Is the Apple iPod going to last or burn out like the Apple Macintosh?

 

Is the Apple iPod going to last or burn out like the Apple Macintosh?

Word Count:
300

Summary:
Looking to the near future at the main competition for the Apple iPod are the new age mobile phones. Not only do they have the normal features of a mobile phone but they're also adopting a higher standard of digital camera and a built in MP3 player. Unless Apple decides to bring the iPod into the mobile phone industry, we may see them move to the back of the shelf at ebay.

Keywords:
Apple, Apple iPod, iPod, Mobile phone

Article Body:
Today the Apple iPod is leading the market in the portable music player industry, having sold around 15 million iPods since they were released. But some people are now saying like the Apple Macintosh once an industry leader the iPod will also become a memory.
Looking to the near future at the main competition for the Apple iPod are the new age mobile phones. Not only do they have the normal features of a mobile phone but they're also adopting a higher standard of digital camera and a built in MP3 player. Unless Apple decides to bring the iPod into the mobile phone industry, we may see them move to the back of the shelf at ebay.

Below are an example of some already available mobile phones that incorporate the higher standard digital camera and MP3 player:

• Motorola MPx220
• Siemens SX1
• Sony Ericsson P910i
• Sony Ericsson W800i

Looking at the Sony Ericsson W800i, this mobile phone offers a 2 mega pixel digital camera with video recording capability. Also a built in MP3 player and the phone comes with a 512mb Memory Stick™ PRO Duo. This maybe only capable of holding around 150 music tracks or 10-15 full length CDs. You can upgrade the memory stick to 1GB doubling the storage capacity.

Obviously the Sony Ericsson W800i does not have the storage capacity of a 60GB iPod video, but looking at the technology trends everything is getting smaller with higher storage capacity.

Once mobile phones have a higher storage limit (60GB) they will also have the capability of playing MP4. Then your every day mobile phone will be a Phone, Camera, MP3 music player and an MP4 video player which fits in your pocket.

 

Tips On Recycling Office Paper

 

Tips On Recycling Office Paper

Word Count:
485

Summary:
There are several good reasons why office paper must be recycled. First, papers used in offices are usually high-grade, and it's a shame to see these quality paper reduced to waste. A staggering 77% of these papers are recyclable. Second, an average business office employee can produce a pound and a half of paper waste in working for a business office daily. Finance offices generate waste paper from two to three pounds per employee daily. Third, production costs can be lowere...

Keywords:
paper recycling, paper supplies

Article Body:
There are several good reasons why office paper must be recycled. First, papers used in offices are usually high-grade, and it's a shame to see these quality paper reduced to waste. A staggering 77% of these papers are recyclable. Second, an average business office employee can produce a pound and a half of paper waste in working for a business office daily. Finance offices generate waste paper from two to three pounds per employee daily. Third, production costs can be lowered simply by reducing office paper costs and using used paper whenever possible. Removing office paper from the garbage can reduce waste collection fees by 50%. Fourth, a ton of paper recycled is 6.7 cu yds saved landfill space. Removing this much paper from our waste would prolong the service of present landfill sites. Whether your paper supplies are plain white paper, copier paper, office paper, inkjet paper, or letter paper, these are all easily recycled.

There are easy steps to recycling office paper. Recycling can start as soon as your employees are informed and consulted regarding the adoption of recycling schemes. Make sure that all employees know about the recycling program of your company. Recycling systems as simple as monitoring paper use and separating white paper from colored paper are widely-practiced in most offices. Placing labeled trash cans has proved to be an effective recycling method. Be sure, however, that the cans are placed where waste paper amounts to a significant number like in the computer rooms and records sections. Put the recycling can together in an accessible area so people will actually use them. Consulting the employees who work in that particular area where to position the recycling cans is a good idea. It's always a good idea to separate white papers like bond paper, copier paper, paper supplies, office paper, inkjet paper, and letter paper, together rather than mixing them with other paper like cardboard and newspapers. This way, even if you don't reuse the paper but sell them to recycling shops they will a higher value, since white paper costs more. It's also important to inform the maintenance crew. After all, you wouldn't want to waste your employees' recycling efforts undone by having an uninformed janitor haul your papers and dump them with food garbage. It's advised to train them how the recycling system works.

