Internet Marketing: Happy 4th of July

As we spend this 4th of July weekend with family and friends, let’s pause for a moment and think about what this Independence Day really means. As our country goes through hard times, let us remember that the sacrifices of those that have gone before us paid so we may enjoy the opportunities and freedoms which make this the best country in the world.

Happy 4th of July to you and yours, and don’t eat too much BBQ.

Jim Gage

Breaking Internet Marketing News

Hello All:

The Labor Department reported Thursday that first-time requests for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the highest level since late February. Economists were predicting claims would fall.

Now if this isn't a reason for you to get started with your own Internet Home based business I don't know what is. People, including myself are making a six figure income on the Internet, even in a down economy! Ask yourself, what is holding you back? Fear,lack of knowledge or just uncertainty on who to listen to. Here is my counsel to you; go by my website and view the articles and pages of information contained there, and sign up for my Free Newsletter. Take your time, absorb the information, e-mail or call me with your questions and make an informed decision on your future - always have a plan B.

Until next time.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Membership Sites

Hello Everyone:

I was asked today if membership sites were still a viable marketing strategy for consistent cash flow? Well, that surely is a loaded question, but the simple answer is Yes ! As long as your site is something that people need and need on a regular basis. There is no use having someone join your site for 1 month and then cancel; that is not a recipe for ongoing cash flow.

So that being said, what site do best in an economy where people are pinching pennies? Any sites that people gain valuable or enjoyable information will do very well in this economy such as:

--> Improve your golf game

--> Dog Training

--> Stock Market Investing Training

--> Real Estate Investing Training

--> Public Speaking

--> Exercise Related Subjects

etc...

These are just a few ideas for you to consider and start to develop. Remember, you can charge anywhere from $17.00 to hundreds of dollars per month based on your subject matter.
Now the million dollar question, how much will it cost you? You can get a membership site up and running for about $150.00 when you use a blogging platform.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at orders@ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Things Every Successful Website Need Part 3

Hello Everyone:

Here is my last installment on what you should have as key elements on your web page. If you have any questions feel free to call me at 508-595-9567.

7. Search Engine Optimized Copy:

At first glance you might not think this is so important, but trust me it is. You want your pages to rank well with the search engines and there are a few steps you can take to ensure this happens.
Each page of your website should be optimized for 2, or at the most 3 keywords/phrases. Weave the keywords into your titles and into the body of each page. You can also include them in your image titles, alt tags; even in the names you give your pages. Look at each page individually and decide what it’s about, then optimize accordingly.

8. Social Media Share Button:

With the popularity of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, you’d be foolish not to include an easy way for your content to be shared with others.
You’ll find many free services that will give you the code you need to instantly add a “share button” to your web pages so that visitors can instantly share them with their friends.
To generate your own buttons see:
• AddThis: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
• TwitThis: http://www.TwitThis.com

9. Meta Tags:

Some may tell you that meta tags are dead. Don’t listen. Meta tags should be included in your HTML code at the top of every page. Many search engines will read them to pull a description to include in their search results.
Again, each page should be optimized separately and have a unique title, keywords, and description tags.

10. Copyright Notice:

• Sounds simple but forgotten by many. All pages should include a copyright notice. If you don’t want to have to update it manually every year, find a simple JavaScript that will automatically do it for you.

11. Trust Seals/Testimonials:

I grouped these two items together as they both instill trust and confidence in your visitors. Remember, when someone comes to your website, they don’t know who you are and if you’re selling something, they may not feel comfortable giving out their credit card information. To help them feel more “warm and fuzzy”; include trust seals for any organizations you belong to:

Also, if you have testimonials from happy customers, or ezine subscribers, weave them into your site copy. People always love to hear that others have had a happy experience with your products/services. Make sure you get permission first from the testimonial writers before placing them on your website.
So there you have it -my short list of what every site needs to succeed online. Now that you’re armed with this information, get out the magnifying glasses and take a close look at your own website to see what may be missing.

For more great tips and strategies Click Here to sign up for our FREE Newsletter.

Until next time, be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Things Every Successful Website Need Part 1

So you’ve put together a spectacular website, and you’re ready to go live on the Internet for the whole world to see. Not so fast! In case you didn’t know, there are a few essential requirements that every site needs to include in order to be successful.

