How is your Analytics?

For most of us at this time of year we are a little bit analytical. We are thinking about the year that was and about the year to come. We have the year in review on TV about sports, about the News, and on just about any topic we can think of. We ourselves think about the last year, our weight and the pounds we’ve gained or about our smoking habit etc. and we make resolutions about what we hope to do in the New Year. But for many of us trying to analyze our business is not easy. We know we should do it but it just isn’t natural. For others it is easy and that is all they want to think about and it is hard for them to think about the future. That is life we are all different.
Some of us try to use software to do the work for us but software alone won’t do it, no matter how good it is. Software is only as good as the information that is put into it and then what comes out isn’t going to change anything unless we interpret it and then make the changes that are needed.
So how are your analytics? No I’m not talking about the software I’m talking about you. Have you taken or do you plan to take some time to evaluate what you did last year and set new goals for 2008? The easy path and I tend to take it at times and make excuses of “I’m too busy” is to just keep doing the same old same old. Someone once said that the definition of a fool is “someone who keeps doing the same thing and expecting different results”.
As I think about really my first year trying to make money on the internet through our two outdoor furniture stores “Teaks n More” and “Outdoor Cedars” I feel like I have come a long way. Yet I realize there is so much to learn and put into practice yet. I am not discouraged, (though I would like it to be easier) the old saying is still true “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and neither will our business. I am actually looking forward to this coming year. I enjoy learning. I enjoy the road of discovery and if I wasn’t working at this I would find some other hill to climb. See that is why I find it harder to do the analytics, I am always looking to the new. That is one of the things that I have discovered. I have been bouncing from new to new too much and need to work on doing better with what I am presently trying to do.
Next time I will think about setting some goals for 2008.
Till next time.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

What are you thinking of at this time of year? Gifts, family, friends, Turkey, big meals, how you’re going to get rid of those pounds and I’m sure the list could go on. For some of you, church might be important as well.
What happens to the business? For me my online stores “Outdoor Cedars” and “Teaks n More” and my online marketing efforts are important. I love to do well and I would love to be unconcerned about money but that is just not the way it is for most of us. We work hard and sometimes too hard for what we get back.
It’s hard for me to take a break. Yes I know it’s important but there is just so much to do or that I want to do. At this time of year I find it easier to take a break (of course after the big Day). Everyone else is, so even if I don’t want to there are a lot less things you can do so I will take a break as well.
For a lot of us this is a time to both reflect on the past and look to the future. This last year there has really been some major changes in my business life. This has affected my personal life but my core has not changed.
I try to not mix my faith with business but for true Christ followers there is no real way of separating them. We are who we are. If you are a Christ follower then what you do and how you do it is affected by your beliefs. You can’t say I believe in honesty but then in your business only tell part of the truth about what you are selling. You can’t see the needy and not do something. What you do and how you do it is a reflection of who you really are.
This time of year is more than a Great Season or a time for a break for me. This is a special time (but not the only time) that I remember Jesus came to earth, to live, to die and that he will come again.
Happy birthday Jesus!
My marketing friends may you discover the true meaning of the Season this year!
Merry Christmas to all of you!

When is Enough, Enough?

