Back to Basics...

I just read a blog entry that states that PHP makes you cooler…

Really?

In my opinion, and I have been around quite a while – as a business you are not in the market of being cooler by using the latest and greatest programming language. You are in the business of being efficient and protecting the bottom line.

Let me explain, back in the good old days (about a decade ago) – when I was learning and developing my first websites it was all straight html – not only that but one had to be careful about images because they had to be itty-bitty and we didn’t have the compression techniques that we have now.

Once - I went out in the world of business – website development and design, I realized that there was so much more to building a website than the design (flashing graphics and programming gizmos). The design is important but so are the other crucial elements.

Being search engine optimized, having a way to capture a visitor that comes to the site, being able to market your website by keywords and other such means. Those are the most important things.

Making your website professional looking is something I am naturally talented at and is very important – but making it work for your business - a marketing piece is really one of the most important things of all.

This is something no website designer/developer knows without experiencing the real world of Web Development – Search engine marketing and a host of other business related subjects.

So I Wrote the Article Because?

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen business owners – being horns waggled into putting up a site that is done completely in PHP– when they didn’t need it.

Not only is it a lot more expensive, but it also will cost you a pretty penny when you need to find another developer to work with you.

Nine times out of 10 times - if you are a small business, and you are being told that you need to have a PHP site, you had better turn around and run the other way as fast as you can.

No PHP doesn’t make you cool when you don’t need it.

Why should you believe me? Well, for starters I have been in business for over a decade and been quite successful.

Think about it...

1. Understand that your website is a marketing tool for your business, as that it will be changing and growing according to your business needs and direction.

Making sure that your website can be easily updated and changed is so important. Most businesses need to watch the bottom line and don’t have a mountain of cash to throw away. It will cost you just as much if not more to update this type of website, then it did to build it in the first place. If you need to bring in another web developer, they may have to come in and re-create everything, especially if your original web person wrote a lot of their own script.

2. Also I don’t care what they say I have been in this business a long time, and I know it is much more difficult to be SEO (search engine optimization) when you have these types of websites. The spiders that search engines send out don’t always have a way to index the keywords when you have a lot of scripting that they don’t understand - if your programmer/web developer doesn’t really understand what it takes to get the website search engine ready you are up a creek without a paddle.

Unless you have tons of money for paid marketing and advertising, and/or you are someone like Coke, Pepsi or Nike, who already has brand recognition – you will have poured buckets of money without getting the results you expect.

In some cases, you may find – you are looking at an empty coffer, and you are no where near reaping the benefits.

I am sure I will get a lot of flack from the die hard programmers that believe that everything has to be a PHP page…

But honestly – you can insert PHP script into your basic web pages. Don’t get me wrong there may be time you would want some PHP pages. Why use PHP?

Put to proper use PHP can be a fantastic scripting language. PHP is a scripting language that is often embedded into HTML to add function HTML alone can't do.

PHP allows you to collect, process and utilize data to create a desired output. In short, it let's you interact with your pages.

If you need to embed dynamic text into a static website, you’ll find PHP extremely useful. It was designed for this, and it excels at it.

PHP is also very useful for integrating web pages with databases. Perhaps you will want a PHP page as a sub-page for dynamic content (text, graphics, video’s etc). Make sure you plan out the purpose of your website before you decide – you do not want to be one of those business owners that is sorry they threw away all that money – and feels they have to get a new website, so they can get back to basics!

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Create More Success in Your Life! Things That Work…

1. Hire experts to do what you are not good at!

If you are an expert in your field and really good at what you do – why waste your time trying to figure out how to do things you

a. Don’t know...

b. Are not good at...

c. Don’t have time for?

For example, I love designing websites and marketing materials, as an artist I just love it. I happened to be born with an artistic gene, I am an expert at designing and developing websites that are marketing machines. I have been in this industry for over a decade - I have experience – I have learned so much I am a great consultant. I can draw up marketing plans etc.

Programming is not my talent and it is not my niche…

I tried when I first started and found I just am not the programming type – it took me days to accomplish what it takes a programmer an hour to do. Being in this business so long I have some very good connections. When I have to have some heavy programming done I don't do it myself I hire the best… Saves me time, stress and ultimately saves me money.

2. Prepare – have a plan.

I have seen so many people just decide one day to have an online business and they don’t do the preparation needed to really have a solid foundation. You need to write out a business plan – if you don’t know how just write out what your goals are and a detailed map of how you are going to get to your goal.

When you get to the point you need a website – what type do you need?

a. Do you want to use you website to market your business?

b. Do you have a product or services you want to sell?

C. Do you want to put up a portfolio?

Would a blog be what you need or do you need both…

You get my point.

3. Have the right image!

If you truly want to develop a successful business, a solid foundation is one of the most important things you can do. It will be the springboard where all your success will come from.

What do I mean by “The Right Image”?

Well that will depend a bit on what it is you are doing. First your business does need a website – I may sound like a broken record but – it is true!

