OH MY! Product Launches!

I make it a point to be on the mailing lists of all of the "gurus." Know why? They are my competition. I need to know what they are up to. In the past few months, I have seen a disturbing increase in one thing in particular: product launches. Last month it was Frank Kern's "Mass Control". This month, it's Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula 2.0 (PLF 2.0).

There are a few things in particular I have found disturbing about this. First, when there is a big launch, all the top gurus promote it to their mailing lists. Gurus who all, at some point or another, refused to promote other product in their mailing lists. This tells me that despite what many of them claim, they are getting something in return for advertising to their lists.

Second, all the launches seem to advertise a similar product: training on how to do launches. This tells me that product launching is the current hot trend, but trends like this tend to be bubbles. They are real hot for a few months, then fade away to the next trend.

Third, they are all relatively high dollar products. High dollar products bother me because they are a high risk. If you are experienced and know internet marketing is right for you, then maybe paying a fat price for a specific training makes sense. But if you are still new to making money on the internet, you may be wasting your money. They problem is that there are a large number of people who will spend the money, even if it is not right for them, simply because it is being promoted by a guru they trust.

A lot of the gurus who sent out these promotions are the same ones who try to say there is no need to pay a large amount of money to start making money online. I personally feel that any guru who joins in these launches has taken from his or her credibility. Before you blow a lot of money on one of these, ask yourself if you really need to pay for it or if it is something you can get for free.

Starting Your Home Business

In order to begin your home business you have to make plans to get started. Without a plan you go nowhere or you go in circles accomplishing nothing. In order to begin your business on the right path you should come up with a business plan, a marketing plan and a home plan.  Your business plan is a necessary item that will be needed for loan applications, the hiring of employees, for business affiliates and personal goal setting. You want to have information such as what your business is named and what the mission of your business is. What is your product or service and who is it being made for. Who is your target customer base? What will it cost to make your product and what can you sell it for? What will be your end profit? These key pieces of information are needed especially when you require start up funds. These can be funds from a bank loan or an affiliate who is willing to become a financial backer of your company. Create a binder or portfolio for your business plan. Make copies and keep this accessible for times when it is needed.

 

Included in your business plan should be a marketing plan or an advertising campaign. How do you plan to provide the consumer public with information about your business, product or service? Will you be renting a billboard, running newspaper advertisements, magazine ads, television, radio and so on? Will you have a website or be running Internet ads such as those sponsored by Google ad sense or Microsoft ad center? What is the cost of each advertisement media? Do you have the funding for these advertising efforts or do you need outside funds? This once again shows any outside parties that you have done the needed research to know how you plan to reach the consumer public for sales. You can also include the percentages or charts that show success of similar advertising campaigns and how well your marketing choices will relate to your business.

 

A home plan is for the benefit of you and your family while your business takes shape. You have to be realistic in the facts that a business does not become a hit success over night. Money, time and effort are needed before you will see a solid flow of income from your home business. You need to be aware of your household budget per week and month. Be sure that you have at a minimum three months worth of savings to allow for household expenses including utilities, food, gas, hygiene items etc. This will allow you to apply other funds to your business without creating strife in your home. You may also want to maintain a part time job position at your current job or elsewhere. If your spouse works this may not be required. The exact plans for a household will vary on the specific family needs. Preparation is key to a successful business start up as well as successful home life as the transition from an outside job to a home based career take place.

Starting Your Home Business

In order to begin your home business you have to make plans to get started. Without a plan you go nowhere or you go in circles accomplishing nothing. In order to begin your business on the right path you should come up with a business plan, a marketing plan and a home plan.  Your business plan is a necessary item that will be needed for loan applications, the hiring of employees, for business affiliates and personal goal setting. You want to have information such as what your business is named and what the mission of your business is. What is your product or service and who is it being made for. Who is your target customer base? What will it cost to make your product and what can you sell it for? What will be your end profit? These key pieces of information are needed especially when you require start up funds. These can be funds from a bank loan or an affiliate who is willing to become a financial backer of your company. Create a binder or portfolio for your business plan. Make copies and keep this accessible for times when it is needed.

