E-Commerce Web Application - Why Testing Is Important

It is extremely important to test mobile applications and e-commerce websites so that it will not compromise on several factors such as customer data security, user experience, secure transaction, mobile responsiveness and quick load time. In addition, the success of your e-commerce web application depends heavily on smooth and proper functioning of these factors and should be free of bugs too. Thereby, you can give users an enjoyable and nice experience that would make them visit your app again for products and services.

Testing is inevitable to e-commerce success

We all know that users of e-commerce applications are spread worldwide as they deal with auctions, retail and wholesale, finance, manufacturing and marketing. Also, the fact that e-commerce industry is witnessing rapid growth for last few years can not be ignored. Organizations and businesses should devote more time in testing their website app and make it an indispensable part of their future e-commerce apps development. Here we bring to you a few important things on how to test an e-commerce website application.

Testing functionality of an e-commerce application

An e-commerce mobile or web app has four vital elements in the structure:

Product description page - It imports of product images, add to cart feature, product title, product comparison, description, related products and additional product details, to name a few.

Main pages - These include press releases page, homepage, about us page, privacy policy page, special offers, sitemap pages, among others.

Shopping Cart - Cash on delivery option, products list view, card payment, select delivery option, pay now option, remove product from the list, etc.

Product or Category Type Pages - The product page comprises of options akin to product type, size and color. Also, there is sorting feature to filter out products on the basis of size, model, price, etc. In addition, there is also "add to wish list" and "add to cart" feature in the category pages.

Before starting with the functionality testing, it is important to understand the e-commerce application or website completely. The above listed features are synonymous to all e-commerce applications, yet most of them are customized according to business specifications.

Testing flow of an e-commerce application

The testing of the workflow of an e-commerce web application includes the following:
• Check out process
• Signup and login options
• Sorting feature
• Search functionality
• Payment processing and payment gateway
• Applying filters for the selection of products
• Product review posting feature
• Invoice generation and order number
• Remove or add functionality in the shopping cart

Performing vulnerability as well as security assessments

Given that e-commerce mobile or web applications have valuable information of the client, including banking and personal data, it becomes critical to perform security testing to check for vulnerability and security issues in them.

Checking Compatibility with Web Browsers

It is essential that e-commerce applications work across all browsers such as Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera, among others. Run browser compatibility test to ensure that your customers can use it without nay hassle.

Conclusion

Running testing of an e-commerce web application is a must and common part of all e-commerce web or mobile app development. On the basis of your preference and need, you can look for an e-commerce web and customized portal development company. Irrespective of the venture you are planning to start, a smooth functioning portal or web application is critical to its success.

Easy Ways to Make Money

"Are there any easy ways to make money?"

The short answer is "Yes", but this needs to be qualified.

First, understand that there are NO FREE WAYS to make money, nor are there any ways to make FREE money, whichever way you like to say it! There is no scheme where you pay nothing and do nothing, and you make money automatically. If there were, millions of people would be doing it and they certainly would not tell anyone else about it. There are no on-line philanthropists who wish to "help" you to make money from the goodness of their heart; They want only to help themselves in some way. To make money you must expend some measure of your own cash or time or effort, or some combination of these.

That does not mean that you must always pay money for help or ideas to make money. There are several sources of information, and even software, which require no cash payment, but do require your time and effort to make the ideas work. An example is automated advertisements. More of that in a moment.

"What is the easiest way to make money?"

The easiest way to make money is, without a shadow of a doubt, by using the communicative power of the Internet, through which you can reach millions of people who may be looking for what you are offering. If you think that you have nothing to offer, you're almost certainly be wrong!

"What can I offer to people?"

The easiest way to make money on the Internet is by offering products or services provided by other companies. This is known as "Affiliate Marketing". You become an affiliate of the product manufacturer or service provider, and they pay you cash as a commission on whatever you sell for them.