Lastly, these reams of bond paper, copier paper, paper supplies, office paper, inkjet paper, and letter paper materials can bring you good money. So it's recommended to have a log book or record book handy to record the amount or weight of office paper that came from your company. This way, you can keep track of your paper wastes and evaluate if your recycling paper program is actually working to reduce paper use and waste in your office. Also, by keeping a record and receipt, you can be sure to be properly paid for them by the recycling companies.

 

Part Time Web Businesses...Full Time Commitment

 

Part Time Web Businesses...Full Time Commitment

Word Count:
862

Summary:
Don't become pompous! Think of yourself as you think of your dentist... a necessary evil with whom you are cordial and professional.  You will be the dentist from this day forward.

Keywords:
business, money, internet, main business, web business, commitment

Article Body:
Let us cut to the chase...

To the extent your website is an extension of or supplemental to your brick and mortar operation, it can be and probably is a part time endeavor in comparison to your main business. Note it is relative.

Treat your online presence, however, like the proverbial "red haired step child", and you might as well not waste your time, money or man power on it.  After all, whether generated on the world wide web or on main street from leads generated by your website, your web's only purpose is to increase name recognition and loyalty and generate and increase revenue.

From your planning stages and business model, to the design of your virtual office, to the selection of key words and ad words, to the selection of an internet host, to your branding, to your promotion strategies, to your monitoring and tracking techniques, to follow up and deal closing - detail, brain storming, and professionalism are key.  Your creation must be an entity that makes money, not cost you precious resources.

You need to stop listening to the self declared gurus, and ask yourself the same tough questions you do about your main business.  And, if your primary business is going to be the internet based business this factual examination becomes even more crucial.

First, know success is never final.   Without proper drive and commitment, he who is on top today will be eclipsed tomorrow.  Make sure you have a dream and not a night mare.  Assure you have a sufficiently tough skin to pursue your idea and have enough heart to see it through the bad times not just skim off the cream of the crop. If all you have is heart burn from the rich dinner you ate last night rather than an unquenchable fire in your gut, don't toss your cash in the furnace for it will surely be consumed.

Second, never buy into the pie in the sky schemes of the wild blue yonder hucksters who sell everything for nothing and over valued and over priced half truths and for hard earned dollars.  They market visions of grandeur purportedly coming true with untold bundles of cash flowing into your bank account while you sleep through the night and golf away the days.  Experience shows that virtual life does not work that way any more than real life does.

Get rich quick schemes are the same as and do not work any better than the alcoholic or addict looking for a softer easier way to recover.  Lazy people will find they fail and fall faster, harder, and further playing with a new enterprise whether corporate, partnership, or sole proprietorship than punching a time clock.

In your own venture you will soon be painfully aware you cannot pass the buck. There is no lead man, no foreman, no HR department, no big bad boss to keep you honest, to keep you focused, or to keep you working.  When you make bad decisions there is no one to bail you out. When you fail to pro
duce there is no payroll clerk from which to draw advance cash.  There is no blame game to play because when things are not going your way there is no one else to blame. There is no one about whom to gossip except your customers and that is suicide.  There is no one to gossip with except your clients, and that is even worse.

Friendships get relegated to the back burner.  You are not here to make friends.  A few will come with your success over time as you prove yourself to be a no nonsense professional in your field, a competent business person, and worthy of trust and friendship.  But initially you will be consumed with making a living, supporting a business and maybe a staff (if you have one).  Don't let it steal family time and relationships.

Don't become pompous! Think of yourself as you think of your dentist... a necessary evil with whom you are cordial and professional.  You will be the dentist from this day forward. Don't let it steal your positive spiritual walk.

You will find you now have more legal and social obligations and responsibilities than ever before. People will start to demand more and more of your personal time and attention.  Some are simply trying to use you for their own purposes. Don't become a recluse! Faithfully fulfill your obligations to your community and your fellow man, and good things will happen for you.

