Advertising For Success

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


Marketing gurus as well road side vendors know that value of good advertising. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Advertising is what makes a business successful. Every industry and professional takes help of advertising to make people aware of their products or services. Be it a real estate agent, Shoe Company, fast food chain or a superstore, all invest heavily in advertising.

You must have noticed that some companies with not that great product or services are successful and very popular. In fact there are other companies which are selling similar and many times better services/products but are not that successful or have not caught the imagination of clients. Have you ever wondered why Pepsi or McDonalds’s are such popular brand regardless of the fact that the products are not exactly top of the line? The answer lies in their marketing and advertising.

Advertising is the key to any business’s success. Whenever a company cuts down on advertising budget, a dip in sales and revenue is slow seen immediately. This is the sole reason why you see advertisement all around you. Every second of the day we are bombarded by advertisement. Switch on television, you will see constant stream of ads. Go to watch a movie and you will see product placement. Listen to radio and advertisements are there also. Websites are also filled with ads vying for your attention. While driving you will see billboards everywhere – buildings, buses, streetlights. Every imaginable place is fit for advertisements.

Even if you won’t be able to afford to a BMW all your life, you know about it latest series. All thanks to advertisements in T.V. or magazines. You may probably identify lot of products just by their logo just because you see their ads throughout the day. Some of the most recognizable logos belong Coco Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, Google, BMW etc. All have built up their brand image and recognition by incessant advertisement on all forms of media.

For a budding Entrepreneur Advertising is even more important. S/he is a new entrant in the industry with no previous background, almost zero brand value and no recognition. For success, an entrepreneur has to undertake a publicity campaign to make the target audience about the products and services. Advertising can be in many forms. At the most basic level, it may mean flyers, brochures and business cards. Business cards can be a very cheap and effective form of advertising. Give out business cards to as many people as possible. Same steps for the flyers and brochures. This should be a continuous process. Let everyone know about your business. Other forms of advertising can ads in local magazines, sponsoring a local event, hoardings etc.

One newer method of advertisings is the internet. Banners and text links on websites can be very effective in bringing more customers. Google AdSense is one such popular adverting method. The bottom line is advertising is a never ending cycle which needs to be conducted consistently and diligently if a business wants to succeed.…

Read more

Do You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


Nobody said that being an entrepreneur easy. Anybody who has started a business of his own will tell you that it’s can be an all consuming activity which will demand a lot out of you but will also reward with more than just financial success.

Success in a Business venture is result of many factors such as knowledge, perseverance, passion, good plan. It has been estimated that every year more than 60% of businesses fail. So, if you are thinking about been an entrepreneur then you may be vey well advised to think it over many times before taking the plunge.

The road to success is long and has many phases which need to be understood by every budding entrepreneur. If neglected at the start of any endeavor then any venture is doomed to fail very early. These phases of a business may vary form industry to industry but one of the most important phases is the market research. While this may seem to be a very logical step it is very often overlooked. Market research helps in determining your market and understand it fully.

Many times, while starting, entrepreneurs are too consumed by passion and emotion to be able to do an unbiased study of the viability of their product or services. If undertaken at the start, many would-be-entrepreneurs can save themselves from the ignominy of failure. Most business plans cannot stand up to the scrutiny of the market research and fail even while been on the drawing board.

To be successful in any market you need to understand the history of the market, demography, economic conditions and current trends. You also need study the competitors already established in the market. Studying them will help you unearth your target audience and your niche.

Many a times, people overestimate the value or novelty of their products/services. This gives them false sense of confidence promoting them to make irrational decisions and undertake big risks.
It may be possible that there are other businesses offering similar products/services with much more value additions and at much better price. Are you offering something really that good?

Once, you have completed your market research and are confident then you need to secure Funds for the Business. The fact is “Businesses need money”. It’s like oxygen. You cannot avoid it. Most small businesses fail because of paucity of funds.
After sorting out funding question comes management. Business needs to be managed on a daily basis. You may have to employ and manage people of varying skill sets and attitudes.

Another important phase is how much money to allocate to marketing your business. Marketing enables people to be familiar with your products and services. Without an effective marketing plan, any business will fail.
Another important factor is to be aware of the tax and law concerning your business.
These are all very important points that need to be given all attention by any would-be entrepreneur.…

Read more

Get Out Your Financial Mess The Easy Way!

