Jul 19 2008
Small businesses need to keep their budgets tight. Weathering downturns is a challenge for every business. This principle, called capital conservation, is a major key to success, especially for those just starting out. With the cost of office furniture and equipment today, it’s more important than ever. Continue Reading »
Jul 19 2008
One thing most web site owners have little time for is… anything! Anything other than focusing on their site content and the business or service it supports and the information it provides, that is. That means that administration often suffers, as it frequently must. Theres only so much time in the day. Continue Reading »
Jul 17 2008
Starting your own home based business carries with it lots of pros and cons. Some people are just not meant for the risk and social isolation that often comes with a home-based business. Others, moms with young children or those looking for a second income, may find it the perfect set up. For those looking to take advantage of the benefits, few businesses can compare with gift baskets.
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Jul 16 2008
Are you a fan of Justin Timberlake? Don”t worry, you don”t need to be one to make money from his tattoo - if that sounds bizarre to you, then read on to see how it can be done, and for free…
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Jul 10 2008
If you want to earn extra income from home, eBay is an easy place to start. If you have never bought or sold on eBay, spend a little time browsing around to familiarize yourself. On eBay you will find buyers and sellers from around the world with almost any kind of product you can imagine from automobiles to zebra striped purses.
Selling on eBay is relatively easy. Here are some steps to help you get started.
1. Register.
If you do not have an account you will have to register first. It is free and easy. To get started, just go to eBay
2. Decide what to sell.
This can be the tricky part. What will sell well? Start with things you already have. Did you recently get a new digital camera? Sell the old one. Get three coffee pots for wedding gifts? Keep the one you like best, and try selling the others. Need to de-clutter? You’ll probably get a better price on eBay than by having a garage sale. Or if you are skilled at making things, try selling a few. I wouldn’t recommend making a large stock though until you see how they sell, and whether you want to continue selling in this manner.
3. Check the Competition.
Use their search tools to search for items like what you want to sell. You can see if there are a lot of like items listed, and get a feel for what the competition is doing.
You can also see how similar items have sold. Once you find items similar to what you are thinking of selling click on “advanced search.” It is located next to the search button. On the next screen click on the box by “completed listings only,” and then click the search button again. This will pull up only listings that are complete. You can see if the item sold, how many people bid on the item, how much it sold for, and the shipping cost.
Looking at current and completed listing will help you decide if you want to sell your item or think of something else. It also helps you to get a feel for how to list your item, what is working for others, and perhaps how you can make your own listing better.
4. List the Item
Start by clicking on the “sell” tab at the top of the screen. The screens pretty much walk you through it step by step from there, but a couple of notes:
Pictures- The first picture is free, after that it costs you. Whether it is worth spending more for the pictures depends on your item. That is when referring to what others have done helps. For large ticket items more pictures are probably beneficial. People want to have a good idea what they are buying before they spend, especially if it is a large amount. For items with a smaller worth it may not be worthwhile. If I buyer wants more pictures they can be sent via email also. In my opinion having the picture displayed in the gallery is worth the extra cost.
Description- Be as descriptive as possible, especially if there are any flaws or damage to the item. Your feedback rating is extremely important when using eBay. You don’t want to try to hide or not mention issues with your item, and then have a disappointed customer leave you a poor feedback.
Starting Price/Reserve- You want to keep your starting price relatively low so people will bid on the item. If you are concerned about getting a certain amount from the item you can set the starting price higher or use the reserve. Both these affect the fees you are charged. You can click on “fee varies” to see the fee charts.
Payment Methods- PayPal is highly popular way to conduct transactions on eBay. It is not mandatory, but it does enable you to receive instant payment, and for customers to use credit cards. There are small fees involved.
Check and double check that everything is the way you want it, and for spelling and grammar. Once your item is listed you can only change some things. If someone has bid on the item there are very few things that can be changed.