How much does it cost to become an affiliate? Nothing! Only the time it takes to find some good affiliate products or services. Search the Web for "affiliate program program" (where "????" is your chosen subject of interest). When you've found some you like, sign up with them. (You may need to give a web site address for them to check. Do not worry if you do not have one; We'll deal with that in just a moment.) When they've approved you, go to their ' banners' or 'creatives' page and pick a suitable banner. Copy the banner code and paste it into your web pages where you want the banner to appear. Done! Now, whenever someone clicks on the banner and buys a product or service, you'll be paid a commission.

If that's too time-consuming for you, there is, fortunately, a quick way. Join one or more of the "affiliate trackers". These are companies that handle the affiliate sales tracking and commission payments on behalf of a large number of suppliers. You can select the suppliers that interest you from their lists. They also e-mail you whenever a new supplier joins their scheme. This saves you the time spent on looking for suppliers, but the banner work still needs to be done. Some affiliate trackers are LinkShare, ShareASale, WebGains, AffiliateFuture, LinkConnector, Buy, AffiliateWindow, CommissionJunction.

If you find all that too hard to do, there's an even simpler and quicker way. In fact, it's probably impossible to find any method for making money simpler and quicker to set up than ClickBank with the automated advertisements mentioned earlier. ClickBank is an affiliate tracking company that deals only in digital products, that is, products that can be downloaded from the supplier's web site immediately after they have been paid for, such as software, e-books, videos, etc. Just follow these steps:

(1) Join ClickBank as an affiliate. (You do not need to give a web site address.) The cost? Nothing.
(2) Sign up for automated advertisements lifetime membership. The cost? Nothing.
(3) Watch the automated advertisements training videos.
(4) If you do not have a web site, create a WordPress blog in a few minutes, and then watch the advertised advertisements WordPress video. The cost? Nothing.

For about an hour's work, you should have banner ads on your web pages or blog. Each time a visitor visits or refresh the page, the banner ad changes at random among the most popular ClickBank products in the category you chose. This random display is controlled by the automated advertisements software, and always displays the most successful products.

Once you're set up, either with your web site or WordPress blog, you'll need to attract visitors to it. In Internet marketing, visitors are known (somewhat impolitely) as "traffic". Driving traffic to your site is the hardest part of Internet marketing, but there are many ways to do it. This subject is beyond the scope of this article, but, if you can not get good advice from someone you know, there are many training courses available at various prices. Regrettably, many of them are not worth the money, being either poorly written or not comprehensive.

"How much commission will I be paid?"

There are no rules. You'll probably want to go for those affiliate programs which pay a minimum of 4% on consumer goods like TVs and games consoles. Digital goods like e-books and software can pay 50% or more! 25% is common for financial services. Insurance companies can pay you $ 5 just for a lead, without selling anything, and $ 70 if the prospect buys a policy. You may be surprised at some of the companies that operate affiliate schemes, even huge ones, like Sony, Argos, Wal-Mart, Sears.

"What else will I need?"

Patience. Do not expect miracles overnight. It may take some time and effort on your part, but success will come for sure. The amount of your success is usually commensurate with your effort in the early months. Sooner or later, your enterprise will achieve critical mass and start to snowball. Then it will be difficult to stop the money rolling in. Good luck!

Web Design For Business

Personal web design and web design for business are two completely different elements. If you're just having fun creating your own personal website, then colours and graphics can reflect your personal style and taste and may be a great asset to your site. However, when it comes to a business website, you need to have a professional appearance that is functional and appealing to the exact type of person or organisation you're trying to appease. For example, if you cater to professional business clients, you need a professional-looking site. However, if you're a business that caters to young adults, having a more interactive and, dynamic site might be more your style.

Web design for business is largely based on personal preference and industry experience as to what works for other companies. If you're not sure what you need, research similar companies that have successful websites, and use the concepts they have to build your dream website. Don't be afraid to see what your competitors are doing.

