2 years ago, something happened to me that changed my life - forever!
After 6-months of studying every possible shred of information on internet marketing, I finally got it.
It's NOT about any one marketing technique.
It's NOT about working for someone else.
It's NOT about looking toward someone else for the "magic bullet" wealth pill.
Instead it's all about GIGGLES!
In this age of anacronyms, GIGGLES stands outside of all others.
GIGGLES is not just another fad, a process or a single technique, but is rather a fundamental principal of all successful businesses.
You can't ignore GIGGLES. You won't find true success until you embrace GIGGLES and you risk wasting tons of money and energy the longer you put off accepting GIGGLES
So what is GIGGLES?
It stands for "Great Ideas Get Gigantic Levels of Earnings and Security"
Yes but aren't great ideas too hard to develop? Don't they only come along once in a lifetime? Is that really the best way to make money online?
You see, I thought the same thing. Like you may have done, I tried many different businss options - traditional jobs, corporate consulting, franchising, and way too many biz opps to mention here.
Now, allot of money was made, problem was, it wasn't going into my pocket. Instead it was going into the pocket of the person who understood GIGGLES. A great idea is license to print money.
Now, let's look at rolling out your own income-generating information products following the principles of GIGGLES.
STAGE 1: Finding Your Great Idea, Staying On Course
Way too many people give up, or skip this stage of infoproduct development.
The single greatest skill you can learn in business is to observe and recognize demand in the marketplace.
Best part is that opportunity triggers for demand are all around us - everyday.
Challenge is to recognize them, be able to prioritize and carry through on capitalizing on opportunities.
Luckily, the ability to discover great ideas to write a book about can be learned - here's once place to look:
http://www.infoproductcreator.com
Your abilty to focus, stay motivated and finish your project in record time all depend heavily on having confidence in your topic.
If you feel there's only a small chance that your product will sell, you will have a small commitment to finishing it.
If you are almost certain that it will lead you to the lifestyle you want badly, then you will find completing your book will be simple, even fun.
Here's an example taken from my favorite Product Developers website of all time - http://www.infoproductcreator.com/part/myers
As the population ages, they are looking for post-retirement properties and real estate that is comfortable, affordable, in warm climates, and easy to maintain.
Bill saw this demand as an opportunity trigger. With a few minutes research, he was able to find terrific sources of such properties online - though not in one easy-to-use location.
So, what are the opportunities?
Develop a specialized website directory aimed at this audience and charge for listings, advertising and affiliate products, or ...
Take your digital camera or video camera and take pictures of the properties you find listed in your area, put them on a DVD and sell it to your audience.
There are other methods for earning money from this idea, most important is that he recognized a need and a gap in supply.
STAGE 2: Take Action - Develop Content
You've now got your amazing idea, it seems as though you should just be able to instanly make money doesn't it?
Not just yet, nothing great ever happened without effort.
Great ideas are very important, but not worth a cent until you put them into action.
Here are the most important parts of taking action:
a) Plan your product for maximum margin. You want to write a book to solve a problem? What if you create an audio or video instead? How about a membership site or paid newsletter? You can often find ways to meet a desire or problem that is 3 or 4 times more profitable than the obvious solution.
b) Study the competition - understanding what has been done gives you a base upon which to plan your product, and offers areas where you can improve on what's already in the market.
c) Break your task down into a series of steps. If you are providing an information-based product or service, then it will help if you think in terms of questions. What are your customers asking themselves or your competition.
d) Don't rely on friends of family to review or edit your material. Often they are NOT the target audience for your product and therefore will not see the immediate value. If you seek reviewers, find people in your target market.
e) Schedule some time each day to develop your content. Don't forget this very important fact:
You Get Paid By the Content You Sell
Spending time filing, accounting, planning, checking email, talking on the phone or performing other tasks will not make you ANY extra money.
Writing a chapter in your book will. Writing a special report will. Writing your sales letter will. Putting together a 2-page article will.
Avoiding the very work that will put money in your pocket is the number 1 threat to your success at this stage. Remind yourself of this fact every day. Write yourself a note and put it on your bathroom mirror, reminding yourself each morning.