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain

The economic downturn has left many people powerlessly immersed in a financial mess with no cash and no job. Several companies had to layoff a lot of employees, and with the rising prices, it does not take long even for your life savings to get depleted. Thankfully, there are ways to get out of your financial mess as fast as you can. You can have no cash and no job today, but tomorrow you could be welcoming thousands of dollars into your bank account. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Don’t Mope Around

Instead of moping around at home because of your seemingly hopeless situation, make up your mind to do something about it. It’s all about the attitude. If you decide not to do anything, then your financial problem will last quite a while. But if you decide to do something, you won’t be overcome by hopelessness.

2. Look for Money Making Techniques Online

There are now many ways to start earning money without having to pay for gas or any other costs. All you need is Internet connection at home. There are now a lot of moneymaking opportunities offered online; most of them don’t have many requirements so you can easily do them and earn money as soon as possible.

3. Don’t Watch the Financial News

There is one thing you should not do: do not, at all costs, watch the financial news. It will only fill your head with negative money talk. Remember, you are in control of your financial situation. You can make decisions and actions to change it. What happens to the economy may influence your situation, but it won’t make the final decisions. Thus, try not to let the negative feedback get to you, so it won’t get you down.

4. Turn Your Mentalism Into A Money Magnet

Do you know that most of the problems that plague various aspects of our lives are problems of the mind? The way you think, or your mentalism, can significantly affect your reality. If you change the way you think about money, you can change your financial situation – fast!

The problem is, how can you change your perspectives about money in a world that’s wired to think negatively about it? Well, that’s no problem with subliminal messages, which are sent straight to the subconscious so your conscious mind can’t think up any ideas contradicting them. These messages can evoke powerful changes in the way you view money. Once you start sending out positive financial vibes, money will be magneted straight towards you.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to watch subliminal videos such as the Money Mentalism videos. These can stir changes within you in just the first ten seconds after you watch your first video. The videos can be purchased online, so you can start saving your bank account within the confines of your own home.
In no time, your financial situation will turn from no-cash-no-job into $100,000-per-month. And all for just watching a 10-minute video every day.…

Read more

What Are the Benefit of Having a Website?

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


You know you need a website, especially if you’re trying to sell something or promote something. Everybody tells you that you need one, but perhaps you don’t really know what sort of benefits arise from having your own website or your business having a website.

There are many reasons for having a website, but here are some of the most urgent reasons:
1.) People are using the phone book less and less frequently. This is especially true among young people. As a matter of fact, there is a current shift away from going online on a computer to going online with a mobile device. It makes sense, too. If people are looking for a pizza shop while they’re out having fun, they’ll simply look for one from their smart phone. There is no need to check a phone book since they can do everything from their phone. Of course, what this means for you is that if you do not have a website, then you simply won’t be found by a lot of people who are looking. Your target audience is vastly reduced.

2.) Websites are essential for conveying information about you or your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have all your business information on the web, along with your contact information, you make it easy for people who are specifically looking for your information to find you. This is especially true if you have your information presented in such a way that makes it easy for the consumer to find what they’re looking for.

3.) Another benefit of having a website is that it gives your business credibility. It is similar to a business having a phone number. Many people won’t think a business is either legitimate or credible if it doesn’t have a phone number. The same is true now for businesses without a website. They won’t be seen by their potential customers as being legitimate or believable if there is no web site.

4.) A website allows a business to make sales or process transactions 24/7 without being open for business, without hiring sales people and allows for people to contact customer service/support in a way that doesn’t necessarily interrupt the flow of your normal business cycle. This of course, means that your site offers a shopping cart or a customer support area. The real advantage to this kind of website for a small business is lower employee and operating costs, and adding a new revenue stream to an already existing revenue stream from the bricks and mortar business.

5.) Finally, related to the statement above, a website has the potential to bring in not only more customers than you would otherwise have, but also new customers that you would never have reached before. This means that your reach becomes world-wide as opposed to being strictly local. Of course, it also means that your site will need to appeal to a larger market which could involve foreign languages, complex scripting on the site and you might have to work out shipping to foreign locations. But, properly planned this could bring in much higher revenue than previously earned with just a local business.…

Read more

Online Payments Can Affect Your Business

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain

Online Payments
In today’s world, where shopping online has become the norm, it is important to offer a secure payments system to your customers. As the incidences of identity theft continue to rise, more and more people are leery of using a site that doesn’t offer a secure way of sending you their money. And with the economy on a slippery slope, you don’t want to lose any customers.