5. Wait for the Item to Sell.
There isn’t much to do now, but wait. You can track the bids and watchers by clicking on “my eBay” tab.
6. Get Paid.
When the auction time is expired, you will get an email. If the item has not sold, you can re-list it for no charge. If it has sold you will be able to tell from “my eBay” if payment has been made already via PayPal. You can send an invoice if needed and you can also mark when the item shipped.
7. Ship it Out!
Be sure to use the shipping method chosen by the customer, and to pack the item very carefully.
8. Leave Feedback
Be honest if there was any problem with the seller, but remember they will be leaving feedback for you too!
After you have a few transactions under your belt, you will have a good feel for selling on e Bay. At that point you can consider if this is something you want to do regularly as a source for a second income.
Once you have sold the things you don’t longer need and have a feeling about how the system works, the next step is to find a reliable source of items to sell. Car boot sales or moving sales can be such. Check with your local shop and businesses. Businesses have excess inventory or items no longer needed after renovations and you could provide them with a method to dispose of them in the most profitable way.
eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to Powe...
Jul 09 2008
Two key performance metrics will impact every web site owner sooner or later: bandwidth and server load.
Bandwidth is the amount of network capacity available, and the term actually covers two different aspects. ”Bandwidth” can mean the measure of network capacity for web traffic back and forth at a given time. Or, it sometimes is used to mean the amount that is allowed for some interval, such as one month. Both are important.
As files are transferred, emails sent and received, and web pages accessed, network bandwidth is being used. If you want to send water through a pipe, you have to have a pipe. Those pipes can vary in size and the amount of water going through them at any time can also vary.
Total monthly bandwidth is a cap that hosting companies place on sites in order to share fairly a limited resource. Companies monitor sites in order to keep one site from accidentally or deliberately consuming all the network capacity. Similar considerations apply to instantaneous bandwidth, though companies usually have such large network ”pipes” that it’’s much less common for heavy use by one user to be a problem.
Server load is a more generic concept.
It often refers, in more technical discussions, solely to CPU utilization. The CPU (central processing unit) is the component in a computer that processes instructions from programs, ordering memory to be used a certain way, moving files from one place to the next and more.
Every function you perform consumes some CPU and its role is so central (hence the name) that it has come to be used as a synonym for the computer itself. People point to their case and say ”That is the CPU”. But, the computer actually has memory, disk drive(s) and several other features required in order to do its job.
Server load refers, in more general circumstances, to the amount of use of each of those other components in total.
Disk drives can be busy fetching files which they do in pieces, which are then assembled in memory and presented on the monitor, all controlled by instructions managed by the CPU.
Memory capacity is limited. It’’s often the case that not all programs can use as much as they need at the same time. Special operating system routines control who gets how much, when and for how long, sharing the total ”pool” among competing processes.
So, how ”loaded” the server is at any given time or over time is a matter of how heavily used any one, or all, of these components are.
Why should you care?
Because every web site owner will want to understand why a server becomes slow or unresponsive, and be able to optimize their use of it.
When you share a server with other sites, which is extremely common, the traffic other sites receive creates load on the server that can affect your site. There’’s a limited amount you can do to influence that situation. But if you”re aware of it, you can request the company move you to a less heavily loaded server. Or, if the other site -which you generally have no visibility to- is misbehaving, it’’s possible to get them moved or banned.
But when you have a dedicated server, you have much more control over load issues. You can optimize your own site’’s HTML pages and programs, tune a database and carry out other activities that maximize throughput. Your users will see that as quicker page accesses and a more enjoyable user experience.
PC Magazine Windows Vista Solutions
Jun 24 2008
How often have you seen advertisements promising that you can ”Give up your job and earns hundreds of $$$$ for a couple of hours work each day”? If you believe these ads, you can earn thousands of dollars every week, working a few hours on your kitchen table each day. I don”t blame you for being skeptical!