Now if you have what it takes to run your own business, if you are a self starter and driven you can make money (good money) on the internet or anywhere else.  If you understand it is not about luck, not about others, not necessarily about how much money you have today and not necessarily about your education level, and if you are willing to make the commitments, invest the time and do what it takes you are probably ready to become an entrepreneur.

Little will get you more than informed persistence without spamming and without becoming obnoxious. 

Part time indeed!  What are you waiting for?  Go make something happen!

 

Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing

Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing

Word Count:
591

Summary:
Email marketing can be highly effective if you follow these simple guidelines.  Learn what you should look for, before hitting the send button!

Keywords:
Marketing, Email Marketing

Article Body:
The success of your email marketing campaign is often based on a set of complex factors.  However, a number of these issues can be proactively managed to ensure an optimized response.  When developing your next email campaign, consider the following guidelines.

1. Your list.
Certainly one of the most important aspects of any email marketing campaign, your list is directly correlated to your success.  Are your names recent?  Have they agreed to be marketed to?  Have they shown an interest in products or services similar to your own?  Make sure that you are using a house list (names you collected on your own) or have been purchases from a reputable broker.

2. Your subject line.
Getting a user to open your message is paramount any email marketing campaign. The best way to determine the subject line that works best is to break your emails into three random yet equal groups.  Measure the response to each email and use the highest producing one as your control.  In follow up emails, try to beat the response rate of your control email.

3.  Your sender information.
What information appears on the sender line of your email?  Will your prospects recognize it?  Do they want to hear from you?  Often times, emails are deleted without ever being opened due to an indiscernible sender name.  Your sender name should be brief and easily understood.

4. Track your results.
Tracking allows you to determine who opened your message and clicked on a link or multiple links within your email.  By determining what worked and what didn't, you can replicate success on your next email.  As described above, tracking is particularly important when testing subject lines, imbedded links, and other direct response vehicles.

5. Make sure your unsubscribe method is in place and working.
The CAN-SPAM act of 2003 requires that all email messages contain clear directions on how to opt-out from subsequent mailings. Provide an unsubscribe mechanism that allows those receiving your email to send you and email and indicate their desire to opt-out from receiving further emails from you or your business.  If recipients no longer want to hear from you, it's in your best interest to remove them from your list.

6. Your images are correctly referenced and you've used alt tags in each image.
Improperly referencing your images can cause them to appear broken when you send your message - the dreaded red x. To insure the image is referenced correctly it must appear as, rather than,  Alt tags are another important part of your images. The new security features on almost every email client these days disables images automatically. Having alt tags in place allow your reader to identify the image and determine if it is safe to enable.

7.  Test, Test, Test!
No matter what your involvement with email marketing happens to be, it is essential that you follow the guidelines above for successful results.  In addition, the key is to test, test, test! After each email campaign, measure your opens, click-throughs, and purchases.  Document the specific date, time, list, subject line, and content used to produce your results.  Refer back to your documentation prior to your next campaign.

Email doesn't have to be a complex form of marketing.  There are many best practices you can follow and some simple rules that ensure effectively delivery, open and conversion. By following the simple rules presented in this article, you'll not only deliver and effective email campaign, you'll discover a consistent method for generation revenue for your business.

 

Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders

Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders

Word Count:
387

Summary:
6 useful tips to help you effectively use your autoresponders to increase your sales and add to your bottom line.

Keywords:
autoresponder tips,how to use autoresponders,email marketing

Article Body:
1. Offer an email course.

Write up a course or use your articles to create a course that you can offer to your visitors.

You'll be able to educate people about your product, and increase your sales by showing them the benefits they'll get from purchasing from you.

2. Send excerpts of your ebook.

Increase your sales by showing your visitors firsthand the valuable information you have to offer them.

Simply string together excerpts of several or maybe just one chapter of your ebook, and then offer your autoresponder series to your visitors.

If you have an affiliate program, increase your sales by making this autoresponder series (as well as any email course you offer) available to your affiliates.

3. Publish an ezine.

With broadcast capable autoresponders, you'll be able to double opt in all your new subscribers and send out your issues on the schedule you want.

Promote your ezine on your site, and submit it to ezine directories and ezine announcement lists.