What is it that online shoppers are looking for in terms of safe checkout? First and foremost they want your site to have an up-to-date security certificate that is identifiable by their browser. Most browsers are updated now with the command to check for the security of sites you visit. If your site raises a red flag with potential customer’s browsers, you are losing potential business. Validate your site with a trusted source like VeriSign, GeoTrust or one of the other well known sources out there. Go the extra mile to let them know they’re entering a safe shopping zone.

You also want to give your customers good choices for payment. Most sites these days are integrating PayPal into their payment options at customer checkout. PayPal has a good reputation for being secure and almost foolproof in most cases. You can put this option up and make your potential buyers happy.

For credit card customers you want to make sure you have the most up-to-date encryption software that will mask the input on their end and lessen the chances of fraud and identity theft. These take a heavy toll on businesses because of increased credit card fees, so you want to make sure you’re offering the best for your clients.

You should also consider the kind of support you offer your clientele. Do you have a support center? Do you provide contact numbers or emails so they can verify your information? Listing a physical address can go a long way in helping your customers ensure they are dealing with a legitimate company. No one wants to deal with someone who isn’t available, so make sure your presence is there on your site as an added plus for buyers to see.

This is a competitive world, and with that competition comes a need to be your very best. This is true in the outside world and is no less true on the Internet. There is an unwritten code of ethics that any honest merchant needs to follow. On the Internet, that involves security for your customer. Because there are many other people out there trying to attract the same customers to their sites, it is imperative you do whatever is necessary in order to bring in your share of the market.

Ensuring your customers have a pleasant and safe shopping experience can be accomplished easily in the cyber world. Keeping apprised of security updates and new forms of payments is easy as well. A happy customer is repeat business, so keeping online payments secure can have a lasting positive impact for your online business.…

Read more

The Stock Market and Stock Market News

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock (shares) and derivatives at an agreed price. The stock is listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities of a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together. Participants in the stock market include individual retail investors, institutional investors such as mutual funds, banks, insurance companies and hedge funds, and also publicly traded corporations trading in their own shares. Their orders usually end up with a professional at a stock exchange, who executes the order of buying or selling.

The purpose of a stock exchange is to facilitate the exchange of securities between buyers and sellers, thus providing a marketplace (virtual or real). The exchanges provide real-time trading information on the listed securities, facilitating price discovery. Some exchanges are physical locations where transactions are carried out on a trading floor, by a method known as open outcry. This type of auction is used in stock exchanges and commodity exchanges where traders may enter verbal bids and offers simultaneously. The other type of stock exchange is a virtual kind, composed of a network of computers where trades are made electronically via traders. Actual trades are based on an auction market model where a potential buyer bids a specific price for a stock and a potential seller asks a specific price for the stock. When the bid and ask prices match, a sale takes place, on a first-come-first-served basis if there are multiple bidders or askers at a given price.

A few decades ago, worldwide, buyers and sellers were individual investors, such as wealthy businessmen, usually with long family histories to particular corporations. Over time, institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies, and mutual funds have become the major players in the stock market. The rise of the institutional investor has brought with it some improvements in market operations. One improvement is that fees have been markedly reduced for the ‘small’ investor.

Stock markets provide a considerable amount of information daily. And the rise of small investors in the stock market has led to an increased demand for the News. The news analysis consists of the tracking, recording, analysis, and interpretation of the flux and change of it. Such analysis could include the performance of well-known and not-so-well-known companies. This form of journalism can also cover news and features articles about the people, places and issues related to the stock market in particular and the financial industry in general.

Stock market news is disseminated in a variety of ways. Most newspapers, magazines, radio, and television news shows carry a segment dedicated to the trends of the trading day. However, the internet has fast become the medium of choice for a considerable number of stock market news watchers. On the internet, such persons can get not only up-to-the-minute reports on trading, but also detailed and in depth financial journalism.…

Read more

Start Your SEO And Internet Marketing

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


Optimizing your website and marketing online can be a time consuming and exhausting process, especially for a beginner. Some people hire SEO expert to help them with their effort, but that might not be an option if your budget is tight. SEO and internet marketing is not as hard as it looks if you break down your effort into several steps so you can see your progress and know what else to do. This article discusses seven steps to start doing your own SEO and internet marketing.

