Are you on a regular e-mail list?
Have you found that the e-mails you get are becoming more and more nothing more than marketing promotions for some affiliated product or other? They go something like this:-
‘Hi, Theodora,
I’ve just come across a brilliant new way to _ _ _ _. My friend (says who?), Joe Bloggs (or whoever) is making a £9k per week doing _ _ _. Now he’s offering to help you do the same.
I’ve looked at _ _ _ _ and it really is a fantastic opportunity.
Find out more about how he can help you become rich beyond your wildest dreams at http://www.-----.’
The first thing I notice is that the web page reference is a hoplink to an affiliate site. Anyone can register with Clickbank, Amazon, Ebay, etc and register as an affiliate of that product.
It’s probable that the person who sent you the e-mail has gleaned all the info about the product from the promotional blurb, not from personal experience.
Now I don’t mind that. What I do object to as the pretence that this is a personal information.
Why not come straight out and say:-
‘(Hi, Theodora,
I know you’re interested in _ _ _ _. Have you looked at (the hoplink to the affiliate’s page)? Let me know what you think.’
No pretence, straightforward and I’d probably visit the site even if I didn’t think I really was interested.
So be warned. Honesty is always best – even in affiliate marketing.
E-mail comments welcomed to ckerrydancer@aol.com
Subject 'Business' or visit www.percydale.com or www.darkhorseresearch.com
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Are You a Serial Seminar Attendee?
All entrepreneurs know the value of attending a good seminar. Meeting up with other entrepreneurs who have new ideas, different ways of working and a wide range of interests is ennervating.
Seminars also provide a good opportunity to increase your network of contacts.
These networks are important because they are your way of exploding your business into a phenominal explosion of success.
Unfortunately far too many seminar attendees never progress to anything like success.
They leave the venue full of enthusiasm clutching the goodies they've bought. Then once they are back home the enthusiasm wanes. Partners and friends are pessimistic and it's just easier to blame lack of success on the package you bought rather than admit you didn't give it a chance.
So you sign up for the next seminar. And the whole thing happens over again.
This addiction to seminars is not cheap. Most of them cost well into 4 figures and the products they sell you are also not cheap. And they don't guarantee success if you don't use them properly.
For that short time you are at the seminar and for a short while afterwards you bathe in the aura of the successful entrepreneurs who you met. You kid yourself that you too are one of them.
But you're not. Your just a seminar groupie!
You don't have to be. Sometimes all you needed was a little help to get up on that first step.
If you feel this is all you need visit www.percydale.com/Prospecting For Gold
Seminars also provide a good opportunity to increase your network of contacts.
These networks are important because they are your way of exploding your business into a phenominal explosion of success.
Unfortunately far too many seminar attendees never progress to anything like success.
They leave the venue full of enthusiasm clutching the goodies they've bought. Then once they are back home the enthusiasm wanes. Partners and friends are pessimistic and it's just easier to blame lack of success on the package you bought rather than admit you didn't give it a chance.
So you sign up for the next seminar. And the whole thing happens over again.
This addiction to seminars is not cheap. Most of them cost well into 4 figures and the products they sell you are also not cheap. And they don't guarantee success if you don't use them properly.
For that short time you are at the seminar and for a short while afterwards you bathe in the aura of the successful entrepreneurs who you met. You kid yourself that you too are one of them.
But you're not. Your just a seminar groupie!
You don't have to be. Sometimes all you needed was a little help to get up on that first step.
If you feel this is all you need visit www.percydale.com/Prospecting For Gold
Entrepreneurs Make Their Own Dreams Come True
We all have dreams and ambitions. Entrepreneurs are people who dream dreams and then work on developing their ideas and ambitions into successful businesses.
Entrepreneurs in every field have several things in common.
a) All entrepreneurs are passionate about what they do.
b) They also enjoy the business they are in.
c) All successful entrepreneurs like meeting other successful business people.
d) They have imagination, drive, and an insatiable thirst for experience and knowledge in their chosen fields of interest. (You don't have to be 'bookish' to gain knowledge. Many extremely successful entrepreneurs performed poorly at school, or left school without any qualifications.)
e) They are confident of their ability to handle any problems that arise.
f) They never give up, or stick in a dead end rut, or allow other people to discourage them.