You can also consult with professional designers and design companies to get a better feel for what you need, if you're less informed on the web design end of starting your business. Often, it's better to invest the money into hiring professionals so that your site turns out to be the best that it can be. It's not that you're not capable, but would you fix your own television or hire a trained professional?

Getting traffic to your website takes more than just great web design for business. However, once you get people to your site, you need to have that little edge that makes them want to stay. They aren't going to want to stay at a site that isn't intriguing, so appeal to your customers. If you're not sure how, put yourself in their shoes, or do a research study, ask friends, family or colleagues to find out what people would like. Sure, all this is going to cost money. However, the investment will be worth it in the end, when you have a website that outlasts the test of time and provides you with more business than you ever imagined.

No one can guarantee the success of your website, but having great web design for business purposes is only going to assist you in succeeding. Not having a functional, well designed website is NOT an option in today's fast paced e-commerce society.

A Guide to Hiring an SEO Provider

If your business has any online components (such as a website), then SEO is critical to the ongoing success of your business. You may have the most expensive website in your industry, but without web traffic (visitors) to that website, it is essentially useless. It is not just traffic that you need, but targeted traffic. A good quality SEO service can provide relevant, consistent web traffic to your website (s). This guide will allow you, as a non-expert, to distinguish between good and bad SEO providers. There are many of both kinds, this guide should help you to find the good ones.

SEO needs to be implemented in a way that is effective in achieving your SEO goals and providing that all important meaningful presence on the World Wide Web.

Quality SEO is a critical investment when it comes to developing successful expansion and growth strategies.

Ineffective SEO implementation, renders your SEO efforts wholly ineffective and a waste of your money.

6 things you need to know and understand before hiring an SEO provider:

1) Hiring an SEO provider should be seen as an investment in your business. You should not view it as a business expense, but rather a business strategy and an effective way of enhancing your business presence within your business sector. Try not to begin your search with the intent of "buying some SEO". Hiring an SEO provider should have viewed rather as hiring an employee that understands and cares about your business and its online objectives.

2) The first page of Google (or any search engine) is everything. Few people ever go to the second page of the search results anymore. Google is so good at being a search engine that people blindly trust Google's ability to deliver the most relevant results on the first page. Think about how often you click through to the second page. This means that if your business is not on the first page, it's almost as good as now. The top positions on page one get the most clicks, which decrease as you progress downwards on the page.

3) The 'big' keywords are not everything. It is better to be on the first page for a fewer smaller keywords, than try to rank for larger keywords and not be on the first page at all. For example, an accountancy business in Preston may not rank for the highly competitive keyword 'accountant' (unless they have a lot of SEO budget and time to wait for rankings); but the same business could conceivably rank highly for the keyword 'chartered accountant Preston'. A good SEO provider should research the keywords that your business could literally rank on page one for and also keywords that have enough search volume to be worthwhile for your business to try ranking for.

4) SEO is all about beating your competition. There is no guarantee from the search engines to say you will be on the first page of Google if you do certain things. Put simply, SEO works like this:

The search engines have their conventions; websites that conform by giving the search engines what they want, will find them making achieving search engine rankings. The only thing standing between you and the top spots in the search rankings is your competition. Not your actual business competitors, but your online competitors. The websites that currently have the top spots in the search engines for your desired keywords are your online competition, and you need to beat them out of those top spots. Some keywords will be easy to rank for, others will be more difficult. It is only your online competition that dictates which will be the case for each individual keyword. A good SEO provider will research the competition for each of your keywords. Then, after the most effective keywords for your business sector have been identified that they should be implemented in accordance with point number three above.

5) On-page and Off-page SEO.

Search engine optimization is a complex and ever-evolving science, but in order to intelligently interview a prospective SEO provider you need to understand that there are two main types of SEO.

On-page SEO relates to the factors on your website that affect your SEO (keywords, usability, page headings, outbound links, internal links, etc.).