 

Included in your business plan should be a marketing plan or an advertising campaign. How do you plan to provide the consumer public with information about your business, product or service? Will you be renting a billboard, running newspaper advertisements, magazine ads, television, radio and so on? Will you have a website or be running Internet ads such as those sponsored by Google ad sense or Microsoft ad center? What is the cost of each advertisement media? Do you have the funding for these advertising efforts or do you need outside funds? This once again shows any outside parties that you have done the needed research to know how you plan to reach the consumer public for sales. You can also include the percentages or charts that show success of similar advertising campaigns and how well your marketing choices will relate to your business.

 

A home plan is for the benefit of you and your family while your business takes shape. You have to be realistic in the facts that a business does not become a hit success over night. Money, time and effort are needed before you will see a solid flow of income from your home business. You need to be aware of your household budget per week and month. Be sure that you have at a minimum three months worth of savings to allow for household expenses including utilities, food, gas, hygiene items etc. This will allow you to apply other funds to your business without creating strife in your home. You may also want to maintain a part time job position at your current job or elsewhere. If your spouse works this may not be required. The exact plans for a household will vary on the specific family needs. Preparation is key to a successful business start up as well as successful home life as the transition from an outside job to a home based career take place.

Boosting Morale By Allowing Your Employees To Work From home

Are you losing good employees to the work at home market? This is something that many employers struggle with because they have found that people enjoy working from home. They are able to spend time with their families and do the things around the house that need to be done. Also, they can usually get much more done during the day by working from home than they would be able to do by working for you in your office. Therefore, you might have found that many of your employees leave what they are doing for you in order to work from home. You are then left with a bunch of people who aren't very good and who are not able to do the work that you had with your good employees. There are several things that you can do about this. First of all, you can help your employees by allowing them to keep working for you, but do most of it from home.

 

It all depends on your business, but most likely there is going to be something that your employees can do at home. Think about all of the things that they do each day, and unless they are working with customers the entire time they are there, they can probably do some or all of their work at home. Remember that if you can work out a system where your employees are allowed to do some or all of their work from home, they will probably be happier and better able to do the work that needs to be done at the office.

 

If you allow your employees to do what they can do at home, without having to worry about taking a dock in pay for it, you are going to find that you will have much better employees. This means that you will be able to take advantage of the morale that your employees have, and you will also be able to make them much happier with you and much happier in their lives in general. Allowing your employees to do what they can do at home will mean that when they are working in your office they are less likely to be bored or frustrated or burnt out. If you can have them come in several times a week for meetings or to do what they need to do, you will find that they are better able to have the morale that you need for your business.

 

Boosting morale is always a better way to get things done, rather than trying to drive your employees to work harder than they want to work. If you can make them happier with their lives by allowing them to have some time to work at home during the week you will find that they are actually going to produce more for you ,and be happier with the business overall. This might be the best way that you have to keep the good employees you have and attract new employees.

Online Home Based Business Schedule

In order to run a successful online home based business, you need to create a work-at-home schedule that allows you to get all your work done each day. Even though you work from home, you still need to be productive in order to earn a living. If you are the type who procrastinates, then you may want to reconsider working from home. Those who are able to motivate themselves usually are successful. But this does not mean that people who lack self motivation skills can't learn, it may just be more difficult than for others. Creating a daily schedule may be necessary in order to maintain a steady pace.

 

In order to create an efficient schedule, you need to write down all the daily task that need to be accomplished during the day. Once you have these tasks written down, then you can begin to create a schedule. Based on the number of hours you want to work each day, you should set realistic times for completion so you aren't rushing through them. Instead, you can take your time to make sure they are done correctly. Many people believe they can accomplish more during the day than is actually possible, so learning how to budget time and gauge how much time each tasks takes can help you plan for your day.

 

Investing in a calendar, dry erase board, and other materials to create your schedule will help in the long run. Once you have a list, you can check off items as they are completed, add or subtract from the list, and determine how long you need to work each day. The more time you put into your business in the beginning, the more successful it will be. Online businesses are a wonderful opportunity for you to work from home, but you need to maintain a work ethic that is strong. Because you may have to complete various tasks that others in your previous job may have completed, you will find that there aren't enough hours in the day to get all the work done. This will change once your business is established, but you may need to put in extra hours in the evening and on weekends in order to make your business grow.

