Tips: How to blog for money

[BAK2u] IT Show 2009 Promotions

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:33:00 +0000

IT Show 2009

How Much Money Can a Blog Earn?

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:08:00 +0000

“If my blog has ((insert daily number of impressions or page views of your blog here)) how much should it be earning?”

This is one of the more common questions I get asked by bloggers just starting out with making money from their blogs.

On one level it’s a valid question to ask - after all if you’re going to put time and energy into building something it’d be great to know up front what rewards might be awaiting you.

On another level - it’s an almost impossible question to answer because there are so many factors to take into consideration.

As I look across the blogs that I am involved with (around 100 in number if you count b5media’s 80+ blogs) there is a massive variation in the earnings that blogs are pulling in. It is very difficult to make sense of it as it not just a matter of traffic levels.

For example - As I write this I’m looking at the earnings for January of three blogs that I have some involvement with (I don’t get into what specific blogs earn so don’t ask) and here’s what I see..more

BLOG2u takes over SGBloggers operations

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:31:00 +0000

14 January 2009 - BLOG2u takes over SGBloggers operations

Dear all,

Today marks a new milestone for SGBloggers. BLOG2u will be taking over all operations of SGBloggers with effect from today.

Most of the things will still be the same for all our users. You will still receive the same great service and support that you used to get in the past. On top of that, we will be rolling out new services soon to serve you better.

Thank you for your support over the past few years. Feel free to drop us an email if you have any suggestions/feedback on how we can serve you better. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Darryl Kang
Chief Operating Officer
BLOG2u Pte Ltd

Start earning in your zone

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:55:00 +0000

Drive more traffic to your site.
The more visitors your site attracts, the more you'll be able to earn.

Change ad placement.
Reach your visitors wherever you think they're most engaged on your site. Place your zones on the most-viewed areas of your site, particularly on the areas directly above and to the left of your core content. Ads that users must scroll down to see, or that are far from your core content, may earn significantly less revenue.

8 Tips for Saving Money and Your Life

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:21:00 +0000

From simple colds and viruses to life-threatening diseases, any kind of health problem can put a huge strain on your pocketbook. By adopting certain habits you cannot only save money on fewer doctor’s visits and medications, you can preserve your cash in other ways.

Below are eight frugal living tips that will actually lengthen your lifespan.

1. Quit Smoking
Although quitting may be easier said than done, it is a no-brainer that doing so will cut costs and help save your life. The CDC actually offers a helpful guide to quitting smoking, which could be a great resource when you decide to put down the tobacco once and for all.

2. Stop Tanning
There is a growing fad for people of all ages and cultures to look bronzed. If you are seeking the warmth of a tanning bed in order to look a certain way, then it is time you stopped. Quitting now will decrease your chances of developing malignant melanoma.

3. Cancel Your Paid Television
It is obvious how this will save money, but you may not see the direct connection to your health. Simply put, it will get you off that couch and encourage you to pursue more active, healthy activities.

4. Drink Only Water
Water is essential for good health and you should definitely be drinking a minimum of eight glasses per day, maybe even more. By ditching all other beverages for simple tap water, you will also save a considerable amount of money.

5. Wear Sensible Shoes
This is a hard message to get across to many women, as they seem to think they are better off in stylish, expensive shoes. Not so, as many high-end shoes are terrible for your back and posture. This can, in turn, lead to other problems. Opt for sensibly priced, comfortable shoes – both your wallet and your back will thank you for it...more

Do-It-Yourself SEO: A Beginner's Checklist

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:13:00 +0000

There have always been do-it-yourselfers succeeding at web promotion and search engine optimization. In fact, many of the established businesses offering web services today came from humble beginnings, perhaps nothing more than a college student with a laptop, an internet connection, and too much free time. The Web evolves as the result of the innovation and experimentation of individuals. The sharing of knowledge. The do-it-yourself attitude.