That being said, in the next several posts I will go over what I believe are the building blocks of a successful website.

1. Privacy Policy/Disclaimer:

Now, I’m not a Lawyer and don’t claim to be one, but these two documents should be standard issue for every site you have. People want to know how you’re going to use their personal information, and a “privacy policy” does just that.
In today’s litigious society you’ll also need to include a disclaimer/terms of use page. This protects you and spells out to your visitors what they’re agreeing to by using your website. If you don’t know where to start in generating these documents, you’ll find plenty of help online.

--> Google Adsense & other Ad Networks
--> Privacy Policy
--> Free Site Disclaimer

This is not legal advice, and if you need help in this department, consult with a local attorney.

2. Contact Us Information:

I can’t tell you how many sites I’ve been to that fail to include a way to contact the owner. If you can’t include a phone number, at the very least have an email address or a “contact us” form. By providing this information, you’ll make your visitors feel more comfortable knowing there’s a way to reach you should the need arise.

On my next post I will continue my tips on what every website should have.

If you find these posts helpful, why not sign up for our Free Newsletter by Clicking Here , you will be glad you did.

Until next time be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Using Video

Hello and Good Day:

In this post I would like to explain why you need to use video, when possible, on your website. You see when you use video you accomplish the following things:

--> Better search engine placement

--> Better Google & Yahoo organic search positioning

--> People like to watch video over reading text - can you say YouTube

--> Gives your website a more professional feel

--> Able to convey that in person, personal feel to potential client's.

these are just a few of the advantages of using video on your website. For more great tips and strategies, please visit my website: Consider Internet Marketing
and sign up for our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Until next time - be well.

JIm Gage

Internet Marketing : CD Reproductions

Hello All:

Here is a great resource to get your CDs reproduced including jewel cases with inserts for 1 dollar! There are no mins or set up fees - just a straight price of 1 dollar - go to kunaki.com for more information.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: More Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail - Conclusion

Hello All:

Today we will finish up on our topic of 'Why Internet Businesses Fail", specifically reasons 4 & 5.

4. Being a Shopaholic

This goes along with #3 above. Stop paying for every new scheme that comes along because they're promising you instant riches. All that's going to do is drain you of your money.

And then, if you're like so many others, there's a good chance you'll get frustrated and give up on the whole thing, because you don't know who you can trust anymore, and you don't want to take a chance, so your dream of workíng from home is over before it began.

Or, maybe they're not selling you a scam, but in fact have valid programs that many people use successfully in their businesses. That's great, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's right for you right now. It might be something that will be a good investment for your business later on, but you should really concentrate on getting your website up and running first. Otherwise you end up with information overload as described in #1 above.

5. Fear of Technology

Just because you haven't tried something before doesn't mean that you can't learn to do it. Think about pretty much everything you've ever done, especially the things you're good at. Did you always know how to do that, or did you learn it over time?

I'm guessing that you learned it, and you can learn to do a lot of the work on your website, too. I constantly have to tell the people I meet that it's in their best interest to learn at least a little bit of the technical stuff that comes with having a website.

I'm not saying you have to be a programming expert. In fact, if you need heavy duty programming done, then you should definitely get someone to do it for you. It'll save you a lot of time, for one. But there's no reason why you can't learn some of the basics of HTML so that whenever you need to make a small change to your website (such as the testing we talked about earlier) you won't have to pay someone to do it for you. And you won't have to wait for them to have the time.

It's not as hard as you think. It just takes a little time to learn it.

Conclusion

The most important point I'm trying to convey is that, in order to be successful online, you need to remain focused on one task at a time. Finish that task and move onto the next one. Finish that task and move on. And keep going until you're done.

Stop investing in every fancy new program that comes along. There are no "magic bullets" anyway. Stick to the plan from the beginning, and see it through to the end.

Starting a new website does require a bit of work at the beginning. There's no way around that if you want to succeed. But the great thing about working online is that once you have everything set up, you can put almost all of it on autopilot and bring in money 24 hours a day with a minimum of work.