Visit Dark Horse Research
Entrepreneurs in every field have several things in common.
a) All entrepreneurs are passionate about what they do.
b) They also enjoy the business they are in.
c) All successful entrepreneurs like meeting other successful business people.
d) They have imagination, drive, and an insatiable thirst for experience and knowledge in their chosen fields of interest. (You don't have to be 'bookish' to gain knowledge. Many extremely successful entrepreneurs performed poorly at school, or left school without any qualifications.)
e) They are confident of their ability to handle any problems that arise.
f) They never give up, or stick in a dead end rut, or allow other people to discourage them.
Visit Dark Horse Research
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Entrepreneurs Don't Stay Stuck in Ruts
Entrepreneurs may trymany things before they find their niche. They know when to cut their losses and move on.
Successful Entrepreneurs know that if they aren't waking up every morningfull of enthusiasm and energy then something is wrong.
Unfortunately the world is full of people who don't start the day full of life. They are flogging on in the first job or occupation they fell into when they started work.
They may be quite content to stick with it, but many of them are not thrilled by what they do. They are just too scared to change tack. Or perhaps it's never occurred to them that they can.
To be a successful entrepreneur you do NOT have to have a university degree or loads of qualifications. Whatyou DO need is an enquiring mind and the desire to discover more about what you do.
Never be discouraged. If you don't enjoy what you're doing try something else.
BUT
Don't be a Serial Seeker. These are the people who spend a small fortune and far too much time going from one seminar to another, looking one idea after another without giving any of them a fari trial.
They are like people who want to learn to swim but never get further than walking round the edge of the pool without jumping in.
So if you are a budding entrepreneur stop walking round the edge and looking on, take the plunge and dive in.
If you would like some help to find your business niche or change direction visit www.percydale.com/Prospecting For Gold
Successful Entrepreneurs know that if they aren't waking up every morningfull of enthusiasm and energy then something is wrong.
Unfortunately the world is full of people who don't start the day full of life. They are flogging on in the first job or occupation they fell into when they started work.
They may be quite content to stick with it, but many of them are not thrilled by what they do. They are just too scared to change tack. Or perhaps it's never occurred to them that they can.
To be a successful entrepreneur you do NOT have to have a university degree or loads of qualifications. Whatyou DO need is an enquiring mind and the desire to discover more about what you do.
Never be discouraged. If you don't enjoy what you're doing try something else.
BUT
Don't be a Serial Seeker. These are the people who spend a small fortune and far too much time going from one seminar to another, looking one idea after another without giving any of them a fari trial.
They are like people who want to learn to swim but never get further than walking round the edge of the pool without jumping in.
So if you are a budding entrepreneur stop walking round the edge and looking on, take the plunge and dive in.
If you would like some help to find your business niche or change direction visit www.percydale.com/Prospecting For Gold
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The Power of Affiliate Marketing
What is affiliate marketing and what value is it to the entrepreneur?
Affiliate marketers advertise and sell other peoples’ products in return for a very healthy commission. It involves very little effort and can be very profitable – as long as you know what you’re doing.
Affiliate marketing is an efficient way of providing a 24/7 stream of income from the internet. It is a business that can free you from the daily grind of earning a living and give you time to enjoy time with your family, friends and interests.
The best thing about being an affiliate marketer is that you can link it with your own particular interests. Doing that way makes the whole business seem like pleasure rather than work.
Are you particularly keen on business development, internet marketing, farming, dogs, horses, travel, wind surfing, mountaineering, extreme sports ---. You name it and there will be products that you can sell as an affiliate.
Affiliate marketing is something that can cost you absolutely nothing – zilch – zero. Or you can have some cash input. The advantage is that you can learn how to work the system and still earn money before you lash out any of your hard-earned income on further development. Many people are quite happy with what they can earn without any cash input.
What is really important is finding out how to be a successful affiliate marketer from the people who already use the system and have a proven track record.
Once you get established you can create repeat business – that is where you sell to the same people over and over and over again... without ever having to create your own product!
Do NOT buy any "How To" information about Affiliate Marketing unless:-
The information comes from someone who not only sells their own products, but makes a lot of money selling other people's products as an affiliate.
The information not only tells you what to do, but explains how to do it.