The first step is setting up your website

It is the central point of your online marketing. Buy your own domain and hosting space. Your own domain will make your website look more professional and your SEO ranking higher. You can hire someone to do it for you, or you can set it up yourself.

Start simple

Use website template and design that is easy to install and navigate. Although fancy websites look interesting, many readers actually prefer simple but informative website. Put in the most basic information about your products and company. Write your shop or service policy as clearly as possible. It is best if you add a Frequently Asked Question section on your website. Do not forget to put in your contact info so that readers can reach you. It is preferable to put in your phone number aside from email address. Some people prefer to speak directly to someone rather than using email.

Take pictures and upload them to your websites

Take the best pictures you can and hire a professional photographer if you have to. If you sell tangible products, this step is especially important since the customers cannot see or touch your item directly.

Start optimizing your website

First, make sure your website is searchable on search engines. You might need to submit your website address to some search engines to speed up the process. Then you should edit your header and title to include relevant keywords that describe your website content and your products. You also need to add these keywords to your content. Avoid keyword stuffing as this is frowned upon by search engines.

Sign up for social networking sites

Start with Facebook and Twitter since they are the easiest to use and most popular. If you use Facebook, create a business page or a fan page. Like with your website, fill in relevant information and make it look as professional and attractive as possible. Add social networking buttons such as Facebook badges on your website.

Invite people that you know

Invite people that you know at first: your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintance or anyone on your friend list. Ask them to spread the news to their friends. Interact with them by posting updates, sale, special offer, or other things. It is important to answer their question and build relationship with them.

Advertise your website or business

The last step in SEO and internet marketing is to advertise your website or business. There are many places to advertise online. You can directly place your ads on certain websites. You can also use Google AdWords or Facebook Ads.…

Read more

Small Business Marketing Strategies

Posted on by Bella E. Hussain


Search engine optimization for local searches requires quite a different approach than what would be used for searches on a larger scale. In this article I’m going to share with you the what’s required to perform well in local search so that your small business marketing stays on target.

Claim your Google Business Listing

Sign into Google Business Listing Center, and claim your listing. You will then be able to appear on the Google Map – which is really something that will help your local business. There are so many mobile devices in operation nowadays – your business needs to be available online for people searching for suppliers when they are on the road. Your business will also be displayed on laptop and computer based searches.

Categorize correctly

To categorize, think about what a person would need to Google to find a business like yours. Think products and services. If you are a bakery, a searcher might use ‘cakes’ or ‘bread’ as opposed to ‘bakery’. Get clear on you categories and use them consistently – don’t overlap.

Consistency, accuracy and currency

Keep all mentions of your business consistent. This means address, categorization, telephone numbers, and website addresses. Google is going to be checking the data that is available. Google works hard at producing relevant result, so make sure it can find you and feel confident that you are open for business. Check data in other online directories such as Yellow Pages and InfoUSA for consistency.

Add a meta description to your site

A meta description is a brief and concise description of your company. It will be displayed in search results under the link to a website page. It counts in search engine optimization and should be written to accompany each page. It should contain your selected keywords (i.e. products, brands and location). It should encourage viewers of a search result page to click into your site. A strong keyworded meta description not only supports your small business marketing efforts, it will help with your search engine results too. Add your telephone number to it too – so that people can call you immediately without even needing to go into your website.

Get customer reviews

Ensure that your business is collecting reviews. If there isn’t an industry review site, then direct happy clients to your Google Business Listing. Google is watching the quantity and quality of reviews in addition to your prospects. Encourage and ask customers for reviews in emails, on business cards and on invoices.

Age of your domain counts

It’s not just about how old your site is, it’s about how long it has left on its registration too. Register your domain name for at least another 5 years. Google wants to know that you are going to be around for quite a while longer yet, and you are not just a fly by night business setup.

Videos and images

Add videos and images to your Google Business Listing. You can add 10 images and up to 5 videos. Also add video and images to your site. Google is looking for credibility and so are your customers. They want to know how your premises you have an establishment of some quality or is it just an aluminum roadside shack?

Link to directories

Get the word out about your business by adding it to directories, like InfoUSA and Yellow Pages, and Google will check to see what coverage there is of a business to determine whether it is a credible business.
Your small business marketing efforts may significantly improve by paying attention to the details of Google Local Business listings. It’s your turn to shine, and to reel in the profits!…

Read more