Month: January 2010

Do You Have Systems for Your Business?

I am in the middle of organizing my home business office, as well as my virtual office (desktop, email, etc.) and realize that even if you organize from time to time, unless you create systems, you’ll soon be back in your old habits and get disorganized.

I am speaking form experience. For example, I started by working on my inbox which had over 1500 unread messages, and managed to get through & remove several hundreds of unread emails. But in the past few days, my unread email is climbing back up. I don’t yet have a good system for my email, and I desperately need one.

As entrepreneurs, our systems are the processes and procedures by which everything in our business runs. When our systems work, everything runs smoothly, or as smoothly as possible when running a business!

Systems are essentially a step-by-step process written out for each aspect of your business. They help you stay on track, they make you more efficient, they streamline your business and they help you see where you can improve and where your business is excelling. When your systems work, everything runs smoothly. When they don’t work, however, all heck can break loose.

Here are some of the systems you could create:

* Customer service
* Marketing
* Sales
* Product creation
* Product development
* Purchasing
* Production
* Producing a newsletter
* Billing
* Invoicing
* Outsourcing

Systems are particularly useful when you’re outsourcing a task or if you’ve hired an intern or an employee. Then, you’ll have everything written down from the very first step to the very last step, and your contractor or employee will know exactly what is expected of them.

Creating your systems

The first step to creating systems is to realize what processes your business uses. Simply make a list of the processes you go through on a daily or weekly basis. Once you have your list, it’s time to actually create your systems. They’re created initially by simply writing down the steps to accomplish a task. As new processes are added to your business, you’ll simply create a new system for that process.

Once your systems are created, the processes can be fine-tuned by using several steps. Firstly, you may want to simply evaluate the process you’ve written to see if it works and if there are any loopholes or steps you’ve missed. Secondly, you may want to include goals and measurements to determine whether the system is a success.

For example, if you have a customer service system and your goal is to have 100% customer satisfaction, and you end up losing 20% of your customers due to an inadequate customer service policy, then you know the system needs to be tweaked.

Storing your systems

Because you’re an internet marketer, you’re probably on your computer at least 50% of the working day, and more than likely you’re on it 100% of the working day. This means it makes sense to organize your systems on your computer. A simple file with the date and the name of the system will make them easy to access. You’ll also want to organize your goals and how you’re going to measure the goals.

Systems are a business owner’s best friend. They’ll help keep you on track and running smoothly today, tomorrow and for years to come.

What has worked for you? And what hasn’t. I’d love to hear your thoughts, while I am working on getting myself better organized.

Favicons: How Can One Help You?

Did you know that adding a favicon (short for “favorite icon”) can give your site a boost in more than one way? A favicon is a small image associated with a website, and you can usually see it in one of the places:

– in the address bar
– in your bookmarks
– in your history
– in your tabs, if you use a tabbed browser

So, how can a favicon help you? First of, all, it brands your website and implicitly, you. How? Every time someone looks in their favorites/bookmarks, instead of seeing the standard web page image, they’ll see your specific image, because it will be different and it will stand out.

Here are some other favicon benefits:

– if you work with lots of tabs at one time, it will help you identify which tabs have your specific site
– your site will be easier to find in the sea of bookmarks we all have these days, and you will get repeat traffic
– it will decrease the number of 404 errors in your logs, since browsers look for the favicon

How to Create a Favicon

Creating a favicon is not hard if you have the image you want to use. You want this image to be as simple as possible, without fine lines or text, as it needs to look good in a small size, since the favicon size is 16 pixels by 16 pixels. You also need to match your favicon to your site’s logo and color scheme as much as possible.

Once you have your image, you need to convert it to the .ico type file, and this can be easily done with any of the free favicon generators found online.

Your next step is to upload your favicon.ico to your root directory. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

If you don’t have a favicon for your site, I suggest you go get one now: it’s easy enough and you’ll reap the benefits almost immediately.

Organize Your Home Office Challenge

desktop clutter

No matter how big or small your home business office is,you’ll benefit from an organized space.