STAGE 3: GO TO MARKET, TEST and IMPROVE
Everyone worries about Stage 3, often before they ever worry about Stage 1.
There are 10-times the number of products and services helping people with marketing online than products to help people setup the proper business online.
That's a BIG problem!
You can't hope to be successful with Stage 3 UNLESS you have a great idea - remember GIGGLES?
It's like magic, if you follow this plan, put the time into Stage 1 and 2, Stage 3 becomes dead simple.
People worry so much about writing great sales copy for their webpage, getting affiliates to signup, rolling out effective joint ventures, attracting leads to their site.
If you do not have a proven HOT selling idea, or content that offers value to your market, then it doesn't matter how much money you spend learing Stage 3 skills, you will NOT succeed.
Developing your website, writing great articles, attracting joint venture partners and traffic generating techniques all depend on your ability to "get through" to your target market.
Yes you need a convincing website.
Yes you must build traffic toward your site.
Yes, it's a good idea to start an affiliate program.
Definitely, you will want to have valueable content to offer subscribers in order to build a follow-up sales list.
You WILL be successful achieving each of these goals by simply communicating with your target market in a way that convinces them you understand their desire AND have a solution to offer them.
Want to kick off the ball and chain holding you back from reaching success.
Join the elite 5% of online marketers who understand GIGGLES.
You now know their secrets - it's your turn to prosper, may you have all the success you desire for you and your families.
About the Author
You Really Can Have Your Own Information Product Empire By Following These Key Steps. Master These Techniques, And You Will Quickly and Easily Have Products To Sell Online - AND You Get To Keep 100% of the Profits. Find Out More Here: http://www.highertrustmarketing.com
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Digital Photography, Is It Right For You?
Lately, people have been asking me the same question over and over, "Should I buy a digital camera?" And for everyone that asks, I have the perfect answer. Maybe.
There are many factors that go into the decision about going digital, not the least being whether you are a professional or amateur photographer. You need to ask yourself how you will use your photographs. Will they be for your website, magazine articles, stock agencies, advertising or something else? You then have to do some research and see what each of these markets asks for. Stock agencies love digital, as do many ad agencies, but most magazines want slides.
Do you want to stay with film? Great. Film still gives better image quality than digital. However, in a year or two digital will probably rival film. You also need to consider that film manufacturers are reducing the range of film they produce. I was amazed when a few months ago the owner of my local camera store told me that Kodak is going to discontinue Kodachrome 25 soon, and within two years discontinue Kodachrome 64 and 200. Film manufacturers know that eventually digital will take over, and they don't want to be caught flatfooted. So they're making fewer types of film, and starting to manufacture digital camera.
You also need to consider the costs of going digital. A professional digital camera or camera back, will cost between $5,000 and $15,000. These prices are dropping quickly, but they are still high. There's also the need for a computer (like a Mac G4 at $2,500), PhotoShop 7 ($600), high end printer (at least $500), maybe a scanner ($500 and up) and possible external data storage devices. This along with time spent manipulating each image in a computer, after you learn to use the computer and software, archiving each image on several sets of CD's so you can store at least one set offsite. An off-site set protects your images from being lost due to flood, fire, theft or some other catastrophe. As you can see, digital will eat up lots of time and money.
One way to get into digital, but save some money, is to go the hybrid route. Shoot with film, make some great prints then scan them into a computer using a flatbed or drum scanner. You can also scan negatives and prints directly. Some photo labs can even do the scanning for you. Many professional photographers go this route to have the best of both worlds. They can use their existing film cameras, while having digital images.
Still not sure which way to go? You could buy a nice digital camera, with at least 3.1 megapixels, for under $1,000 and give it a try. You can even buy a printer that connects directly to the camera, so you don't need a computer.
If you do decide to buy digital cameras, ask the same questions you would for film cameras. What lenses, shutter speeds, ISO's and flash sync speed do you need? What subjects will you shoot, in what kind of lighting and how portable does it need to be? Do you need to end up with prints, digital images or slides?
