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How To Move Beyond Ego

Currency and Trade Wars

U.S. criticism of China’s efforts to keep the yuan weak in order to maintain its trade surplus rings false: China’s continued pumping of excess dollars into U.S. Treasury bonds is what allows the United States to continue deficit spending.

During a stop at the Gardens near the Singapore Flyer on his recent Asian tour, Michael Maloney discusses with Mahesh Balani, director of Silverinc.Asia Pte Ltd., the ramifications of our “insane” global currency system and how it forces the rest of the world to march in lockstep with U.S. monetary policy.

Read the rest of this blog at: http://wealthcycles.com/blog/2010/11/17/Currency-Craziness

Celente Right On Target

What happened in Japan? - Wealth Cycles Blog

What happened in Japan? - Wealth Cycles Blog

The Abundance Paradigm: Moving from the Law of Attraction to the Law of Creation

The Abundance Paradigm: Moving from the Law of Attraction to the Law of Creation

"Cafe del Mar" Tom Oliver - Free Your Mind

YES, BREATH! :: MAHARAJI

Entrepreneurs Have No Idea How To Use Email Marketing! Really?

-Part 1-

Consider this before you send another email – the greater majority of small business people and/or entrepreneurs have no idea how to use email marketing in an effective manner!! Because of not being able to use email effectively, we are losing millions if not billions of dollars in revenue because of the lack of savvy in email marketing.

Being an entrepreneur myself, I can say that! As a real estate investor, father, and business owner, I've always been an entrepreneur at heart, and have successfully started and sold several businesses over the years. I have even started some businesses that have failed; so I know both ends of the spectrum!

As small business owners (myself included), we’re always looking for ways to close more sales and to grow our business(es). I’m sure by now you’ve either adopted some form of email marketing, but if you haven’t, I’m sure you will shortly. In any case, email marketing is easy, it’s fast, and it’s really relatively inexpensive. In most cases it will yield the highest return for our investment.

When it comes to email marketing, the truth is that most small business owners and/or entrepreneurs will spend a greater part of their time worrying about such things as: 1) what do I put in my subject line to grab their attention so it will get opened, 2) how can I be sure that my email won’t end up in the SPAM box, 3) when they open my email, is my email going to be too long so that they get bored and close it before they get to my offer, and finally 4) what is the best time of the day or week to send my email.

I have written previous article(s) “Email Marketing – Is It part Of Your Marketing Strategy” that help address some of these issues. You may want to go there and read those before you continue with this article.

Regrettably, there is a larger picture when it comes to email marketing that most entrepreneurs are missing and worse yet, neglecting. I’m talking about such things as a) sending a promotional email to an existing customer that has already purchased what you are offering at the full price [wow, that’ll go over real well!!]; b) worried about getting more SPAM complaints than ‘click-throughs’; c) a woman receives an email inviting her to a Male Enhancement offer; d) a prospect signs up to be on your mailing list, but then doesn’t hear from you for several weeks or even months!

Somehow, as entrepreneurs and/or small business owners, we have become oblivious to the mistakes we’re making! Sad but true. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had other entrepreneurs tell me that email marketing sucks, they never get any return, and that building a list using email never works, and is basically a myth. My fellow entrepreneurs, nothing could be further from the truth. List building is relatively easy if you use a little common sense and use the right tools. Tools that are fairly inexpensive but effective.

The first things that most of us want to do is totally drop email marketing [big mistake], or go out and buy a “bigger and better” list because this one sucks!, or maybe even hire a copywriter to write a better and more compelling email and subject line!! I’ve seen cases where entrepreneurs will test by sending emails at all kinds of different hours of the day, hoping and praying that somewhere someone on the list will see it and be compelled to open the email and buy their product or opt in for their offer. Sorry to be so blunt, but you’ll go broke and discouraged before that will happen.

Your success in email marketing is not determined by sending it on a certain day of the week, or by sending it in the wee hours of the morning so the first thing they see when they open their email is yours! It’s not necessarily determined by the length of your email, or even necessarily by the header in your subject line. It’s not even necessarily determined by simply avoiding SPAM words.