So get started now, don't be afraid that you can't do it, don't get frustrated, and don't let anything distract you. You could be making very good money in very little time if you do it right.

For more great tips click here .

Internet Marketing: More Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail

Hello All;

We continue on our theme of why Internet businesses fail; we will address number 3 of the 5 main reasons on this post.

3. Waiting for the "Magic Bullet"

Let me just start by saying that there is no magic bullet when it comes to running your business, or doing any kind of work online.

I know that a lot of salesmen make it sound that way when you're reading their sales letters, but it simply isn't true. They're lying to you. And even if they're not lying to you, and let's say their system does work, it's only going to work for a short period of time, and it's only going to make you a little bit of money. Not the millions they're promising.

That's why I constantly warn people away from the "business-in-a-box or so-called cookie cutter formula" opportunities. The result isn't ever very good. Maybe you'll make a small bit of side money, if you're lucky. Besides, why would you want to sell the same thing everyone else is selling anyway?

The only way to have lasting success online is to have a website that is unlike anyone else's, that you've built up into a success, with a loyal customer base, one step at a time.

For more great tips, strategies and articles on Internet Marketing, why not sign up for my FREE Newsletter by clicking here ?

Internet Marketing: Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail

Hello All:

The next few posts I would like to go over, what I believe causes most Internet businesses to fail - enjoy.

Here are the most common reasons that most internet businesses fail that I've seen, in no particular order:

1. Information Overload

You've probably already been inundated with emails explaining how some new money making scheme is the hottest thing on the planet and you need to get in now so that you're on the cutting edge of internet marketing.

The problem is that you haven't finished working on the previous hot new thing yet, and as soon as you start this one, yet another hot idea will hit, and so on, and so on.

In every valid email you get, there should be an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom. Start clicking on it and just stick with a few of the people who you know are giving you good information about building your business from start to finish in the right order without any distractions.

And make sure that you see every task through to completion before moving onto the next one. It's the only real way to get anything done.

2. The Curse of Perfection

Speaking of seeing tasks through to completion, also consider that not everything on your website and in your sales process has to be absolutely perfect before you can unleash it on the public.

So many home business owners who are just starting out have a habit of obsessing over every little detail forever before they'll allow themselves to launch their site.

Stop it. It doesn't have to be perfect. That doesn't mean that you don't need to make sure your website is working properly first. It means that you can work on adjusting small details, such as the color scheme, the sales copy, the images, later on. In fact, if you're planning to do any proper testing (and you should be), then you should be constantly working on those items anyway.

So get your website out there, get some traffic, make sure the big things are working right, and then worry about adjusting the small details.

More to come in future posts - don't forget to bookmark my blog.

For more great tips, strategies and articles on Internet Marketing, why not sign up for my FREE Newsletter by clicking here ?

Internet Marketing : Question of the Month

Hello Everyone:

I would like to share with you a question that was submitted to me today, I think everyone can benefit from my answer...

Q: I would love to have a website to sell products from, but I don't have the money to have one created! What can I do besides giving up on my dream?

Bill H., Homestead, Florida

A: Hi Bill,

Don't give up, many people are in your same situation! I suggest that you start a blog and start selling products from there. There are 2 sites are would recommend which will allow you to start a blog for FREE! Yes, I said FREE - they are blogger which I use and Word Press. If you would like some direction on how to configure your blog with all the bells and whistles I have on mine, click here and send me an e-mail.

To your success,

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: Sell Your Products For FREE !

Hello All:

I hope you had a great New Years with your family and friends. I just wanted to let you know about something I just found out about - and it won't cost you a dime!
If you have read any off my posts you know I love using Ebay as an avenue of additional income and lead generator for my numerous website business. But did you know that there is a website that allows you to sell your products and services in a Ebay type format for FREE? Yep, that's right for FREE! The name of this exciting website is UPillar and I am about to try it.
From what I can conclude at this time is that it is starting to gain a large following in part due to the endorsement of Glenn Beck. Granted, they do not, or at least at the time of this post, they do not have the traffic of Ebay, but that might change in the near future.

I will let you know my experiences with the site in future posts...

