Minggu, 09 Desember 2007

Staying Safe with Social Networking Websites

When it comes to internet safety, a large amount of focus has been placed on teenagers and the use of social networking websites. Although it is important for teenagers to be careful when using these popular websites, they are not the only ones who should be concerned with their safety. If you are an adult, who enjoys networking online, you should also be cautious when it comes to meeting and communicating with other internet users.

Although social networking websites are a great place to meet other internet users, especially ones with interests that are similar to yours, they can also be dangerous. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of instances when individuals were harmed when they went to meet an individual that they met on an online social network, which includes dating websites. If you are not careful and cautious, the same thing could happen to you. This does not mean that you should be filled with fear; however, it does mean that you need to be cautious online.

One of the many ways that you can protect yourself, when it comes to using online social networking websites, is by watching what you post online, particularly in your profile. You may not know this, but a large number of networking sites, including MySpace, FriendFinder, and Yahoo! 360 allow all internet users to see your profile or profile page. These internet users do not necessarily have to be a member of your online community. This means that although your networking community may be safe, there are still unsavory individuals out there who could easily obtain your personal information.

In addition to the information that you make available to other internet users, including member profiles, you are advised to be cautious when making contact with other internet users, especially those that contact you. A large number of social networking websites have open memberships. Essentially, this means that anyone can easily join and become a member. Just because someone says they are who they are doesn

Sabtu, 08 Desember 2007

The Importance Of Having Your Own Website

When your new to the world of running an online home business there seems to be a million and one strategies to learn and implement. It

The Downside to Selling Private Label Products on Online Auction Websites

Each day, at least one individual makes the decision to purchase the resell rights to a particular product. If you are looking for a legitimate business opportunity, there is a good chance that you may be that individual. To successfully profit from private label products, which you have legally obtained the resell rights to, there are a number of important factors that you should first consider. These factors are essential to making money, instead of losing it.

Private label resell rights are available on a number of different products, including e-books and software. In most cases, the e-book author or the software developer is unable to spend time marketing and selling their own product. Instead of targeting potential customers, they shift their focus to others who are looking to make money. This is done by selling the resell rights to their product. If you have the time and the knowledge needed to market the product in question, you may be able to make money with this opportunity.

After you have purchased the resell rights to a particular product, it will then be your responsibility to sell that product. This is where you may be able to make money. Since you have officially paid for the rights to resell the product in question, you are now able to profit from each sale. It is likely that you would want to make as much money as you possibly could. To do this, you will need to sell your newly acquired product.

When it comes to selling any product, whether you created that product or just obtained the resell rights to it, you will need to find an effective sales method. There are many individuals who have found success by using online classified ads, creating their own websites, or by using online auction websites. While all of these selling approaches may produce results, they may not work for you.

If given the opportunity, most individuals would choose to sell their products via an online auction website. This is because unlike many other selling methods, online auctions are cheap to use and they often produce fast results; however, those results may not be what you were looking for. If you are planning on purchasing the resell rights to a private label product for the sole purpose of selling that product through an online auction website, you are advised to reconsider your decision. This is because online auction websites are not what they used to be.

Instead of making money with online auction websites, many are losing it. As previously mentioned, online auction websites have changed. In the past, only a limited number of products were available for sale. The limited number of products helped items not only sell, but sell for a high price. Now, there is so much competition on these sites that it is hard to make a profit. In fact, with the time it takes to post an online auction and the fees associated with doing so, you may end up losing money.

To be successful with the reselling of private label products, you are advised to rely on more than one selling method. Online auctions may work, but they are not guaranteed results. That is why it is advised that you do not solely rely on them to generate income.

The Website that Had 5 Hits A Day

I guess this is my chance to start something similar to a blog to keep some kind of a personal record of my professional journey. During my school days in the National University of Singapore, I never thought I would be making a living creating websites for others.

I started picking up HTML about 5 years ago. Surprisingly, despite coming from a non-programming background, I picked up the language almost effortlessly. I started putting up small websites on those free hosting sites. There were a lot of those companies back then.

Before long, I was working on several projects for a few companies. It didn't take long for me to stumble upon Macromedia Flash. Once again, I was curious about how it worked and kept working on it. Those first few Flash files were real cheesy but in after just one year of hands-on experience with HTML and Flash, I managed to win a local web design competition. I got first out of slightly over thirty entries and won lots of software and several pieces of hardware.

My friends kept telling me to start something on my own. Well, I did but it didn't quite work out as I lacked the marketing and business skills to run a proper Company. Before long, flocks of freelancers entered the market and the prices hit rock bottom.

Anyway, I was running a personal website. It was doing well until I got a full-time job and due to neglect, it disappeared with the many websites at about the same time when the dotcom bubble burst.

And when I said doing well, I meant getting just 5 visitors a day. Hence, the title of this article. I put up some simple articles on my website and also offered a free email service but without the marketing know-how, the traffic was trickling.