 

Online home businesses that sell products to others will require more work than selling services, or digital items such as books and manuals that can be downloaded onto a customer's computer. If you sell products on online auction sites or through a website, you will have to work out a packing and shipping schedule so you aren’t spending all of your time running to the post office to ship an order. Selecting one or two days a week to pack and ship items will help your work load tremendously. Depending on the popularity of your product, you may need to increase these days, especially around the holidays. When you stay focused on running your business and sticking to a schedule, you will find that success is not difficult to achieve. 

Choosing Home Office Equipment For Your Business

When you begin preparing for your home business you want to be sure that you have all of the equipment that you need. The best way to do this is to make a list, prepare a budget for your equipment, and then begin shopping for your needed items. You want to consider a way to contact clients, keep records, send updates or shipment information and perform business research. As technology moves forward it is a must to have a computer for your home business. This is one piece of equipment that can perform many duties. You can do research online, store client records, send emails and copies of other needed information to your business affiliates. Choosing between a Mac and a PC is a personal choice. Visiting a local office supply store can help you to increase your knowledge of which computer system will best suit your needs. Price can also cause you to choose one system over another. You may be required to choose a model that is not quite your preference but will get the job done until your budget increases.

 

The next piece of equipment you will need to look into is a copier/printer/fax machine. You can find a machine that carries all of these in one piece or you can purchase each separately. These can be found at most local office supply stores. Prices will vary due to brand names and functions as well as your budget. Looking for a piece of equipment that carries all of these functions in one can save on space, which can be a must when working from a small home office. Once you have found this item you will want to look into a phone with an answering system. This may not be necessary as most people have a cellular phone with voicemail to perform the same function as a landline/ home phone line. Ensuring that you have a method of contact for business emergencies is very important. If there is an issue with a shipment or product you can be reached quickly for an immediate resolution to the problem.

 

You may already have a desk and chair for your home office. You want to be sure to look at those items. Are they comfortable and functional? Many people who sit at a desk and a computer for the day suffer from wrist, shoulder, neck, back and even leg pain. These pains are often due to the furniture that they are seated at. Ergonomics is the study of how an item connects to a person and how it affects the person’s health. Searching an ergonomic furnishings sight can offer solutions for your pain problems in a chair with proper back support or a wrist rest for your keyboard etc. These items may be more costly but they can prevent pain and discomfort as you work. 

 

Price is not always a sign that a piece of equipment is better than another. You should look for reviews on a piece of equipment. You can do so online. Looking for positive feedback can help you to choose the right pieces of office equipment for your home business. Keep in mind that you can make purchases that get the job done now and upgrade to items that will be for the long run in the future. Having what you need on hand to begin your business venture is what is key.

Becoming an Affiliate Marketing Entrepreneur in Six Easy Steps

One of the premier vehicles of making extra money for any savvy webmaster is the use of affiliate links. As a successful affiliate of any number of businesses, it is up to you to promote businesses which may be either online stores or brick and mortar businesses with store fronts that offer products which might be of interest to the visitors who come to your site. In the past, you could tell who was heavily engaged in the affiliate marketing trade simply by the copious amount of flashing banner ads and pop up windows; at this point in time, marketing techniques have been greatly refined and the odds are good that many an affiliate marketer is marketing to you at this very moment perhaps without even noticing it!

 

Becoming an affiliate marketing entrepreneur in six easy steps is a good idea for any webmaster that is ready to enter the fray:

 

1. Understand the lingo of affiliate marketing. Like any other business it is fraught with abbreviations and whether you are dealing with PPC or PPS makes a huge difference in remuneration. Once you are familiar with the terminology, check for trends in these terms and you will most likely have a good chance at ferreting out what is hot and what is on its way out.

2. Craft a website that is not only user friendly but also search engine friendly. It is immaterial if this is a personal opinion blog site, an online magazine, a site that is created with the specific purpose of selling a good, or a promotional site for a celebrity. Whatever you choose to make the topic of your site, do it well, make the content sticky so that visitors will come back time and again, and then ensure that you go through all the steps of search engine optimization.

