability tests, no offer tests, no recency/frequency tests, and multivariable testing…"

"The kind of data that marketers and publishers rely on to make business, content, and marketing decisions for email campaigns is almost entirely lacking for RSS at this time,” says the report.

So if you’re wondering what you should publish - a blog or an email newsletter - I suggest you do both.

Or at least publish a blog with email notification built in. Remember, your list is still your most valuable asset online.

Keep either Email or RSS out of your marketing toolbox and you’re losing out on a significant portion of your audience.

RSS has other advantages that email does not have - like being able to syndicate your content across the web. It can be a very useful tool for building link popularity - if you do it right.

As a marketer you do need to start brushing up on your knowledge of RSS and a good place to start is here. http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/rss-blogging.htm

Priya Shah is the CEO of eBrand360. She writes the Marketing Slave blog and publishes aninternet marketing newsletter.

You are a Recent College Graduate, Have a Job and Now What

A new car is the first purchase most college graduates want to make directly after graduation. You may ask yourself, what is the matter with being rewarded with something nice after completing such a hard task that you have been working towards your whole life? Depending on what your entry-level job pays; it would be wise to spend accordingly with your available income. Many graduates think they are getting better paying jobs than they actually get after college, so they purchase a vehicle way out of their price range. “I know when I graduate in December, it will be nice to get a new car, but I know there will be student loans and other living expenses to pay off first,” says Jayne Santucci, a senior at Florida Atlantic University. “When recent college graduates get their first job, they see their co-workers with brand new cars, so they think they should get one also, not knowing the co-workers experience and salary,” Santucci adds.

If you are going into a career that coincides with your college major, you may want to consider starting with an entry level position rather than taking a higher paying job in an unrelated field. The entry level job will be better for you in the long run because it will give you more opportunities to advance in a field that you were trained in. If you start with a higher paid job in a different career, you might lose interest quickly and have little room for advancement. Stick with your career, and the money will eventually come.

When you get hired for your first job in the “real world,” find out what kinds of retirement plans are available. The majority of employers offer 401(k) plans or other tax-deferred retirement options. With every paycheck you receive, you can contribute money into the 401(k) and many employers will match some part of your contribution. This will help you save for your future. Start your savings account immediately and if at all possible have your money directly deposited into your account. Learn to pay yourself first!

According to CNN Money, college graduates of 2005 are being paid more in starting salaries than the class of 2003-2004. Here is a list of the average salaries for college graduates.

Accounting - $41,039; Management - $35,811;Teaching - $29,733; Sales - $37,130;Nurse - $38,775;Financial /Treasury - $45,596; Software -Design - $53,729; Consulting - $49,781;Source: CNN Money 2005



After obtaining their landing your first job, many college graduates think it may be a good idea to move back home with their parents so they can save money. Saving money is not always the case when moving home. Having the feeling of fewer bills can provide you more freedom for going out and buying an expensive car, stereo or designer clothes. So, instead of saving your money, graduates could be spending it on items they do not really need. It might be a smarter idea to actually stay independent because you will grow and may learn faster what it means to be self-reliant. As a college graduate, you may struggle starting out at first, but it will be beneficial to you in the long run.

The most important word to you, a recent college graduate, should be “b-u-d-g-e-t.” By creating a budget, it will give you the opportunity to design a method to pay your bills and save for something you really want. The better you are at sticking to a budget, the more peace of mind you will have when it comes to your personal finances.

A person’s twenties could be the most important years to start achieving your financial goals. The earlier you invest the better. If a 25-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at a 6 percent compound interest annually for fifteen years and never invests another dollar, after the age of 40, the 25-year-old will earn more by the age of 65 than a 35-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at 6 percent compound interest annually for 30 years, even though the 35-year-old would have invested twice as long.

Last but not least, it is important to identify a short, medium and long-term goal for yourself. A short-term goal may be a new car, a vacation or a television. A medium-term goal could be buying a business, a house or paying for your child’s education. A long-term goal can be retirement and traveling.

Managing money as a young adult can be the most important in terms of your financial situation. It is best to do research and want to learn about how to manage your credit, bills, and any extra expenditure before it is too late. Be smart with your money.

Pete Glocker is employed in the Education and Charitable Services Department at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. (“DMCC”), a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Pete graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Multimedia Journalism and is an experienced web producer for Tribune Interactive products Sun-Sentinel.com and SouthFlorida.com. DMCC provides free financial education, personal budget counseling, and debt management plans to consumers across the United States. Debt management plans offered by DMCC help consumers relieve the stress of excessive debt by reducing credit card interest rates, consolidating and lowering monthly payments, and stopping collection calls and late fees. DMCC financial counselors can be reached for free education materials, budget counseling and debt management plan quotes by calling 800-863-9011 or by visiting http://www.dmcccorp.org . Pete Glocker can be reached by email at pete@dmcccorp.org 

7 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE Starting A Business Blog

Blogging is the latest buzzword in online marketing and PR.