Jim Gage

For other great tips and strategies, don't forget to sign up for our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter by clicking here

Internet Marketing 2010

Hello All:

Well, here we are 2010! The past year was a great and profitable year for those of us who have taken our internet marketing skills to the next level. In the coming year I will share with you, my faithful subscribers, some new strategies and tactics I'm currently using to bring in consistent cash flow in a down economy.

That being said, on behalf of myself and everyone here at Consider Internet Marketing may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings and success in all your endeavors.

Happy New Year.

James A. Gage

Consider Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing: Your Unique Selling Position

You must give potential customers some very good reasons for them to buy from you or your links. Offering special bonuses and discounts works wonders for your sales. Some of my most successful pages simply consist of coupons and discounts offered by different companies. If buyers can save $100's OFF by buying thru your links, they will.

Always remember, besides looking for the best deal or bargain, consumers are also looking for a quality product. If you're into affiliate marketing, only pick top quality products to promote. Picking top brand names also makes it easier to make sales. So too is only promoting popular online merchants like Amazon which can be an effective marketing strategy. Most importantly, always remember consumers are also looking for INFORMATION on the products they are considering buying, give them helpful information and you will succeed.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing Wishes

On behalf of myself and everyone here at Consider Internet Marketing we wish to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.

As we rest and spend time with our loved ones and families, let's get ready to make 2010 the best year yet!

Peace be with You.

Jim Gage

Auto Responders, Líst Building & Online Relationships

Keeping in contact with potential buyers is mission critical. You must use auto-responders to send follow-up messages to build trustful relationships with your potential customers.

So building a large contact líst is essential. That's why the social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace can be very effective marketing tools for building this online contact and trust. Truth be told, all these social networks are, more or less, just glorified auto-responders and líst builders!

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing: Automate Everything

The real beauty of marketing online and using computers... you can automate just about every process in your marketing system. Make it a point of automating everything you do... use autoresponders to follow-up with potential buyers, use automatic check-outs, automatic reporting... just set-up your whole internet marketing system that runs itself with little or no supervision from you. This will free up your time to concentrate all your efforts on marketing/promoting your site or product. Besides, nothing beats coming back from a vacatíon and finding out you have earned the cost of your vacatíon and then some - all the while you were lying in the sun and miles away from any computer.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing: Target Recurring or Residual Income

One of my most effective marketing strategies is to promote and sell products and services that give you a recurring or residual income. Make one sale and get paíd for years or for the life of that referred client. Concentrate on services like web-hosting, telephone, marketing programs... once customers sign up to these services, they will likely keep them for years. I am still earning income from sales I made five years ago.

Building a large residual income could be the key to surviving in tough economic times. This will be income which will carry you or your business over the rough patches since it is based upon past performance and not on your current selling situation.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Until next time - be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: Go With The Flow

If you're marketing online, you have to follow what's working for you. Most times you will try countless ideas or tactics - once you have found a process or system that works, really work it or scale it up. Making your first dollar is the hardest, but once you do something that earns you that dollar, just repeat that "something" a thousand times.

Tracking what works is very important so keep a close eye on your site's traffic logs to find where your customers are coming from. Something like Google Analytics is simply priceless for "fine-tuning" your site and your internet marketing. It will tell you what's working and what's not.

If you found this article helpful please visit my website and sign up for our FREE Newsletter with the latest cutting edge information, tips,strategies and articles on how to make a full time income on a part-time basis on the internet - click here.

Consider Internet Marketing: Make Google Your Friend

Whether you love or hate Google doesn't matter, you just have to make it your number one ally in your online marketing. Google has just about conquered the world-wide search market, Yahoo and MSN are still important, but Google is the deal-breaker when you're selling stuff online. Consumers have enormous respect for Google; a number one listing for a lucrative keyword simply means money in the bank.

I have found using Google Search, Google Adwords, and Google Adsense have played a more than significant role in the success of my own online sites and marketing. Google tools such as Google Analytics, Google Alerts, Webmaster Tools... all have been invaluable and an enormous help in achieving my "web-based" lifestyle and livelihood. Of course, Google has also driven me around the bend more times than I can count, but no one is perfect. Besides, when it's all said and done, anyone marketing on the web must truly embrace Google if they want to reach their highest level possible.