As text link brokers and mass link networking decrease in value and use in social media increases, it becomes more important for companies to have an internal approach and awareness of search engine marketing. Don't get me wrong; outsourcing to SEO firms is still a smart option. That said, making the most out of Web 2.0 usually requires some level of cooperation between SEO firm and site owner. You don't need to be an expert to know the basics of good SEO practices, and that added knowledge will be a great advantage whether you're working along side an SEO team, or promoting your own site in your spare time.

So if you're on a "need to know" basis with SEO, the following points should illustrate what an overall plan should include:

1. Create Search Engine-Friendly Content

Unique web content is your most valuable asset, and ensuring search engines can read it is crucial. Text embedded in images or Flash cannot be read, so make sure you use important keywords, headings, and hyperlinks in plain text form. Instead of using images as navigation links, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) makes it easy to format those links to look more like 'buttons', thus creating powerful anchor text as well as making it visually appealing. Use heading tags properly and don't try to hide keywords or text by making it the same color as the page background or shrinking it so it can't be seen. Make sure the keywords you wish to rank high for are used frequently in the page copy but within reason.

Now that you've created good content, is it actually being crawled? Copy and paste a page's URL into a search engine to see if it has been indexed. If you've just created the page, it may take a few days to show up. Aside from age, many factors can lead to web pages not being indexed by search engines, such as duplicate content (ie. a printer-friendly version of a page might be indexed and the normal version not, or vice versa); links generated by JavaScript instead of HTML; poor site architecture (ie. using too many sub-directories); lengthy, dynamically generated URLs using special characters; and orphaned pages.

2. Choose Your Keywords Wisely

One of the first steps of SEO, this one needs to be done properly the first time or all your future efforts and promotion could end up being wasted. Start by writing down general terms that describe your products, services or web content. Use keyword research services to investigate word and phrase variations. Wordtracker, KeywordDiscovery, and the Google AdWords suggestion tool are good starting points. The goal is to find those niche phrases that your target market uses to find sites just like yours and optimize your site for them. If the phrases do not get enough use by searchers, your profits from ranking for them will be low. At the same time, stay away from general terms that are tougher to rank for (ie. like "art", "computers", "business", etc.) as a great portion of the traffic will be irrelevant and you'll break the bank attaining such competitive phrases.

3. Get Others to Link to Your Site

In theory there are countless ways, some traditional and some quite innovative, to get other web sites to link to yours. In practice, it can be easier said than done. Google defines a link as it pertains to rankings and SEO as a "vote" from one site to another. The more quality votes your site receives, the greater chance you have of rankings well. If a well established site links to yours, that link carries more weight than one would from a mom & pop shop or less reputable page.

If your site has useful content and is doing something unique, you're already ahead of much of the competition. People need a reason to link to your site, as very few will do it out of the goodness of their heart. Trading links can work, but link exchange networks have decreased in value and won't be of much use in competitive fields. Buying links, if you haven't heard, is a big Google no-no. While entire articles could be written on this topic, here are a few popular methods of acquiring incoming links:

- issuing company press releases with a link back to your site
- submitting to reputable business directories such as Yahoo! and Business.com
- be active on related blogs by commenting and exchanging ideas
- if you have clients with web sites, ask if they would mind adding your link in a "partners" section
- participate in relevant forums and discussion boards with a link in your signature
- write and submit original articles to web publications in your field with a link in your bio
- get involved in social media and bookmarking

. Join the Social Media Revolution

The collaboration between Internet users and the development of online communities is at an all-time high. Social bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Furl, Reddit, and Technorati offer users a way to store their favorite pages and media online, and share it with others. These services also provide a way to promote your own content or create a buzz over a product or service. Creating a Myspace page or Squidoo "lens" is also a way to network and share information.

However, if your goal is to generate sales then you must offer something without the promotional hype. The reality of social media is that popularity is based almost entirely on public interest. If your information or media isn't unique or of interest to anyone, you cannot force success using social media communities.