People use the internet as a research tool to learn more about businesses in their area – or around the world. Secondly the website, your business cards and all marketing materials must be branded and attract your target market.

If you are in a business that deals with children and parents it will look quite a bit different than a business that is for the Adult – Professional world.

Branding means to have all marketing materials, website, ads etc have the same images, colors, flavor, and feeling that you want to portray to your customers/clients.

Last but certainly not least – when meeting people in person make sure you make a good impression – dress so you look like a successful business owner – be polite and always remember you never know who it is you are talking to – it may be the person that will open the door to a flood of clients.

3. Be prepared to work.

Business is hard work – it is fun and challenging as well - but it is not going to be a piece of cake. Be prepared to put the time in especially in the beginning when you are trying to get established. Realize that when you own your own business you will be responsible for the success or failure.

Failure comes when someone is not ready to put in the work involved in getting the business off the ground. Failure comes in when you give up - because things are not going as you thought they would.

Remember: The difference between success and failure is that the successful person, will stumble and fall at times but they get up dust off the disappointment and figures out a way to solve the problem.

The unsuccessful person stumbles or falls and doesn't get up - decides life is against them "so why try?".

I don’t care what you have heard – if you think you will be making big bucks with very little time invested think again.

4. Networking the back bone of any business – network!

I am sure you have heard the saying “it isn’t what you know but who you know” – I believe that is only half true – it is “what you know and who you know”. That is the beauty of going to networking events or accessing web 2.0 sites and getting to know people on-line. It really is amazing what you can accomplish when you are networking with the right people.

5. Money is made and lost through relationships…

If you only have your eyes on you and what others can do for you, than you my friend will find that you will be on the losing end of #5

6. Sell – Sell – Sell

A lot of people really have a negative image of a sells person – it congers up someone that is insincere at best and a crook at worst. Nothing can be farther from the truth. A good sells person believes in what she/he has to sell and considers it something that will make that persons life a little better.

When you are authentic – then you believe in your product and service. When you believe in what you are doing than it is just natural that you will be excited and enthusiastic about getting the word out to every one that can benefit.

Have you ever heard “Your mouth is your business it should always be opened”? Funny saying but it is really true – please don’t go overboard and bore people to tears by just talking about you and you business – but where appropriate talk!

Find solutions for people that need your expertise. It’s all about balance – and (where appropriate) don’t forget to ask for the sell.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Are you being penalized for duplicate content??

I have been hearing a lot about being penalized for article duplication on the internet. I started to really get concerned a lot of the articles I submit to e-zine articles get published on various site.

I know how important back links are to search engine position and have always used this method as part of my marketing strategy.

I am sure a lot of you do too…

But what about the duplication penalties that I have heard about from search engines?

Is it really worth it or not?

I found an article that really clarifies the dilemma and honestly gave me a sigh of relief – I hope it does the same for you. This article makes total sense.

http://tinyurl.com/article-duplication

Keep on submitting articles for submission in article marketing forums it is a great way to get rankings on search engines …

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Blow Out Price for Royalty Free Photos!

I have decided that when I run across a good deal (this is a great deal) I would share it with you. There are a lot of places to buy images some you have to pay per image – some are more expensive than others. So many times new online businesses are using images they do not have permission to - and a lot of the free sites have a written agreement that you will use them for your own personal use not for business advertising purposes. This can open your business up to law suites and other copy right infringement problems - and believe me when you become successful people will notice...

Because I am a designer, I buy subscriptions to websites that allow me to download royalty free images (unlimited). I never know from month to month what images I may need or what type of clients I will have.

I just became aware of a fantastic sale www.iclipart.com this service offers - clipart - photo's - fonts - sounds.

They have a smaller inventory than a few of the other site I get photo's from but for $29.99 a year (that is only $ 2.50 a month) unlimited downloads and the images are royalty free in addition to that ... How can you beat it!

Who know how long they will have this sale?

To be honest with you I do have a favorite, and it is clipart.com – it has a Hugh variety of great photos and clip art (so don’t let the name fool you) along with free fonts and sounds…

Great for those multimedia projects that you are trying to finish up.

If you are in the graphic design field and need very high resolution images you may want to go to photos.com – much more expensive but when you are in the print industry you need a much higher quality graphic. These pictures are much less expensive than buying them piece by piece…

These photos are not just your standard stock photos – large formats and professionally done. Clipart.com has professional looking – unusual pictures.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Are Your Profits Being Stolen Out From Under You?

I have had an interesting few months, I am constantly learning – as we all are in the Internet world.

One client I have been working with – had developed a training manual and threw her life experience into this book. She had published this manual as a hard back and is even teaching classes in her industry. Being in the next phase of development my client felt like she would like to give the opportunity of her expertise to anyone who desired a rewarding life in the travel industry.

Walla, we put her book together into an e-book and developed a landing page for her business.

When Cherie asked me “what can I do to protect the book from being passed around or pirated” I was surprised – I had never in all my years in business been asked that question...

I knew how to password protect a book and stop anyone from being able to alter the contents. I had never really been concerned about the material being sent from one place to another.

