Craigs List

The Internet has triggered a virtual gold-rush of budding entrepreneurs seeking their fortunes in cyberspace. Unfortunately, not everyone has the right attitude to learn how to make money online, and only a handful eventually strike gold. Those that succeed are the ones who look at life as a glass half-full instead of half-empty. That's the right attitude to learn how to make money online.

The Glass is Half-Full
Having the right attitude to learn how to make money online simply means that you are optimistic instead of pessimistic. You should believe that obstacles are something you can tackle (glass half-full) and not insurmountable challenges that make you retreat (glass half-empty). It is this kind of positive attitude that makes online success attainable.

The experience of inventor Thomas Alva Edison comes to mind. Edison is celebrated for inventing the light bulb, but no one remembers that it took him thousands and thousands of failed attempts before he could invent a light bulb that worked. Despite these setbacks, Edison stayed the course. ""After I had found thousands of ways NOT to make a light bulb, I was sure it would only be a matter of time before I found the way that worked," he said. Edison regarded his failures simply as a case of the glass being half-full. That's a classic example of the right attitude to learn how to make money online.

To have the right attitude to learn how to make money online, an Internet entrepreneur must always be optimistic and see the glass as half-full. Here are three reasons why this can help him achieve online success.

1. Optimism helps you overcome worry

Worrying too much can weigh heavily on an online entrepreneur. Not only does it attract misfortune, it also affects our health. That's why optimistic people seldom worry. Sure, they are concerned that their products or services may not be good enough or their Internet marketing is insufficient or that their limited knowledge of the Internet will prevent them from succeeding online. There's so much to worry about. But they choose to focus on what they can do today instead of worrying about something that they can't do anything about. Optimistic people know that they will survive all challenges because they always have. That's the right attitude to learn how to make money online.

2. Optimism puts you on the right track

Doing business on the Internet means learning many new things: how to prospect for clients, how to sell your wares, how to write promotional blogs, articles and press releases, etc. In this sense, the budding online entrepreneur is like a new-born baby learning how to walk, how to talk and how to function in a new world: a virtual world. To successfully adapt to this new world, the online entrepreneur should have optimism because that's the best attitude to learn how to make money online. It's optimism that allows him to negotiate his new world with confidence and determination. Imagine two newly-divorced women who are contemplating their new lives for the first time. The pessimistic woman thinks, "Oh no, my life is over," while the optimistic one thinks, "Oh yes, my life has just begun." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine which of them will flourish in their new life. Doing business online is the same thing.

3. Optimism gives you the determination to carry on

The greatest challenge to successfully doing business on the Internet often lies in learning things that are very technical and, therefore, very difficult. These challenges can be so daunting that you may not even know where to begin. Having optimism is a terrific way to approach these challenges. It is absolutely the best attitude to learn how to make money online. Without optimism, you will be tempted to give up and accept your limitations. But with optimism, you will soldier on courageously and believe that even the seemingly impossible can be attained.

Ultimately, that is the greatest power that optimism instills: it makes anything seem possible. Is there any better attitude to learn how to make money online than that? It is optimism that inspired cyclist Lance Armstrong to overcome testicular cancer and to win the grueling Tour de France six straight times. It is optimism that propelled Roger Crawford to forget the fact that he was born with one leg and no arms to become a tennis professional in Australia. And it is optimism that will inspire you to overcome your own limitations on the Internet and reach for success. The bottom line is that, with the right attitude to learn how to make money online, anything is possible. With optimism, anything can be achieved.

Having seen first hand the power of a positive attitude work in his own life. Ken Bradshaw continues to write about and promote the unquestionable power of a positive attitude.
http://www.SelectWealthSystem.com

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 8:32 PM  0 comments

Free advertising...two words that should get the attention of every internet marketer alive. Think of what your ROI would be if the advertising was free. If you use Web 2.0 correctly, your ROI will go through the roof. It's free. All it costs is the time to put it together. The implementation is a little time consuming as there may be a bit of a learning curve, but once its in place you can usually maintain your Web 2.0 presence quite easily. It's a direct sales opportunity online that is waiting for you to take advantage of.