It tells you how to quickly get TARGETED traffic to your website... not just hit-or-miss traffic spurts!
It MUST answer every conceivable question about getting started and marketing as a super affiliate!
Finally any information product you buy to learn the secrets of affiliate marketing MUST have a 100% money back guarantee if it doesn’t live up to the claims it makes.
Email affiliate@percydale.com for a free report.
The Affiliate Business Blueprint is one course which you will find very helpful. To learn more about it Click Here!
I've been a successful entrepreneur for many years and am author of
www.percydale.com/Prospecting for Gold which is a business course designed to help budding entrepreneurs to take the first steps to success and to offer helpful suggestions to successful entrepreneurs who are looking for opportunities to climb a few more mountains.
I also recommend you click on DarkHorseResearch for more helpful information.
Affiliate marketers advertise and sell other peoples’ products in return for a very healthy commission. It involves very little effort and can be very profitable – as long as you know what you’re doing.
Affiliate marketing is an efficient way of providing a 24/7 stream of income from the internet. It is a business that can free you from the daily grind of earning a living and give you time to enjoy time with your family, friends and interests.
The best thing about being an affiliate marketer is that you can link it with your own particular interests. Doing that way makes the whole business seem like pleasure rather than work.
Are you particularly keen on business development, internet marketing, farming, dogs, horses, travel, wind surfing, mountaineering, extreme sports ---. You name it and there will be products that you can sell as an affiliate.
Affiliate marketing is something that can cost you absolutely nothing – zilch – zero. Or you can have some cash input. The advantage is that you can learn how to work the system and still earn money before you lash out any of your hard-earned income on further development. Many people are quite happy with what they can earn without any cash input.
What is really important is finding out how to be a successful affiliate marketer from the people who already use the system and have a proven track record.
Once you get established you can create repeat business – that is where you sell to the same people over and over and over again... without ever having to create your own product!
Do NOT buy any "How To" information about Affiliate Marketing unless:-
The information comes from someone who not only sells their own products, but makes a lot of money selling other people's products as an affiliate.
The information not only tells you what to do, but explains how to do it.
It tells you how to quickly get TARGETED traffic to your website... not just hit-or-miss traffic spurts!
It MUST answer every conceivable question about getting started and marketing as a super affiliate!
Finally any information product you buy to learn the secrets of affiliate marketing MUST have a 100% money back guarantee if it doesn’t live up to the claims it makes.
Email affiliate@percydale.com for a free report.
The Affiliate Business Blueprint is one course which you will find very helpful. To learn more about it Click Here!
I've been a successful entrepreneur for many years and am author of
www.percydale.com/Prospecting for Gold which is a business course designed to help budding entrepreneurs to take the first steps to success and to offer helpful suggestions to successful entrepreneurs who are looking for opportunities to climb a few more mountains.
I also recommend you click on DarkHorseResearch for more helpful information.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Business Opportunities: Ten Things That Make A Successful Entrepreneur.
Some people say entrepreneurs are born, not made. That’s only partly true. Some people seem to be entrepreneurs from birth. Sometimes the entrepreneurial gene doesn’t kick in until later in life.
Whenever it happens there are ten golden rules any prospective entrepreneur should obey. So get a sheet of paper and let’s get to work. Fill in your qualifications under each heading.
Motivation. You must be clear about what you want and why you want it. For example, it isn’t enough to say ‘I want to make a lot of money’. What do you want it for? How much do you want? How soon do you want it? How determined to get it are you?
Control. You must be prepared to take control of your life. You decide when you work. You decide where you work. (Work at home, or in the car, or on the beach, etc.) You decide how many hours, days, weeks you work. You decide how much money you make.
Prepared to take risks. The life of the entrepreneur is not risk free. Things can go wrong – BUT – nothing ventured, nothing gained. Learn when to quit and change direction and when to hang in there and weather the storm. If one path isn’t the right one you can always take another. The secret is to keep your eyes open for new opportunities.
Resilient. This is very much linked to the previous point. I want you to think of a tall tree in a high wind. It might thrash about and bend a bit in the gale but only rarely does it break. Why do tall buildings like the Empire State building have a built in factor that allows it to sway in the wind? Both these things can survive intact because they are resilient. They can react to the surrounding conditions and more or less escape serious damage. If they were absolutely rigid they would break under the pressure. The entrepreneur has to be flexible to deal with changes in the marketplace.