Was I being naive? I had always dealt with books that had affiliate links and the authors of these e-books really didn't mind passing the book around or even giving it out for free.

This training manual (as my client so elegantly put it) was 15 years of her life and resources. It was a lot of hard work and tears to pull everything together...

It is her bread and butter. I finally understood..

How many of you have an e-product that you have slaved over and really need to protect from piracy? (click on CB Protect)

If you are into affiliate marketing you may be thinking well I want my book to go viral – I will make more money that way. That is fine – but if you are not an affiliate marketer, and you need to protect your property. What do you do?

On the other hand, even if you want to have affiliates – how do you protect them, so they get the commission they deserve?

Did you know..

4 out of 10 copies of software and e-books are pirated/stolen.

Only 17% of Internet users pay every time for the software they download.

70% of Internet users say they would not be likely to pay your full price for your software (when they can download them for free).

85 of Internet users feel the "tech. Industry" is so prosperous it doesn't really matter that they have unlicensed (stolen) software.

36% of Internet users don't even know it's illegal.

Over 2 billion was lost in 2002 for North America alone due to software piracy (over 13 billion worldwide).

These facts are based on the Global Piracy Studies conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance. Among other measures to determine these figures, IDC conducted more than 5600 interviews in 15 countries.

After learning these facts and doing some online research into the best possible service – that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. I have found a solution.

CB Protect. It protects e-books, and software downloads.

The Virtual Vault ^TM FORCES USERS OF YOUR PRODUCT TO PAY, OR THEY DON'T GET ACCESS. Your software or e-book simply will not open if they didn't buy it from you, even if they get a copy from a friend that bought from you.

The Virtual Vault ^TM even revokes access from refunded customers!

It is customizable and even works with Paypal and merchant accounts.

Bottom-line – if you have a product you want to protect – please check out this website.

Try it out for 30 days only a couple of dollars– you have nothing to lose...

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

10 Reasons You Are Not Rich...

Have you ever though why are they so well off? You say to yourself - if I just made the kind of money they do!! Think again here is an interesting article that will give you pause...

10 (More) Reasons You're Not Richby Jeffrey Strain

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Many people assume they aren't rich because they don't earn enough money. If I only earned a little more, I could save and invest better, they say.

The problem with that theory is they were probably making exactly the same argument before their last several raises. Becoming a millionaire has less to do with how much you make, it's how you treat money in your daily life.

The list of reasons you may not be rich doesn't end at 10. Caring what your neighbors think, not being patient, having bad habits, not having goals, not being prepared, trying to make a quick buck, relying on others to handle your money, investing in things you don't understand, being financially afraid and ignoring your finances.

More...

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Great Promotion.

Who says the universe doesn't deliver? OK I may be - counting my chickens before they are hatched but - I was just thinking I should buy an Ipod - nano when an announcment came about a great contest - and the prize is??? You guessed it an Ipod Nano!! If I use the word bloggeries in my blog - I get a chance t o win! So here it is... Bloggeries, bloggeries, bloggeries... One entry anyway... OK I will give you the link as well! By the way it is a great forum - you should sign-up! Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Twitter – What’s All the Fuss??

I have to tell you for some time now I have been reading everywhere - Twitter this and Twitter that.

I have also read comments like “I just don't see how Twitter is such a great tool” or “I don't have time for Twitter it is nonsensical”

I decided I had to try it out for myself, all the negative comments I have read are wrong as a matter of fact, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Twitter has actually gotten me in contacts with more people on an one to one basis than any other social networking tool...

It is faster and more effective than any other web 2.0 site, I have worked with. Don't get me wrong I have had great success on a number of sites but with Twitter it was pretty much instantaneous.

I decided to jump into Twitter a few weeks ago... I must admit in the beginning I really didn't get it – you basically blog 200 words at the most and follow people around – or they follow you around...

What's the Big Deal Right? WRONG, it is a BIG DEAL...

I must tell you as an extremely busy person myself – someone who spends my life developing websites and working on the Internet I have never seen anything with such fast straight forward results.

IF you are not on Twitter sign up now, be sure and put up your profile and a picture... add your links. Then start following people that are in your industry, or you would like to connect with.

It just takes a few minuets to write a comment – then answer some of your followers comments --- Pretty soon you're connecting with like minded people.

If you have signed up on Twitter and have not worked it shame on you!

If you put in just a few minutes a day commenting – posting links of your blog posts and other topics of interest – answer some of the people who you are following – you will see a boost in your network connections I guarantee it!

Anyone who does not believe in the power of Twitter, or doubts what I am saying needs to see this.

I made a fantastic connection on Twitter and the next thing I knew...

Well see for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/got-to-see

The proof is in the pudding!!

OK now Twitter away – and you will see how powerful it is!!

Don't forget to add me to your Twitter friends! http://twitter.com/pamelajacob

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Blog or Website? Which one do I need...

