If you look at yourself and what you know and do, and compare it to all the knowledge and opportunity available in the world, it’s probably a pretty small chunk. There are so many new avenues in business that are open to you; you just have to be open to them as well. While most people resist change, you may find that a lot of these avenues will not only make you more successful, you may just like them more than what you do now.

Willingness to change makes you a better investment to customers and clients. If they only see you as a one-trick pony, they may come to you for that one thing, but that’s about it. But if people see you as adaptable, they’ll have more faith in your ability to keep up with the changing world and be more likely to take a chance on you, or come to you with new business opportunities that might be something you haven’t tried before.

In today’s business market, technology is one of the best resources you can have. And the technology available is changing at a remarkable rate. It used to be that if you were out your business for ten or twenty years, you’d get behind and probably couldn’t go back without learning a lot of new stuff. Now, if you’re gone for just six months, you could be totally out of date. While you don’t need to get the latest or most expensive gadget, you do need to make regular changes and upgrades to the equipment you’re using.

Some of us are just more resistant to change than others; it’s just engrained in our DNA. But just because you don’t like change doesn’t mean you need to be left behind. Small changes can make big differences too.

Instead of turning your life upside down, just start by looking in different directions. Attend a seminar about new ideas or technologies, subscribe to a new newsletter that you didn’t before. By themselves, these are pretty small changes, but when you do them, you might find options of bigger changes that won’t be too hard either.

Don’t change too much. Warren Buffet is one of the world’s richest men. He got there by being fairly resistant to technological change. He invests mostly in stable businesses like insurance and food, rather than more unstable things like dot-coms. The reason? Just because something is new, doesn’t mean it’s good.

It’s always a good idea to research anything before getting involved with it, and to never put all your eggs in one basket – no matter how big an opportunity it is. If you change smart, then you’ll likely find yourself in a better situation.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

Try New Things!

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Here are some do’s to remember when deciding:

• Make your domain name easy to remember. When people remember your web site’s name, they’re much more likely visit and come back again. Our brains process tons of information everyday, and most of it we forget. Just because someone’s friend tells them about a great web site, doesn’t mean they’re going to remember the name when they get home to check it out.
• Make your domain name related to your site’s content. When you start choosing your domain name, the best place to start is with a few keywords related to your topic. Take these keywords and try to turn them into a name. While you might be able to find an awesome catchy word or phrase, however if it’s not related to your topic, people aren’t going to make the connection and remember it.
• Make your domain name easy to type. There are certain letters that are just harder to type than others. While this might not make the biggest difference, try to avoid letters like q and p. You’ll also want to avoid difficult letter combinations. If it doubt, have a friend who isn’t the best typist try to type in the domain name. If one takes a lot longer or is harder for them, it’s probably best to choose the easiest one.

Avoid these common domain name mistakes:

• Names that are hard to spell.
• Misspellings. If you misspell a common word, people are probably not going to type your domain name with the correct. Correct spellings are easier to remember. If they don’t get it on the first try, they may try again, but more likely they’ll either find another site with the correct spelling, or simply give up.
• Names including numbers and hyphens. While it might be clever, it’s hard for people to remember, and it’s hard to spread the site name by word of mouth. stuff-4-u.com
• Names that are too close to a popular website. Sure, you might get the traffic from misspellings, but that’s not going to be enough to sustain a quality web site. Watch out for trade marked names, and don’t pick one that’s similar. Once your site gets popular the company that owns the trademark could demand you stop using the domain name.

If you’re stuck finding a good name, try going to a site that sells domain names and entering your keywords. Often, sites will help you find related names that are available. And that way, you don’t have to worry about trying to buy a name that is already taken from someone who doesn’t want to give it up.

Last but not least, if you are a direct seller or affiliate maketer sure you don’t choose a domain name that isn’t allowed by the company you are working with.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

Choosing the Right Domain Name

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Are you a solo-preneur whose business would benefit from being online, but due to cost, time and effort involved, lack of online knowledge, or just plain fear have put off making it happen? 1stVA pledges to get you online, quickly, stresslessly, and affordably!

In this economy, you can no longer afford to lose clients because of a simple lack of technology, and just one company is offering you this comprehensive package to ensure that you get your business online – in a big way – quickly and affordably, and without second-guessing yourself.

Donna and her team will show you how, in one easy step! You can have your business online in a month, with a website that actually makes you money (instead of just looking pretty), your own blog, shopping cart, online media – everything you need – for one affordable investment!

Not only will they get your business online but you will be self-sufficient and able to manage your own online presence! They not only set you up and guide you, they provide you with in depth instructions on how to maintain it all yourself, for a fraction of the price you would pay for ongoing web updates and maintenance!

So if you are new to the internet, lack the time or knowledge, don’t miss this opportunity! In one month, you can watch your business, and your profits, take off!

This is the Virtual Assistant team I use so I highly recommend you at least look at this or the other their services, you won’t find a more competent or professional virtual support team!

