Click Here to Advertise
 

                 ** DEMC ** Volume X No. 11 **
        The Truth About Legitimate Email Marketing!
          Serving the Internet Since November 1995

Quote for today:

"Things don't turn up in the world until somebody turns them up."
              - James A. Garfield
_________________________________

In The Spotlight:

Email Marketing Solution Increases Traffic and Drives Sales!

All in one list builder, follow-up manager and publishing tool.
Plus free targeted permission email ads promoting your offer!
Go now to - http://www.sendfree.com/affref/50463/

_________________________________

For details on advertising to DEMC E-Magazine's 175,000 subscribers for as little as $36.
Go to: http://www.demc.com/Advertise/advertise.html

Share DEMC with your friends and associates. They can subscribe free by emailing: Subscribe@sendfree.com

What's In This Issue - Features

1) Editor's Note: "Are You Ready for Help?"
2) Marketing Insights: "The 5 Minute Marketing Plan"
3) Feature Article: "Make Sure Your Web Site Is Right Before You Advertise"
4) SOHO Help Desk: "The Forum Phenomena"
5) DEMC's - Advertising Information

======================

1.

Editor's Note:

"Are You Ready for Help?"

Or to refer back to our business development series . . . Are you ready for step 5?

Okay at this point you're either saying - "Yes, let's get to it!" or "Step 5, Help, what the heck are you talking about?"

If you're just tuning in or even if you're ready to go, here's a quick recap that will get us all on track.

My partner and I are building a new Internet business from scratch. The site will provide products and services to futures and forex traders. As we develop the project, I am sharing with you the step by step path we take. You can use this game plan to dream up, develop, launch and run your own Internet business.

Why might you care?

We've been making our living online for the past 10 years what follows is our "How to do it!"

In the last two issues, we covered, steps 1 - 4 . These steps focused on planning. You saw how we selected a target market and then devised the products to sell.

If you'd like to review these steps see our DEMC issue archive -

Step 1 & 2: http://www.demc.com/newsletters/5_11_05.html#1

Step 3 & 4: http://www.demc.com/newsletters/5_25_05.html#1

By the end of step four you should have a clear picture of your business and be ready to run with it.

So what do you do, next?

Step Five: Find Help

Yes, you read that correctly. In all likelyhood you are going to need assistance in getting your business project developed. Perhaps it is in having a web site built, or in getting the books / courses you've designed written or edited.

Do what you do best - Delegate the rest!

Now, maybe you think you can do all the work yourself. However, you will probably save yourself time and aggravation if you find help on the tasks that are difficult for you. The entire business development project will be more enjoyable if you stick with what you are good at and delegate the rest.

In the case of our futures and forex business, it requires back end programming that stores financial market data. While I could spend the next year learning how to program and do this work myself, I think we'd all agree that I'd be better off finding help.

So how do you find the right help?

Notice how I said the "right" help. Finding help at first glance, may seem easy and not worthy of detailed review but it can be quite rocky if not done properly.

I speak from experience. I've hired multiple bad apples over the years from programmers to web designers. In some cases, I've even had go to court, because of having the "wrong" help.

The difficulties I've had with the "wrong" help has lead me to develop a 7 step process to find the "right" help. I strongly encourage you to follow this process or something similar. Yes, it may seem to be a bit of an overkill, but it will save you time and money in the long run.

As each of these phases is rather involved, today I'll review the first 3 parts to get you started.

1) Research

When looking for assistance, you first have to research companies to hire. There are a few different tactics you can take to locate companies to contract.

* Referrals - one of the best sources for contractors is asking people you know. Just as you might ask your Doctor for a recommendation of a physical therapists, ask people you know for recommendations.
* Web Searches - a search engine can be a very useful tool for finding companies. If you need a web designer, type in web designer at Google and you'll have loads to choose from.
* Freelance site - use a site that has freelance contractors listed. For example look at GetaCoder.com. Sites like this help you find freelance programmers, web designers and writers for your project.

When researching who to contact you have to decide upon several factors. Do you want to work with a local company or not? If you decide you would prefer to work with a local business, this will narrow your search considerably.

As you search you'll also realize you have the option of choosing companies in other countries, who highlight lower hourly rates.

Another decision will be if you want to use a large firm or a small, one to two person shop. The advantage of the larger company is they may have great capabilities as well as the ability to complete the job faster. The smaller business will probably give you a better price and be more flexible with payment terms and in general.