The truth is that copywriting can be a profitable career. But as with everything, it needs some time and effort on your part to make a success of it. You may not earn thousands of dollars for a few hours work, but you can earn a good income from copywriting. You need take a few things into consideration before you begin.
First you need to decide if you want to make copywriting your full time career. It is also possible to earn a good ”extra” income by working part-time. But be warned! Copywriting can become addictive!
If you have decided to make it your full time career, then it is best to continue on your present path, and add copywriting as a part-time activity. When you have built up a decent list of clients that you can rely on, you should consider putting more time into building your business.
Next you need to look at the different types of copywriting that you can do. Copywriting covers a host of writing, including:
Writing for the Internet is arguably the easiest and most profitable way to break into copywriting. There are literally millions of websites on the Internet, and they all need unique and fresh article content to keep visitors returning to them. Because of the number of articles needed every day, this is a good place to begin your copywriting career.
If you have decided to begin by writing for websites, then there are many places that you can check out to find work. These include:
- Freelance sites
These are sites where jobs are posted and if you are interested in one, you put in a bid for it. These can be a good place to begin, as it gives you a chance to establish yourself by getting ratings and reviews on the site. It also gives you a chance to build up your portfolio and your client list.
- Forums
Business forums often have copywriting sections, and these will often have sections where copywriters can advertise their services. You will also find website owners who are looking for content here as well.
- Content providing sites
These sites enable you to post and sell your articles to buyers.
All of the above sites are simple to find using a reliable search engine. Once you have found a project to work on, make sure that you complete it to the very best of your ability. Remember, that you want the client to return to you when they need more content articles for their websites!
Carry out the required research using whatever means is best for you. The Internet provides a wealth of information, so if you use this method, your research should be completed relatively quickly. When you have written your article make sure that you check it thoroughly for spelling and grammar. Also make sure that you always stick to the deadline arranged between you and your client.
Use the time in-between clients to work on your stock of articles. That way, you always have something that you can sell, and these will also form the basis of your portfolio.
When you are working on your portfolio, you need to make sure that you have a variety of products to show. These can be articles of different lengths and quality - for example, a selection of keyworded articles as well as some top end magazine quality articles. If you have something published in print, then make sure you include this. Also, write some newsletters and business communications. They do not have to be for ”real” clients, but they will show a prospective client your writing ability and style.
As with everything that is worth doing, do not expect instant overnight success at your copywriting career. It will take time and effort on your part to build up a steady client list. But once you have, then you are only limited by your own efforts.
The Copywriter's Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Cop...
Jun 23 2008
Tell a story, leading your visitors seamlessly through your sales process, and write attention-grabbing words that call to their deep desires and fears.
The headline is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your sales copy. Any web site only has a few seconds to grab the attention of visitors and it is your headline that will make them stay. It should be compelling and tell them you have the perfect solution to their problem.
The lead should reinforce the message on the headline and state the benefits of your web site.
Both your web copy or printed marketing material should be benefit driven. Your customers want to find solutions to their problems; they ae interested in how good your web site is or how good you are only in the measure it helps them solve their problem. Only talk about you or your web site to establish credibility and prove you are the right person to solve that problem and your web site is the right place to be.
Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every...
Jun 20 2008
Not only blogging will give you hands on experience about being online, it is something you can start for free, as well.
Blogging is easy to do, there are free blog accounts in many places. You can start and test topics without spending any money.
Your effort will not be wasted, as you can channel the traffic from your blog to you site later. What’s more, you’ll be able to host the blog on site, when you build it. Blogger or WordPress, the two most popular systems, the last one is the most popular for site blogs.
Blogs are considered social media and have the advantage, for instance, of builiding RSS feeds for you. This lets you share your posts with other like minded people as they can subscribe to your feed easily.
If you want an example: this is a blog. Even established sites benefit from having a blog as the mean to convey brief news, short articles and other pieces of information.
Apr 24 2008
Modern technology makes start up a home business even easier. Look at your personal computer, only with that you can:
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