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

Get Your Business Online In One Month

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The basic idea of affiliate marketing is to set up your web page as a billboard for online marketers. The vendors pay you according to how much business they receive from you, rather than paying a flat fee. This makes good business sense for vendors, because they don’t pay you if there aren’t any sales from your referrals. However, it’s also great for you as an affiliate, because you can earn a substantial income with very little effort if you have a popular web site.

The above not only helps you keep your overhead costs down, but can also help you easily make some quick money to get your business going without having to make a large investment. With affiliate marketing, the payment you receive generally depends on what’s being sold. Vendors pay for a variety of actions, some of these are; price per click, price per sale, a percentage of the sale, or a price per business lead. It all depends on what the vendor is selling and how they choose to run their business.

For vendors offering affiliate programs, the most important factor is your affiliates. While it’s important to keep your customers happy, keep in mind if you don’t keep your affiliates happy, then you probably won’t have any customers. This means not only paying well in a timely manner and giving other incentives, but also establishing and maintaining a good working relationship with your affiliates. Here are some more tips on what makes a successful affiliate program.

How do you find affiliates and/or marketers? Well, there are endless numbers of affiliates willing to promote products out there, as well as numerous businesses looking to have their products promoted. Probably the most difficult part is sifting through all these people to find the quality sites and vendors you’re looking for. You can always find websites on your own and approach them about an affiliate program, but it’s usually faster and more effective to use services specifically designed for setting up web page managers and marketers.

Some vendors automatically set you up as an affiliate when you purchase their products or services. These are my personal favorite types of affiliate programs because I actually use the item/service, know how it works and if it provides good value for my visitors. This way I can recommend it with confidence. All of my recommended resources are this type of program.

There are a variety of types of links affiliates use to promote products, you can read about The 3 Most Common Linking Methods of Affiliate Programs here. Once someone clicks on your links, they can be taken to a variety of places. If you’re promoting a web site, you can link them to the main page. If it’s a specific product, you can link them to the product page so they get exactly what they want, or you can connect them to the storefront so they have a variety of products to choose from. Where it goes depends on exactly what’s being marketed.

You may find it takes a bit of time and effort to get started, but once you do, it can be very profitable and fairly simple to maintain your affiliate programs.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

How Do Affiliate Programs Work?

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Small reports and other digital information products can be very profitable or they can be used to promote your products or personal expertise. You simply create the report, tip sheet etc. once and each customer or potential customer simply downloads a copy of it. The best thing is you don’t have to pay printers’ fees, postage, shipping, or any other production fees.

Once you have created a small report, you can sell or give it away over and over again. Keep in mind that you will have to promote your report. Unlike an e-book, a small report only needs to be around 5 to 15 pages. You can easily write that many pages within a week or less. You do not need any prior writing experience but you should have good grammar and language skills. If you do not have the skills or don’t like writing, you can always hire a ghostwriter to create your report for you.

Special reports can be written on any subject imaginable, then given away online to promote products. Write your report about anything that is closely related to your main product. You could present a problem that can be solved by your product, or it could detail new ways of using it or how to get the most out of it.

It is important to provide value, this is information that your potential customers can use and will enjoy reading. If you write a report that is just an advertisement for your product in disguise, your readers will see through it.

How do you know if your report will provide your customer with real value? Regina Baker asks the tough question, “Are You Selling Lemons?” to help you answer that question. She makes some great points which can help you determine if your report has value and if you should sell it or give it away.

Give your potential customers something that they can use, they will be much more inclined to listen to your message which greatly increases the possibility that they will buy your product.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

How To Provide Your Customers With Real Value

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1. The number one biggest mistake is not having a marketing plan. What is a marketing plan? It is the way that you will go about promoting or advertising your product or service. Just like you wouldn’t begin to get serious about your business without a definite plan, it is best not to approach the marketing of your products without a plan. Remember, when a product is promoted well, your sales increase.

2. Putting all of your eggs in one basket. This old saying seems to work in a lot of situations and marketing is one of them. You may find a strategy like email marketing is successful for you. But, don’t base your entire marketing plan on that one single strategy. In order to grow, diversification is the answer. When you don’t explore all your marketing options, your business will become stunted over time.

3. Ignoring the value of networking. For business, networking is invaluable. It’s the way that entrepreneurs get together to share ideas and pick each other’s brains. During these “meetings of the minds”, partnerships are struck. You can find someone who will complement your business with a new idea. Joint ventures mean more profits for everyone.

4. Working as a force of one. All businesses need support in some form. There are just not enough hours in the day to do it all and still make money. Outsourcing can be your best friend. You can outsource for practically anything that you need done. Hire someone to design your web page, answer your emails, and organize your invoices. When these tasks are taken care of, more time can be devoted to marketing the products in new and creative ways.