What we need to emphasize on to get some real results is not by focusing solely on the things mentioned above, but by concentrating on some real bonified techniques that will make a difference to our bottom line. The strategy to creating an effective and successful email marketing campaign lies in basically 3 important (however not well known) marketing methods [there are more than 3, but we’ll focus on the 3 most important ones]:

1)      1)  Your Email Marketing MUST Be Predictable and Consistent

2)      2)  You MUST Have Multi-Media Included in Your Email Marketing

3)      3)  You MUST Send Only Relevant Emails to Relevant People In Your List

In Part 2 we will address each one of these methods. Until next week….   

RED ALERT - Gulf Ocean floor ruptures

The highest converting traffic I've ever seen...

Koala T Traffic is a new site that says it guarantees more web visitors and online advertising with very little effort or cost.  More importantly, it promises higher CONVERSIONS--signups and sales.  So I decided to put it to the test...

My first impression was the site looks professional and clean, with an attractive look and feel.  It is easy to read and understand.  Joining the site was easy and painless--they do offer 2 upgrade options but they are not required to gain the benefits.

The Members Area is very well laid out and intuitive--I could figure out what to do after only a few minutes and was able to get up and running in less than 5 minutes.  Inside the site, you create links and ads--the links you simply enter any URL links you use into the generator and it transforms them into "Koala T Traffic" links.  You create ads for anything you want to promote using the Koala T Traffic Ad Generator, which is very easy to use.  You can create as many links and as many ads as you like.  And they are organized in a logical way--links are displayed in the order you create them but also your 5 most recent links appear on the main page for quick reference.  Also, since the link generator is the tool you'll use most, it is also right at the top of the main page when you login.  Very smart!

After you've created at least 1 link and 1 ad you can start to generate traffic.  Just use and promote the new Koala T Traffic link instead of the original source link you had.  Every time the Koala T Traffic link is clicked, the page loads followed by a small ad window in the lower right corner.  It displays 3 ads PLUS an image with your affiliate link that goes back to Koala T Traffic.  So if anyone clicks the Koala T Traffic image they see the site, and if they signup they become your referral.  It's a great viral feature because you can build referrals without even trying to just by using the site.

Now every time the ad window displays (your Koala T Traffic links get clicked) you earn credits that get YOUR ad displayed in the ad windows when other members' links get clicked.  So the more clicks, the more times your ads get displayed.

And this works virally--meaning as you make referrals into Koala T Traffic (either by promoting it or just using it and visitors click the Koala T Traffic image on the ad window to join) you also earn ad credits on THEIR link clicks.  And this works up to 5 levels deep.  So you can create a massive amount of free ad views and web traffic by referring others to Koala T Traffic also.

I didn't get to test the full effect of a big downline yet (I just got the tool) but I can tell you the rest of the site works exactly as stated--my links got clicked, I earned credits, and my ads got displayed.  Koala T Traffic even tracked my results so I know how many clicks and how many ad displays.  That was an impressive unadvertised extra feature.

There is one more benefit and feature which might be the best of them all--downline emailing.  You can email your downline with offers, promotions, or whatever you like, and here is where Koala T Traffic really shines.  They took time to make the emailing often enough that it's valuable as a user, but no so often that it's a burden to your downline.  But the best part about this feature (and actually the credit earning too) is that it tells you exactly how long until you can mail again.  Now THAT's cool.

Overall I have to say I am impressed with Koala T Traffic.  It is simple yet powerful, and delivers on its promises.  Highly recommended to anyone who wants to increase traffic and advertising.

See it and join here:

http://budurl.com/koalattraffic

Maximizing Twitter as a Marketing Tool

Maximizing Twitter as a Marketing Tool

What is Twitter? This may sound elementary, but there are quite a large number of todays online population that really don't know. So we'll start out with what Twitter really is, and then we'll go into how to set it up and how to use it to market your business, whether online or off-line.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. While the service itself costs nothing to use, accessing it through SMS may incur phone service provider fees.