This morning I woke up to a couple of inches of snow, now a couple of hours later we have 8 inches and I wonder when is enough, enough. No I am not talking about the snow, though that too, but I mean when do you take a break from your marketing? You see for one thing if you have read any of my other articles you know that we have a couple of stores online. If you look at their names "Outdoor Cedars" and "Teaks n More" then you should have an idea of what we are selling. Then when I look outside I think who would buy outdoor furniture today? So can I stop marketing for a couple of weeks or months until it is back in season?
Another thing is you read one articles from marketers who sell themselves as experts in the internet marketing field and they say you have to be doing it every day if you really want to succeed in internet marketing. Then you read or have someone else trying to sell you their system as being able to be on autopilot. You know like the commercial on TV selling something for the kitchen and their slogan is “set it and forget it”.
Well I don’t know about you but I don’t want to have to feel like I have to be at it every day. I mean one of the reasons I started doing this is so I could take life a little easier. Though going south to a little more sun and a lot less snow does seem like a good idea right now. When does that next plane leave anyway? Sorry back on topic. I must have been dreaming there for a minute. O yeah at the same time has anyone truly made money on a “set it and forget it” system?
I have tried in life to approach each day with ‘these are the things I’d like to get done today’ and then at the end of the day I know I rarely can say “wow I got it all done” but I usually can say I know I worked hard and I did my best and I’m content (not always) with that. We all need a break and though I agree we can’t take weeks or months off and then expect to instantly be back where we were. I also think we need to pace ourselves or have a system or the help we need so we can take a break to regenerate ourselves.
This holiday season is a great time to take a break. Are you with me? Yeah I think I’ll take the rest of the day off. Maybe!
Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the season.

A true “Business” Social Networking site “APSense”.

APSense is a Free Business Social Network. It is a place where you have all the tools you need to make your business grow. They enable users to share their business through creating quality business content and through networking with other businesses that are doing the same. Their goal is to make it simple for you to connect with other business individuals and they are very good at this.
You can share your business and opportunities through the usual: your personal profile, forums and blogs but with APSense you also have the ability to have a Business Center through which you can promote and talk about your business or businesses, products and services. They have good tutorials that help you set things up and there is also lots of people willing to help you get started.
People everyday are searching for things related to your business by using search engines and web 2.0 enabled websites like Apsense and there are millions of them. So by presenting your business and opportunities on Apsense, you are enabling these people to find you.
Another unique thing about APSense is that all the content put on Apsense, from business blogs to business discussions, products and services are collectively rated by the users (that’s you). Then the top rated contents are pushed to the top of the listings so people can find the most popular and trusted business information quickly.

I have grown to like APSense very much because it is so business related and friendly and it is having an impact on my business. As I am able to develop my business center even more I am sure the results will only grow.
There is lots more you can do and learn then I have time to talk about here. APSense will change the way you can and want to build your business. Check out what others have to say about APSense on Google. Why not check it out for yourself. I am sure you will find it works for you, and it is Free.

Marketing on web 2.0 sites? They’re not all the same!

This time I would like to talk about a couple of web 2.0 sites that are great sites but don’t add up when you are trying to market on the web.
The first I want to talk about is “FaceBook”. This is a very popular site and it is a Great site. It has a lot to offer in meeting new friends, connecting with old friends or just keeping in touch with the friends and family you have. I am totally amazed at how many people use it. Young right up to grandparents. People use it instead of email because they can share pictures and videos of themselves. You can set security so that only certain people can view your information unless you invite them into your circle. There are lots of add-ons that people really get into and it is great for making new friends and building those relationships. When it comes to marketing, it is not really geared to it. There is a business section where you can connect with other businesses and there is a “Market place” where you can buy or sell things but I feel it really wants to steer away from business. It wants to stay away from spam (don’t we all) and so it guards itself and those who use it away from sales. So to use FaceBook you need to develop relationships and then talk about business one on one or away from the site. I am sure that for some they have learned how to use it to their advantage but it certainly is not as easy to use for marketing your business as the two I have talked about previously Friendswin and Giblink.
The other hugely popular social networking site I am going to talk about this week is “YouTube”.
This site though I am not that familiar with it is mostly about videos. People go here to be entertained or to show off their video skills. You can post videos on it about any topic you want. In fact it has been used by police to find and arrest criminals who were video taped and then the video put up on YouTube. For the internet marketer it is great to upload videos to it and then link to from your web site. This is great for training or introducing and demonstrating a product etc. which certainly helps in your internet marketing and so it is certainly of value. But to use it directly it is not built for the internet marketer.
Again both these sites are great social networking sites and if used creatively they have value to the internet marketer. So don’t write a site off right away, with everything you do learn to use whatever you can to its best advantage.
Have a great week marketing and this week try out something different and see if you can use it to help market your business. As for me I am constantly looking for new ways to let people know about the great patio and Garden furniture we have at Teaks n More and Outdoor Cedars.
Till next time.

