10 Ways To Profit In Uncertain Times

10 Ways To Profit In An Uncertain Economy

1. Sell more back end products to your existing
customer base. You already created rapport, trust
and proved your credibility to them.


2. Make it a practice to up sell to new and existing
customers. After they decide to buy one product,
offer them another product.


3. Cross promote your products and services with
other businesses that aren't competition. You will
reach a wider audience at less cost.


4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses.
You can expand your product line and target other
profitable markets at a lower cost.


5. Start an affiliate program for your business. You
will be able to spend less profits on risk advertising
and spend more money on guaranteed sales.


6. Trade advertising with other businesses to save
revenue. You could trade e-zine ads, banners ads,
links, print ads, etc.


7. Out source part of your workload. This can save
on employee costs, equipment costs, taxation costs,
expansion costs, etc.


8. Add low cost bonuses to your offer that have a
high perceived value. It could be ebooks, members
only sites, consulting, e-reports, etc.


9. Use viral marketing to promote your business on
the internet. Give away free stuff with your ad copy
include on it so others can give it away.


10. Follow up with all your prospects. You can use
a free e-zine, a follow-up autoresponder, an update
or reminder list, etc.

Quote of the Day:

"Many people take no care of their money till they come
nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with
their time." -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

50 Benefits of Joint Venture Marketing

What Is A Joint Venture?

A joint venture is an agreement in which two or more
businesses work on a project for a set period of time.
Joint ventures can be long-term, like promoting a
product together, or some can be short-term, like
bartering (trading) products and services. Joint
venture ideas are virtually endless.

The Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing

1. You can build long lasting business relationships.
2. You can increase your credibility by teaming up
with other reputable, branded businesses.
3. You can get free products and services.
4. You can construct most joint venture deals with
little or no money.
5. You can gain new leads and customers.
6. You can get discounts on products and services.
7. You can save money on business operating costs.
8. You can beat your competition.
9. You can gain referrals from other businesses.
10. You can solve your business problems.
11. You can save valuable time.
12. You can get free and low cost advertising.
13. You can offer your customers new products and
services.
14. You can survive a depression, recession or a
slow economy.
15. You can save money by sharing advertising and
marketing costs.
16. You can target other potential markets.
17. You can expand and grow your business quickly.
18. You can gain valuable information or skills.
19. You can increase and protect your cash flow.
20. You can find new profit outlets.
21. You can become rich and wealthy.
22. You can start almost any business at little or no
costs.
23. You can get rid of your extra inventory.
24. You can reduce and eliminate your debts and
avoid bankruptcy.
25. You can afford to sell your products at a lower
price.
26. You can increase your opt in or ezine subscribers
for free.
27. You can get your web hosting and design for free.
28. You can save money outsourcing your workload
for free.
29. You can find hidden income streams.
30. You can exchange useless products for profitable
ones.
31. You can create new business funding and credit
lines.
32. You can reduce your taxes.
33. You can find and create new distribution channels
for your products.
34. You can give your employees more raises,
bonuses and benefits.
35. You can even trade non business stuff to
improve your personal life.
36. You can increase your sales and profits.
37. You can send your ad to huge, targeted email
lists at no cost.
38. You can eliminate employee hiring costs creating
barter outsourcing deals.
39. You can build your customer or opt-in list for
free.
40. You can build profitable alliances with other
businesses.
41. You can learn insider information from other
experts at no cost.
42. You can test your product for free.
43. You can out-sell other affiliates much easier.
44. You can increase the number of affiliates that
sign up to your reseller program.
45. You can offer more bonus products and incentives
to buy.
46. You can get highly credible endorsements and
testimonials from other experts.
47. You can quickly increase your ezine subscribers.
48. You can offer your products at lower prices than
your competition.
49. You can easily find new up sell and backend
products to sell.
50. You can create products faster and with less
effort.

These are only some of the benefits. They're endless!

Quote of the Day:

"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the
philosopher's stone." -- Benjamin Franklin

Spam: Where it Came From, and How to Escape It

[By: Beka Ruse]
In 1936, long before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel Foods created SPAM. In 2002, the company will produce it's six billionth can of the processed food product. But that mark was passed long ago in the world of Internet spam.

* Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
* Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
* Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
* Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
* Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
* The Final Blow


Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
The modern meaning of the word "spam" has nothing to do with spiced ham. In the early 1990's, a skit by British comedy group Monty Python led to the word's common usage. "The SPAM Skit" follows a couple struggling to order dinner from a menu consisting entirely of Hormel's canned ham.