Enjoy a challenge. Being an entrepreneur is a challenge. It has no place for the ‘what ifs’. (What if it all goes wrong? What if I don’t make any money? What if I’m a failure? What if the sky falls on my head?’ If you’re a ‘what if’ forget about being an entrepreneur and get yourself a nice steady job.
Prepared to take the plunge. It’s like standing at the edge of the swimming pool when you can’t swim. Until you take the plunge you will never learn. But every time you do it you become more skilful and the easier it gets. Keep at it and before long you will be diving in from the highest board and coming up smiling.
Mix with the right people. There are always people prepared to put you down. Unfortunately these are often family or friends. This isn’t done out of malice, it’s more from a subconscious fear that somehow they’ll be ‘losing’ you – that you are moving onto a different plane. As far as you can you should keep company with fellow entrepreneurs. Take your family and friends with you if you can but never neglect to have regular contact with positive thinkers or you will be dragged back into the daily drudge. Once you’ve shown that you haven’t evolved into some sort of snooty conceited bighead your family and friends might admit that they were wrong!
Open to new ideas. Entrepreneurs never consider that they have reached the highest peak. As soon as they have reached the top of one project mountain they will look for another one to climb. It’s exactly the same adrenalin surge that keeps mountaineers trying for ever more difficult ways of climbing Everest. Others might follow but the prize is to the people who got there first.
Willing to learn from others. Be prepared to learn about the skills you will need from other successful entrepreneurs. Attend some of the bootcamps that are organised. There is one caveat here – don’t become a bootcamp junkie! There are some would-be entrepreneurs who go from one bootcamp to another but never take the plunge and try to put what they have learnt into practice. In other words they keep going to the swimming pool but never actually get into the water.
Not content with one success. The true entrepreneur never stops. Success isn’t the be-all and end-all. As I said before, when he/she has reached the top of one mountain they look for the next one to climb. It’s enervating, it’s fun – and the view from the top is fantastic.
Whenever it happens there are ten golden rules any prospective entrepreneur should obey. So get a sheet of paper and let’s get to work. Fill in your qualifications under each heading.
Motivation. You must be clear about what you want and why you want it. For example, it isn’t enough to say ‘I want to make a lot of money’. What do you want it for? How much do you want? How soon do you want it? How determined to get it are you?
Control. You must be prepared to take control of your life. You decide when you work. You decide where you work. (Work at home, or in the car, or on the beach, etc.) You decide how many hours, days, weeks you work. You decide how much money you make.
Prepared to take risks. The life of the entrepreneur is not risk free. Things can go wrong – BUT – nothing ventured, nothing gained. Learn when to quit and change direction and when to hang in there and weather the storm. If one path isn’t the right one you can always take another. The secret is to keep your eyes open for new opportunities.
Resilient. This is very much linked to the previous point. I want you to think of a tall tree in a high wind. It might thrash about and bend a bit in the gale but only rarely does it break. Why do tall buildings like the Empire State building have a built in factor that allows it to sway in the wind? Both these things can survive intact because they are resilient. They can react to the surrounding conditions and more or less escape serious damage. If they were absolutely rigid they would break under the pressure. The entrepreneur has to be flexible to deal with changes in the marketplace.
Enjoy a challenge. Being an entrepreneur is a challenge. It has no place for the ‘what ifs’. (What if it all goes wrong? What if I don’t make any money? What if I’m a failure? What if the sky falls on my head?’ If you’re a ‘what if’ forget about being an entrepreneur and get yourself a nice steady job.
Prepared to take the plunge. It’s like standing at the edge of the swimming pool when you can’t swim. Until you take the plunge you will never learn. But every time you do it you become more skilful and the easier it gets. Keep at it and before long you will be diving in from the highest board and coming up smiling.
Mix with the right people. There are always people prepared to put you down. Unfortunately these are often family or friends. This isn’t done out of malice, it’s more from a subconscious fear that somehow they’ll be ‘losing’ you – that you are moving onto a different plane. As far as you can you should keep company with fellow entrepreneurs. Take your family and friends with you if you can but never neglect to have regular contact with positive thinkers or you will be dragged back into the daily drudge. Once you’ve shown that you haven’t evolved into some sort of snooty conceited bighead your family and friends might admit that they were wrong!