The 140-character limit on message length was initially set for compatibility with SMS messaging, and has brought to the web the kind of shorthand notation and slang commonly used in SMS messages. The 140 character limit has also spurred the usage of URL shortening services such as tinyurl, bit.ly and tr.im, and content hosting services, such as Twitpic and NotePub to accommodate multimedia content and text longer than 140 characters.

Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide. It is sometimes described as the “SMS of the Internet” since the use of Twitter's application programming interface for sending and receiving short text messages by other applications often eclipses the direct use of Twitter.

What we have to do is deliver to people the best and freshest most relevant information possible. We think of Twitter as it's not a social network, but it's an information network. It tells people what they care about as it is happening in the world.—Evan Williams

Twitter emphasized their news and information network strategy in November 2009 by changing the question it asks users for status updates from “What are you doing?” to “What's happening?”

(source: Wikipedia)

Twitter has created a unique social media platform that allows individuals, as well as businesses, to post updates in a quick, concise fashion from anywhere in the world. From the teenager at her favorite rock concert to CNN’s breaking news alerts, Twitter now dominates the world of “quick summary” information. In this world of “information saturation”, Twitter’s 140 character message limit requires “tweets” to cut through the fluff and get right to the point. Readers like this, as evidenced by Twitter’s explosive growth in such a short time.

As a marketer, Twitter allows you or your business to laser target a niche. It’s also quite possible you may actually create a “Twitter Persona” that’s far more interesting that you actually are! Why? Because with Twitter you don’t have to come up with a ton of useful content – short bursts of quality information and entertainment is sufficient to build and retain a following on Twitter.

Once you have created a following on Twitter, the platform allows you to stay in frequent contact with your “list” without burning them out. This alone makes Twitter one of the most, if not the most, powerful social media tool for marketers. Because Twitter messages are short and to the point, you can easily tweet up to 4 times a day and cultivate a relationship with your followers much quicker. Compare Twitter to more traditional marketing methods such as email lists, telemarketing, television commercials, etc. If you emailed your list 4 times a day how long do you think it would take for everyone to unsubscribe? If you called prospective customers 4 times a day how long do you think it would take for them to stop picking up the phone … or worse? If you ran the same television commercial 4 times a day how long do you think it would take for viewers to tune out or change the channel? Those methods of marketing are effective in moderation, but they are forced. Your Twitter followers are voluntarily choosing to stay in communication with you because they want to hear what you have to say. And when people want to hear what you have to say, chances are they will eventually buy from you.

It is vital to understand, however, that Twitter is NOT A SALES PLATFORM. This is where many people get it wrong. If you go on to any Social Network and immediately start pitching your product, business or service you will lose your following and your friends quickly. You must establish credibility and cultivate a relationship with your followers before you pitch. But once you have built up credibility and mastered the art of the Twitter conversation you can easily “sell” as often as once a day, and your followers will never know what hit them. The key is discerning when you have reached that point in your relationship with your followers.

Okay, now that I know what Twitter is, how do I set up my account?

1. Sign up for a Twitter account:

www.Twitter.com

Set up your profile using your personal name or your business name, not some cute nickname. Remember, you are branding yourself.

2. Begin following other Twitter users. Go to the “Find People” tab and look for people you know, admire or have something in common with. Generally Twitter etiquette would dictate that they follow you back. As you begin to accumulate followers, be sure you follow them back too. You can also outsource this.

3. If you have a brick and mortar business and/or website be sure to include your social media contacts on your website and your sales receipts.

For example:

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for cool updates and exclusive discounts and prizes!

facebook.com/yourusername
twitter.com/yourusername

4. Include your social media contacts in your standard email signature. In Gmail you would go in to “Settings” and look under the “General” tab for a “Signature” block. Here you could set up something like this that would conclude every email you send:

John X. Doe
President, John Doe Enterprises

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter:

facebook.com/johndoe
twitter.com/johndoe

Be sure to include these links on every communication you use to connect with people such as business cards, letterhead, packing slips, etc.