With our futures and forex project we selected a variety of firms to contact. In total we had a list of 8 companies.

1 local small firm
1 small firm in the US
2 small firms in US with non-US programmers
1 large firm in India
1 large firm in Russia
2 large firms in US

2) Contact

From the research phase you will have a list of companies to contact, as I've noted above. I recommend contacting each of the companies using either email or the web form they have listed on their sites.

I've found it is a good idea to see if companies respond to their email. In addition, making the initial contact over the Internet, rather than by phone will save you time.

In the case of our project, I contacted each of the companies telling them I had a web development project dealing with the financial markets. I asked the companies if they were interested in the project to take 2 steps and then follow-up with me. If you would like to see the letter I sent, you can request a copy from the autoresponder - newproject@sendfree.com .

My goal with the initial letter was to weed out those companies that were truly interested from those who were not. I further wanted to make sure that the companies could follow the instructions I'd provided by taking the 2 steps requested. (As our project would require the company to follow our requests, if a company was unable to accommodate our initial requests, we did not think they would be a good fit.)

3) NDA

One of the steps requested in the initial letter was for the company to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). An NDA is designed to prevent another company from stealing your idea or sharing your idea with any third party.

As our idea for futures and forex traders is not currently in the marketplace, we wanted to protect it.

If the products / services you're developing have any unique twist or if you'll be sharing confidential information with the contractor you hire, a NDA is a good idea. It provides your proprietary ideas with some protections from being stolen.

If you would like to review the NDA we used, you can access it from the autoresponder - ssnda@sendfree.com .

You can have an NDA for your business written by an attorney. You also can find a good source of legal information as well as pre-made contracts from NOLO Press. See: http://www.nolo.com

In addition, to signing the NDA, I insisted the companies take a second step in order to get my business.

What was this second step?

Well stay tuned as I will review the importance of this other step as well as the other 4 phases you need, to find the "right" help in our next issue!

Abbie Drew
DEMC Editor
mail@demc2.com


======================
Business Opportunities Classifieds
======================

A $350K+ 1st yr potl.
Are U tired of making someone else rich?
Earn what you're REALLY worth!
Call for free info. (888)385-9218
http://www.jerrybailey.info

======================

***Why Is It So FLIPPING HARD?!***
The Problem Is Not You,
But Rather All These So Called M-L-Ms That (POP UP),
Spew Hype, Then Disappear Taking Your Money.
VISIT http://www.eztrackz.com/tracking.aspx?id=31542

======================

Work From Home, help others improve their quality of life,
and have more time to spend with your family. Want more?
http://jeannemanseau.thetotalwellnessteam.com

======================

Would You Like a Lifetime Income?
Just $26 a month to join this Network Marketing Company.
More Information Call 1-800-466-8217 ID 18726

======================

Tired of Living from Paycheck to Paycheck?
EARN MORE NOW!
Recorded Details:1-800-795-0595
http://tinyurl.com/dsbme

======================

$$LEARN TO EARN $250K YOUR FIRST YEAR IN BUSINESS!$$
We have a proven SYSTEM that is creating millionaires all over
North America and Canada! Not MLM. Complete training provided.
Serious Inquiries Only Go To... http://AllAboutLivingWell.org

======================

Multi-Level Mail Ordering. Global moneymaker!
Anyone who endeavors earns a six figure income!
Home based. No personal contact with your target market.
Email for "FREE" proposal. mailto:rashadelamor@aol.com

======================

NEED MONEY? You+computer=$10,000 CA$H, first month,
GUARANTEED. If you're coachable and have a sincere desire
to help others, I'll teach you how to make $360m/yr.
Call(800)820-6109 4 more info. http://www.cyberbiz.biz

======================

AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY.
Learn to Earn $500K+/year wrkg from home P/T.
Not MLM Free info. 1(800)807-4084
http://www.StanleyEd.com

======================

2.

Marketing Insights:

* Exclusive *

"The 5 Minute Marketing Plan"
By: Deniser Ryder

If I were to ask you right now, what marketing tactics have you used, umm, say in the last month, could you tell me?

Chances are you probably could rattle them off quickly enough.

Now, say if I asked you if you knew the results those tactics brought. Meaning do you know specifically what each tactic brought in as far as sales, new leads and/or new subscribers, could you tell me that?

If you can, then fantastic!!!

If you can't, then know that you aren't alone, many business owners fall into the trap of not planning and tracking. When you think about it though, the word "plan" seems so, daunting, doesn't it? I mean really, all you want to do is "get at it," right??