Open to new ideas. Entrepreneurs never consider that they have reached the highest peak. As soon as they have reached the top of one project mountain they will look for another one to climb. It’s exactly the same adrenalin surge that keeps mountaineers trying for ever more difficult ways of climbing Everest. Others might follow but the prize is to the people who got there first.
Willing to learn from others. Be prepared to learn about the skills you will need from other successful entrepreneurs. Attend some of the bootcamps that are organised. There is one caveat here – don’t become a bootcamp junkie! There are some would-be entrepreneurs who go from one bootcamp to another but never take the plunge and try to put what they have learnt into practice. In other words they keep going to the swimming pool but never actually get into the water.
Not content with one success. The true entrepreneur never stops. Success isn’t the be-all and end-all. As I said before, when he/she has reached the top of one mountain they look for the next one to climb. It’s enervating, it’s fun – and the view from the top is fantastic.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
At present the Business Opportunity scene is expanding rapidly.
Seems like everyone is only a step away from becoming a millioionaire!
Fantastically successful marketers send out their promotions. It usually runs like –‘Ten years ago I owed thousands to the Bank, I couldn’t pay the mortgage so I lost my house, I had to make do with an old unreliable car and my wife left me.
Now I have a Swiss Bank account, a villa in Spain and I spend six months of the year in Bermuda. I drive a Ferrari when I’m not using the Porsche and I also have my own private plane.’
Of course we’re very happy for them. We’d love to believe the next bit.
‘I can show you how you can enjoy the same lifestyle. This time next year you could be buying your own million dollar home FOR CASH! If you buy my Business Opportunity for £99. ‘
They even offer you a guarantee that if you don’t think the package is any good you can send it back and get a complete refund.
It must be good, you tell yourself, or they wouldn’t offer the guarantee.
The people who make these claims are not lying. Their claims are true. They did get all the success they claim. And anyone could have the same success.
BUT -
Let’s look at the facts.
Marks and Spencers, Woolworths, Tescos, to mention just three large organisations, all started small as market stalls, cut price shops, etc. selling food products clothing or low cost items of all sorts. They all created millionaires.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone starting that way will be as successful! Anyone might – with hard work, good business brains, and an element of being in the right place at the right time – end up as a business tycoon with a large empire. Most people won’t.
Having said that, most entrepreneurs could get themselves a very respectable income.
When they promote the dream world of pie in the sky they show you where you hope to be but they don’t say very much about what you need to get there and just how difficult it was at the beginning. They aren’t trying to fool you. When you’re successful it’s easy to forget just how hard it was at the start.
So you’ll get suggestions for the promotional material and all the information about marketing that you need –
BUT
They don’t tell you how to
Seems like everyone is only a step away from becoming a millioionaire!
Fantastically successful marketers send out their promotions. It usually runs like –‘Ten years ago I owed thousands to the Bank, I couldn’t pay the mortgage so I lost my house, I had to make do with an old unreliable car and my wife left me.
Now I have a Swiss Bank account, a villa in Spain and I spend six months of the year in Bermuda. I drive a Ferrari when I’m not using the Porsche and I also have my own private plane.’
Of course we’re very happy for them. We’d love to believe the next bit.
‘I can show you how you can enjoy the same lifestyle. This time next year you could be buying your own million dollar home FOR CASH! If you buy my Business Opportunity for £99. ‘
They even offer you a guarantee that if you don’t think the package is any good you can send it back and get a complete refund.
It must be good, you tell yourself, or they wouldn’t offer the guarantee.
The people who make these claims are not lying. Their claims are true. They did get all the success they claim. And anyone could have the same success.
BUT -
Let’s look at the facts.
Marks and Spencers, Woolworths, Tescos, to mention just three large organisations, all started small as market stalls, cut price shops, etc. selling food products clothing or low cost items of all sorts. They all created millionaires.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone starting that way will be as successful! Anyone might – with hard work, good business brains, and an element of being in the right place at the right time – end up as a business tycoon with a large empire. Most people won’t.