3. Entering the business as an affiliate marketing entrepreneur now requires that you find businesses with which you wish to affiliate yourself. The businesses should offer products or services of interest to the kinds of visitors your website receives and the remuneration scheme should be favorable to you. In other words, if you decide to affiliate yourself with a piano manufacturer who will pay $100 per sale, but requires you to have a $1,000 account balance prior to payout, you need to ask yourself how realistic it is to make 10 sales within a month or two. If this does not strike you as realistic, it is wiser to stay away.

4. Advertise your business and also the affiliate in newsletters, customer emails, and informative articles.

5. Track your success. Granted, most likely the company will do its own tracking of your sales and clicks, but it does not hurt to compile reports not only to double check for accuracy but also to explore trends and attempt new marketing campaigns.

6. Have the kind of flexibility to cut lose a program that does not perform. If one program is not making you any money, it is wise to drop it in favor of another one that holds better promise.

Five Reasons Why Affiliate Marketing Articles Generate Sales

Affiliate marketing articles generate sales and even though this medium has been overlooked until just recently, it is finally beginning to truly take off. Thanks in part to the freelance writers who create top notch content in which entrepreneurs can embed links at will, there are five reasons why affiliate marketing articles generate sales to such an extent as to even astound those who track online sales performance data for a living:

 

1. An article – as opposed to a banner ad or text link – enables the entrepreneur to put into about 400 to 500 words a plethora of reasons why the purchase of a product, use of a service, or choice of one company over another ensures personal satisfaction to the consumer. Much like the tried and true sales psychology of the 1980s that played on the fact that men sought to be admired while women wanted affirmation, affiliate marketing articles enable creative writers to generate these feelings in their readers and thus make your business stand out head, shoulders, and torso above the rest.

2. Affiliate marketing articles provide your company the unique opportunity to fulfill basic consumer needs, such as the assurance of pleasure and the avoidance of discomfort – either physical or fiscal. Tying together your product or company with a promise of gain or an assurance of safety from problems not only persuades potential clients to give your company a second look, but more often than not will spare you from being lumped in with the competition that has not yet caught on to the marketing opportunities offered by this medium.

3. “Free” is a word that no consumer can resist and if your affiliate marketing articles reference a freebie of any kind you can be sure that they get read! Offer a free coupon to a good or service from your business or perhaps a free e-book, stickers, or any other goodies that are cheap to manufacture and send out but create a sense of goodwill with your consumer base. The results are amazing and make your product irresistible!

4. Savvy entrepreneurs have used their affiliate marketing articles to fulfill the most basic human need of belonging to something greater than oneself. Thus, many such articles contain free membership offers to clubs or email groups, private chat rooms or action committees. In some cases marketers have chosen to offer exclusive membership to focus groups where for little if any remuneration the consumer would speak out on marketing trends and things that work and do not. This of course is highly profitable for the marketer and fulfills the basic need of belonging the consumer has, making your business the one website she or he will visit time and again.

5. Unlike banner ads or text links, affiliate marketing articles provide the perfect sales vehicle to deliver a deadline based pitch. Spell out over the course of 400 words why missing this once in a decade sale will be the bane of their existence, and before long you find that sales are increasing dramatically!

Work From Home Assembly Jobs

Many think that working from home is only for those who are good at typing or have other skills online; however, there are also jobs that can suit all kinds of people. You might be interested in work from home assembly jobs. These are jobs that are done from the comfort of your own home, and jobs that might suit you very well.

With assembly jobs you are going to be given the parts that you will need to put together. These can be all sorts of things, so you will be able to find work from home assembly jobs in a wide variety of areas that you are interested in. In fact, you might be able to find several different work from home assembly jobs that you can have at the same time. This can be an easy way for you to make multiple streams of income, which can really help when it comes to things like taking care of your family.

With work from home assembly jobs you will be based out of your home, and the companies or people will ship things to you to be put together. There are all sorts of things that you might be interested in, and all sorts of things that will need to be put together. Therefore, work from home assembly jobs are very popular and are jobs that are readily available. This is an important note for those who are concerned about stability in the current job market.

When you have work from home assembly jobs you will need to have a home area or an office where parts can be brought or shipped to you. Once you have them you will put them together in whatever way you would like to, and then either ship them out or wait for them to be picked up. This is how work from home assembly jobs and they are great jobs for lots of people.