I am finally joining the challenge Lynn Terry challenged her Elite Forum Members to do in January.

Here is what Lynn said:

Whatever your space, both virtual and physical, it’s time to get things in order for productivity & efficiency!

Yes, that means BOTH desktops – your hard drive and your desk/space!

Let’s have some before pictures. You can take a screenshot of your desktop, and pictures of your workspace. And when you complete the challenge, pictures again!

I’ve talked about the mess on my computer desktop when I first started this blog: you can see a picture of my desktop above, taken in October last year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look any better today, so I really need to work hard this month.

As for my office desk, I’d like to think it a little bit better: you can see it below:

computer desk mess

I am confident that 1 hour of attention will do wonders for this desk, so that’s the plan for tomorrow. The problem will be keeping it clean afterwards, as my husband is using this same desk when needed.

My bookshelf with DVDs is looking really good: probably because I don’t use it that often. Here is a peek at it:

bookshelf with DVDs

My biggest problems by far are my hard drive and email, but I’ve been working slowly on both of them. For example, in just 1 week, I went from over 1500 unread emails in my in-box to less than 900. The plan was to have it all cleared by tonight, and I know it’s not going to happen, but I am happy that I’ve made progress.

I also removed several GB of old “stuff” from my hard drive: not nearly enough, but a good first step. And that’s what’s really important: take small, consistent steps towards your goals.

If you are taking your business seriously, Lynn’s Elite Forum is one of the best places to get help. Give it a try. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know.

Free Niche Research: Winter Boots

free niche research

BRRRRR… It’s been really cold here and in a lot of other places.

So, winter is here to stay for a while, and that brings up today’s niche: winter boots.

There are so many opportunities for sub-niching in this niche, I can’t even begin to tell you. Read on to see for yourself.

Top 10 Highest Paying Keywords(from the Google keyword tool)

sorel winter boots $2.57

women winter boot $1.90

men’s winter boots $1.68

winter boots for kids $1.48

furry winter boots $1.43

baffin winter boots $1.42

tall winter boots $1.39

kamik winter boots $1.34

insulated winter boots $1.33

women’s winter boots $1.31

Top 10 Most Searched Keywords(all phrases are exact matches in Google)

womens winter boots 74,000

mens winter boots 49,500

winter boots for women 49,500

women’s winter boots 40,500

kids winter boots 14,800

boys winter boots 12,100

girls winter boots 12,100

men’s winter boots 12,100

winter boot 12,100

women winter boots 12,100

Bonus Keywords (2,900 -8,900 exact searches /month)

ladies winter boots

sorel winter boots

winter snow boots

men winter boots

waterproof winter boots

cute winter boots

winter boots for kids

white winter boots

black winter boots

Resources

I would go to forums where people talk about their boots. Here is one I found interesting: http://www.styleforum.net

Also, create Google Alerts for your keywords and see what others are writing about then boot type you chose.

Shiver Boot

Possible Affiliate Programs
Amazon.com has boots of all kinds: boots for women, boots for men, boots for girls, boots for boys, tall winter boots, winter fashion boots, and so many more!

CJ.com has several merchants offering winter boots. Here are some examples: UggAustralia.com, MasonEzPay.com, marylandSquare.com, Shoes.com, etc.

Monetization Suggestions

I think this niche lends itself very well to a star gossip type blog: you can follow the latest boot fashion sported by your favorite stars, and blog about what you see. On that blog, have specific pages dedicated and optimized for the specific boots, and link to them from your blog posts. You can also ad an AdSense unit if you want to.

Or, create very focused sites for the specific boots with lots of searches.

Here are some domains available now for this niche:

WomenWinterBoots.net & .info: exact searches/month: 12,100 exact searches: WOW!

MenWinterBoots.com,  .net, .org  & .info all available: 5,400 exact searches monthly: this is amazing!

GirlsWinterBoots.org, & .info and BoysWinterBoots.org & .info, with 12,100 exact searches monthly each.

WhiteWinterBoots.com, .net, .org, & .info all available:  3,600 exact searches each month: this .com is pure gold!