Having said that, most entrepreneurs could get themselves a very respectable income.
When they promote the dream world of pie in the sky they show you where you hope to be but they don’t say very much about what you need to get there and just how difficult it was at the beginning. They aren’t trying to fool you. When you’re successful it’s easy to forget just how hard it was at the start.
So you’ll get suggestions for the promotional material and all the information about marketing that you need –
BUT
They don’t tell you how to
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Is anyone else rather fed up with the length of business opportunity promotion letters these days?
We are told by the various gurus that letters should be at least twelve pages and preferably up to twenty or so. We are told thwey should contain lots of encouraging material as unique selling points and testemonials from people who have had incredible success with whatever system is being offered.
Frankly I get bored with the blurb. The longer the letter the more suspicious and bored I get. Also I find them time wasting. As regards testemonials - well they wouldn't publish comments from unsuccessful people, would they?
Of course I know why we get these long diatribes. Some people are too easily influenced by packaging.
Go round any store or gift shop around Christmas. Everything is packaged to catch your eye. It's still the same old bath foam, chocolate or whatever but with added pretty packaging to catch your eye.
Twelve to twenty pages of blurb is just so much packaging I can do without.
What I want to know from any business opportunity package is
a) What is it?
b) How does it work?
c) How long has it been on the market?
d) How much does it cost?
e) What guarantees are offered for dissatisfied customers?
f) What are the credentials of the person or organisation presenting the opportunity?
g) Any other relevant information.
That should fill about four pages at most.
Happy opportunity hunting.
Theodora
PS Have a look at 'Prospecting for Gold' on www.percydale.com
We are told by the various gurus that letters should be at least twelve pages and preferably up to twenty or so. We are told thwey should contain lots of encouraging material as unique selling points and testemonials from people who have had incredible success with whatever system is being offered.
Frankly I get bored with the blurb. The longer the letter the more suspicious and bored I get. Also I find them time wasting. As regards testemonials - well they wouldn't publish comments from unsuccessful people, would they?
Of course I know why we get these long diatribes. Some people are too easily influenced by packaging.
Go round any store or gift shop around Christmas. Everything is packaged to catch your eye. It's still the same old bath foam, chocolate or whatever but with added pretty packaging to catch your eye.
Twelve to twenty pages of blurb is just so much packaging I can do without.
What I want to know from any business opportunity package is
a) What is it?
b) How does it work?
c) How long has it been on the market?
d) How much does it cost?
e) What guarantees are offered for dissatisfied customers?
f) What are the credentials of the person or organisation presenting the opportunity?
g) Any other relevant information.
That should fill about four pages at most.
Happy opportunity hunting.
Theodora
PS Have a look at 'Prospecting for Gold' on www.percydale.com
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Every business opportunity assumes that you have Lists.
Lists are the names and addresses of people you can send your promotional material to and who will hopefully buy from you.
A great idea. But where do you get your lists?
The very best ones are those you've collected for yourself from classified advertising or people who have bought from you before.
These lists will start out very small - but that doesn't mean you can't market your products to them.
Or you can buy lists from list brokers.
This can be expensive but you can find a targeted market. Look at what you must consider if you take this route.
First of all, the list must be of people who have shown an interest in your product.
Secondly, the list should NEVER be more than a year old -preferably three months is the right length.
Thirdly, it should have been scanned for different names - same address, and have been checked for names that have opted out of mailings recently.
Fourthly, most brokers have a minimum number of names you can order and add sometimes a quite heavy financial loading on lists which are below that number.
There are other considerations but that's enough to start with.
Find the answers to all these questions from several brokers before you make your choice.
Don't feel awkward about this because you're a beginner. The brokers have to take care of you because you might end up as a big, successful customer. They need you as much or more than you need them!
Happy listing.
Theodora
Lists are the names and addresses of people you can send your promotional material to and who will hopefully buy from you.
A great idea. But where do you get your lists?
The very best ones are those you've collected for yourself from classified advertising or people who have bought from you before.
These lists will start out very small - but that doesn't mean you can't market your products to them.
Or you can buy lists from list brokers.
This can be expensive but you can find a targeted market. Look at what you must consider if you take this route.
First of all, the list must be of people who have shown an interest in your product.