There are some things to remember about work from home assembly jobs however. First of all, you want to be sure that as you are doing work from home assembly jobs you are understanding the various things that you have to put together. Also be sure that you are leaving yourself enough time to do the actual work so that you are able to get all of the work done in the right time frame. Be sure as well that you have researched the company so that you know you are working for a company that is legit and that the job will also be legit. This is something that will be very important with any work form home job. When you have work from home assembly jobs, you want to be sure that you know where the parts are coming from, what you are supposed to be doing with them, and what to do with them when you are done. Remember that you should not take work from home assembly jobs that are requiring you to do anything illegal. Make sure the pay is right for you as well.

When the big guys speak, you should listen carefully

This was an interesting article I read today and thought I would pass it on. When someone like George David gives advice, you listen.

If you don't know who he is, he is CEO of United Technology Corporation, the most powerful technology based corporate conglomerate in the US. In 2000, he was one of America's Most Powerful People by Forbes magazine, CEO of the Year by Industry Week' in 2003 and in 2007 he reaped $65 million (before company perks!).

here it is:

Inside the Numbers: 17
	UTC's Chairman and CEO George David often is asked for his thoughts on what it takes to be successful in business. David provided this insight at Yale University during a 1996 speech titled "The 17 Keys to the Corporate Lock." More than 10 years later, David's philosophy remains consistent and sets the foundation for UTC's culture. Dos Complete staff work. No questions asked not answered. Relationships always. We accomplish with and through others. We cannot be too courteous nor too thoughtful of others. Never burn bridges. Relentless constancy of purpose which we achieve consequent on principles. Test: Principles make people predictable and conversely unpredictable people are unprincipled. Clarity and brevity in written and oral expression by the word, not the pound. We cannot be too brief. High energy. Energy is the scarce resource. "I'm propulsion, you're guidance." Ambitions need to follow energies (with which you were born) or you will be disappointed. Solutions not problems. No upward delegation. You decide what to do, be sure I'm too busy to do your work. Work downward not upward. Show me the back of your head, not your bright shining face. Give me the courtesy to judge your work without your help. Stronger/better recruits than you. The only route to the golf course, yet most executives and managers fail this test. Content, content, content. Always an agenda. Don'ts Never escalate. Life is neither fight nor flight. The first lesson of diplomacy: Back up, don't give up and never let the other put a glove on you. Never optimize around the short term. Always keep your eyes on the horizon. Don't forget gravity, do remember intergalactic forces. Your achievements (and failures) are often due to forces much larger than you. When you have been too good for too long, better check around and behind you. Don't confuse your net worth with your real worth. The former may be illusory and transitory, the latter will not be. Never, ever, compromise your ideals. The cynical view is wrong. Shortcuts are never a reliable strategy. Don't change employers, at least not often. Don't work the proximity theory (that good things happen to people near powerful people). Never threaten and the corollary: Never enter a negotiation without a bottom line.

Take this to heart.
-Robert
TakeoverSuccess.com - Home Based Business Guidance, Advice, and Opportunities

Its not what you know, but who you know...

Well, that is partially right.

We have a new hire at work and he was asking for input for someone right out of school. I responded with two things:

1) Everyone in the company should know your name. This is that classic "Its not what you know, but who you know." Make it a constant effort to meet people and make sure they know who you are. Don't be afraid to drop in to the upper management's offices and ask them questions. Especially focus on the ones who are in a position that you would like to eventually be in. Ask them about their career path and how they got where they are. Some of the hardest working, most intelligent people I know have not gotten anywhere because they have not put any time in to getting their names known.

2) Do your job well. It is great if everyone knows your name, but lets face it, if you suck at your job you will not be going far. And then everyone knowing your name will backfire, BIG TIME. It you have no desire to do your job well and you just want to half-ass your way through life, avoid #1. BUT, if everyone knows your name AND you do a great job, it will accelerate your climb up the ladder.

Both of these have to be in place, and you have to do what is necessary to start building on them from the start.

Now you might be asking yourself, "Ok, that is all good, but why is this on an internet marketing blog post?" Well I think an analogy can be made to the internet.