Then talk to photographers that you know, or that you can find on newsgroups, and see if they use the camera you're looking at, and what they think of it. If you live in a large city, you can probably rent the camera you want, and if you decide to buy it you may even be able to apply your rental fees toward the purchase price.
So don't jump on the digital bandwagon just because everyone else seems to be doing it. A camera is a tool. Select the proper tool to meet your needs. You will be happier and your pictures will look better.
Want to know what some of the pros are using for digital? Check this out.
Cameras Canon EOS-ID and D30 Nikon DI
Computers Macintosh PowerBook G3 and G4 Sony Vaio PC
Scanners Agfa DuoScan and Arcus 2 Flextight Precision II Imacon Precision II Nikon Coolscan 8000 Scanview Scanmate 11000 drum scanner UMAX PowerLook 1100 with transparency attachment
Printers Epson 1160, 1270, 1280, 5500 and 10000
Software Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and 7.0
About the Author
Jeff Colburn's books, "The Writer's Dictionary Of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Mythology" and "The Youngest Ninja," can be purchased from his site, The Creative Cauldron at www.CreativeCauldron.com. The Creative Cauldron is a site filled with information for writers, photographers, artists and other creative people.
There are many factors that go into the decision about going digital, not the least being whether you are a professional or amateur photographer. You need to ask yourself how you will use your photographs. Will they be for your website, magazine articles, stock agencies, advertising or something else? You then have to do some research and see what each of these markets asks for. Stock agencies love digital, as do many ad agencies, but most magazines want slides.
Do you want to stay with film? Great. Film still gives better image quality than digital. However, in a year or two digital will probably rival film. You also need to consider that film manufacturers are reducing the range of film they produce. I was amazed when a few months ago the owner of my local camera store told me that Kodak is going to discontinue Kodachrome 25 soon, and within two years discontinue Kodachrome 64 and 200. Film manufacturers know that eventually digital will take over, and they don't want to be caught flatfooted. So they're making fewer types of film, and starting to manufacture digital camera.
You also need to consider the costs of going digital. A professional digital camera or camera back, will cost between $5,000 and $15,000. These prices are dropping quickly, but they are still high. There's also the need for a computer (like a Mac G4 at $2,500), PhotoShop 7 ($600), high end printer (at least $500), maybe a scanner ($500 and up) and possible external data storage devices. This along with time spent manipulating each image in a computer, after you learn to use the computer and software, archiving each image on several sets of CD's so you can store at least one set offsite. An off-site set protects your images from being lost due to flood, fire, theft or some other catastrophe. As you can see, digital will eat up lots of time and money.
One way to get into digital, but save some money, is to go the hybrid route. Shoot with film, make some great prints then scan them into a computer using a flatbed or drum scanner. You can also scan negatives and prints directly. Some photo labs can even do the scanning for you. Many professional photographers go this route to have the best of both worlds. They can use their existing film cameras, while having digital images.
Still not sure which way to go? You could buy a nice digital camera, with at least 3.1 megapixels, for under $1,000 and give it a try. You can even buy a printer that connects directly to the camera, so you don't need a computer.
If you do decide to buy digital cameras, ask the same questions you would for film cameras. What lenses, shutter speeds, ISO's and flash sync speed do you need? What subjects will you shoot, in what kind of lighting and how portable does it need to be? Do you need to end up with prints, digital images or slides?
Then talk to photographers that you know, or that you can find on newsgroups, and see if they use the camera you're looking at, and what they think of it. If you live in a large city, you can probably rent the camera you want, and if you decide to buy it you may even be able to apply your rental fees toward the purchase price.
So don't jump on the digital bandwagon just because everyone else seems to be doing it. A camera is a tool. Select the proper tool to meet your needs. You will be happier and your pictures will look better.
Want to know what some of the pros are using for digital? Check this out.