The key to using social media and bookmarking sites to your advantage is to not be shy. Network with other users, bookmark and share useful content, create eye-catching titles for your entries, and tell your friends and co-workers to vote on content you have on these sites.

These four points are a general guideline to follow for SEO. Search engine optimization experts and firms are a good outsourcing option in competitive markets, while the DIY attitude can yield great results for web site owners with smaller marketing budgets. If you're in the latter group, hopefully this helps get you started.

About the Author: John Metzler has held executive positions in the search engine marketing industry since 2001. He is the Founder of FreshPromo, a Canadian-based SEO firm and updates his blog regularly.

Source: http://www.entireweb.com/

How to improve your page rank?

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:13:00 +0000

Here are some links that bloggers can take a look at:

http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/google.shtml

http://www.seocompany.ca/pagerank/improve-page-rank.html

http://www.opentracker.net/en/articles/improve-google-ranking.jsp

http://www.pr10.com/

http://cekstatus.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-increase-your-pagerank.html

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2004/06/30/steps-to-increase-your-google-page-rank

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Easy-Way-To-Increase-Your-Page-Rank-On-Google&id=9470

Source: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=8241700078&topic=3877

Online Advertising on Blogs in Singapore & Malaysia

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:26:00 +0000

If you are a blogger in Singapore & Malaysia, you have a myriad of choices in deploying online advertisements other than the standard Google Ads. Most people who have deployed google ads on their blogs will know that they don't earn much from that system for good reasons. First of all, the Singapore market is small and that naturally leads to a small audience unless your blog can penetrate the markets beyond Singapore. Besides, to earn the money on Google Ads, the click through rate must be high.

To get a good enough click through rate, you need to get a lot of traffic. That comes to my next point, Asians don't do a lot of click throughs. An interesting article on TechCrunch by Erick Schonfeld recently revealed that click fraud has raised by 15% in 2007 and interestingly one in three clicks is click fraud. In this blog article, I will review the online advertising trends in Singapore and Malaysia based on my observations from the blogosphere. In addition, I will talk about the three companies (Advertlets, Blog2u and Nuffnang) which specialize on online advertising in Singapore and Malaysia. I have experimented each one of them on my blog and will offer some feedback and how these companies can improve....more

Source: http://bleongcw.typepad.com

[Video] How to create Paypal button

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Oh, what's my position now? BlogTraffic.SG

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:31:00 +0000

Blogtraffic.sg

Do you know how to read?

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:27:00 +0000

Do you know the difference between Unique Visitors and First time Visitors?
http://wikipedia.org/

BLOG2u.SG : Top 3 Reasons To Register!

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 02:18:00 +0000

This is a artwork done by a fellow BLOG2u.SG member.
Very nice!

Click image

[BLOG2u] Free XBOX 360 with MacBook Pro! - iShop

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:14:00 +0000

Purchase a MacBook Pro and receive XBOX 360 worth $699 for free!

29 Nov - 31 Dec 2007
iSHOP by Club 21

3rd floor of Cineleisure Orchard at Grange Road:
No. 8 Grange Road
#03-04/5/6
Singapore 239695

Ads by BLOG2u.SG

Add a PageRank widget to your blog

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:39:00 +0000

RankWidget.com is a tool to check your blog's Google PageRank, Alexa Traffic Rank, Technorati Blog Rank & Yahoo Search InLinks, then show them on your Blog.

Check it out here

Screen shot @ BAK2u.com (5/10)

New feature - Blogspot

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:36:00 +0000

Blogspot has just added another new feature where instead of 'Others' readers can add in their nickname instead.