So what is Web 2.0? It's the latest generation of websites and applications that allow users to participate on the web like never before. Web 2.0 sites aren't static like more traditional older sites. They are, by there very nature, social. And they're viral. You can easily link one to the other and soon you're networking with a huge number of people.

Squidoo, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, BUMPzee and HubPages (and that's just a few) are all Web 2.0 sites, including blogs. They're all social, information driven websites. Become a part of these communities, supply them with useful information, interact with them in a positive way, and before you know it you'll have created instant word of mouth advertising about you and your business.

Web 2.0 is a direct sales opportunity online that you must take advantage of. Today's consumers are expecting a more information- driven interactive internet experience. By engaging them in this social environment, you give the consumer a voice, and they give you a better understanding of their wants and needs. You'll establish an open line of communication with your customers unlike any other on the Web. By fulfilling their needs, you gain trust and you gain customers.

Check out the possibilities. There is an amazing direct sales opportunity online with Web 2.0 advertising. It's just one more advantage you'll have over the competition if you ad it to your advertising and marketing arsenal. And it's free.

For more information on another direct sales opportunity online visit http://www.BigFishOnlineMarketing.com or call John Bettencourt direct at 541-956-0903.

John Bettencourt is a former major market radio personality, record label executive and. more recently, a real estate developer who decided he'd had enough of bumper to bumper commutes. 70 hour work weeks, and the corporate rat race. John is now the owner of BigFish Online Marketing, a very successful home based internet marketing business. You can find BigFish Online Marketing at http://www.BigFishOnlineMarketing.com

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 4:47 PM  0 comments

Have you ever wondered why some Internet marketers seem to have success with every single project? Do they have some magical power that you don't?

Would you like to quickly get that power?

In a recent interview for the List Crusade program, T. Harv Eker revealed what he called the Millionaire Mindset-which gives extremely successful Internet marketers and offline entrepreneurs what seems to be an "unfair advantage."

(Note: To access T. Harv Eker's complete audio interview for fre^e, see end of article)

Harv is the author of the best-selling book, SpeedWealth, as well as several highly-acclaimed courses such as The Millionaire Mind Intensive, Life Directions, Wizard Training and Train the Trainer. He is also the producer and trainer of the world-famous Enlightened Warrior Training.

He went from zero to millionaire in only 2-1/2 years using the
Speed Wealth principles he teaches. He shows you how to instantly rid
yourself of limiting beliefs that have stopped you from accumulating wealth
in the past.

According to Harv, your subconscious mind may actually be holding you back from the success you want in Internet marketing and in life.

The subsconscious is much more powerful than your conscious mind.

It's like an ice berg, most it is beneath the surface, and that's usually what sinks ships.

Ideas and misconceptions you formed as a child can affect your life right now. If you believe that money is evil or that money is hard to get, then your success will be limited. Even though you go through the motions with your web page, email marketing and other marketing tasks, you'll always fall short on something that is critical to your success.

You mind will automatically stop you just like a thermostat turns off the heat at a certain point.

Harv revealed 3 easy actions you can do today to change your money thermostat and gain a millionaire mindset right now.

1. Stop blaming. You must take absolute responsibility for every result in your life. If you didn't cause it that means it's out of your hands. If you did cause it then you can change it and get a different result. What an empowering concept

2. Stop complaining. When you complain you are focusing on the problem. The Universal Law of Attraction states that what you focus on expands. So if you focus on what you don't want, what do you think you'll get?

3) Use the power of intention. Take your current goal and double, triple it, or even quadruple it. For example if you want to make an extra $2000 a month from your website, raise your goal to $8000. According to Harv, the Universe usually gives you only what you ask of it. You'll probably find that the higher goal will spark your enthusiasm and energy and make it much easier to accomplish.

4) Bless that which you want. If you see someone with a fancy car, say "Good for him!" Don't use your key to scratch it as you walk by like a lot of jealous low brow people may do. If someone you know gets a promotion, congratulate him. This secret alone will cause money and wealth to start flowing to you effortlessly.

The more you practice these Millionaire Mindset secrets, you'll discover that you too will experience dramatic success and your income from Internet marketing will skyrocket.