5. Make sure you have a graphic with a link to your blog or website on your twitter page. It should say:

“Learn more about me at “yourblog.com”

6. Now it’s time for you to “WOW” people. It’s vital that your Social Networking accounts give a good first impression. Your graphics are like the clothes you wear to a business function or a party and your posts ARE your conversations.

§     You should tweet about interesting stuff, not pitch your “deal” like a cheesy used car salesman (no offense to cheesy used car salemen, you just don’t want to be one of them on Twitter.)

§     You should genuinely interact with people who interact with you or run the risk of being labeled a snob.

People want to hang around cool, interesting people. Be one of them. Observe the world around you for quirks, anecdotes, observances, etc. that will tell your followers a little about who you are and how you see the world.

Resist the urge, however, to tweet about the mundane. Nobody wants to know you’re sitting in your car at a stoplight … unless you’re sitting in your car at a stoplight and a herd of camels wearing cowboy boots runs in front of your car … OR you’re sitting in your car at a stoplight and the song on the radio inspires you to propose to your long-time girlfriend via Twitter … OR you’re sitting in your car at a stoplight thinking about that great new book on origami you just started reading and you recommend it to your followers. You get the picture. Your goal is to add VALUE to your followers through content or entertainment – ideally, a mixture of the two.

Some great examples of things to post:

§     YouTube videos

§     Good articles

§     Cool pictures

§     Quotes

§     Your personal content

§     Some of your Aweber broadcasts (make sure you send them to a sign up page first to capture their name/email). Aweber provides the link for this. Brigitte M

When it’s time to sell something directly through Twitter keep the “3 to 1” Rule in mind:

3 Content-Only Tweets for Every 1 Sales Tweet!

When you do make a sales pitch be sure to connect it to something of value, such as:

“Check out this cool new video on the 5 deadly sins of making money online and how to avoid them. yourwebsite.com.” And then at the end of the video, show them your offer.

7. Re-tweet good content. Appreviated “RT”, you can pass along someone else's tweet to your followers. Simply type in RT and then the @ symbol followed directly by the person's username.

Basic Tips & Tricks

Twitter Etiquette:

§     If someone follows you, follow them back.

§     If a follower replies to your tweet, respond back to them. Foster the dialogue.

§     Never type in ALL CAPS. It's like yelling. Most people don't like to be yelled at.

§     Be cautious about giving away too much personal information. For example, this would not be a good idea: ”Woo hoo can't wait for Disneyworld vacation Jan 10 to 18 when my home at 1234 Main St. will be completely empty!”

Intermediate Strategies

As often as possible you should have your Twitter content also posted on your blog or website. Include a link in your Twitter post that directs people to the content posted on your site. Many times people will post content that links to the original source instead of copying it to their own blog (make sure you are not infringing on a copyright!). There are downsides to this, though:

§     You won’t get credit for the quality back links from Twitter which boosts your site’s Google rankings.

§     Your followers won’t be directed back to your blog or website where they have an opportunity to learn more about you.

Remember, the goal is to “WOW” them and then eventually introduce them to your product, business or service. What better place to do that than on your site? We suggest that you always include a link at the bottom of your website that offers a free mini course (video, audio) on something related to your product, business or service in exchange for their contact information. This gives you the ability to create interest, foster goodwill, and sink the hook a little more.

After your Twitter followers have opted in to your email list you are then able to “back end” them with a one-time product/service purchase offer, redirect them to an offer, email them a promotion, or call them. It just depends on how much information you request and how you choose to proceed.

Advanced Marketer

Get mobile with Twitter. Most smart phones will allows you to post content and pictures directly from your phone.

Conduct keyword research with the ”hash tag”, the number sign (#), followed by a keyword. Hash tags are used to group tweets into categories. Twitter users who click on a hash tag within a tweet will be directed to a page listing all tweets about this topic.