Paddy Tan - Businessweek Asia's Young Entrepreneurs

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:48:00 +0000

Businessweek.com

Vote for your favorite among the top two dozen young entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region, where the local creativity is impressing venture capitalists and multinationals alike

By Sonal Rupani

There's never been a better time to be a young entrepreneur in Asia. There are more venture capitalists than ever in the region, many of them recent arrivals from Silicon Valley attracted by the supercharged growth rates in countries such as China, India, and Vietnam. At the same time, multinationals like Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), and IBM (IBM) are busy funding entrepreneurs too, investing in new companies regionwide. And they're impressed with the creativity they're seeing from local entrepreneurs. Gone are the days when startups were based largely on lower costs than the West. "I've been in this [region] for 10 years, and when you look across these markets, it's fantastic," says John Hummelstad, Singapore-based regional director for emerging technology and venture capital at Microsoft. "It's not just labor arbitrage anymore. It's invention, it's intellectual-property creation."

With this blossoming of entrepreneurship, now is a good time to look at some of the top young entrepreneurs. BusinessWeek.com polled our readers to nominate their candidates for the best young entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region. In this slide show, we've put together a list, based on those nominations as well as suggestions from our editors and reporters, of two dozen of the most impressive ones around. Read about them and vote for your favorite. We'll publish the results soon.

Vote:
Paddy Tan Lek Han (BAK2U.com)

More details:
Paddy's personal blog

Suggestion: What Nuffnang can do ...

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:44:00 +0000

There been much talks by many bloggers coming fast and furious on Nuffnang about the few boo boo that occurred within a short span of time. I am not going to repeat all that but you can read and know more from this blog here, TheBizWalk.com. It pretty much gives a good summary of what happened.

So now the question is what should Nuffnang do? This is a good case study for the many of us startups on what to do when face with this uphill tasks. Here are some of my personal thoughts and suggestions which by no means trying to belittle Nuffnang nor its founders.

Just what I will do if faced with such situation now. Note: again this is not to be taken as advises or taking pot shot against Ming.

------
All these blogs are damaging the reputation of Nuffnang as a service provider and as advertisers*, they themselves will also do their own homework to see if the service is worth using also.

If they see more of these negative posts, especially on Ping.sg or Tomorrow.sg etc ... will run the risk of lack of confident in the company. Suggestion will be to clean it up real nice by going thru what bloggers are highlighting and really work hard to solve it.

For example, clear up the air real good on that S$1 admin fee. The damages are so much more than what's S$1 can be. It is not telling others beforehand that pisses many off, so forget about the S$1 like Adverlets and do it off permanently as a goodwill too.

Dont forget that S$1 is also coming from the advertisers to the company, and without advertisers what's the point of having a lot of bloggers? Ultimately it is the advertisers that pay the profit and commission to the bloggers. If the balance beam tilt too much one sided, everything will go haywire and not healthy for all parties too.

Turn those banners that do not run any other commercial ads into sales banners for partners. No, I do not mean running free ads for the existing advertisers but look into tying up with other partners to make use of all these 'idle' banners and let bloggers themselves earn some money too.

For example, tie up with companies that retail products online and anyone that click that banner and make a sales, bloggers get some commissions too. Everyone wins. You earn, supplier earns and bloggers earn. Bloggers also wont feel like taken for a ride with spaces allocated for the banners but nothing ever shown up also. Take a look at what Google Adsense is doing. No ads? Run charity message instead.

If all day all nite, advertisers see negative posts about Nuffnang the sales is going to be hit badly. And it opens the doors for other competitors cos the companies that are keen to advertise may have already budgeted for it and if I am the marketing manager, I will get Advertlets or some other service providers that have a good reputation and understand the needs of the bloggers better to talk to me instead. Why risk it all putting my head on the chopping board where not only bloggers are complaining about Nuffnang but also the high possibilities of no click thru also?

Yes it is possible. Think about it... with so many negative feedbacks will you still click ads run by Nuffnang ? Some yes and some no ... but if you are the marketing manager will you risk it if you are the one paying to run ads and to answer to the management how successful it is? Ultimately, advertising is tied to ROI very closely too.

Tone down on bloggers gatherings ... the people on the ground are now wondering ... is Nuffnang really that hard up? Able to run gatherings at poshy places and yet still want that S$1 from us? It leaves a bad taste to many so toning it down will be a good start. Which in turn have lesser bloggers blogging about those fancy gatherings, food, locations they been.