Rick Miller is a Certified Master of Web Copywriting and co-founder of List Crusade. For fre^e access to the entire interview with T. Harv Eker, along with 51 other audio lessons from top Internet Marketing and Self Help Gurus--go to: http://www.scientificinternetmarketing.com/eker2

2004 Rick Miller. All rights reserved. Feel fre^e toreprint or forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish.

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 1:01 PM  0 comments

Every single day there are thousands of internet businesses that fold. Because the internet is so accessible, this may not surprise you, but how do you stop your online business folding? Well, you can make money online in a whole host of ways so I am going to highlight what people do to fail.

Internet losers...

10. Fail to research

Yep, you read it right. If I had a penny for every person I spoke to that had an idea without researching it, I would have a heap. By researching an idea I mean running tests to see if people actually want what you are offering. Working out how much money there is in a market. Finding out if there is any competition. In general people do not research and are quite willing to get too excited about an idea without doing the math.

9. Spend too much time sweating the small stuff

Once somebody gets an idea and start putting it into play by creating a website, they sweat the small stuff. Should I use this effect here or this effect there. This is all well and good if you have everything else in order but usually this type of person hasn't. If you have solid navigation, effective copy and a good overall design then go ahead tweak away. If you have none of the big stuff down you may as well forget about drop shadows or gradients because your site is not going to work.

8. Have no end game

I see this all the time. Someone has an idea, wants a website, wants to get rich but have absolutely no real goal in mind. They do not know where they are going or how they are going to get there. If you don't have an end game, how do you know if you have achieved anything.

7. Have an unworkable model

Here is another great way to fail. People come up with new niches to make money online but they failed to grasp what people will and will not buy online. The truth is, somethings simply do not work online. Take a good look at your idea and think carefully about the reality of it selling online. The more bespoke or expensive the product the, slimmer the chance of success.

6. Don't give people a reason to use the product or service

How many times have you visited a website and thought "So What?". Simply putting your product or service up on a website may not be enough. Your text content needs to really persuade people to buy into what you are doing. If they don't 'buy into' the site, they will not buy from you.

5. Think a mission statement is critical

This one is controversial. I think it is great for a company to have a mission statement but it has no value on a website designed to sell in my opinion. It is again an example of sweating the small stuff. If you want to sell your product or service online you have to give people what they want fast. If I want to buy a battery for my laptop, I really do not care if the website I am buying it from wants to look after their staff and promote this that or the other. Just tell me the price, how quick I can have it and how I can pay, period.

4. Don't think out of the box

I have a business, I have business cards, I have a website, I advertise. So what? So has everybody else. If you are going to make this work start thinking for yourself. Get creative and find new ways of driving traffic and sales to your website.

3. Fail to squeeze the most out of their contacts

I hear this one all the time. "We have over a thousand subscribers to our newsletter."

I say "That's great, well done. What kind of things have you been putting into your newsletter."

They say, "We haven't done a newsletter yet."

These people have contacts eager for info and they do not send them promotions, tell them about new gear or even write to them at all. Doomed to fail.

2. Fail to market the site

People pay good money to have websites built, then they show their friends and expect the traffic to flood in. The truth is that you need to advertise your site through the internet either paid or unpaid. No traffic - no business.

1. Have an unrealistic belief that a website will generate lots of income with no work.

Here is the number one reason that people fail online. They believe a website is the key to wealth. they believe that they set up a website and then just bank the cash. Wrong!!! Every website, no matter how automated needs some kind of maintenance and effort. The internet is a great way to make money but you still have to work for it.

Get your Free 5 Day Make Money Online Course by visiting Top Wealth Programs.

Andy Stocks is a serial online entrepreneur and business owner.

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 9:15 AM  0 comments

When it comes to marketing real estate on the internet there are a lot of ways to get some great exposure without having to spend any money to do it.

If you are an agent who is either broke or working with a very small budget, you will have no excuses to get the ball rolling again once you read this article.

First and foremost I have to say that before you start talking about bringing people to your website, you must make sure the website is ready for traffic.

No sense driving people to a website that will not capture their contact info. Here are a couple of tips to make sure the site will have the best chance for success when you drive visitors to it.