Tools & Resources

§     www.snipurl.com (Free) Use this to track how many people click and link you post. It will help you see if what you are posting is interesting. It also “shortens” the URL you are posting so it fits easier in Twitter posts.

§     www.search.twitter.com (Free) Use this to track what people are saying to you or about you.

§     www.twitpic.com (Free) You can easily use this to send pictures through Twitter. Log in with your Twitter username and password.

§     www.tweetdeck.com (Free) Use this to sort your follows and followers into categories and generally manage things easier.

§     www.ping.fm (Free) Use this to post to all your Social Media accounts with one push of a button. It will save you lots of time logging into multiple accounts.

§     www.hootsuite.com (Free) Gives you a complete overview of you Twitter account. Customize with different columns. You can also just like from ping.fm post to most of your Social Media accounts with one push.

§     http://www.twellow.com (Free) A bit like yellow pages a directory we have here in UK.  You can browse by category and add people in same category. You can also view and delete those not following you back and add those following you. 

The Conspiracy Against Your Money

Watch this short video and get the “inside scoop”.

The “Conspiracy” revealed:

• Why what’s really happening in the economy is intentionally not being reported on the evening news.

• How the money in your retirement accounts is “quietly” being hijacked every day and how you can put an end to it NOW…

• Why the biggest risk in years ahead is being financially uneducated and how the financial industry is “cleverly” exploiting those who are uneducated about money…

• How a $50 Trillion “transfer of wealth” is about to move from the uninformed to the informed and how you can be part of the latter group…

An elite group of former insiders are breaking their silence and exposing this invisible “conspiracy” once and for all, while providing never before seen solutions to those who are ready to take a stand and take back their financial futures. Don’t be the last to see this… THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST YOUR MONEY.

Stop the Conspiracy Against Your Money Today!!!

Email Marketing – Is It Part of Your Marketing Strategy?

There are many voices out there today, each one clambering for our attention. In our home based business, we get bombarded daily with offers that we are told we just can’t refuse! Each one offers their best marketing strategy and/or courses, which if you will just simply buy it; it would literally set you financially free! Ever been there?

Well, that’s not what I’m going to do here!! We’re going to be talking about one subject: Email Marketing and email marketing strategies. Clearly there are more marketing strategies than email marketing. The fact is, there are many different marketing strategies out there, and we have many choices, but you have to decide which ones you want to implement. A strategy that has worked well for me and other internet marketers is to start with two, maybe 3 marketing strategies. Get very familiar with those, and make sure they are working for you. Don’t let anything or anyone sidetrack you. Stick to your guns. Once you have those mastered, move on to the next 2 or 3, but don’t abandon the original 2 or 3.

There are many marketing strategies, and I’ll name a few, such as:

• Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yuwie, Friendfeed, Squidoo, etc

• Articles – Ezine, Articlebase, BetterNetworker, etc

• Press Releases – FreepressRelease.com, 24-7pressrelease.com, PRWeb.com

• Videos – You Tube, Traffic Geyser, Camtasia, etc

• Blogging – WordPress, Blogger, Digg, etc

• Forums – Warrior Forum, Google and Yahoo forums, etc

• Email – Viral Host, AWeber, List Bandit, List Joe, Viral URL, etc

There is a myth floating around out there that I want to address right now, and that is this: There is a common misconception by many people nowadays that the internet is too competitive, and that a newbie [slang word for a newcomer to the internet] cannot possibly hope to succeed running against the big dogs, or the more seasoned internet marketers.

Nothing could be further from the truth! There are many ways of making money online and so many opportunities and niches to take advantage of. And the bottom line is this: there are constantly new people coming online, and new people looking for business opportunities. The key is to find something you are interested in, have a passion about, and begin to market in that niche.

This is not about niche marketing, and at this juncture I’m not going into how to find your niche and finding the right keywords to market your niche or product. There are plenty of articles and blogs out there about that.