Many moons ago websites were the only thing that a business or person had to showcase his business or expertise (on the Internet).
Now with the advent and explosion of blogs many people have chosen to use blogs over websites
.
Depending on your business and what you are trying to achieve most businesses need both.

There are exceptions to every rule, however, using both will give you a big advantage over using one over the other.

What is the difference?

There is a big difference – a website is a carefully thought out and executed store (for lack of a better word). It is like a corporate office or an exclusive piece of property. The look and feel of the interfaces are branded to attract your perfect clients and to create an experience for the visitor. The domain name is an important piece of your branding as well and should be an extension of the business.

A blog on the other hand is more of a social networking site. A blog can brand you as the expert in a certain field or gradually help you to become a well known personality. It has constantly changing content and is made to interact with visitors.
It is like inviting someone into your home or to a coffee shop to chat or to tell them about things they find interesting or useful. A blog can have its own domain name but it is of less importance – that it be named a business name.

A website and a blog go together hand in hand.

Well built websites selling services and/or products will stay pretty static. While a blog will back link to your website and provide the communication so vital to keeping in touch with your clients and potential clients, it also helps push up you rankings on the search engines.

A website will provide stable communication – on task messages about your product and/or service as well as various other items such as online portfolio, testimonials, e-commerce store, ability to accept payment through merchant accounts, policy and warranty information etc. Anyone can set up a blog, sometimes it can be a challenge to make it look professional.

A website takes a lot more time, work and money. This works in your favor if you are trying to portray a successful image (or you are successful and want them to know that).

I hope this clears up your confusion – and helps sort out the debating; I see going on in cyberspace – to blog or not to blog:

Should I blog? (YES BLOG)

Is a website the same as a blog? (NO IT IS NOT).Do I need both? (MOST PROBABLY!)


Pamela Jacob - Artista Design
801-910-4825

Short and Sweet - Great HTML Reference

I don’t know how many of you do your own website if you are one of those people who – update your own website – or design your website you will love this tool!! Most people do not hand code anymore it is tedious and really quite time consuming – if you are one of those people this website will be invaluable to you. More than likely you use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) this would include – Dreamweaver, front page etc. Even then you will appreciate this website (even love it!). There are many times when creating a website using Dreamweaver, I have had to go into the code and change tags or tweak the code just to get the look I want. Well guess what – I found a wonderful website that helps you with all your .html codes… The link is below http://htmlplayground.com/ I am amazed at all the little (and big) treasures that you can find on the internet if you dig deep enough!! Pamela – Artista Design

Did you know?

I decided to do some house cleaning (on my computer) something that scares me to death simply because I know without a doubt I will throw something away that I need.

I don't know if you are like me, but I save 50 of the same thing in 20 different places just because I want to make sure it is safe…

Needless to say I have a lot of “junk” cluttering my computer…

While I was in the process of cleaning out my files, I ran across some notes I had taken while attending a seminar with a client. I thought I should share them with you.

Understanding the dynamics – of internet users – will really help enlighten you – it gives insight into what type of people buy on the internet – it will prevent you from becoming frustrated because you will know certain things are normal.

Last but not least it will show you why you should you should have your business on the internet and which direction to go.

Understanding Internet Users – learn from statistics…

Why should you have your business online?

Online retailers are acquiring new customers at a 15% annual rate versus 2% for brick and mortar stores. --Deloitte & Touche USA, November 2006

U.S. consumers are expected to increase their spending at online retail stores from $877 per consumer in 2005 to $1,512 per consumer by 2009. --eMarketer, May 2006

E-commerce is growing at a rate of roughly 25% per year even though the number of shoppers has remained about the same. --U.S. Department of Commerce/Gallup, March 2006

Why should your have a professional website?

75% of online shoppers say they would not return to a website that took longer than 4 seconds to load. --Akamai, November 2006

86% of internet shoppers will return to a website if they find that Website useful. This is why you need to have a website that is put together by a seasoned professional up to date and has information that is valuable to the visitor.

Why should you bother with a blog or email campaigns?

Consumers are 50% more likely to be influenced by blogs and e-mails than radio or TV advertising. --EPM Communications, April 2006

Roughly 30% of the total U.S. internet population visited blogs in the first quarter of 2005. --comScore, August 2005

Why should you use social networking sites?

45% of active web users visit social networking sites. --Nielsen/NetRatings, May 2006

And that was in 2006!

Did You know…

85% of home shoppers today use the internet to shop …

According to the National Association of Realtors 2007 profile of buyers & sellers:

The average age of people who access the internet and purchase the most (on-line) are between the ages of 25-55 – 84%.

64% of internet consumers have a household income of $ 50,000 - $ 124,999.

You may be surprised to learn only 2% - 5% of your website traffic actually completes the online registration/contact form… This is why you need to offer something of value, entice your visitors to sign up on your auto responder – this will build your database – and your database is gold!

The vast majority of people who surf the internet - call the office – visits in person or do nothing. Make sure you have a phone number and email visible - have everything on your contact page.