Secondly, the list should NEVER be more than a year old -preferably three months is the right length.
Thirdly, it should have been scanned for different names - same address, and have been checked for names that have opted out of mailings recently.
Fourthly, most brokers have a minimum number of names you can order and add sometimes a quite heavy financial loading on lists which are below that number.
There are other considerations but that's enough to start with.
Find the answers to all these questions from several brokers before you make your choice.
Don't feel awkward about this because you're a beginner. The brokers have to take care of you because you might end up as a big, successful customer. They need you as much or more than you need them!
Happy listing.
Theodora
Friday, September 01, 2006
Hello again,
I'm rather getting into this blog thing.
Hope somebody reads this andleaves comments. I like to know what people think
Let’s imagine you are a hopeful entrepreneur looking for a good business opportunity.
Choose something that people will want very much. Want is much more important than need when it comes to spending money.
Think about it! If you really need a new washing machine but on the way to the shop you see something just as expensive that you’ve always wanted and with a bit of imaginative thinking you can persuade yourself that it would be silly not to buy it while it’s there – well, which item would most of us choose.
If you can persuade your customers (list) that they both want and need your product, you’re home and dry.
Remember one very important proviso!
You must be convinced that your product will fulfil your customers’ wants and needs. (If you sell them short or try to fool them you won’t last long. Your credibility will have gone for good.)
Amongst the entrepreneurial crowd there is the story of the Californian Gold Rush.
Thousands of hopeful miners flocked to the hills in the search for gold. Most of them found just enough to get drunk on.
The people who really made their fortunes were the people who went prospecting for gold and used what they found to set up a store selling shovels. This was easier than keeping on digging and far more long term because the miners kept on coming. Everybody wanted and needed good, strong, reliable shovels. (A dealer who sold a shoddy shovel would probably have been lynched by angry miners.)
The really successful shovel sellers also provided a map to show the likeliest places to dig. Not all miners chose the same place to dig. Some scratched the surface and decided it was a dead loss. Others dug in the same place but really worked at it and found gold.
And the man who sold the shovel was still the winner because the miner came back to buy other things – a lot of other things because he had made a lot of money.
Your job is to Prospect for Gold and find your own little mine and then market shovels for everyone else to dig as well.
The next instalment will tell you ways you can attract customers.
I'm rather getting into this blog thing.
Hope somebody reads this andleaves comments. I like to know what people think
Let’s imagine you are a hopeful entrepreneur looking for a good business opportunity.
Choose something that people will want very much. Want is much more important than need when it comes to spending money.
Think about it! If you really need a new washing machine but on the way to the shop you see something just as expensive that you’ve always wanted and with a bit of imaginative thinking you can persuade yourself that it would be silly not to buy it while it’s there – well, which item would most of us choose.
If you can persuade your customers (list) that they both want and need your product, you’re home and dry.
Remember one very important proviso!
You must be convinced that your product will fulfil your customers’ wants and needs. (If you sell them short or try to fool them you won’t last long. Your credibility will have gone for good.)
Amongst the entrepreneurial crowd there is the story of the Californian Gold Rush.
Thousands of hopeful miners flocked to the hills in the search for gold. Most of them found just enough to get drunk on.
The people who really made their fortunes were the people who went prospecting for gold and used what they found to set up a store selling shovels. This was easier than keeping on digging and far more long term because the miners kept on coming. Everybody wanted and needed good, strong, reliable shovels. (A dealer who sold a shoddy shovel would probably have been lynched by angry miners.)
The really successful shovel sellers also provided a map to show the likeliest places to dig. Not all miners chose the same place to dig. Some scratched the surface and decided it was a dead loss. Others dug in the same place but really worked at it and found gold.
And the man who sold the shovel was still the winner because the miner came back to buy other things – a lot of other things because he had made a lot of money.
Your job is to Prospect for Gold and find your own little mine and then market shovels for everyone else to dig as well.
The next instalment will tell you ways you can attract customers.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
At present the Business Opportunity scene is expanding rapidly.
Seems like everyone is only a step away from becoming a millioionaire!
Fantastically successful marketers send out their promotions. It usually runs like –‘Ten years ago I owed thousands to the Bank, I couldn’t pay the mortgage so I lost my house, I had to make do with an old unreliable car and my wife left me.