You can find plenty of articles and blogs about all the different marketing strategies, but what I’m going to focus on here is email marketing. Email marketing is a key part of any marketing plan, but where that falls in priority for you is totally dependant on what your marketing strategies might be.

I’m going to assume that you already have your list [if you don’t contact me, and I will help you with that, or point you in the right direction]. Email marketing lists are important, but maintaining them and keeping them up to date is even more important.

In email marketing, your reputation is important, more so online than offline. Both are important, but most of us reading this are trying to build a home based business through an online presence. We build and develop our online reputation through social media engagements, blog posts, press releases, articles, forums, videos and etc. Our reputation actually is created by our readers, and if we continue to supply them with valuable content, our reputation grows.

When it comes to building our reputation in social media, it is important to not bombard your friends and followers with just links to your site. Several times throughout the day is okay, but provide valuable content, such as positive quotes, links to videos that can help build their business, etc. A whole article could be written just on this subject, and many have been written.

Our online reputation is what makes our email deliverable! That’s right; our reputation is what helps get our emails opened. If our reputation has become tarnished because of some negative posting on a forum or a negative blog, it will definitely affect email deliverability. If people on our list view us negatively, they tend to blacklist us, and now the email goes into the spam box instead of the inbox. That will have a direct impact on your bottom line.

Here are 7 tips that will help get your emails delivered.

Tip#1: Manage and Maintain Your Online (and Overall) Reputation

a) Can’t say enough about this – it is completely within your control!

Tip#2: Get Opt-In Permission

a) You have to provide options to your subscribers to allow them to change their subscriber preferences. Subscribers have to have the option somewhere in your email to opt-out if they so choose and it should be plainly visible.

Tip#3: Recipients Expect Frequent and Valuable Content

a) I get some emails on a daily basis, and one even sends between four and six per day. However, I always read them, because invariably they provide good and valuable content. Actually, two or three times a week is sufficient, and there is even some thought out there that once a week is enough. It really depends on your list and your product.

b) The bottom line – whatever your frequency, it has to contain relevant and valuable content. If not, they will opt-out or drop it into the spam folder!

Tip#4: Use a Recognizable “From” Address

a) I’ve received email from online marketers where it was kind of obscure as to where the email was coming from. There are plenty of email providers out there (see list above) so there is no excuse to not have a recognizable “from” address.

b) Make sure your subscribers have a way to reach you. If your “from” address in your email is not a reachable address, provide one somewhere in your email. I prefer to provide mine in the signature of my email.

Tip#5: Design the Header of Your Email to Deliver Your Message

a) This is the first thing they see when they open their mailbox! If you know anything about copywriting, you know that the header is the most important item to getting your email opened and read. This can be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful email campaigns.

b) Let’s say you aren’t good at writing headlines – there are plenty of sources out there where you can find someone that is. Go to elance.com, post what you want done and you’ll find someone that can do it for you. Just be sure to check them out thoroughly and get some good verifiable references. For as little as $200 you can get someone to write you a great email campaign with a great header.

Tip#6: Spam – Who Defines It

a) Does it really matter who defines spam? Absolutely!! What comes to mind when you think of spam? Most times the response I get is “It’s sending unsolicited emails.” Really, is that it???!!! If that’s what comes to mind, then you definitely need to familiarize yourself with what spam really is!! It can mean the difference between getting your email opened (delivered) or not.

b) CAN-SPAM laws were created and enforced by the FTC [Federal Trade Commission]. What is CAN-SPAM? The acronym CAN-SPAM derives from the bill's full name: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003.

c) ISP (Internet Service Providers), as well as the FTC have a large part in determining what is or is not spam. ISPs do not rely on CAN-SPAM to define spam. Their contention is that spam is first and foremost defined and determined by the user. If, for example, a user determines the email is spam by putting it in their spam folder, or in their blocked senders list, or just simply not opening it, then the ISPs consider it spam – whether or not it adheres to each and every rule of CAN-SPAM.

d) Stay current on the CAN-SPAM rules and make sure that every email campaign complies and adheres to those rules. Be sure that your email recipients can opt-out easily. Remind your email recipients of the email address they should use to request information or if they have any questions.