I hope these statistics give you pause for thought. It really clarified for me why it is so important to pay attention to detail and shy you need to have all the right things in place to get the results you want…

Make sure you have a marketing website – not just a pretty brochure or a website that ranks high on search engines but when a potential client clicks on the link they leave the page as fast as they find it.

You are shooting yourself in the foot is you don’t have all your ducks in a row. Translation: You don’t have the right website for your business.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design For a free - no obligation consultation

How to Write E-mail Promotions That Get Results!

I absolutely love this series of free - video's, I hope you enjoy them and learn as much as I have. Below is a total synopsis of the video's (video by video) and exactly what you can expect. You will love them! Have you ever been faced with the task of having to write an email promotion to your list, and then realized that you didn't know what to say or how to say it? Michael Rasmussen's new video course "E-mail Promos Exposed" promises to solve that problem for you by walking you through the actual process of creating effective e-mail promos step-by-step. ************************************************* If you're in a hurry, just go ahead visit this URL to get instant free access to these videos: Free Video's I decided to see if Michael's videos live up to their promise by trying them out myself. Here's what I found: ************************************************* Over all Quality ************************************************* The first thing I noticed when I opened up thefirst video was the stunning production quality. He used Camtasia Studio for the production, which is now the industry standard for creating high-quality screen capture video products. I also liked how Michael divided the Free Video's up by section, and then again by sub-section. For example, one video is all about the subject line, and then there are different parts of that video that each cover a certain area of crafting a killer subject line. Now let's move on to... ************************************************* THE ACTUAL VIDEOS ************************************************* Here's a brief summary of each video. Obviously it's impossible to list every single thing here, but I want you to get a feel for what each one covered, and how well it covered it. If you're in a hurry, just go ahead visit this URL to get instant free access to these video's ************************************************* VIDEO 1 - INTRODUCTION This video served as an introduction to the wholecourse. You get to see a picture of Michael in his every day life, and he establishes his credibility right up front by talking about some of his successes online. He even provides proof of credibility by displaying two checks which prove that, when it comes to the subject of making money with email promos, he knows his stuff. This is a good lesson for anyone to get. When ever you're teaching people how to do something, it's good to establish your credibility up front, so that there's no doubt about whether or not you'requalified to talk about the subject. Most product developers either skip or minimize this step. VIDEO 2 - BEFORE YOU WRITE THE PROMO This video talks about some things that no other marketer has bothered to mention. You'll learn things like:

• The mindset you need in order to write an effective promotion
• The different tools you need before you get started
• How to keep your e-mails laser-focused
• How to create an outline that practicallywrites the email for you.

This was a fantastic video, and did a good job of kicking things off. VIDEO 3 - THE SUBJECT LINE I liked this video, because it talked about one of MY biggest weaknesses when it comes to writing e-mail promos... the subject line. The subject line is a confusing topic, because nobody's 100% sure what the best tactics are. Michael breaks it down, and reveals:

• The biggest secret for writing a subject line that makes people insanely curious.
• Techniques for personalizing the subject line.
• Mistakes to avoid when using personalization.

I was surprised to find that I was making some of the mistakes that Michael mentioned in this video, but now I know better. VIDEO 4 - THE OPENING This is where a lot of people slack off when writing their emails. Michael talks about how important it is to create an opening that is conversational, and then reveals techniques and examples on how to do that. He also reveals:

• How to get people to keep reading your email once they've opened it.
• How to make your opening interesting.
• Mistakes to avoid when creating your first few paragraphs.

VIDEO 5 - THE BODY COPY This is one of the "meatiest" portions of the course, because it reveals techniques that are not widely discussed on the forums, blogs, and in most e-Books. He talks about the importance of keeping your body copy tight and relevant, and then reveals how you can do that. You'll also learn:

• How to write powerful bullets that make people curious and want to find out more.
• Simple formatting tricks for making your body copy easy to read.
• The secret of "bucket brigade copy" and how to use it in your e-mail promos to force people to keep reading.

VIDEO 6 - THE CALL TO ACTION This is where a lot of people wimp out in their e-mail promos. They start out strong, but when it comes time to ask the reader to click the link and take action, they don't know what to say. Michael talks about some of his favorite techniques for making that happen. He also reveals:

• The "magic question" to ask yourself that will make your close much more powerful.
• The secret of the "unanswered question" and why handling this is a surefire way to get people to act right away.
• The structure of a powerful close.
• Mistakes people make when creating their close.

VIDEO 7 - CREATING AN EFFECTIVE P.S. Some people say that the P.S. is one of the most important parts of the email, because it is often the one thing that gets people to click the link at the end. In this video, Michael talks about:

• Why you should including a P.S. at the end ofyour email.
• The 4 different kinds of P.S.'s you can use (this section was a real eye-opener for me).