There is nothing wrong to 'reward' bloggers or to create some market noise from such gatherings, hell even I do that with supporters of BAK2u BUT now this is different; members of Nuffnang are talking and blogging about the lack of customer service, technical support and on the other hands other bloggers especially celebrities bloggers are talking about how fun it is in the latest gatherings.

BTW, as for no responses best to place a note that on what is the maximum time the person will have to wait. For BAK2u.com, it is 48hrs but usually we replied within 12hrs (customers expect 48hrs wait and if you can do it at half of that, you gain some points. Otherwise, you can still ensure that the standard is maintained even if you answer only on the 48th hours wait)

But then again, there will be those that complained that we do not reply even if you had. Some just went straight to the spam (From BAK2u.com - Kindly submit your comments or enquiries via the following form. Please check your spam mails if you do not receive a response from us within 48 hours.) So what do we do? Save that money and resend that same email again?

Nah, I told the girls to just make a call over if available but do check on the time zone. You wont wanna call that fellow up at 4am when it is 4pm here in Singapore. Money will always be well spent even if it is an international call. Perceived value of your customer service? Will be priceless.

Lastly, identify who should be the PR guy from the company to handle all these feedbacks. It is not so simple to just reply and hope that everything will just rest down. It is really tricky as it is one person, one company against the entire internet 'world'. They can swallow you up, wipe out everything that have been invested and built over the years. No one is perfect for this PR role, but take it as hitting the walls to learn something and then come back stronger. Learn to swim with the 'sharks'.

Some are more forgiving and some are not. But if you are sincere and showing it out in actions, others will be more than willing to let it go. It is also an opportunity to filter out those that are just out for 'blood' only and not willing to move on.

Nobody can please everyone, move on for those that are willing to, and leave those behind that are still bearing grudges.

One last suggestion, for startup dont think yourself as some CEO, CTO, COO, director, founder or whatever stupid position title one may be holding. Titles aside and you can see things clearer and act better too. Sometimes these 'invisible walls' will create more problems than gain, inflating the stupid ego along the way.

Let others see you beyond those titles and know who you really are. Startup = the person that leads it, that starts it. When it grows beyond a startup, that person needs to detach from it and survive on its own under its own brand name. Too many fall into this trap that they are some big shots just becos they are some companies known around the internet or the world. So what? No one will give a damn.

Cross link: Tomato75

Place a pagerank meter at website

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 08:28:00 +0000

Checkpagerank.com

New feature at Blogspot

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 01:58:00 +0000

Blogspot has finally added a 'Follow-up comments' into the blogs.

This feature is commonly seen in many other competitors' service but not on Blogspot till recently.

Tick that little box there after your comment and any follow up will be sent to your google email account.

Image taken from Scubscub

4 Steps to Combat Website Plagiarism

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:23:00 +0000

This is a very interesting read:

Publishing your website can be one of the most exciting times for a business owner. After all of your hard work and persistence, the whole world now has access to your products or services. You have either paid hundreds of dollars to have someone write your site content for you, or you have put your heart and soul (not to mention hour upon hour of hard work) into creating content of which you can be proud. In either case, you've invested time and/or money into your website copy. Now that it is out there for the whole world to see, it may be a target for all kinds of unscrupulous individuals...more

[BAK2u] Theory Is The Reason interview

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:36:00 +0000

Video Interview: BAK2u CEO Paddy Tan (on anti-theft software)

Wired magazine recently showed us how despite high-tech gear getting cheaper every year, the proportion of a typical U.S. household budget spent on tech-related products and services has held steady at 5% for the past decade (more than we pay for health insurance). How’s that the case?

More: Theory.isthereason.com

BLOG2u.SG: Bloggers + Advertisers = More Exposure!