Think about it...what are you trying to do? Bring people to your site. You do this by being in the right position with the search engines (i.e. #1 - who you know, or who knows you).

But if you don't have quality content (i.e. #2 - you aren't doing your job well), then no matter how many visitors come to your site no one will be interested. The will not stay. And they will not do whatever it is you are trying to bring them there to do.

So the lesson is don't focus all you effort on one, only to complete forget about the other. Balance the two, and you will succeed.

Here's to your success,

-Robert Ashmore
www.TakeoverSuccess.com

Been a little busy lately and haven't posted anything....

But this brings up a point we should always remind ourselves of: schedule

Make a schedule and stick to it. If you want to be successful with a home based business, or anything else in life for that matter, you have got to make a schedule and relentlessly stick to it. It is perfectly human to slip every now and then, but let me tell you, one day turns into a week, then into a month real quick. Before you know it, you have let things slip to a point where it will be difficult to pick back up where you left off.

Your best bet is to just not let it get to that point.

Awesome site upgrade!

Alright everyone,

I just went through a wicked site upgrade at my main site. I will even have my own forum! This should be interesting! On top of that, in the coming weeks I will be adding in an integrated blog, meaning this blog will become somewhat obsolete. It will take me some time to get things configured, but in the mean time please take a look around and let me know what you think!

-Hunter
www.takeoversuccess.com

Dotcomology - free!

Nothing to loose on this one
Copyright © R. Hunter Ashmore

I have spent A LOT of money (and time) on various ebooks and training systems. I can honestly tell you that a great deal of the information and "secrets" can be gotten just as easily for free.

The first thing I have found that is completely free is Stone Evan's Dotcomology ebook. This 325 page book covers everything you would ever want to know about making money online (and then some). I was a member of his Plug-in-Profits system for some time, yet had never taken the time to read this ebook. I could go on and on about it, but since it is free, check it out for yourself. Free with no catches...you have no excuses!!

Dotcomology Free Ebook

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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
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Purchased traffic sucks.

Purchased traffic really is a waste of money.

Don't buy it. There are much better things to do with your money. Like burning it. Or giving it to me.

No, seriously.

Even "targeted" purchased traffic.

Different paid traffic programs use different methods to generate the traffic, but rarely will it benefit you in any way. Any time I (and everyone I know, for that matter) have used it, the results have been the exact same: a large and sudden increase in traffic, and not one single additional sale. Unless you personally know someone who has had a good experience with a particular program, just don't bother. No matter how cheap it is.

You could spend your money on something better, like a well targeted CPC or banner ad campaign. Or just save your money and write an article. Haha, or better yet, waste your money on it, then write an article on why you shouldnt buy it, just like I just did :)

Do You Know Why 99% of All Home Based Businesses Fail?

Do You Know Why 99% of All Home Based Businesses Fail?
Copyright © Robert Ashmore
http://www.TakeOverSuccess.com

Dedication. Lack of it is the single most common cause of failure with a home based business. It takes more dedication than most ordinary people have to make a home based business successful. While the idea of being able to set your own hours sounds promising, the truth is very few will be able to find success with this little work structure.

Even the best home based business opportunities require a large amount of work. A normal business has to deal with sales, product creation, product production, orders, billing, advertising and more. A home based business is no exception; all of these facets are still required, but now it has to be done by one individual. It will quickly become apparent that a large number of hours will be required to get the business off the ground.

A home based business takes time to get off the ground. Very few people plan for this, and even fewer have the dedication necessary to make it through. Even the most successful home based businesses went through months of hard work before seeing the first returns on the time invested. This start up time is very frustrating and causes a majority to give up before they even get started.

Many start a home based business with the dream that they will be able to spend time with family and will be able to vacation whenever they please. Especially in the beginning, this is just not going to happen. Particularly in the beginning, the time spent with your family will be to remind them that you are still alive and that you still love them. Getting young children to understand that you still need to work, even though you are home, can be especially difficult.