5. Cutting back on your marketing budget. When business is slow, you can panic unnecessarily. You want to save as much money as you can until things pick up again. Since business is down, you might decide that you don’t need to advertise as no one is buying. That is the worst mistake you can ever make. This is the time to use your extra time to beef up that marketing plan to appeal to a wider net of customers.

Have you already made some or all of these five big marketing mistakes? Well don’t worry, the good news is… it’s something that’s easily fixed. Start again, but this time with the knowledge of what not to do.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

Five Big Marketing Mistakes

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I tried all the usual tricks; turned my computer off, unplugged my modem, my wireless router and even the phone line but nothing helped. I resorted to plugging into my computer’s internal modem with a very long phone cord and using dial up, it worked just as good or better than my ADSL had been! So I’m on the phone with my Internet service provider… they have a fancy voice recognition navigation system when you call customer support. I think it’s cool but I imagine not everyone would feel the same way. Any ways after three phone calls they decide to send out a technician (fancy name for repair person) who quickly discovered that their 5 year old modem was the problem. The technician replaced it with a lovely brand new one and everything works just like it should.

Can you see me doing the Happy Dance? Wow, I have blazing speeds again! Now I’m asking myself, “why didn’t I call them sooner to complain?” I love high speed ADSL when it works! I can watch videos, have 20 or more pages open in my tabs, respond to my instant messages, twitter with my Internet marketing friends and reply to my emails. More importantly, I can update my web sites and add more content. I might even visit Facebook this weekend…

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

A Major Frustration For The Internet Marketer

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1. I truly enjoy my relaxed daily routine, being my own boss and deciding what I want or need to do each day. I guess I’m not the type of person who likes to be ordered around and I know I don’t like pressure and stress!
2. I enjoy the challenge of internet marketing, learning news things, putting them into action, testing the results and then trying to improve them. It’s my weekly excitement! I know what you’re thinking!
3. I really enjoy helping people, nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing you have a happy customer or seeing a team member “get it” and grow their business. How cool is that?
4. I can put my family first, my husband and children. Even though my kids are grown they still need me, (sometimes) working at home means I can enjoy spending time with them and be there for them when ever I want. It also means I can put taking care of myself at the top of my list.
5. I can live greener and cheaper! Both of these things are important to me.
6. Did I mention I don’t like pressure and stress? Well that includes financial worries as well so I’m very grateful for the income because with out it we’d be struggling at times. Not fun!

This is a Blog Meme for WAHMs started by my friend Kelley who says,“This Is Why I Love To Work at Home” If you are a work at home Mom then tag, you’re next so join in the fun and tell us, “Why you love to work at home!” Don’t forget to link back to this page.

I’m going to tag Donna at 1stVA and a couple of my twitter friends Jalapeno at And Baby Makes 5 and GeekMommy. I look forward to reading why everyone else loves to work at home too.

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

I Love To Work At Home

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I tried all the usual tricks; turned my computer off, unplugged my modem, my wireless router and even the phone line but nothing helped. I resorted to plugging into my computer’s internal modem with a very long phone cord and using dial up, it worked just as good as my ADSL had been! So I’m on the phone with my Internet service provider… they have a fancy voice recognition navigation system when you call customer support. I think it’s cool but I imagine not everyone would feel the same way. Any ways after three phone calls they decide to send out a technician (fancy name for repair person) who quickly discovered that their 5 year old modem was the problem. The technician replaces it with a lovely brand new one and everything works just like it should.

Can you see me doing the Happy Dance? Wow, I have blazing speeds again! Now I’m asking myself, “why didn’t I call them sooner to complain?” I love high speed ADSL when it works! I can watch videos, have 20 or more pages open in my tabs, respond to my instant messages, twitter with my Internet marketing friends and reply to my emails. More importantly, I can update my web sites and add more content. I might even visit Facebook this weekend…

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

A Major Frustration For The Internet Marketer

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One of the biggest advantages of putting your direct sales or home based business on the internet are the many different ways that you can utilize it to market your business. Direct sellers and small business owners have a lot of different options when it comes to getting exposure for their products and gaining new customers. To be honest, running a business is hard work and there is a learning process. So how are you going to learn all this stuff with out breaking the bank?

By taking advantage of the free internet marketing training my friends Alice and Mila provide, it’s self-guided training which means you can pick and choose the tutorials you need. If you are just getting started online, I strongly suggest you to go through them all. Alice and Mila are real business women and they want to be sure that you make the most of your online marketing experience. You’ll find that they cover a variety of important topics including; determining your target market, picking a domain name, copy writing tips, your mailing list and how to get traffic.

The internet provides you with many opportunities to build and promote your home business, just don’t build your online business blindly… get the free step-by-step help you need right here. I promise, you’ll thank me for this later!

Melody Thacker jumps out of bed every morning, excited about the bright shiny new day, and the endless possibilities it holds. Her passion is helping others with her direct sales business.

See How Easily You Can Learn Internet Marketing

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