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:34:00 +0000

BLOG2u.SG is a match-making service for Singapore advertisers and bloggers; to deliver online word of mouth of products and services from freelancers, agents and even bloggers in the most cost effective method through blogs.

Target Advertisers

http://BLOG2u.SG

Google Brings Ad-Supported YouTube Videos to AdSense Publishers

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:33:00 +0000

Publishers can earn revenue from companion ads, which sit atop the video window like banner ads on a Web page, and text overlay ads, which occupy the bottom 20% of the video frame.

Google on Monday said that it has made ad-supported YouTube videos available to publishers in its AdSense network.

"Video units enable AdSense publishers to display videos from several YouTube content partners," said Christine Lee, product marketing manager for Google's AdSense, in a blog post. "The video units are ad-supported, and the ads are relevant to both the video and the site content, as well as unobtrusive. AdSense publishers and YouTube content partners will receive a share of the ad revenue, so video units enable both groups to earn incremental revenue."

Google has been testing video units for AdSense since last year. It has run pilot programs offering ad-supported content from MTV Networks, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group to a limited group of online publishers.

Now any English-language AdSense publisher in the U.S. can sign on to his or her AdSense account and generate HTML code that can be used to embedded sponsored YouTube video into a Web page.

Publishers have three ways to choose the type of video content that appears on their sites. They can select specific content providers; they can select specific content categories to display; and they choose to use automated targeting, which parses words on the Web page where the video will appear and serves video associated with identified keywords.

The videos that appear on the publisher's site will be updated periodically "so your users don't get bored," Google explains on the AdSense Web site.

Publishers can earn revenue from companion ads, which sit atop the video window like banner ads on a Web page, and text overlay ads, which occupy the bottom 20% of the video frame. The ads can pay out on the basis of clicks or impressions.

Publishers seeking to place video ads on their sites need to have a YouTube account in addition to an AdSense account.

Source: InformationWeek.com

7 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid when Promoting your Business

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 01:24:00 +0000

Many people rush into business thinking it will be easy to run, but very soon they realize that it is not as easy as it looks. A successful business is a finely tuned machine. In order to keep your business running smoothly it is important to avoid making mistakes.

Here are the 7 most common mistakes to avoid:

1. Not having clear objectives:
Many business people start a business without clear objectives. They fail to set realistic goals for their marketing and consequently set themselves up for failure. It is important to make a list of goals and objectives based on a quarterly time line. If you do not have company goals and objectives you are like a car driving without a road map. Make sure all employees are briefed on company objectives. When your employees are not properly prepared you will not be able to achieve company objectives.

2. Neglecting to analyse your potential customers
Neglecting to analyse your potential customers is a dangerous mistake. It can lead to many problems. When you do not analyse your customers wants and needs you do not know what products and services to develop for them. This will lead to targeting the wrong market and neglecting to understand your own niche market. It is important for any business to do their marketing analysis so that you can target your market and maximise your sales.

3. Not testing:
By not testing your sales copy and places you advertise with split testing your advertising, you will be losing sales. Split testing is simple to do but many businesses fail to do this. This results in a lot of wasted time and effort. If you do not test your ad copy and marketing promotions you will not have a proper idea of the ads and promotions that are pulling and what is not working. It is simple to do by placing 2 ads for the same product in a publication or website etc. You can then see which one is performing the best.

4. Not budgeting:
Budgeting is extremely important in business. Your business should never run out of money. This is especially true with your marketing and advertising ventures. It is important to have a monthly or quarterly budget for your marketing. Within that budget put aside money for each promotion you will be doing. Start small, test and then build on successes. This will allow you to always stay solvent and have enough for promotions.

5. Giving up too soon:
Companies go out of business at an alarming rate these days. One of the reasons is that the owners give up too soon. Just when success might be just around the corner they give up and decide to close the business down. In exactly the same fashion marketing promotions can fail. You need to give your promotions at least 3 months before you decide to scrap them. Some promotions will take longer than others to bring results. As always, test all marketing tactics before you launch a larger promotion. Patience is one of the hallmarks of business and you need to implement it.