To help with the transition to working at home, set up an office in a separate area from family and other distractions. Make sure family members understand that while you are in this office area, you need to focus on work and cannot have any distractions. In particular, make sure there is not a T.V. in the work area. Studies have shown that even when you are not paying direct attention to distractions such as T.V.s, the efficiency with which you work can be cut by over half. When in your office space, your time should be treated just as seriously as if you were working for another person.

While a work at home business does require dedication and a significant time investment, it will allow you to set your own hours. This will help make home life a little easier because you can set up work hours around your family's schedule. A majority of your work time should be scheduled when other family members are not home or are indisposed.

While you have heard all the stories about lavish work at home lifestyles, it would be a good idea to not buy in to them. You need to establish a schedule and stick to it. Lay out your day by what needs to be accomplished and fine tune your schedule as you figure out how much time different things will take. Your time is valuable. You get paid for the time you work and your customers or clients are paying for that time. Your reputation and success will depend on how you manage this time, and to manage it properly you will need dedication.

About the Author:
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Getting started with Internet Marketing

I used to have an e-commerce website where I sold espresso machines, coffee makers, and coffees. It was only mildly successful, despite the current demand for the product in the US. I wasted a ridiculous amount of time and money on CPC advertising, 3^rd party SEO optimization, low quality advertising, and etc. Want to know why I wasn't more successful? Traffic…or the lack thereof. I eventually dropped that website and decided to pursue new paths, namely internet marketing. Let me tell you, I sure wish I knew then what I know now about the internet. I could have easily been ten times more successful simply because I have learned how to get quality traffic to a site. If you are just getting started online (whether it be affiliate marketing or promoting your own product of any type), let me give you some tips on where to start to make sense of things. This article is in no way meant to give you the actual tools you would need, but rather it is to inform you of what your options are for getting a good, solid start.

Before you read this (or anything else, for that matter), let me point something out to you (because I was not aware of this until I got in to affiliate advertising myself). EVERYONE online is trying to sell you something. Keep that in mind through everything you read. Most are trying to sell you something just to make money. Others, like me, are trying to sell you something that works because we have tried everything else. Regardless, not matter what anyone says, you should keep in mind that everyone is trying to sell you something.

The first place you should start is with forums. There are a few good forums out there that are loaded with information and people ready and willing to help you. I especially recommend forums if you are trying to get started with no initial investment. My personal favorite is The Warrior Forum. This site is frequented by some of the big name gurus of online money making and internet advertising. Search through old posts and read what others are doing and what is working for them. The problem with forums is that the information is often spread out and difficult to put together.

The second place I would start is with ebooks. These are good because, unlike forums, the information is all in one place; however, ebooks can be a tricky way to get started because there is so much useless trash out there. An ever increasing number of people have decided that they didn't want to promote someone else's product through affiliate marketing, so they decide to go off and write their own 50 page piece of junk. The solution to avoid buying trash is to find reviews on the different books out there from people who know what is junk and what isn't. There are numerous eBook review sites that specifically focus on reviewing internet marketing books. Work at Home Watchdog is a good one that has ratings for books, but unfortunately does not have written out reviews. This, coupled with reading reviews in forums will give you a fairly comprehensive idea of the quality of the content. I word of advice with ebooks: pick one and stick with it for a bit before you buy another. They are typically expensive and the cost can add up very quickly. When first starting out, focus on the books that cover a broad range of topics. This way you can get a comprehensive view of the options available to you.

The third option is to join a program that includes a get-started training. Seeing that I am fairly ADD, this option works best for me. This way I have a reminder every day to go through training material to stick with it. My personal favorite is Plug-In-Profits Site (PIPS), but there are certainly many other programs out there. Do your research (i.e. forums) and find out what programs people like the most. The nice thing about PIPS is that the 30 days to success training covers just about everything you would need to understand the world of internet marketing. Nearly every one of these programs will have you join with the intent of you promoting that program to make money. If you were more interested in selling, say, coffee makers, you would just take the traffic generating tools and lessons in the program and apply them to your personal website instead. If you join a program like this, my advice is to initially ignore any programs that are not free that they tell you to sign up for in the training, finish all of the steps, then hit the programs that are reviewed as the best working ones on forums. Almost every program will require you at least sign up for a domain name and budget webhosting, but to be successful online you are going to NEED this anyways.