Tip#7: Relevance and Continuity

a) When the potential client and/or email recipient clicks on your PPC ad or a link that you provided in your email, it is imperative that what you had in your email and/or ad is where the link goes to. For example, if you are advertising something about weight loss, make sure that when they get to your site, you are actually promoting weight loss, and not something irrelevant – like, let’s say skiing!! Remember….it’s your reputation. If it doesn’t connect or is irrelevant, it’ll make the customer want consider future ads irrelevant and they’ll avoid clicking on them.

b) When that happens too often, search engine algorithms will then label your ads as irrelevant, suppressing the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and PPC conversions. SEM is only relevant if you have a website.

The last thing I want to cover (and certainly not the least) is search engine marketing. Search engine marketing can and does have a great impact on your online reputation, i.e., your email deliverability. What is search engine marketing? Glad you asked!! Search engine marketing is the performance of marketing or advertising your web site through search engines, like Google, Yahoo or Bing. Search engine marketing (SEM) may consist of one or more of the following components:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - Google, Yahoo and Bing [formerly MSN] crawl through content of your article, blog, website, etc., and look for valuable and relevant content. SEO is what gets you in the top 10 positions on the left side of the page when it is opened up. It is referred to as generic listings.

· Pay Per Click (PPC) - On the right side of the page you will see little boxes or ads, and those are what are considered PPC [Pay Per Click]. Every time you click on those, the advertiser pays Google, Yahoo or Bing (the amount depends what search engine you are using). You bid the amount you are willing to pay per click. The more you bid, the more likely your ad will appear higher in the search engine results. Google Adwords has implemented an additional aspect. Your ads will rank based on the relevancy or importance that Google places on your site, which is very difficult to manipulate.

· Pay For Inclusion (PFI) - What is PFI? It is a search engine marketing technique that involves paying for a Web site listing in a Web directory, for example Yahoo Directory [not same as Yahoo Search] or Verizon's SuperPages. The bottom line is you are paying to be included in a Web directory. In addition to search engines, like Google, Yahoo and Bing, various other directories also exist on the web. These directories can either be general in nature or can be related to a specific topic. You can get free listings in some online directories, like DMOZ. However most directories now charge for a listing. Yahoo describes its directory as: Subject-based directory listing websites in a wide range of topics, from arts, entertainment, and society and culture, to science, education, and health.

So is Search Engine Marketing Important?

It really depends on whether you decide to make search engine marketing a part of your marketing and advertising strategy. If you don't have a Web site or ever plan to have one for your business, you certainly wouldn't need search engine marketing. But in today's business climate, it’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting or having a website, as nearly all business are expected to have a website and most do.

Search engine marketing is used as a means to get traffic to your website. This again can be done through your emails with links to your website, or through SEO, PPC, or PFI. This then should ideally lead to getting new customers and adding to your home business revenues.

When compared to other means of advertising and marketing, search engine marketing can be very cost effective. For instance, you could implement some SEO techniques on your own. Organic search rankings are free, so if you can move yourself up in the rankings, your traffic should increase, which, in turn, should increase your home business revenues.

In the same way, PPC can be very cost effective. Since you can set limits on how much you'll pay per click and how much you'll pay per day. By doing that, it's fairly easy to keep your costs in line. As previously mentioned, some Web directories like DMOZ allow free listings, while others can cost as little as $25 - $30 per year.

In closing, it is vital to your success to keep your lists up-to-date so that you can optimize your response rates, your conversions, and your overall email campaign performance. With all the spammers and fraudulent email senders out there, it has created a lot of mistrust. So I can’t stress enough how important it is to consistently update your email list, review your list often to establish which email recipients haven’t opened or clicked through for the last six months. Make them another compelling offer, and if they still don’t open them, you might want to try one more time, but then take them off your list.

To your success in getting your email opened!