What if I gave you a little tool that would take about ten minutes to set up and it would give you a clear picture of where you are, what is working and what isn't?

Doesn't seem so daunting now, huh??

Ok... hang with me for a bit and I will give you a tool that I use and many other successful marketers are using as well ;o)

First of all, why do you need to set a plan of action in the first place?

I think we all know "why" we should be doing it. In order to know what is working and what isn't. If you are paying for advertising and you aren't tracking the results, then how do you know if that investment is paying off? If you knew the answer to that, then you could decide a few things:

1. If it is working then of course you continue on with it.

2. If it isn't then you let it go and spend that money elsewhere.

You should track EVERYTHING...yes even the free classified ads you place. People will dispute this with me and say "what for, it's free, if I get a hit, cool, it didn't cost me a thing!"

Valid point...but consider this...what is YOUR time worth? Sure, it's free, but the time you take in submitting to the "free" stuff, takes you away from the other tasks that could be making you money. We call that "opportunity cost." Your time then is not free.

If you have a "submitter" and it takes a few minutes, you just click and it runs then fine, you should try and always automate as much as possible. However, if you are posting on an individual basis...and it takes you an hour or more and you aren't getting anything out of it...is it really worth it?

Put a price on everything, even your time ;o)

Ok, let's get to the Plan.

This Plan can be used for each and every tactic that you put into place or you can use it as a General Plan as an overall game plan, the idea is to at least use it.

--------Sidebar------
Note that this mini-plan is NOT the same as a Marketing Plan you would need to provide to your Banker for securing a loan. They require much more information than what is here. This is a tool to be used "in-house" only.
--------------------------

-------Start-----

Mini Plan For: _____________________________

Dated: _________________

1. Purpose (what is the purpose of your marketing, ie to add subscribers to my list)

2. Target Audience (the specific group that you are trying to capture, ie start up eBusiness owners, pet owners..etc).

3. What Tactic Are You Using (if it is a classifed in a newsletter, then be specific, provide a sample of the ad and what newsletters you have put this ad in).

4. What Is Your Budget

I have this much time per week ___________

I have this much money to spend: $________

5. What Is Your Schedule (break it down into steps of the things you need to have in place for this particular tactic)

6. Results (log to day your ad run or the day tactic was implemented from there track your results. Day 1 ad placed no hits, Day 2 received 2 hits).

7. Final Evaluation/Notes (once the particular campaign is over, then you look at the purpose, if it was to add subscribers, how many did you receive in the then and based on that was it worthwhile to spend the money you did. Also are there things you had to do during the process to adjust for and any other notes that you want to keep track of if you decide to use this down the road again)

8. Samples - I personally keep a folder that has all the advertising samples that I have used along with a results log (like the one in step 6). I keep a running log for each piece of marketing I use so that later on if I want to use the same piece again - then I can quickly look and see how succesful it was in other similar newsletters that I ran it in...saves me having to look through past plans to find the ad, keeps things all in one place.

-----End-----

You can make this as easy or as elaborate as you wish, this is your plan and its purpose is to serve you. The important thing to understand is that you use it to track the successes of tactics so you know if it is worth it to you to use again.

A mini-marketing plan like this keeps you organized and on track. You can tell very quickly which of your campaigns worked and from there determine if you want to re-use it again.

Good luck!

###
Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Hey...are you a do-it yourself marketer? Are you struggling a little? Need just a little help??? Can you imagine how far your business could grow with a Marketing Coach in your pocket??? Take a No Cost Test Drive TODAY!! http://www.profitspace.com/coach


======================
Business Services Classifieds
======================

"FREE BEGINNERS GUIDE" New to a profitable Mail Order Opportunity
Marketing Home Business? Learn How You Get Started, How You Grow.
Ideas you need! Nothing to buy! Immediate access! ...by J. Kirkman.
http://www.HomeBizNow.biz

======================

FREE 12 Week Internet Marketing Training Program ($147 Value)
Trim your learning phase & follow a powerful 12-step blueprint.
Become a student of marketing and explode your online profits!
http://www.SqueezeMoreSalesFromYourSite.com

======================

How do super-affiliates do it? The answer may surprise you.
Visit http://www.AffiliateShowcase.com/?24296 for the web's
best affiliate programs and the newest secret to affiliate success.