Continuing on our conversation about social networking!

This week I am going to look at gibLink. This again is a new site and not really fully functional yet. I don’t mean it is not up and working, it is and there is lots you can do but there are some aspects of it that aren’t fully working yet.
Here again is a site where you can customize a set of profile pages for your personal, business, and social affiliations, advertise in the gibLink rotating advertising system, have your own blog, advertise in the classifieds, be a part of clubs, chat rooms, streaming videos, send eCards, and more.
Some of the big pluses are: they are more geared to business than some other social network sites. They have live weekly marketing and advertising training and help you with custom business cards, post cards, and marketing cards for your business’ use. Their system includes advanced contact management, squeeze pages and auto-responders to help you build your down line. Everything they have is top notch.
As a gibLink member, you can advertise your business to the gibLink community. It is a very targeted audience as the majority of members in the gibLink community are business people who are also looking for business opportunities, products and services.
You couldn’t have a better audience to advertise your business to and you already share a connection through gibLink.
I personally have not found the site as intuitive as some. Finding your way around and making some of the changes has taken me some time. Something I don’t always have a lot of. As a result I personally have not taken it as far as I might have otherwise.
But gibLink’s slogan is “where no one is left behind”. GibLink co-founder, Ron Snodgrass says "gibLink is truly a community where everyone benefits from the efforts of the entire group". This is true and is something I am not aware of anywhere else.
GibLink is a great place for business social networking and though I am not giving these sites a rating it is one of the GOOD ones.
Check it out and see for yourself. gibLink

Marketing on Social Network site Friendswin!

Last time we were talking about Web 2.0 and Social networking. I mentioned some of the social networks last week like Facebook and Youtube or Myspace. I am not going to say these are no good and infact they are great sites but I am only going to talk about the ones I am using in my network marketing. People use them all in one way or the other. This time I’m going to talk about Friendswin.
First though I would like to remind us what social networking is all about. It really is any web site that allows interaction. It began with forums and blogs but now we have hundreds of sites that specialize in social networking (allowing people to talk to people in real time, or connect around a common interest).
Marketers love them because it allows them to build relationships with people from all over the world in an easy cost effective way. Most of them you can be a part of for free, how much more cost effective can you get.
I will share some more info about them and how to get them working for you in the future. I need to get to where I’m going here and talk about Friendswin.
Friendswin is new in fact it has only been live for a few weeks and it is not all up and working yet. They are working hard at it and what is live works very well. It is a great time to get in on it if you are also trying to do some affiliate marketing as you will be in on the ground floor. One of the features it is promoting is being able to put things on it in video with ease. I especially like it because it is also works well for promoting your business. There are groups you can become a part of in your interest area. You can put your profile up and advertise your web pages and blogs as much as you want. I find it easy to find my way around and figure out how to do what I want to do and if I find it easy then any one will be able to.
So if you are looking for a way of networking with others and building your business at the same time I think you will be pleased with what you find at Friendswin. It is the wave of the future.

Social Networking

What is social networking? Well it’s fairly new. You have heard of Myspace, Facebook, or You Tube, I’m sure, well they are called Web 2.0 sites or social networking sites. They are places to meet new people, sometimes for conversation or dating and sometimes to communicate or share something maybe about your self. More and more they are being used to market a person’s business.
Because of all the junk and lies we see every day on the internet or in our emails it’s hard to know who you can trust. The great thing about social networking is you are able to build relationships around topics or interests. This allows people to build trust and in that way market themselves and what they are selling.
These networks are great for finding new people to partner with or to market their business. But you need to know that you will need to do things differently. People on these networks are not looking to buy something they are looking to meet people, people they can trust, new people from around the world. That means like with any relationship they want to get to know you before they are interested in what you do.
The ones mentioned above are fun personal sites and there are more. There are also ones that are specifically for business.
There are too many for me to have time for them all. So in our next couple of entries we will be looking at the ones I use and think are the best in helping me market my business.
For those of you who would like to know I have a couple of web pages selling outdoor furniture “Teaks n More” and “Outdoor Cedars”. I think we have great furniture at prices you can afford. If you want have a look the links are over to the right.
Next time I’ll talk about which ones I use and then we may talk about how to get them working for you.