VIDEO 8 - COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE I loved this video, because it showed me some mistakes that I was making that I wasn't even aware of. Unless you're a seasoned pro, you're probably guilty of some of the things that Michael talks about in this video as well, and that's why it's so valuable. I've shaved years off my learning curve, because now I can avoid some of the costly mistakes that I was bound tomake in the learning process. VIDEO 9 - HOW TO CREATE FOLLOW-UP EMAIL PROMOTIONS This video alone is going to make me a lot of money. Why? Michael shows in this video how important it is to send a follow-up promotion, and he shows you exactly how to do it.

He covered things like:

• The psychology of follow-up e-mail promo's.
• The 2 main types of follow-up promos that make the most money.
• How to over come readers' objections in your follow up e-mails.
• The 2 most common mistakes people make when writing follow-ups and how to avoid them.

VIDEO 10 - HOW TO WRITE BACK END E-MAIL PROMOTIONS Every marketing guru out there says that the REAL money is on the back end. The problem is... Most people have no idea how to set up a back end system that makes money. This video will teach you how to set up an automated back end. He reveals things like:

• Common mistakes people make when creating backend email promos.
• How to prepare a backend promotion sequence.
• The big difference between regular and backend e-mail promos.

VIDEO 11 - CREATING AFFILIATE EMAIL PROMOTIONS Some of you are strictly affiliate marketers, or you would like to promote products that you love - and get a bonus in return. Let's face it, if you only have 3 products, can you really afford to only email your list 3 times a year? They'll get bored hearing about the same old products over and over again. This video sheds some light on how to create killer affiliate promos. Michael reveals things like:

• The two main types of affiliate promos.
• What makes affiliate promos different than regular promos (and why ignoring this huge secret could cost you big money).
• Michael's favorite tactics for creating affiliate promos that no one else is doing.
• 3 different ways to add scarcity to your affiliate promos (this is the most important section of the video, so make sure you watch itover and over again).

************************************************* CONCLUSION ********************************************* As you can see, E-mail Promos Exposed really packs a lot of punch! Most of the courses out there offer only watered down, weak content. Not this one! These videos are going on my "A-list" for along time. I've already watched them twice, and plan on reviewing them every couple months to make sure that I have the principals, techniques and tactics burned into my mind. If email marketing is an important part of your business (and in my opinion, it's the most important part of ANY online business), then you owe it to yourself to check out Michael's exciting new videos, E-mail Promos Exposed. Here's the URL where you can get instant free access to the videos right now. Free Video's I hope you take advantage of these free video's they are phenomenal... Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Writing made easy – OK less challenging.

One of the things that the 30 day challenge is showing me is that I know a lot more than I thought. However, along with that I am learning how to tie things together. Now don't get me wrong I am learning tons of stuff, I didn't know as well, but I am a bit slow at doing the lessons – (have to keep my clients happy as well, I have to work on their projects!)

I don't know if you are like me, but I do a lot of research and I am constantly learning about techniques and collecting ideas. Sometimes what I am learning doesn't tie to together in my mind like it should, and it doesn't all come together in an organized fashion.

Well today I am going to tie together how to write interesting articles and blog posts using several items that I love – Google Notebook, Google Reader – and an editor (Microsoft word, note pad, whatever you desire) by sharing a video by Ed Dale.see my previous article on Google Notebook

This 30 day challenge video is going to blow you away. You are going to see that getting fresh content for your projects doesn't have to be hard at all. It can even be fun!!

I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot - even if it is just a refresher course!! Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Wow - Day 2!

Wow – Day 2!

If you have not signed up for The 30 Day challenge. I am really astonished on the tips and tricks I am learning – how to find niche markets – and how to access feeds in those markets.

That is only day one!

Day two is about research marketing and finding the right keywords. In fact below I have embedded a video for you to view.

This video is from day two of the “30 Day Challenge” – If you are serious about learning to make money online – Sign Up!

Come take the “30 Day Challenge” … New or not your will learn – I am really impressed and you will be too!

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

$10.00 in 30 Days... What?

If you have not heard of the 30 day challenge – Where have you been??

No seriously – yesterday I received an email that talked about this 30 day challenge, it peaked at my curiosity, and so I decided to check it out.

When I clicked on the link and watched the video – I decided I was going to take the challenge. It certainly isn't about the 10.00 it is about what I can learn from Ed Dale that I may not know.

Ed Dale promises you will make 10.00 in 30 days with no out of pocket expense. You may be thinking big deal. What is $10.00? Keep in mind it takes a system to make any kind of money over the internet it doesn't matter if it is $1. or $10,000.

Ed will help you get your system in place then you can replicate it many times over. If you are new in the internet (business) world, or even if you are not I think this free group is an amazing find.

I hope you join me:

http://www.30DayChallenge.com

You will be given a lot of free tools to use, I already found one that I love!! More on that later…

I hope you join me – in learning from this challenge. I will be reporting my experiences, – I don't what to hear whining when you don't join, the door is closed and I am ranting and raving about what is going on!!

Wishing you happiness, prosperity and abundance

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

SEO and all that Jazz!

The other day I received an email from a previous client that really disturbed me. Now I am really not very thin skinned and have been in this business a long, long time, so I can handle most any situation.