The thing I must stress to you is not to get overwhelmed. When I started, I made the mistake of signing up for three different programs and purchasing five different ebooks at the same time. At the same time I was trying to read every forum post I could find to follow in successful people's footsteps. I ended up extremely overwhelmed and was so busy with each program that I couldn't focus any significant effort on one. I urge you to do your research, pick a path, and stick to the program. If it doesn't work, then move to the next thing. If it does work, use it to the extent you can, and then add more to it through other programs. If you think ANY program is going to make you instant money and/or traffic, you are so wrong. To do it properly, it will take time, even if you do everything just right.

Here is a web link to the Work At Home Watchdog site:

http://www.takeoversuccess.com/wahwatchdog

I have a real short review of my favorite three ebooks at:

http://www.theanswertoall.com

If the PIPS path interests you, check out my sight from it:

http://www.takeoversuccess.com

Meet your resolution, get out of your chair and feel better!

As an engineer, I spend almost my entire day sitting in front of the computer. Then, after hours of this, I come home and sit all evening in front of my laptop and continue work on personal tasks. If you have a similar work life to this (and since you are reading this on your computer, I am betting you do), then you are probably feeling low on energy on a regular basis and wondering what happened to your youth and vigor.

Let me explain a little about my background. When I was in college, I was a full time student, but instead of having a social life after school I trained. I was an extremely active Shaolin Kung Fu and Vinyasa Yoga practitioner. Right after leaving school to join the "real world," I became a certified yoga teacher. I was thinking that I could teach yoga and still work out in my spare time between work. HA! I found out real quick that being a regular working Joe doesn't allow for much else. Soon after entering the working world, I lost my exercise routine, lost my healthy eating habits, started feeling exhausted, and lost any sign of the vitality I once had.

I am sure every single out of shape American is well aware of the need to exercise to stay in shape. We are not stupid. Not one overweight and out of shape individual woke up and said, "You know what, I want to be fat and feel like crud every day I wake up." But where do we have time to do what is right for our bodies? Americans have the busiest schedules of any society in the world. Seriously, who has time to spend the recommended hour to hour-and-a-half per day working out? Who has the time to cook when eating out is so fast? Why grab a fruit when the snack machine is so damn convenient?

But you know what? Despite all this, I don't feel like crap every day anymore. Want to know why? I took a look at what I was doing wrong and what I could do to fix it.

First, and this is such an important and overlooked step, I replaced soda drinks with water. Our bodies require water and a specific Ph balance for just about every internal process. Soda throws our bodies into a more acidic Ph balance and also causes the body to be dehydrated without feeling like it.

Second, I started avoiding the snack machine. I learned the value of cooking at home. It saves me money, and, believe it or not, it actually saves me time. I make sure to cook meals that I know will make good leftovers so that I can eat them for lunch the next day. By doing this, the time spent the night before on cooking gets made up for by the shorter lunch the next day.

Finally, I found there were little pockets of time spread throughout the day that were being used for coffee breaks or snack breaks. Now, instead, I get up and spend 10-15 minutes and do specific exercises to keep my body in check. These little "move" breaks make me feel better and more away than any coffee or Snickers break ever did. I do exercises that I learned during my time in yoga and kung fu.

Trust me, if you want to start feeling better, but think you just do not have the time right now in your life for it, you do. You have to take a step back, look at your life and see what can be improved, and take an initiative. Sure, an hour of exercise and an extremely healthy diet would be ideal, but you can start making changes now with small steps.

If you don't know where to start, there are tons of websites online and a few good ebooks available that will help you out. Start with some small steps and make a serious move for a better life in this New Year.

Ah! One last thing I almost forgot! For heaven's sake, do not take weight loss pills!!! Most of them wreck internal organs and the main reason they make you look like you are losing weight is because they suck water out of you and dehydrate your body! All that hype about raising your metabolism has a little truth to it, but so does eventual kidney failure sound like a pleasant side effect??

If you want to get started at home instead of going out to a class somewhere, here are some of the ebooks I recommend to get you started:

Excellent ebook covering very short and quick exercises to improve health - you can and should easily incorporate these into your daily life

Ebook covering yoga - specifically geared towards weight loss

Delicious Home-Cooked Diet Meals