Cameras Canon EOS-ID and D30 Nikon DI
Computers Macintosh PowerBook G3 and G4 Sony Vaio PC
Scanners Agfa DuoScan and Arcus 2 Flextight Precision II Imacon Precision II Nikon Coolscan 8000 Scanview Scanmate 11000 drum scanner UMAX PowerLook 1100 with transparency attachment
Printers Epson 1160, 1270, 1280, 5500 and 10000
Software Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and 7.0
About the Author
Jeff Colburn's books, "The Writer's Dictionary Of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Mythology" and "The Youngest Ninja," can be purchased from his site, The Creative Cauldron at www.CreativeCauldron.com. The Creative Cauldron is a site filled with information for writers, photographers, artists and other creative people.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS...SMIL (That's right... SMIL)
Did I get your attention? I hope so because we need to talk about SMIL and how its use can turn your streaming media presentations into television-like experiences for your web visitors. SMIL (pronounced "smile") stands for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language and was developed by the W3C Synchronized Multimedia (SYMM) Working Group to allow the synchronization of audio, video, text and graphics in web based presentations. It was expressly developed to enhance the quality of streaming media and can support multiple types of data, compression algorithms, and bandwidth environments. It was designed so that anyone familiar with HTML and some XML commands could employ it to create television like presentations.
Philipp Hoschka, Chairman of the W3C group and editor of the SMIL specifications says: "...the Web lacks a simple way to express synchronization over time, for example, 'play audio file A in parallel with video file B' or 'show image C after audio file A has finished playing.' SMIL enables this type of information to be expressed quite easily, allowing television-like content to be created..."*
I hear you asking yourselves "what does this technospeak have to do with me?" If you create web based advertising and would like to offer your clients a compelling new way to deliver it, this has a lot to do with you. If you're a website owner longing for a means to showcase your products and services with economical elegance, this has a lot to do with you, too.
Why? Because the Web is inherently interactive and visitors can follow the links imbedded in a SMIL presentation directly to your website. There they can obtain additional information or, more importantly, be taken directly to an order form for the product or service described in that presentation. "Users can switch from 'couch potato' mode into interactive mode with a simple mouse click," says Mr. Hoschka.
Let's talk about how you can put SMIL to work for you.
In the entertainment industry? An entertainer wants his visitors to know where and when he'll be performing. Scroll the schedule of his club dates next to the window playing a video clip of his specialty. As he sets his performance schedule for future dates, the clip can be quickly updated to reflect this. Include some text ads from the clubs involved, give their "live" URL's, and let them help pay for the production!
Selling real estate? Photos or slides taken with a digital camera can be coordinated with an audio commentary and text. Tell your potential clients about the geographic area, the schools, recreational opportunities and transportation situation. Place commercial messages from merchants in the area, with live links to their websites, into the presentation and generate additional revenue to defray some of the costs.
Are you in the training business? Courses can be devised which integrate voice and images. Live links can be introduced to take the students to other sites and information pertinent to the material being taught. Keep updated company policies online and couple them with news items and other materials relevant to the employees. Motivational trainers can use text, audio, and video to sell their training materials when their audience is most inclined to buy!
Doing e-commerce? Show photos of the product range with an audio track talking about each product as it appears. Use this in conjunction with text to take your visitors directly to the order form for the product while they're anxious and motivated to purchase.
Work with other merchants of complementary products; generate revenue by placing ads for their goods throughout your presentation.
Offering a service? Slide presentations can be timed so that bullet points come up in sequence on the screen at specified time intervals. These could change color as the presenter moves from point to point. Testimonials could scroll as you discuss your customer satisfaction policies. Restaurants could show a clip of the chef preparing his "signature" meal while the recipe is read or scrolled for the visitor.
I've talked about Rich Media, of which streaming and SMIL are integral components, in many articles. (See: http://www.wbcimaging.com/articlesbyexperts.htm) Now Rich Media is in the spotlight as traditional advertisers, losing faith in the "tried and true" banner advertising campaign, start to hop aboard the streaming bandwagon. As these advertisers shift their emphasis from banner click-thrus to ads that that are specifically used for branding, greater emphasis will be placed on Rich Media. With Rich Media, there are numerous opportunities to present the complexities of branding that cannot be done with static banners - greater interactivity, sound, motion, and the ability to display creatives in a larger space. As this occurs, SMIL will become the key to making these ad campaigns an entertaining and "smooth as television" experience.