Most of my clients are fabulous – every once in a while there is a client that you try to please, and you go above and beyond the call of duty and they still question what has been done.

This client whom I had built a website for and did make sure her website was search engine optimized – emailed me with a scathing letter on what I had not done for her as far as back end keywords and meta tags etc. It seems that another web person had told her that these things had not been done.

Believe me, we went through and did it, and did it, and did it… IF you know what I mean…

The kicker to this story is she had another very professional person go through this website (right after we built it) with a fine tooth comb and all of these things had been done – according to an independent study (someone other than myself) she even has the report.

Why am I telling you this?

Understanding search engine optimization – is something that is sometimes very challenging. Things do change on a regular basis, for instance in studying the latest from the expert's, Google ignores the meta description tag and instead will automatically generate its own description for your pages.

A lot of people know nothing about this – and depend on experts to tell them what to do. Make sure you know and trust who you talk to. Moreover, things change so what is true today may change tomorrow.

Some experts tell you to only index a few main pages – then you will get a higher ranking – most say to use a site map so the spiders from search engines can index all the links.

So what is a website owner supposed to do?

Even though Google reportedly gets about 85% of the share of searches, there are a lot of search engines that are extremely popular.

Yahoo and MSN are searched by millions. In addition, what about the niche search engines that are particularly important if you are in a niche market??

All of the search engines have slightly different criteria so why not just cover all of your bases?

Do it all - the meta tags, alt tags, and remember the page titles are extremely important.

Most of all remember once your have your website – complete with all SEO criteria – submit them to search engines!!

For a free check list of SEO components go to my website and download it.

To your success.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Are You a Professional Student?

Going through my emails today – tons and tons I might add. The thought came to me if I get bogged down in all the information coming into my inbox and stressed over what to save or what to throw away. How do you feel!!! Overwhelmed, anxiety ridden – I am sure to say the least!

Quite frankly, going through all the (junk) email is a big part of my job. Going through all my emails to find the gems – new resources and idea's, that is why my clients pay me, to stay on top of revolving technologies and thing that work to explode their businesses.

However, that is the exception rather than the rule… I see so many of you who (for lack of better terms) waste days and days filtering through information that may or may not be beneficial to your business. I remember my father telling me about what he called professional students.

These were students who loved learning so much they just stayed in the university and would go for years and years, never really getting out in the real world and applying what they learned – and we all know that is where the real education begins!

Think about it. Are you a professional student?

Do you spend hours – days just going through and learning everything you can – not really developing an action plan to put into place? Are you feeling disjointed and the information you are collecting seems abstract? Are you having problems just Connecting the Dots? I will tell you everything is not for everybody.

Affiliate marketers need different skill sets and tools than people who are building an e-commerce site. A service oriented professional will need different knowledge than an online widget store. Taking action is essential, and outlining that action making sure that what you are doing and or learning is going to directly impact your goals for the better, that is the key.

Let me explain – first of all you need to have your goals and plans written – what is it, you want to do? What is the ultimate out come (dream a little) in a perfect world you business would be xyz – and making, fill in the blanks_________, _________ .

(lots of money, Helping people that need help? Etc) IF you are stressing over marketing, SEO, and you don't even have a website… What is the point!

Take action – Learn what you need to do step by step. Do you want to start with a blog or website? I believe you need both, but what do you start with and why?

What is the difference between a blog and website and why do I need both? To some of you this is very basic stuff but to a lot of people starting out it really isn't – you don't have to be an expert at everything to be successful.

Let me repeat – you don't have to be an expert at everything to be successful. If that were the case we would all be complete failures! You see I learned a long time ago that what you do well do it, what others do well hire it done. The adage time is money is really true. If I am struggling to put together a widget (taking me hours) for my store, and I know I can be out selling this widget and making twice the money – I should hire it done. I will have it built – make money and be able to pay the widget maker as well.

A personal example: I know that my talent lays in my artistic ability to design. I am not shy at saying I am a talented graphic designer / web designer. Through the years I have become a successful consultant and project manager and learned from the best on how to market on the Internet. I may be able to do some minor programming – but I do know that I am not a programmer per say. When I have a job that needs to be done – shopping carts – .asp pages etc, I don't even attempt to learn the programming language. I would be miserable (I hate that stuff) I would be wasting my time and pulling my hair out both of which I don't have enough of. Moreover, in the time it would take me to begin to understand the language, I could have made a lot of money.

What do I do when I need this done – hire a programmer (I trust and know). This is my business, and my reputation is at stake, so I don't just trust anyone to work with me, they have to live up to my standards as well. My reputation is all I have – it doesn't matter how wonderful the work is or how beautiful the design is – if people are unhappy with how something functions or your customer service stinks its all over for your business (,but I digress!).

The moral of this long, long story? You must start putting together an action plan that will get you results - instead of spinning your wheels. Are you going to tackle putting together you own website? Do you have the knowledge to do a professional website, what about artistic ability to design something that will attract you target markets? If not find a professional that will work with your vision – let them create, and you do what you do best. This can go for anything you are doing in your business.