Off-page SEO are the factors that relate directly to matters outside of your website that affect the SEO of the website, such as back links, citations, social sharing, etc.

SEO providers can work on your off-page SEO fairly easily, but if you are not willing to change on-page SEO, according to their recommendations, you can not blame them for lack of results. A good SEO provider will review your website and report back about your on-page SEO, and how it can be improved. You should have your web designer make the adjustments. (Remember he is the expert in this field)

6) An increase in search engine ranking is not necessarily an increase in leads and sales. All your SEO provider can do is get your website, videos, Google Places, articles, blog posts, etc. further up the search engine results. They can not guarantee an increase in sales or leads, because that factor is determined by your own sales funnel. It is not the SEO provider's job to make sure that the extra web traffic you receive will convert to more leads or sales. Your website needs to convert those visitors with good marketing, which is an issue for your marketing consultant to deal with.

The key differences between 'good' and 'bad' SEO providers:

Good SEO Providers
Good SEO providers know and understand the points mentioned above. You can judge this by their answers to the questions provided later in my next article.
Good SEO providers want to build a solid foundation and a proper SEO plan for your business, with an extensive initial keyword and market (competitor) research. They will often insist upon it, even if the prospect client does not see the need. Sometimes a good SEO provider will refuse to work with a client that does not want the important groundwork to be done, because they know that without it they will not be likely to provide the client with the results that they want. A good SEO provider will want to provide their client with results as their first priority. Often a client will say "but I've already done the keyword research myself". Many potential clients sit down for 5 or 10 minutes to write out all the keywords that they think are relevant to their business, and then think that they have now done all the keyword research that is needed. Real keyword research is a lengthy, investigative process.

Good SEO providers use responsible SEO methods, such as paying more attention to on-page SEO, securing quality back links, improving citations, helping social sharing, including a good user experience, etc.

Bad SEO Providers
Bad SEO providers will want to take their clients' money as their first priority. They will not conduct proper keyword and market research, but will say, for example, "what are your three keywords and your URL that you want to rank for". If this happens (as it often does) you can be sure they are simply plugging your website into software to get irrelevant back links all over the internet, using spam blog comments, link farms and other means. In many cases this approach is ineffective because the URL, or domain, may not match the client's desired keywords. This can also damage the reputation and, ironically, the long-term SEO and credibility of the website.
Bad SEO providers use bad quality SEO methods (Sometimes referred to as Black-hat methods), Utilizing these methods can have an extremely detrimental effect on how your website is perceived by search engines. This in turn may result in your website being (Sand boxed). Needless to say this is extremely undesirable, as damage such as this is extremely difficult to reverse.

Ensure you get the specialist SEO who knows how to highlight the attributes of your company and can draw attention to your products and your services in a way that really makes your business stand-out on the worldwide web.

How To Make Money Online By Writing

Golden Rules are very special rules that a person should always remember and never forget.They are extremely important and useful guideposts to keep us on track and headed in the correct direction.

Golden Rules exist to be used, to be followed, to guide you. Regardless of what your main goal is or what challenge you face, the rule will be there. Just find the Golden Rule that applies and abide by it...

4 of the very best Golden Rules to Make Money Online By Writing.

Rule # 1, Write articles for websites. The reason behind that is there are websites such as Textbroker, which pay writers for writing articles on various topics. Remember, you will need to write quality articles in order to have articles accepted. As you become better and you are more seasoned, you can advance and be paid more for your articles.

Rule # 2, Write articles for your blog entry or web page that is promoting a product. Submit the articles to article directories and include a link in the resource box to your blog entry or web page. You will need to take care in this area because you will need to make sure your content is relevant to your blog entry or web page. And you'll want to take into account that the articles will need to be unique if you submit articles to more then one article directory. You don't want to submit duplicate content.