6. Poor sales copy:
How often have you wanted a product but when you read the sales page you had serious doubts? Poor unprofessional ad copy will cost you sales. In fact without good sales copy you will not be able to sell effectively at all. It is critical to your business to get this right. If necessary get an experienced copywriter to do this. It is worth the investment, as you will see returns when you make sales.

7. Not screening your employees carefully:
To handle the extra load for the Christmas season you will need to hire new employees. It is very important not to rush into this. There is no dearth of people needing employment but you need to screen them carefully before hiring. One rude customer service agent can cost you customers. Do not take this type of risk. You want to preserve the integrity of your company at all times and screening employees is the way to achieve this. You will then be able to build a core of loyal professional employees that will be an asset to the company.

The golden rule is to diversify. You should always use multiple forms of marketing promotions in your business. Do not just do one or two promotions and then wait for results. This will slow company growth and your business will stagnate. The last thing you need is to slow your marketing in the Christmas season. So remember to diversify and enjoy the increase in sales.

By avoiding these mistakes you will take your company to the success you deserve. You will be able to have year round success for your business and really be able to cash in on the Christmas season. So plan ahead and be careful not to make these common mistakes.

About the Author: Sean McPheat is a leading authority marketing consultant and helps businesses across the UK, Europe, US and the Middle East. Sean's marketing services include direct mail, internet marketing, sales copy, sales training, telemarketing, PR and strategic alliance marketing.

Press Release: Device Theft Recovery Software Leaders GadgetTrak and BAK2u Form Technology Alliance

paddytan@gmail.com (Details:) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 01:23:00 +0000

Press Release Oct 2007

GadgetTrak and BAK2u have formed a technology alliance to share theft recovery software technologies, expanding protection for Apple® computers and iPods®, cell phones, Sony® PSP, PDAs and a growing list of removable media devices.

Portland, OR. October 2, 2007 -- GadgetTrak (www.gadgettrak.com) and BAK2u (www.bak2u.com) have announced a technology alliance to expand device protection. Through this synergy, both companies will broaden their theft recovery software offerings to include coverage for Apple® computers and iPods®, cell phones, PDAs, Sony® PSP, GPS devices, digital cameras, flash drives and a long list of other removable media devices.

BAK2u provides unique theft recovery software solutions for cell phones and PDAs as well as Apple computer products. GadgetTrak, based in Portland, Oregon provides patent-pending theft recovery software for removable media devices such as iPods and other MP3 players, Sony PSPs, digital cameras, GPS systems, USB flash drives and more.

Through the partnership both companies will now be offering each others' theft recovery technologies to their respective regions exclusively. The two companies will also continue to collaborate in the development of theft recovery solutions for multiple mobile platforms.

"The fact that both companies can now protect the majority of gadgets on the market today for business and consumers, ranging from cell phones, PDAs, iPods, laptops and more is unprecedented," stated Paddy Tan, CEO of BAK2u.

"We are seeing device theft become a bigger problem, be it a cell phone, laptop or an iPod. GadgetTrak and BAK2u are responding to this demand, by developing the best mobile technology solutions to help our customers protect their investments," stated Ken Westin, CEO of GadgetTrak.

About GadgetTrak
GadgetTrak (www.gadgettrak.com) based in Portland, Oregon, provides theft recovery software for portable devices such as Mac computers, iPods, cell phones, PDAs, GPS systems, digital cameras, USB flash drives and more. GadgetTrak is currently protecting over ten thousand devices worldwide and has a 90 percent recovery rate. GadgetTrak.com

About BAK2u
BAK2u Pte Ltd (www.bak2u.com) based in Singapore develops and provides unique lost & found services through anti-theft softwares to protect owners' gadgets; PDA phones, mobile phones and laptops. ID labels service is also available for portable items like camera, bags, computer peripherals. BAK2u.com

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