I'd like you to think about television news. It's pretty straightforward; information about the events of the day. But the sophisticated audiences of today demand more than just "talking heads" on their television screens. So the news is packaged as entertainment, with music and graphics to grab the eyes and ears of the viewer. When advertisers realize that web surfers are seeking this same experience, there will be a rush to duplicate this on the Internet.
Then, all you have to do is...SMIL.
About the Author
Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. Ronni@wbcimaging.com 520-742-5780 http://www.wbcimaging.com
Philipp Hoschka, Chairman of the W3C group and editor of the SMIL specifications says: "...the Web lacks a simple way to express synchronization over time, for example, 'play audio file A in parallel with video file B' or 'show image C after audio file A has finished playing.' SMIL enables this type of information to be expressed quite easily, allowing television-like content to be created..."*
I hear you asking yourselves "what does this technospeak have to do with me?" If you create web based advertising and would like to offer your clients a compelling new way to deliver it, this has a lot to do with you. If you're a website owner longing for a means to showcase your products and services with economical elegance, this has a lot to do with you, too.
Why? Because the Web is inherently interactive and visitors can follow the links imbedded in a SMIL presentation directly to your website. There they can obtain additional information or, more importantly, be taken directly to an order form for the product or service described in that presentation. "Users can switch from 'couch potato' mode into interactive mode with a simple mouse click," says Mr. Hoschka.
Let's talk about how you can put SMIL to work for you.
In the entertainment industry? An entertainer wants his visitors to know where and when he'll be performing. Scroll the schedule of his club dates next to the window playing a video clip of his specialty. As he sets his performance schedule for future dates, the clip can be quickly updated to reflect this. Include some text ads from the clubs involved, give their "live" URL's, and let them help pay for the production!
Selling real estate? Photos or slides taken with a digital camera can be coordinated with an audio commentary and text. Tell your potential clients about the geographic area, the schools, recreational opportunities and transportation situation. Place commercial messages from merchants in the area, with live links to their websites, into the presentation and generate additional revenue to defray some of the costs.
Are you in the training business? Courses can be devised which integrate voice and images. Live links can be introduced to take the students to other sites and information pertinent to the material being taught. Keep updated company policies online and couple them with news items and other materials relevant to the employees. Motivational trainers can use text, audio, and video to sell their training materials when their audience is most inclined to buy!
Doing e-commerce? Show photos of the product range with an audio track talking about each product as it appears. Use this in conjunction with text to take your visitors directly to the order form for the product while they're anxious and motivated to purchase.
Work with other merchants of complementary products; generate revenue by placing ads for their goods throughout your presentation.
Offering a service? Slide presentations can be timed so that bullet points come up in sequence on the screen at specified time intervals. These could change color as the presenter moves from point to point. Testimonials could scroll as you discuss your customer satisfaction policies. Restaurants could show a clip of the chef preparing his "signature" meal while the recipe is read or scrolled for the visitor.
I've talked about Rich Media, of which streaming and SMIL are integral components, in many articles. (See: http://www.wbcimaging.com/articlesbyexperts.htm) Now Rich Media is in the spotlight as traditional advertisers, losing faith in the "tried and true" banner advertising campaign, start to hop aboard the streaming bandwagon. As these advertisers shift their emphasis from banner click-thrus to ads that that are specifically used for branding, greater emphasis will be placed on Rich Media. With Rich Media, there are numerous opportunities to present the complexities of branding that cannot be done with static banners - greater interactivity, sound, motion, and the ability to display creatives in a larger space. As this occurs, SMIL will become the key to making these ad campaigns an entertaining and "smooth as television" experience.
I'd like you to think about television news. It's pretty straightforward; information about the events of the day. But the sophisticated audiences of today demand more than just "talking heads" on their television screens. So the news is packaged as entertainment, with music and graphics to grab the eyes and ears of the viewer. When advertisers realize that web surfers are seeking this same experience, there will be a rush to duplicate this on the Internet.
Then, all you have to do is...SMIL.
About the Author
Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. Ronni@wbcimaging.com 520-742-5780 http://www.wbcimaging.com
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