It wasn't until 5 years later that I started getting between 20-50 unique visitors per day on each of my website. I'm now running close to 10 websites on my own and several others for my customers.

I'd be the first to admit that I'm far from being successful but the results are encouraging. At least the websites are now paying for themselves and on some weeks, there is even some profit ;)

At this point, I bet you want to know how I did that? Well, there really isn't any secret and if you look a bit harder, I'm sure you can find the information you need on one of those Internet Marketing websites.

But I'll save you the trouble and give it to you here. There are two things you need to know to run a website that will eventually pay you back.

The first is that your website MUST be search engine optimized. That means tweaking your website to make sure the website is friendly for the search engines. If you have a bit of time for experiment, here are some tips.

Make sure that your keywords appear in your page title, and in your URL if possible. Get as many inbound links as possible but with anchor texts in your links. That means enclosing your keywords within your inbound links.

Beware of websites that sell you a half-baked story about how they can guarantee you top rankings. I tried and tested all those information I found on the Internet and it took me MONTHS to see any kind of results.

If you are in a hurry to get started, take a look at Instant Website. Instant Website is an in-house product developed by myself and I use it to host my corporate website. It took me months to build and I'm now hosting my customers' site on it.

The second thing you need to know is that you MUST know how to build lists. This is critical to the success of your website. Search engine traffic brings in the visitors and you must have the tools to retain them!

I'm talking about having some tools to reach out to those same visitors. One example is an email box. Instant Website has a simple one incorporated in it but if you need something more powerful, here are a couple of good ones. http://www.aweber.com and http://www.constantcontact.com

That's it. Make sure your website is search engine optimized and keep building that list and you'll never have to worry about your website averaging just 5 visitors a day. What you want to do with all that traffic is completely up to you.

On sites like this one, I place Google ads on them. Maybe I'll write more about that in another article but if you click on it, I earn some money. But only do so if you're really interested in what you see in the ad.

So there you go, the story about the website that had 5 visitors a day but I'm sure after reading this article, you're on your way to running successful websites! So start one today!

Jumat, 07 Desember 2007

The Growth of Hookup Websites: Will They Overtake 'Normal' Online Dating Services?

Do online dating sites have a bad wrap for being hookup sites? Have online dating websites shed their stigma as a place for only the lonely, just to have traded it in for a hookup image? While it seems like there certainly are websites and services available for people to meet dates for hookups alone, there are also plenty of other types of relationships that can, and have been formed, through online dating services, from friendships, to email correspondence, hookups, casual dates, and even marriage.

The internet is renowned for being a place that has something for everyone. The online dating industry is no exception. Though there are endless options for people seeking other people for various reasons and different types of relationships, it seems to some that there is an overwhelming number of websites offering dates for hookups. This perception, while accurate in some senses, could also be due, in part, to the different marketing strategies approached by each, and the basic characteristics of companies and people who pursue these types of relationships.

To begin with, the marketing strategies for such websites are often quite aggressive. Though this may be a broad generalization, many websites that are designed to connect people for quick and easy sexual relationships are not as concerned with projecting a specific image, particularly in comparison with dating websites who try to distance themselves from this. Certainly, many online dating services give their members the option to seek any type of relationship they want, whether that be a casual date, hookup, or long term commitment. However, the majority of these sites don't promote themselves exclusively as hookup sites, and don't pursue marketing strategies that are as aggressive and anonymous. Most large online dating sites promote themselves as place for people to find love, and follow strict branding strategies. Hookup sites are often smaller companies, and are therefore less anonymous. This could help create the sense that there are many of these hookup services available, when really, this is because it is difficult to identify and differentiate the few that are out there.

The companies and people who are involved in these websites may also contribute to the sense that there are several hookup websites around these days. This may be partly because the companies are not large, recognizable brands. The influx of hookup sites may also be attributed to the fact that the people who participate in these websites are usually not long term members (this is also a broad generalization). In this sense, many members may come and go from the site, often just temporarily, to find a fast and casual hookup, and leave once they are satisfied. This may help create the impression that there are large numbers of people signing up, and increasing the number of members for these hookup sites. Nonetheless, there are several hookup sites available, whether they are sites dedicated to hooking up, or are 'normal' dating websites who offer their members the option to seek all sorts of different types of relationships.

Sell Your Art Online With Your Own Unique Website

If you are serious about selling your art online, then you should be serious about developing your own website. I am not referring to those free website builders your Internet Service Provider gives you or any other free website providers. I am talking about a professional website with your own unique domain name: www.yourname.com.

There are good reasons why you should never use a free design service. The company that provides the free service owns your website space and they can do whatever they wish with your site, namely advertise on it.

There is nothing more unprofessional than unrelated banner advertising and popup windows that are usually associated with free websites. Not only are they annoying, but they also distract visitors from your art.

There is also the risk that your website provider may go out of business. That free site you spent all that time promoting is gone and your efforts were in vain.