Get the main lead capturing tools of the website to the middle of the home page. Those tools normally are a 1. home search 2. auto email sign up 3. cma request. Sell your home search as "Search 5,000 listings in San Antonio click here" or even more descrptive. Do Not showcase that feature by having a 2 word button on the left that just says "home search". Bring the text and the feature to the main section of your website. It also helps to have some local photos, links and information on the community underneath that as well since many folks want to know more about where they are moving. I have another post on RISMEDIA.com that goes more into real estate websites, but let's get to the marketing part of this article for now.

FREE places first to get some good exposure for your website and real estate business.

1. Online classifieds - This is a huge and growing business model that is killing print ad publishers around the country. In San Diego, for example, Craigslist.com has many more ads in it than our main San Diego newspaper and while Craigslist grows multifold the San Diego Union continues to shrink. Their loss is your gain since you can advertise your listings in Craigslist.com for free. You can also post for FREE in:

backpage.com

Google Base

HotPads

Kijiji

LiveDeal

Oodle

Trulia

Vast

Zillow and others

Make sure you SAVE YOUR AD so you can re-submit it when it expires in these online classified sections. I always save ads in "notepad", since "word" can mess up any HTML you have.

When making your ad MAKE SURE that just under the info that you have on the listing you also have a "search for homes" link on there. The real goal of the ad for me is to gather enough interest on a listing to click on the ad and then get them to go to a full MLS home search from there. Craigslist will flag ads that do not have listings and are home search ads only. If you do not have a listing, then throw in some listings from other agents and friends in the office. The more ads you can input the better. The goal is to take 45 minutes for 2 weeks and create about 14 ads. Once you have copies of 14 ads then you have a sufficient amount "in storage" to work with. Most ads for listings run 1-2 weeks. Craigslist.com may only last for a week so if you have 14 ads in your file you can drop 2 a day in there and just recycle them until the listing sells.

Is craigslist powerful? Good question - Here are "the facts" as they list them off their website

CRAIGSLIST.COM Facts:

The site serves over nine billion page views per month, putting it in 56th place overall among web sites world wide, ninth place overall among web sites in the United States (per Alexa.com on January 10, 2008), to over thirty million unique visitors. With over thirty million new classified advertisements each month, Craigslist is the leading classifieds service in any medium. The site receives over two million new job listings each month, making it one of the top job boards in the world.

As of September 2007, Craigslist had established itself in approximately 450 cities in 50 countries.

One thing for sure is that Craigslist.com is growing and not shrinking along with these other online classifieds.

If you are an agent with a small budget then invest your time tapping into online classifieds.

GOLD NUGGETT: Okay so some of you are saying "how do I create a good ad"?

Go to www.postlets.com and they will provide a step by step walk through that will create a PROFESSIONAL web based ad for FREE, plus you also get listed in the Postlets.com directory for free. If you are not running to your computer to go drop an ad in Craigslist.com right now then you are crazy!

Postlets is EASY and if you are in a slump with no business, then create 30-50 ads like I do and get your business in gear! -

2. Get Listed in Directories -

You know the old saying "the more places people can find you the better"?

Well if you are like me you want to make sure that you try to get as much exposure for as little $$$ as possible. In addition to online classifieds there are also "online directories" that will list your business in their search results. Some of the BEST directories to get listed in are Google and Yellowbook.com. There are also normally 3-4 more local directories in each local market that you can also get listed in if you take the time to track them down. Normally you can go to Google and type in "san diego business directory" or other related terms to find websites that will provide a free business listing. The best part with most of these directories is that they only need to be renewed yearly and not weekly like classified ads.

3. Myspace.com

If you are going to make money with a tight budget then Myspace.com is also a viable media tool to create business and exposure. I have had great success with Myspace.com but I will caution you to understand that is takes time to make Myspace.com productive. When you have a FREE Myspace.com page you will want to make sure that you put links from your main website on it. The page has little value if people cannot search for homes, sign up for auto email or do a CMA, so make sure you put that on there in addition to local photos of the area etc...the more photos, the more people that will come to your page and want to add you as friends. The main value of Myspace.com comes in the form of "how many friends" do I have. You need to (or get your kids to do it) add as many friends as possible to your account. You can target zip codes, age ranges, married or not etc...so make sure you get friends from zip codes where sales are or listings are coming from. In addition go outside the area and "add other agents" and build a Myspace.com referral network.