======================

Drives Targeted Prospects to Your Website -24 hrs a Day
Free, Innovative, Absolutely- No SPQM -You Will LOVE IT-
Guaranteed-Easy, Simple and Free - For info: bjhera@aol.com

======================

Affiliates... Discover why your checks are not what you expected.
Visit http://affiliate.casinorewards.com/referral.asp?aff_id=aff16543
and view the web's best affiliate program and the new secret to
affiliate success.

======================

Get thousands free targeted visitor to your
website using this "little known" robot.
This offer is limited.
Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/9woep

======================

Donald Trump's EXPO-Reach over 30,000 potential affiliates/clients
FACE-TO-FACE. Rent an Exhibitor Booth in NY or Chicago.
E-mail for Details: ISA Coordinator: bjhera@aol.com


======================

3.

Feature Article:

* Exclusive *

"Make Sure Your Web Site Is Right Before You Advertise"
By: Kevin Nunley

Recently a customer spent a pretty hefty sum of money to promote his web site. I knew something was wrong when he contacted me three weeks later saying he hadn't sold a single product.

His site looked good. A professional designer had given it a great look with slick graphics. Unfortunately, when I went in search of the product he was advertising, it took five or six clicks to find it.

Here is what happened to prospects and why the site wasn't selling anything:

1. The prospect sees the ad.
2. She clicks to the site.
3. She is greeted with a doorway page.
4. When she finds the link at the bottom of the doorway page she is taken to a home page with very little information on it.
5. If she clicks on the "home" link she gets the doorway page again.
6. If she clicks on the "about us" link she gets the home page she is already on.
7. One more click and she might find the product page with the item she came looking for.

How many customers will look through page after page to find the product or service you advertised? Not many. Click rates go down dramatically after the first page. Hardly anyone will click three levels deep.

Moral of the story: have your opening web page clearly promote whatever you are advertising. Otherwise, your ad dollars may be wasted.

In today's rocky economy, people aren't willing to throw money at a product/service they know nothing about. Many online shoppers spend hours looking for the item that is exactly what they want. Your product/service could be exactly what they're looking for, but with scant, uninformative copy, how are they going to know?

So it's time to make a few changes, nothing too painful. You don't have to throw out your old copy and start from scratch. With some minor alterations, your copy can inform, motivate and charge prospects to take action and buy.

Here are a 8 quick changes you can make to improve the way your copy sells:

1) Give the Most Important Info First -- Don't force people to wade through two pages of copy before they can discover what you're all about.

Get to the point right up front, in the headline, subheading, and first few paragraphs. If you have too much filler copy in the beginning and don't start getting to the point until later, all that copy your visitors read will be lost on them. It will have been out of context because you didn't provide them with a context.

2) First Things First -- Ever heard of "Inverted Pyramid Style" writing?

It means starting with the most important sentence and following with lesser sentences. But not too many. Keep your paragraphs short so they don't overwhelm the reader.

3) Cut Words -- Web copy should use about half the word count or less than conventional writing, so keep it short and too the point.

This isn't the great American novel. Your goal is to make sure your audience can understand every word you say while reading quickly. If they have to stop to get a dictionary because you used too many cryptic words or jargon, you'll lose their interest.

4) No Sub Par Subheadings -- Use only meaningful subheadings.

Your subheadings should serve as an outline for your copy, making it easier for the reader to remember important points and gain and accurate overview of the products or services. If your subheadings are well-placed and meaningful, no one should have to read your copy twice.

5) One Idea Per Paragraph -- Don't load your paragraphs with ideas.

Avoid confusing the reader by separating each idea into its own paragraph. This will also help you keep paragraphs shorter. Limiting paragraphs to one idea helps readers digest information a little at a time, promoting comprehension and recall.

6) Use Bullets -- When presenting information, it is helpful to separate the text with bullet points.

Bulleted lists are easier to read than entire paragraphs, and the differentiation shows readers that they should pay special attention to bulleted points. In fact, readers are known for skipping over paragraphs and going straight for the bulleted text, so make whatever information is in bullets essential to motivating the sale.

7) Highlight Keywords -- You're going to get a lot of "scanners" visiting your site.

These are people who don't read word for word, but glance over text looking or important information. Highlight keywords so they will know where to find this information.

8) Use Hype Where Hype is Needed -- Hype is like opera.

People either love it or loathe it. So be careful where you use it. With certain products, hype has been known to reduce credibility, but with others, it increases excitement and motivates purchases. But if you want to add that punch here and there in your copy, use hype like paprika; just a pinch to tweak the flavor. An exclamation point here, a phrase in caps there, and you've got just enough to satisfy any palate.