Repetition is key to the skit's hilarity. The actors cram the word "SPAM" into the 2.5 minute skit more than 104 times! This flood prompted Usenet readers to call unwanted newsgroup postings "spam." The name stuck.

Spammers soon focused on e-mail, and the terminology moved with them. Today, the word has come out of technical obscurity. Now, "spam" is the common term for "Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail", or "UCE."

Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
Chances are, you've been spammed before. Somehow, your e-mail address has found it's way into the hands of a spammer, and your inbox is suffering the consequences. How does this happen? There are several possibilities.

Backstabbing Businesses
Businesses often keep lists of their customers' e-mail addresses. This is a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad comes of it. Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck is too great, and these lists are sold or rented to outside advertisers. The result? A lot of unsolicited e-mail, and a serious breach of trust.

Random Address Generation
Computer programs called random address generators simply "guess" e-mail addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist - howhard could it be to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many unsuspecting netizens - not too hard. Many spammers also guess at
"standard" addresses, like "support@yourdomain.com",
"info@yourdomain.com", and "billing@yourdomain.com."

Web Spiders
Today's most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All of the major search engines spider the web, saving information about each page. Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but save any e-mail address they come across. Your personal web page lists your e-mail address? Prepare for an onslaught!

Chat Room Harvesting
ISP's offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only by their screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen name is the first part of your e-mail address. Why waste time guessing e-mail addresses when a few hours of lurking in a chat room can net a list of actively-used addresses?

The Poor Man's Bad Marketing Idea
It didn't work for the phone companies, and it won't work for e-mail marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own friends-and-family-style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses of other known spammers, and people or businesses that the owner has come across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate. Why? Only you can give someone permission to send you e-mail. A friend-of-a-friend's permission won't cut it.

Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
Already drowning in spam? Try using your e-mail client's filters - many provide a way to block specific e-mail addresses. Each time you're spammed, block the sender's address. Spammers skip from address to address, and you may be on many lists, but this method will at least slow the flow.

Also, use more than one e-mail address, and keep one "clean." Many netizens find that this technique turns the spam flood into a trickle. Use one address for only spam-safe activities like e-mailing your friends, or signing on with trustworthy businesses. Never use your clean address on the web! Get a free address to use on the web and in chat rooms.

If nothing else helps, consider changing screen names, or opening an entirely new e-mail account. When you do, you'll start with a clean, spam-free slate. This time, protect your e-mail address!

Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
Want to surf the web without getting sucked into the spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don't use an easy-to-guess e-mail address. Keep your address clean by not using it for spam-centric activities. Don't post it on any web pages, and don't use it in chat rooms or newsgroups.

Before giving your clean e-mail address to a business, check the company out. Are sections of its user agreement dedicated to anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy explain exactly what will be done with your address? The most considerate companies also post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you can be absolutely sure of what you're getting into.

Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
Many a first-time marketer has inadvertently spammed his audience. The first several hundred complaints and some nasty phone messages usually stop him in his tracks. But by then, the spammer may be faced with cleanup bills from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it's not easy to overcome.

The best way to avoid this situation is to have a clear understanding of what spam is: If anyone who receives your mass e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you, then you are spamming them.

Stick with your gut. Don't buy a million addresses for $10, no matter how much the seller swears by them! If something sounds fishy, just say no. You'll save yourself a lot in the end.

The Final Blow
The online world is turning the tide on spam. In the end, people will stop sending spam because it stops working. Do your part: never buy from a spammer. When your business seeks out technology companies with which to work, only choose those with a staunch anti-spam stance.

Spam has a long history in both the food and e-mail sectors. This year, Hormel Foods opened a real-world museum dedicated to SPAM. While the museum does feature the Monty Python SPAM Skit, there's no word yet on an unsolicited commercial e-mail exhibit. But, if all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel's ham in a can will far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.


Beka Ruse fights spam as the Business Development Manager at AWeber Communications. Ad tracking, live stats, and a strict anti-spam policy: Automated E-Mail Follow Up From AWeber. http://www.aweber.com/lsp.htm



References:
Hormel Foods, Virtual Press Kit, www.hormelfoods.com
Microsoft Corporation, MSN Hotmail Fun Facts, www.microsoft.com