Veretekk’s Internet Marketing System

I said last time I would talk about Veretekk this time and that is what I am going to do.

By the way did you try the Leadsomatic? I have found it to work great. I trust you can say the same.

Inetekk's Veretekk service is "real" leading edge marketing technology. I have been using it now for a few months and though I am still learning how to use it I am impressed by the results. You see this technology is not an instant fix nor is it going to instantly make you rich. If that is what you are looking for, then your in the wrong place, and O by the way has anyone really found one of those instant solutions. I know every day we receive emails and through the traffic exchanges see them advertised and I know someone is getting rich by all the adds they are running but it isn’t the ones that are buying into the program or at best only a few of them actually making money. But I’m off topic.
Veretekk is different!
Veretekk requires you to think and learn and put what you are learning into action. Veretekk teaches you marketing skills instead of you having to trust others to do it for you. It empowers you by giving you the information you need to succeed in marketing your internet business and it gives you the mindset that you need to operate that business.
At one point I hired a company to do some marketing for me. Now I’m learning to do it myself. Now for some that may not be what they are looking for but for me, I like to learn and I like doing things for myself. The problem is sometimes doing it this way you may feel like you’re trying to reinvent the wheel. The great thing about Veretekk is you don’t have to. Every day there are different live training sessions. You get real help from real, live people. These are not pep talks they are actually helping you learn how to use the software and system, they also help you to think and act like a business.
With Veretekk you can learn how to approach your marketing and how to conduct your internet business that will lead you to success.
I think Veretekk’s internet marketing system is far ahead of its competitors with its internet marketing tools (lead generation, verified email marketing, SEO and SEM) and its training to use them.
You can try Veretekk absolutely free. Test drive it first with the silver free system. This is not a limited trial version either. They recommended that you use the free silver system for at least 7 days before you decide if you want to upgrade to the gold.
Today I am putting the majority of my efforts into using Veretekk to market my internet business.

One of the Good ones "Leadsomatic"!

This time I want to talk about Leadsomatic. I have been using it now for about a month and it is making a difference. It really is something that works and it’s FREE. The system will blast your ad out to over 2 billion websites!
It is good for anyone who is doing any type of online marketing. People are drawn to Leadsomatic because of the "2 billion website" statistic and when you see this system I think you will also want to sign up for the free membership. These leads are extremely high quality leads that you can market your own product or service to.
This system is an automated and Spam Free Lead Generating System. So if you're serious about improving your online marketing efforts, then I think you should have a look and try it out.
I like FREE and so do most of the people I know but we all kind of get the feeling you only get what you pay for. Normally that is true but Leadsomatic is one of the exceptions. Yes you can choose to upgrade for $10. a month and there are advantages but what you get for FREE is worth a lot more than the $10.
I am not a big talker and tend if anything to understate things because I too have bought into some big talk and not been able to make it work for me. I am sure if you talk to others who have used it they will talk it much bigger than me. Here click on this link Leadsomatic and have a look for yourself.
Leadsomatic is a part of a bigger system called Veretekk but we will talk more about it next time.

Is any one really getting Rich?