Synopsis: Have a vision – put it down on paper. Decide what action steps need to be taken – pull together the players to make it happen. Learn, what will work for your type of business and/or find a professional you trust that will be honest and tell you the truth, what you really need to do to get your business off the ground.

If you have a floundering business – don't keep doing what you're doing, or it will keep floundering. Find a professional, not the neighbor or you best friends (unless they are experts at what you are looking for) – someone you know you can trust to give you truthful advice.

Someone who will be completely honest with you – and has your interest at heart not someone who only has their eye's on the bottom line (you money!)

If you need help with your website or would like a free consultation contact me: pamela@artistadesign.com and don't forget to check out my website, Artista Design

Providing Creative Solutions & Amazing Results

Are you being bamboozled?

I was reading a really interesting blog post today – in all the technical jargon and impressive verbiage was a tried and true message.

If you seem to be floundering in your Internet business it could be one of the several things;

No Plan, no process, no tools to work with (website, blog, knowledge)

OR

Hype and Outright Fraud…

The first 3 points are self explanatory the last one however is an obvious problem many people don't check out – you may be asking what does she mean?

This is what I mean…

We all would love to be able to throw up a website or blog and immediately be getting the benefits – money coming in hand over fists – opt-in list full to the gills and glorious riches.


Does this sound familiar? Have you read some of these claims in your e-mails?

When you are promised that you will get rich with no work and very little money run as fast as you can…

Every business on the Internet or otherwise takes time, knowledge, and it has to go through a process. The worldwide web is full of con-artists that claim to have the key to instant riches, think about this for a minuet.

Common sense would tell you if they have a get rich quick product that truly worked - they would be rich.

Then why would they need to solicit you? Especially, for pennies on the dollar?

A lot of these so called expert have not even reaped rewards from their products – their way of getting rich is by selling this product to people who believe they can be rich overnight!

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

There is a wealth of knowledge to be had on the Internet and a lot of great professionals that can guide you and give you the knowledge and tools to succeed.

Find professionals you trust and follow them. Learn from them – anyone that is successful in business will tell you it takes time, careful planning, and knowledge.

Now you get out their work hard, learn much and get rich. It will happen when you do it the right way.

To your success!

Pamela Jacob, Artista Design

Free SEO Check list go to http://www.artistadesign.com

What about the economy? Don't let it drag you down!!

I received a newsletter in my email the subject line read:

Focus on Your Customers Instead of the Economy

That is so right! As I hear all the doom and gloom on the cable news networks I have to say to myself – yes gas prices are up but – then isn't the Internet the way to go!!

Honestly if you have an online business then you are in a better position then ever. People will be shopping online to save gas and that is a great thing. You may be saying

Oh my, is she serious – yes I am !

if you are one of those people who dwell on the negative – you will get what you believe. Moreover, that is my truth, I have seen it over and over what you believe you will achieve!

Consequently, now is a great time to keep your focus – market the heck out of your business and reap the rewards. I am putting the link to her inspiring newsletter below – I am sure you will enjoy this months edition as much as I have.

Newsletter to read - Learn, Share, Prosper

To your success!

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Monetize Your Business. Free Video Tutorials!

Free Tutorial Series! I have just sent out a broadcast to my data-base about my video tutorial series on Hubpages. I bought them as well as the resell rights. The best part is I am offering them for free. Originally I was only going to offer it to those on my list but then I thought. Why not give my readers this opportunity as well! This video series will teach you from A to B about how to set up Hubpages and how to monetize them to make extra income! Even if you already have a Hubpage account and think you know it all – think again. You will find some new and interesting ways to work with Hubpages. This sign-up will only be available for the first 250 people who sign-up after that it will go back into my treasure trove – and I will be repackaging them for resell in my tutorial series. Don’t miss out… Click the link and learn learn learn!! Free Video Tutorials To your success Pamela Jacob Artista Design

Kudo’s – If I Do Say So Myself!

I just have to say I am ecstatic!

One of my clients has just received an award from the U.S. Local Business Association - USLBA (located in Washington DC).

“Wasatch Front Ski Accommodations Receives 2008 Best of Salt Lake City Award“

We have both worked hard to get exposure from the ground floor up -rebuilding the website – making sure it was search engine optimized and in the last few months doing a lot of internet marketing through blogs, and web 2.0 sites.

I have to say Wasatch Front Ski Accommodations has been an amazing client. Gayleen the owner has listened to what I recommended and worked right along side of me to make this happen.

We are still working on gaining new ground in different markets so this is just a great confirmation that all our hard work is paying off.

It was quite a surprise when she received the notice – it came out of the blue!

So Kudo’s to Wasatch Front Ski Accommodations – and Gayleen for
Getting this award and I am sure there will be many more to come.

I have put up the press release – check it out! And while you are at it check out both of her sites. Her main site is http://www.wfsa.com/and the sister site we are just starting to promote is http://www.saltlakevacationrentals.com/.

Congratulations Gayleen!