If you write articles, you can also get more new subscribers by using your resource box to promote your ezine.

You can also promote your ezine in your signature file and get more new subscribers through your day to day emails and also from your posts to discussion lists and forums that you're a member of.

4. Offer a sample issue.

Make one of your best, current ezine issues available by autoresponder.

Then offer it on your site, and also, when you can, include it along with your other ezine information when you submit your ezine to ezine directories.

5. Publish an article announcement list.

Get more ezine publishers and webmasters to publish your articles on a regular basis by creating a list that announces when you've written a new article or articles.

You'll be able to keep in touch with people that enjoy your writing, helping you to get your articles published more often and increase traffic to your site.

6. Make a training course available to your affiliates.

Offer a generic email training course that your affiliates can use to learn how to successfully promote your products and earn commissions.

Your affiliates will have a handy resource that they can print out and go back to again and again, and you'll be able to increase your profits by helping your affiliates get started on the right track.

 

6 Eye Grabbing Subject Lines

6 Eye Grabbing Subject Lines

Word Count:
431

Summary:
This article will give you some tips on how to get your email message open.

Keywords:
internet marketing, online marketing, affiliate marketing, marketing online, marketing myths

Article Body:
Your subject lines plays a crucial role in any email campaign ads whether you're using safelists, autoresponders, ezine solo ads or any opt-in list where email is involved. Your subject line will make or break your return on your investment so make sure you get their attention first.

Here are six headlines that have worked for me in the past which I'm sure will work for you too.  The technology will always change but peoples desire to succeed and curiousity will not.

1. Promote Your URL Here - Free!

For whatever reasons, I've had so much success using this subject line when promoting free classified sites, safelists, and those viral ad boards.

2. Hi, My name is Paul

This works simply because it raises prospects curiosity. I'm always a sucker for this subject line. Who's this Paul anyway? I've had succeess with this using ezine solo ads.

3. I need your help, please?

There's something about being a human, always wanting to help another human being, It's hard to explain, it just works.

4. Bob, I haven't received your shipping address yet.

What! my shipping address? why do you need my shipping address for. This particular subject line really piqued my interest. If you are sending post cards to your members or prospects, this will improve your sales especially if you personalize it.

5. How my site got listed #1 on Google, for free!

This one made several sales from Trafficswarm traffic exchange program when I was promoting an affiliate program about search engine e-book. Even made more sales with ezine solo ads using the same subject line.

6. Paul, Please accept my sincerest apology.

When I saw this subject line from an email, my first reaction was, "who/why/what are you sorry about?...huh?" Exactly it got my attention and my curiosity.  The sender was apologizing for not sending that email sooner which was about a new traffic exchange program. Good grief.

In conclusion, make your subject line so compelling that it's almost irresistible for your prospects not to open the email message.  If you can hypnotize your readers with cleaver subject lines, you are half way to making a sale. Also when  people can recognize where that email message came from, that will help getting your email message open as well. Don't use fake names, use your real name instead.

Of course, I am not recommending that you use any of these headlines if they are not true in relation to the content of the e-mail message. If you rely on deception in e-mail marketing, all you will do is tarnish your reputation
and your credibility.

 

5 Surefire Tips for Effective Email Marketing

5 Surefire Tips for Effective Email Marketing

Word Count:
1031

Summary:
Learn how to avoid common traps and send effective email marketing campaigns that deliver powerful results.

Keywords:
Email, email marketing, business emails, email services for business, small business marketing, small business email marketing, email marketing tips

Article Body:
Over the past few years, research has continued to prove the benefits of e-mail marketing for business: low costs, high conversion rates and detailed tracking are all notable features. But e-mail marketing is becoming much more than just a tool for spammers and e-businesses. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy on the differences between spam and permission-based emails, and more and more of them are accepting permission-based e-mail marketing as a positive replacement for direct mail.

The best news is that the majority of people who receive permission-based e-mails open, on average, 78% of them.