But with so many marketers jumping on the blogging bandwagon, few people are giving a thought to whether blogs are really up their alley, or taking the time to consider the best ways of going about it.

If you are planning to start a business blog, ask yourself these questions before you take the final plunge.

1. Do you really need a blog?

Writing and maintaining a blog takes a certain degree of commitment, as well as a passion (or at least a liking) for stringing words into a decent sentence. If you don't enjoy writing that much, you could always create an audio or video blog.

But would your business objectives really be served by starting a blog? Or could other methods of online marketing - like SEO, ezine advertising or newsletter publishing work just as well, if not better?

2. Whom do you want to reach with your blog?

The first step to reaching your audience is understanding where they go to find information about your products.

If your audience largely consists of people who live in your town or use products that they search for in the newspapers, offline advertising might be more suited to your purpose.

If however, your target audience belongs to one or more of these segments, a blog might be just the thing to boost your business.

- Internet users

Does your target audience really use the internet? If not, then starting a blog (or any online activity, for that matter) will just be a huge waste of time and effort.

- Blog readers

Does your target audience read blogs? Or do they prefer to get their information in their inbox? If the latter is true, then an email newsletter might be a better option than a blog.

- Search engine users

A blog is an excellent way to boost your search engine rankings and get listed for a lot of your target keywords. If you know that your audience uses search engines to find information, a blog will increase your chances of getting their attention.

3. What do you want to achieve with your blog?

There are a lot of things that a blog can do for your business. Blogs can help you -

- Increase your visibility and search engine rankings

- Brand yourself, your products, your services, your company

- Build a community and network with people who have similar interests

- Expand your reach to those outside your current sphere of influence

- Establish your credibility as an expert or thought-leader in your field 

- Put a human face on your business

- Reach out to potential customers and stakeholders

Deciding exactly what you want to achieve with your blog can help you get focused, so that you can spend your time and effort in activities that help, not hinder your business objectives.

4. How much time can you spend on your blog?

Serious business bloggers not only spend time writing their own blogs, but also spend a great deal of time reading up on current events and browsing other blogs in their field for information.

If you are prepared to put in the time and effort required to do that sort of research, your blog will serve as a good branding tool for your business.

If not, you should either hire someone to do the research or seriously rethink your decision to start a blog.

5. What blogging platform will serve your needs best?

Deciding your blogging platform is an important step that you should take only after becoming familiar with the features and benefits of each option.

The reason it is so crucial is because it can be extremely difficult to migrate an established blog to a new platform once you have started it. Moving your blog can result in you losing your data, search engine listings and readers, so don't take this decision lightly.

Decide which platform will best meet your marketing objectives, time constraints and personal preferences before you make your first post.

According to T.L. Pakii Pierce who writes at "How to Blog for Fun & Profits!" http://blogforfunandprofit.blogware.com, if you are short of time, and want to spend more time writing, then a hosted solution like Blogger, Blogware, Squarespace or Typepad might serve your purpose better.

This might also prove a better option if you want to get started as soon as possible, are new to the internet, or are unfamiliar with scripts or code.

If, on the other hand, you're a control freak (like me) and don't mind spending some time and effort to customize your blog, then a server-installed software, like Wordpress, b2Evolution or Movable Type might be just right for you.

If you don't want to install the scripts yourself, choose a hosting solution with Fantastico, which comes with a one-click install of a number of blogging software.

6. How do you plan to promote your blog?

Why is it good to know this before you start your blog? Because it will help you decide where best to invest your time and effort when you need to build traffic to your blog.

You'll learn more about the methods to promote your blog when you subscribe to the email course below. Some of these tasks can be outsourced, while others you would have to do yourself.

Decide what you want to take on and look out for service providers to handle the other functions so you can start building traffic to your blog as soon as possible.

7. How will you assess the success of your blog?

To determine how successful your blog is in boosting your profile or profits you will have to measure your blog traffic and track sales or leads that have come through it.

Planning this in advance will help you take more informed decisions about your blogging metrics, choice of blogging platform and degree of customization you require on your blog.

Understand that blogging is not for everyone. It's just another form of communication.

Don't get so hung up on the technology that you end up ignoring more appropriate ways of communicating your message.

Some things may be easier to communicate face to face, in a conference room, or even through the good old telephone.

But if you asked yourself all the questions above and decided that blogging meets all your objectives, then a blog may be just what the doctor ordered for your business.