Now I have a Swiss Bank account, a villa in Spain and I spend six months of the year in Bermuda. I drive a Ferrari when I’m not using the Porsche and I also have my own private plane.’
Of course we’re very happy for them. We’d love to believe the next bit.
‘I can show you how you can enjoy the same lifestyle. This time next year you could be buying your own million dollar home FOR CASH! If you buy my Business Opportunity for £99. ‘
They even offer you a guarantee that if you don’t think the package is any good you can send it back and get a complete refund.
It must be good, you tell yourself, or they wouldn’t offer the guarantee.
The people who make these claims are not lying. Their claims are true. They did get all the success they claim. And anyone could have the same success.
BUT -
Let’s look at the facts.
Marks and Spencers, Woolworths, Tescos, to mention just three large organisations, all started small as market stalls, cut price shops, etc. selling food products clothing or low cost items of all sorts. They all created millionaires.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone starting that way will be as successful! Anyone might – with hard work, good business brains, and an element of being in the right place at the right time – end up as a business tycoon with a large empire. Most people won’t.
Having said that, most entrepreneurs could get themselves a very respectable income.
When they promote the dream world of pie in the sky they show you where you hope to be but they don’t say very much about what you need to get there and just how difficult it was at the beginning. They aren’t trying to fool you. When you’re successful it’s easy to forget just how hard it was at the start.
So you’ll get suggestions for the promotional material and all the information about marketing that you need –
BUT
They don’t tell you how to get the number of customers you will need to sell to.
Only they don’t call them customers, they call them lists.
For example. If you have a gift shop and only a few people come in to look round you might not sell anything. If lots of people come in you will probably make quite a good living.
If you have a shop selling an essential such as food more visitors to your shop will buy from you. But you still need a lot of customers to make a lot of money.
If all this sounds like being a bath full of cold water being tipped on your hopes, fear not.!
The next instalment will start you off on the first rung of the ladder.
Happy Entrepreneuring!
Theodora
Seems like everyone is only a step away from becoming a millioionaire!
Fantastically successful marketers send out their promotions. It usually runs like –‘Ten years ago I owed thousands to the Bank, I couldn’t pay the mortgage so I lost my house, I had to make do with an old unreliable car and my wife left me.
Now I have a Swiss Bank account, a villa in Spain and I spend six months of the year in Bermuda. I drive a Ferrari when I’m not using the Porsche and I also have my own private plane.’
Of course we’re very happy for them. We’d love to believe the next bit.
‘I can show you how you can enjoy the same lifestyle. This time next year you could be buying your own million dollar home FOR CASH! If you buy my Business Opportunity for £99. ‘
They even offer you a guarantee that if you don’t think the package is any good you can send it back and get a complete refund.
It must be good, you tell yourself, or they wouldn’t offer the guarantee.
The people who make these claims are not lying. Their claims are true. They did get all the success they claim. And anyone could have the same success.
BUT -
Let’s look at the facts.
Marks and Spencers, Woolworths, Tescos, to mention just three large organisations, all started small as market stalls, cut price shops, etc. selling food products clothing or low cost items of all sorts. They all created millionaires.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone starting that way will be as successful! Anyone might – with hard work, good business brains, and an element of being in the right place at the right time – end up as a business tycoon with a large empire. Most people won’t.
Having said that, most entrepreneurs could get themselves a very respectable income.
When they promote the dream world of pie in the sky they show you where you hope to be but they don’t say very much about what you need to get there and just how difficult it was at the beginning. They aren’t trying to fool you. When you’re successful it’s easy to forget just how hard it was at the start.
So you’ll get suggestions for the promotional material and all the information about marketing that you need –
BUT
They don’t tell you how to get the number of customers you will need to sell to.
Only they don’t call them customers, they call them lists.
For example. If you have a gift shop and only a few people come in to look round you might not sell anything. If lots of people come in you will probably make quite a good living.
If you have a shop selling an essential such as food more visitors to your shop will buy from you. But you still need a lot of customers to make a lot of money.
If all this sounds like being a bath full of cold water being tipped on your hopes, fear not.!
The next instalment will start you off on the first rung of the ladder.
Happy Entrepreneuring!
Theodora
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