###
Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and professional copywriting. See his affordable deals on web site copy, sales letters, and autoresponder messages at http://DrNunley.com/copywriting.asp Reach him at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com or 603-249-9519.


======================

4.

~/~ SOHO Help Desk ~\~
http://www.demc.com

"The Forum Phenomena"

Today's SOHO Help Desk reviews forums and how to use them to build your business.

If you have a valuable tip, promotional idea, question or answers you would like included in an upcoming issue of DEMC, all you have to do is submit it by email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

== Why Owning Your Own Forum Is The Next *Big* Thing! ==

From: Michael Green

The Forum Phenomena
Why Owning Your Own Forum Is The Next *Big* Thing!

It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harriett now owns their own Ezine or Newsletter. So where are savvy marketers looking to gain their next competitive edge?

Here's the answer...

... They're setting up their own Discussion Forums!

Almost overnight discussion forums have become an essential weapon in the armory of every successful online marketer.

And that's no surprise when you consider that some of the big marketing forums are now attracting 4 million page visits per month.

Just before Christmas I set up my own forum and within a matter of weeks was receiving thousands of visitors per day.

But How Do Forum Visitors Equate to PR0FITS For You?

Okay I hear you say... so forums can drive a massive amount of traffic, but how does that help me make money through internet marketing?

Actually in pretty much the same way as owning a credible Newsletter can build your wealth and, over time, generate a healthy income for you.

You see, as the owner and moderator of a forum, your credibility will grow fast and before you know it...visitors will be hanging on your every word.

From that point onwards, it doesn't take a massive leap of the imagination to appreciate how this kind of POWER can lead to increased PR0FITS for you.

All you now need to do is quietly talk about the right products and services and others will likely pile in. If you like, it's a subtle form of product placement.

Plus of course, since you own the forum, you have the opportunity to include your own banner ads or text links to every thread or page. You can see how this is done on my own forum http://www.howtocorp.com/forum

BUT... just like the responsible newsletter editor, you MUST ensure that you are recommending only the BEST products and services. Otherwise you'll quickly lose all your credibility . Oh and your forum audience and regular posters will disappear too.

Owning Your Own Forum Can Have Other Spin-Offs * With a Forum You Can Answer Any Question Just Once If you find yourself in the position of repeatably being asked the exact same question about your product or service, then a forum can provide a place for you to post the answer once and for all. After that you'll just refer people to your forum thread on the subject.

* Others Will Answer Questions For You A bunch of enthusiasts will most likely gather at your forum and act as an external customer services facility for you. Your forum can cut your workload dramatically.

* ShowCase New and Upcoming Products I often release information about my forthcoming projects to the folks at my own forum before anywhere else. It's a trusted community where I can get valuable thoughts and feedback before launching a toolkit to the public at large.

So What Are the Downsides To Running Your Own Forum?

Well you'll need to devote a certain amount of time to monitoring the posts and ensuring that SP@M isn't turning up on your forum. Naturally it will, so you'll need to delete it. Ignore your discussion board and you'll quickly discover that it has been filled with worthless JUNK posts and this will immediately devalue the board.

Newsgroups have been around since before the dawn of the internet - so you may well be asking yourself: "Why are they really *hot* now?"

Traditional Newsgroups used to require special software to access and even though they have been popularized through Google, they're gradually losing their importance.

At the same time anyone who can set up a website can now set up their own forum - so they're here to stay and naturally "switched-on" internet marketers are taking full advantage.

I look forward to posting in your discussion forum soon!

Michael Green

Founder "How To" Corp
http://www.HowToStartAForum.com

------------------------------------------------------------
The author has created the web's first ever eGuide tutorial
which shows you precisely how to establish your very own
online Discussion FORUM. Discover everything you need to
know in order to create and draw visitors to your very own
FORUM today at http://www.HowToStartAForum.com
------------------------------------------------------------

(c) How To Corporation. All rights reserved.

======================

Advertise In DEMC - * Prices *

For information on advertising to the DEMC E-Magazine's 175,000 subscribers for as little as $36, plus details on How To Get a FREE Ad in DEMC E-Magazine Go To Visit Our Web Site: http://www.demc.com/Advertise/advertise.html

DEMC
PMB 227, 24-G West Main St.
Clinton, CT 06413
(860) 669-4365

(c) 2005 DEMC All rights reserved

View other back issues of DEMC.
Just click to access our email marketing newsletter archive.