BlackWinterBoots.net, .org  & .info with 2,900 exact searches monthly.

WinterFashionBoots.com,  .net, .org  & .info all available, with 2,400 exact searches each month.

This niche is absolutely hot & untapped: ready for you to move in!

Learn Affiliate Marketing: Top 10 Free Resources for New Marketers

There is a lot of information on the Internet to help newbies learn affiliate marketing. Nearly everyone who’s ever earned a dollar online has something to say about it, but if you’re new to the field, how can you know what’s good advice and what’s not worth the pixels it’s written with? Here’s my pick of the top 10 free resources for new marketers to get you started.

1. WordPress. If you’re going to work online, you’re going to need a website, and WordPress is the easiest to use content management system available. Most web hosts offer one-click installs, which means you can have a professional site up and running in just a few minutes. Since WordPress is open source, there are thousands of developers busy building plugins to extend the functionality and make it even easier to use. No matter what your niche, you’re sure to find a free theme to fit. But if you want something custom designed, there are lots of talented designers out there who can help.

2. Google. Yes, Google. Not just the search portal, though that’s important. Google also provides analytics tools for webmasters and the best free keyword research tool online. They also have extensive help files and tutorials to teach you how to use the tools they provide.

3. Twitter. Twitter is not just for selling. It’s also a great research tool. If you use TweetDeck you can set up searches on your keywords, use the results to find new people to follow, new products to promote, and new topics to write about.

4. Ed Dale’s 30 Day Challenge.
If you are starting at the very beginning and need some hand holding, you can’t do better than Ed’s 30 Day Challenge. Much like the Problogger program, Ed gives you daily tasks to complete beginning on day one with choosing a niche. He provides videos, software (free for 30 days), a forum, and lots of encouragement. He says his goal is for you to earn your first buck on line, but a lot of 30 Day Challenge graduates do much better than that.

5. Problogger.net.
Darren Rowse blogs for a living, but don’t make the mistake of thinking all he does is sell ad spots on a high traffic blog. He is also an affiliate marketer. He promotes products directly on his blog and via email to his list, all while teaching new bloggers how to build a better blog. His 31 Days to a Better Blog program will give you step by step directions for an entire month of blogging. Finish the program and at the end you’ll have a great start on a sustainable blog, and 30 days of blogging momentum to keep you going.

6. Nicole Dean. As it says on her site, “Nicole Dean jumps out of bed every morning, excited about teaching others how to make money online.” Listen to her podcasts and you’ll know it’s true. Nicole is truly excited about what she does and is thrilled to share. She talks about service businesses, information products, affiliate marketing, blogging and just about every other business model out there.

7. Lynn Terry is one of the most down to earth, girl next door affiliates out there. She spells it out for newbies and veterans alike on her blog, and is always available in her forum, Self Starters Weekly Tips, to provide good solid advice. She also hosts a weekly webinar each Tuesday at noon Eastern.

8. Copyblogger.com. Copyblogger won’t teach you how to blog or how to be an affiliate marketer, but it will teach you how to write compelling copy that sells. Nearly all affiliate marketing models – blogging, email marketing, even selling via Twitter – require some form of copywriting to make it work. Brian Clark of Copyblogger is the master of online copy, and he and his writers freely share their knowledge with the world.

9. Warrior Forum. The Warrior Forum claims to be the oldest community of Internet marketers online today, and one look will tell you why. Most any time of the day or night you will find more than 2000 users online reading and posting and helping each other learn about all aspects of online work. Warrior Forum has a paid membership option as well as free. A warning, though: you could waste a lot of time in there, so be careful to only spend the time you need to learn.

10. SEO Fast Start. If you’re not sure what keywords are or how to use them, SEO Fast Start by Dan Theis will give you all the information you need. Dan has developed a system that will not only help you determine your keywords, but teaches you how to use them to drive targeted traffic to every page of your site.

There are thousands of sites online that promise to help you learn affiliate marketing. It pays to do your homework, and only take advice from those who are affiliate marketers first, and instructors second.

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