With your own unique domain name, the worst-case scenario is you have to change hosting accounts. Your domain name remains unchanged and your customers can still reach your site.

Having your own website with a unique domain name tells your potential customers that you are a professional and serious about your business. It also looks wonderful on business cards!

Can you imagine handing out business cards at art shows or to other interested people with this printed on your cards: http://www.some freewebsite.com/artists/yourgallery/index.html. This is unprofessional and it's difficult for your customers to remember.

Having your own unique website offers convenience for you and potential customers. For instance, lets say you are traveling to another state, or another part of the world for that matter. You meet someone who is interested in seeing your work, but you don't have your portfolio with you. You may have just lost a potential customer. If you have a nice business card, with your website address printed on it, the potential customer can simply visit your website at his or her convenience to view your work, and it doesn't matter if they live around the corner or on the other side of the world! Your website is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Now that you see the benefits of having your own website, you will need to take the first step, and that is to register your domain name (http:www.yourname.com).

Registering your own domain name is easy and extremely affordable today. My recommendation is to register through a site called Godaddy.com. They are amongst the lowest priced domain registration services online at around $9 for the entire year (this was the price at the time of writing this article). Once you register your domain name, its time to begin your website design. You can either hire a web designer or do it yourself. Whichever method you choose here are some general guidelines:

My advice is to keep your site clean and simple. Do not load your site with lots of fancy graphics or long multimedia presentations. These only annoy and distract visitors away from your art and increase the amount of time it takes for pages to download.

Make your site navigation is easy to follow and consistent throughout your entire site.

Make it easy for your visitors to contact you. Put a "contact" or "contact us" link on every page in clear view.

Avoid animated graphics, moving text, or other animated features on your website.

Make all of the links on your site standard colors and underlined. Blue is for unvisited links, purple for visited.

Resources for do it yourself web design - There are many places online where you can learn HTML and web design completely free. One of my favorite sites is W3 Schools - http://www.w3schools.com/. W3 Schools is a wonderful site packed with lots of great information on HTML and web design. The tutorials are informative and very easy to follow.
If you are not the type who enjoys learning online, there are also a handful of great books you can purchase. "Learning Web Design" by Jennifer Niederst is a book that gives you a good all around introduction to web design. There are other great books. Just head over to a site like Amazon and a do a search for "beginner web design". Find books that have good feedback ratings from customers. Read through the feedback to make sure the book is the right fit for your experience level.

I hope this article has got you excited about getting your own website. If you have any questions about anything covered in this article, do not hesitate to contact me. Please send your question to: ralph@sellingartnews.com.

Be sure and head over to http://www.sellingartnews.com, for more great articles and tips on selling your art.

Shop Online With A Specialist Website If You Want The Some Of The Cheapest Car Finance Deals

Thee are many ways of getting a loan for your new or used car, you could take out the finance offered in the showroom or go to any high street lender. There is however a much easier way to make sure that you have got a good overview of the car finance marketplace as to who is offering the cheapest car finance deals. Simply go online with a specialist car loans website and allow them to look around on your behalf and gather quotes along with the key facts of the loan so you can make an accurate comparison.

While it can be tempting to take the finance deal offered in the car showroom it is almost certainly the dearest way of getting finance for your car. The rates of interest will usually be higher and there can be many terms and conditions hidden in the small print which might not be obvious to you to until you have signed for the loan.

By choosing to take out car finance independently with a specialist car finance website you will not only be sure of getting access to some of the cheapest car finance deals but also the key facts which hold the terms and conditions of the loan you are considering. The key facts will tell you about any hidden costs such as an early repayment fee, the rate of interest you will be paying annually, how much interest will be added and the total amount of the loan. The terms and conditions can vary between finance companies so it is essential that you do compare the small print alongside the quotes.

While a specialist website will always be able to get you the cheapest car finance deals, the type of loan you need depends on your personal circumstances. The best deals and cheapest rates of interest are reserved for those who have an excellent credit rating, your credit rating is the number one factor when it comes to applying for a loan and if you want the best deals then a perfect score is a must. However those who have less than a perfect credit rating can get a loan and although they will not be able to benefit from the cheapest interest rates, if they go with a specialist website, they will get the best for their circumstances.

A bad credit loan is not one of the cheapest car finance deals but if your credit rating prevents you from getting approved for a personal loan it might be your best option. The majority of bad credit loans will be a secured loan and this means that in order to get a loan you will have to put something up as security against the money you want to borrow. Your home is usually put up as security and this means that the roof over your head is at risk throughout the time you are repaying the loan.

A secured loan can usually be taken out for a longer period of time than an unsecured and this can help to keep the monthly repayments down but of course more interest will be added. A secured loan might be the best option if you are buying a top of the range brand new car but remember that all cars will depreciate over time so bear this in mind when considering the length of the loan. Whichever type of loan you are going for the easiest and quickest way to get several quotes and the cheapest car finance deals is with an online specialist website.