Jupiter Research reports effective email marketing campaigns can produce nine times the revenues and 18 times the profits of broadcast mailings. But crafting an effective business email is both an art and a science. Here is a list of factors, potential problems and effective solutions to keep in mind:

1. Spam! Spam! Spam! I don't need any Viagra!
The average consumer receives more than 300 emails a week, 62% of which are spam. No wonder there's such hostility towards the industry. But spam filters, bulk folders and "report spam" features are helping consumers become more at ease about the perils of spam. While 89% of users cited spam as a major concern in 2003, that number dropped to 85% in 2004, proportionally to an increase in the use of spam-fighting tools.

So as a permission-based business email marketer, what can you do? One tip is to remind your subscribers to add you to their "safe senders" list. The second, and most important, tactic is to make sure your email marketing service provider has a good relationship with ISPs. This will ensure that your email marketing campaigns go into your subscribers' inboxes, not their junk mail folders. When choosing an email marketing software, make sure the company has strict anti-spam policies and complies with the guidelines of Can-Spam.

2. Images and formatting: Why do my emails look broken?
Broken email campaigns are an increasing concern among email marketers, especially since several companies and web-based email providers now block graphics as a measure to combat spam. In fact, according to ClickZ, 40% of email marketing messages delivered to inboxes are "broken."

This was actually something that came up during Eliteweb's beta-testing phases, as we had a client in the Canadian Government whose recipients were mostly using highly secure email programs. The solution we came up has now become one of our key competitive advantages.

What Eliteweb does is it publishes every single email marketing campaign sent to a secure location on the web (a location only original recipients of the email can access, thanks to encrypted technology that automatically authenticates the user). The technology also ensures you can track your users' behaviors, even if they are reading your email campaign at the secure web location.

3. Personalization and relevant content: In a business e-mail, one size does not fit all.
In a recent study by DoubleClick, email users were 72% more likely to respond to a business e-mail if its content was based on the interests they had specified. That number points out the absolute importance of allowing users to choose their own interest groups and have control over which business e-mails they receive. The most popular interest categories, according to the study, are coupons and household goods.

But your coupon is no good unless the user opens the email. Users in the study said the most compelling reason for them to open a business email is the name in the "from" field. So it's a good idea to make sure your company name is clearly stated there. Another major factor is the "subject" line. Users cite discount offers and interesting news as the most compelling subject lines, followed by new product announcements and free shipping offers.

4. Click-through and conversion: Show me the money!
So the user has opened your email and read the content. Great. But where's the sale? There's good news here. For one, consumers are increasingly likely to make purchases as a direct result of a business email campaign. One-third of users in the DoubleClick study had purchased something by clicking a link on an email. Another 42% clicked on an email link for more information, then purchased the product at a later time. Second, online couponing is booming: 73% of consumers have redeemed an online coupon for an online purchase, and 59% have redeemed an online coupon offline.

In terms of industries, the top performers are travel, hardware/software, electronics, apparel, food, home furnishings, gifts/flowers and sporting goods. All companies sending business emails in those categories said between 71% and 80% of recipients have purchased their products because of an email campaign.

There's no need to fret if your company doesn't fit in to one of those industries. The overall landscape for email marketing conversions is looking brighter every day. The average click-to-purchase rate has increased nearly 30% sin e 2004 and the average orders-per-email-delivered rate has increased more than 18% since last year.

5. Stats tracking: who are my real consumers?
E-mail marketing is an increasingly popular tool in effective CRM, and it's about time more businesses recognize that. First off, if your provider's email services for business do not include detailed, real-time tracking, you're getting a raw deal. Real-time tracking is now an industry standard, and it's highly valuable, as it allows you to see the exact moment a user opens your campaign, clicks on your link and makes that purchase. Studying your users can help you improve your communications efforts, so each campaign performs better than the last (several email service providers also let you compare the performance of your campaigns).

But many marketers are still in the dark. According to a recent WebTrends research, only 5% of marketers are very confident in the measurement of their online marketing efforts, while 26% admit they're "flying blind." WebTrends says the low confidence comes from a lack of knowledge when it comes to measurement, which means there's still a lot of work to be done.

In <b>email marketing</b>, a blind shot won't take you very far. But if you aim properly by following these essential rules of play, you should soon be reaping the same major results as so many online and offline businesses.