Hi folks

Do you ever feel like your banging your head against a wall? You get all these guys saying it’s easy and in one week, or one month, or one year you will be rich. Yes we all have been there. I have discovered in the short time I have been marketing (or trying to) online, that there is no easy path to success. There is a lot of hard work to getting it off the ground and then a lot of hard work keeping it there.
So is there an easier path to success you may ask? May be but I am not there yet! So I have not discovered that path for me. I really think that “for me” is where I am at.
In this business just like every other aspect of our lives we need to be true to ourselves. We may get tempted to go this way or that but we all need to stop and say can I do this, I mean can I really do this, because if you can’t be true to yourself you will not be able to sell it to others.
We all see everyday things on the web that we don’t want anything to do with and it is easy to say no to them but there are so many out there that say if we just do this then we will see success. I think many of these programs or methods have been successful for some but can I make it a success for me?
The answers are still in the wind.
I am and will continue to look for the easier path. I don’t like working hard but I have had to do it all my life. I am also willing to work hard at this as well, to make this a success in my life.
If you have found an easier path (not some cock and bull story) share it with us. I’d love to hear about it and so would all my readers.

Till next time.

Two Taffic Exchanges 1 good 1 bad

The first one this week I am not going to name but they are something that bees do. Some people feel it is a good one. I had a free sign up with them. (By the way most people and I agree say you should stay with the free sign up until you are sure of what you are getting.) They had a way of having a more focused traffic which some don’t have. That was good. It was not hard to surf but the number of people who clicked on my ads was not that many. It generated 10 or so clicks a day. The thing that has frustrated me is about a week ago I couldn’t log into my membership. It was not an id or password thing that I know of. There was never an email notifying me of anything. I sent them 2 emails over the week asking what the problem was and how I could get back into my account with no response. Needless to say I won’t be giving them my business.
The other traffic exchange is Soaring 4 Traffic. . Now this one I have not got a complete read on yet.
They seem good. I have had a large number of visitors to my web site as a result. It is easy to surf and get credits though they eat them up very quickly because of the volume. I have bought credits and that is ok but the cost adds up. And the reason I am not sure is even though they have sent a lot of traffic my way it is not targeted traffic. Meaning most have been window shoppers. I don’t know how you feel but lots of traffic is good but I would rather have less traffic if more of them were really looking to buy.

Well for now you could check out one of my web pages selling Teak Garden Furniture at TeaksnMore.com.


Till next time

Hi Everyone

I want to introduce myself. My name is David McIntosh and I am very new to internet marketing. A little less than a year ago my wife and I decided to start an internet business. Now though having an internet business was brand new to me business wasn’t. I have had my own brick and mortar business for 27 years. The funny thing is the internet business was totally unrelated to my brick and mortar business. I had started to work with web pages and started to see the possibilities and so it was something that I thought I’d try. I began to work on things last fall but it wasn’t until late spring 07 that we got our first web page up and working. With it we are selling Cedar Outdoor Garden Furniture. You can check it out at www.outdoorcedars.com.

After getting it up and working we needed to get people to find it ie: start marketing the site.

So this is and will be my ongoing journey in trying to market this new business. I will say right off the bat that I am by no means an expert. I have and am making mistakes and hopefully am learning from those mistakes.

We first tried to get someone else to do the marketing for us. I don’t know yet whether this was a good move or not. The company we hired has done some work but I am not happy with the results yet. They said it would take 2 – 3 months but after a month or so and partly because of their efforts I received a number of emails that opened my eyes to the possibilities of doing the marketing or at least some of the marketing myself.

This is one of the first places I found and it was a way of advertising my web page free. I really think it is and works good. It is called Hits2U. You can advertise your site for FREE. Through Hit2U you can also build a business by advertising them and in that way being able to advertise your own web site even more.

We are just getting started as I said and though I have not yet seen huge numbers coming to my web site as a result, it is one more way I am getting the name out there so people can find us. The more people see our name the more will go to our site. Traffic isn’t everything, you also have to have good product but having a good product with out traffic will not make sales.

So for now the verdict is out but the possibilities look really good. We will keep you informed as things progress. Also if you have tried it let me know what you think, If you haven’t, have a look, it’s FREE.

For now

Dave