The idea of paying $1000 for a marketing package to MOST people would be a nonsense.
After all, think of all the other wonderful things you could buy with $1000.
If I was merely spending $1000 then I would find it difficult myself but that it is not the way I think and it DEFINITELY makes all the difference. When I am buying anything online I always weigh up the odds. The question I ask myself is this: Will I be able to profit from this service, strategy or marketing product within a reasonable amount of time
I have always thought like this, even from my beginnings online....... I would buy into a product or service, join their affiliate program and then put everything into promoting this product/service until the service became free to me and eventually made me a profit.
This my friend is part of the mindset that seperates winners from losers.......
Winners predominant thought is - How much will I make
Losers predominant thought IS - How much will it cost me
Its back to the half full, half empty analogy.
Nothing wrong with showing some caution of course and being prudent but if you find yourself always coming up with excuses for not taking measured risks then maybe you are not cut out for running an online business.
Some would be aghast if they looked at the bills I have built up over the years but they dont see the experience I have gained nor the profits I have made from the very same outgoings. I have profited from at least 90% of the tools I have used.
I make it a point of joining the affiliate program of a purchased product and making a profit. Its like I hate the idea of paying for anything, so I dont.....or at least I dont remain in the red for long.
Also, when buying a product or service, make sure that you are going to use it.
Now that may seem a daft thing to advise but you would be surprised at the nujmber of marketers who buy buy buy and have shelves and desktops full of all sorts of tools and resources that have never been looked at. When asked how such and suchs course worked for them, they unsurprisingly respond that it wasnt worth the money.
You MUST put the tactics and strategies recommended into practice, even if it is a little bit at a time. Sometimes you just need to make a start.
Most marketing services out there are well worth the cost if put to use.
Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of Home Business Tips Newsletter: For more help and support from Mal Keenan visit his online training site:
I need to let you in on some very important information. Not only will this information save you lots money, or possibly the life of your entire business, but it will allow you to increase your profits through multiple businesses.
First off, operating an online store is a fabulous and lucrative pastime, so kudos on making that decision. But before getting into the thick of it, heed my warning, you do not want to make this same mistake: only maintain one distributor for each of your online stores. Two if you MUST.
I know what you might be thinking right now, But the more products I have, the bigger the selection will be and Ill end up selling more -- therefore Ill be making more profit! And thats exactly what I thought at one point, too. But unless you are charging sky-high prices or maintaining an inventory of your entire stock, then this thought is only half true.
It is true that you may end up selling more, but the reality of the situation will quickly appear and you will be losing money with nearly every sale. And this is all centered around one simple, and easily glossed-over factor: shipping.
Let me tell you a true story. Many years ago for one of my businesses, I had this grand idea of creating a recreation room super store. So I found four distributors for billiard equipment and recreation room accessories, one for board games, one for pewter products and one for candles and other neat decoration items. It sure seemed like a good idea at the time; I would be able to sell people everything a person would want and need to setup a recreation room with one shopping cart. I could virtually feel my wallet getting fatter. Then reality hit when I sold my very first order.
The customers order consisted of 1 or 2 small products from nearly every distributor I had. Through the online stores software, I had it setup to charge shipping based on the customers final price. When all of the items were tallied up, the customer was charged about $9.00 shipping, which was reasonable for the size of the order. But when I turned around to order the products from my distributors, I needed to pay $5.00 shipping at this one, $3.00 at that one, $4.00 here and there, and $3.50 at a couple others. My shipping costs totalled nearly $20! That amount was way too much to pass on to my customer when they were just ordering a few small items. They would have cancelled their order and moved on to one of my competitors.
After that fiasco, I quickly reconsidered the direction of my business.
So if youve got great idea that would involve more distributors, try opening a second online store. There isnt any rule that says you cant run 2, 3, or more online stores! In fact, you might want to do that anyways -- having multiple streams of income is a proven way of making the big bucks.
Even if your stores are selling basically the same products, you will be able to better corner the market at Yahoo! Shopping, or whatever place you are selling.
Having multiple business will also give you the opportunity to test advertising with one store and see if sales grow or shrink in relation to the others. You could even provide links to your other stores and advertise them as sister sites. If your customers trust one of your stores, theyll automatically trust your sister sites.
Do you see why you should have only 1 or 2 distributors per online store It is very important to keep this in mind for the long term success of your business. Not only that, but it gives you a valuable opportunity to create multiple income streams.
Copyright 2003 by Palyn Peterson
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