Myspace.com works, it is not a question of "Does Myspace.com work"? Of course it does, it has boasted being the most visited website on the planet and with 200 million online visitors and growing, it is something you need to look at. I would say that you need to get around 1,000 plus friends to start getting the thing going, but it is worth it and the sooner you can get at least just a page up the better. You need to develop a good banner with a link to your real estate website and make sure when you are "added as a friend", you go back to that Myspace.com page and post it in their comments section.

If you can get your banner into 40-50 or 100+ Myspace.com pages with links back to your website, then you will start seeing some traffic coming and interest in your profile.

Normally it takes 6 months to a year to get those accounts going strong, but it is worth it when you do. These online resources that I have talked about are growing expodentially so it makes sense to look at these as an additional source of revenue for your business.

In a time when marketing budgets can be thin, these are very effective ways to help get your business in front of a growing number of visitors using these online resourses!

Remember the MORE TIME YOU INVEST THE BETTER THE RESULTS!

Best wishes to your success!

Sean

Sean Callahan is the owner and founder of http://www.RealEstateMarketingNerds.com and has worked with thousands of real estate websites and agents over the past 8+ years. He is a former seminar speaker for The Learning Annex in San Diego and a webmaster for his 10+ websites featuring vacation rentals and hotel reservations.

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 5:27 AM  2 comments

Microsoft and Google are the two most valuable technology companies, according to Bloomberg, and they are engaged in a battle to control "how consumers and corporations work, shop, communicate and go about their digital lives," according to an article in the NY Times on 12/16/07. Google sees all these things happening through a Web-based system, but Microsoft envisions a future where most of these things happen through desktop PC software.

By offering Web-based computer software applications, called Google Apps, for word processing, email and spreadsheets to companies, universities and consumers, Google is trying to change the software business and in the process is directly challenging Microsoft's PC software empire. "If Google succeeds, a lot of the value that Microsoft provides today is potentially obsolete," David Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School, told the Times.

Taking on Microsoft will not be an easy task for Google. Microsoft has a commanding position in the personal productivity software business, with a share in excess of 90% and with Microsoft's Office Suite running on 500 million computers, according to the Times. It's certain that Microsoft will fight tenaciously to defend their business. They already are investing heavily in Web-based software, large data centers and are adding Internet features, to counter Google's advances in these areas. Microsoft's strategy appears to be one where they will embrace the web, while trying to maintain the profitability of their PC based business.

Some of the advantages of Google's software include being able to develop and release it more rapidly than conventional software, new features and improvements can be added quickly and you can access it from any online connection, without being tied to your PC. Eric Schmidt, Google'a CEO, told the Times that small businesses could greatly reduce their costs and technology headaches by adopting Google's web offerings. Dave Girouard, who runs Google's enterprise business, told the Times, "a lot of big companies" will soon be using Google Apps. Jeff Raikes from Microsoft dismisses Google's optimism as wishful thinking, in the Times article. Google must also face the fact that many large companies view Microsoft as a safe choice and may be reluctant to switch software vendors. Companies and individuals may also be reluctant to store sensitive information on Google's servers.

Ultimately, the success of Google's Web-based software will be dependent upon the cost and ease of use. Business people in a variety of industries are watching this venture closely, to see if Google can be successful in an area outside of Internet search. In the near term, I believe Microsoft will continue to be the dominant force in the software business, but if Google succeeds overtime, Microsoft will likely have to lower their prices, which will cut into their profit margins. Whatever the outcome, it should be interesting to watch these two technology heavyweights battle it out for control of the digital universe.

Peter Koeppel is Founder and President of Koeppel Direct, a leader in DRTV - direct response television, online, print and radio media buying, marketing and campaign management. With a Wharton MBA and over 25 years of marketing and advertising experience, Peter has helped Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs develop direct marketing campaigns to increase profits.

Peter started Koeppel Direct in 1995 and has built it into one of the leading infomercial direct response media buying firms in the U.S.

For more information please visit: koeppeldirect.com

# posted by online-classifieds39854 : 1:39 AM  0 comments