Rule # 3, Start a blog on a topic that you are interested in. Why this is important is because you will need to have compelling content to attract visitors to your blog. Writing about a topic in which you have an interest in will come easier and the words should flow freely. Place ads from AdSense or Infolink on your blog entries or web pages and earn commissions on clicked ads.

Rule # 4, Write articles for other marketers. You would get this done by joining an affliate marketing community that provides the opportunity for members to offer services to other members. People are looking for others to write articles for them, especially if they they don't have the time or the inclination to write articles themselves.

Have confidence in these Golden Rules to make money online by writing. They are time tested and found to be true. Follow them and your own ultimate success may be much more likely and also the results even more satisfying.

The Importance of Hiring a Custom Software Development Company

Advances in technology has made it easier for people to go about their day to day activities. Since computers, mobile phones and other gadgets have become a necessary part of peoples lives, it does not come as a surprise that the demand for applications for these devices has greatly increased. With the advent of smart phones, mobile applications have become an indispensable part of everyone's lives. This is why custom software development companies have become highly in demand in recent years. nowdays, just about anyone can come up with ideas for software or applications and make it a reality.

Creating a computer software program or a mobile phone application can easily make you a lot of money. However, the problem lies in actually designing the software. If you are wondering how you can create a software or application to sell, then it is important to know that it really does not have to be such a complicated process. If you hire a custom software development company to design your software for you, then you can earn a lot of money in the long run. While you may have to shell out a lot of money at the sunset, if you design a good enough application that can compete, then you can get the money you invested back in no time. It does not even end in getting the money you invested back, if you create a decent software, then you should have no trouble selling it to generate more profit.

The key to software development and application development is to come up with an idea for an application that is unique and useful. As a computer and mobile phone user yourself, you must know that it can be quite annoying to see the same applications time and time again under different names. While this certainly presents users with more options, it can also make the decision process a whole lot harder. With hundreds of thousands of software and applications out in the market right now, it can be rather difficult to come up with an idea that is completely original. This is why employing the services of a custom software development company that also specializes in custom application development is a good move. An experienced development team would be able to present a careful analysis of the market trends for these products. This would allow you to choose which categories are mostly in demand. If you are presented with a careful analysis of these facts then it should not be so difficult focusing your time and attention to a software that promises success.

Whether you want to sell these software or you want to use it for your own personal use or for you business, employing the services of a reliable and experienced custom software development company is important if you want the results to be desirable. A reputable company would present feasibility studies, especially if you have plans of marketing the software or application to the public. They should be able to present a comprehensive technical, economic and operational report of the app or software you plan to develop. Being aware of the strength and weaknesses of a product is necessary to ensure success. The feasibility report presented to you at the sunset will give you a general idea of ​​the predicted success rate of the application or software in question.

If you plan to develop an application for the iPhone, you should be able to find a custom software development company that will carefully guide you through the Apple App Stores approval process. You should also be able to market your software and applications easily with the help of a reliable development team. The development of software and applications does not only benefit those who want to develop these items for the purpose of making money. Businessmen who are always on the go can also benefit from this by having custom software and applications specifically designed for their needs.

A lot of businesses, companies and government institutions employ the services of a custom software development company to take care of their technical needs. Whether it is a theme for a website, a specific software to provide for particular needs or applications to cater to those who want to be able to keep track of their businesses and transactions even while they are away, a good development team should be able to provide all these without much difficulty.

If you are looking for a custom software development company; Whether for application and software development, Internet marketing or web development, a good option would be Dot Com Infoway. They have teams of highly trained IT professionals that focus on particular projects for efficiency and for higher success rates. You will be carefully guided by a development team from the development process to the marketing process. There is otherwise no other custom software development company that would ensure that all your projects succeeded both in development and marketing.

Making Money Online With a Forex Trading System

In this article I will discuss making money online, Forex trading, and software related to Forex trading. Both good and bad. As well as cover some other things. Although there are a lot of systems out there, more importantly scams, there's not quite as many as there are online get rich quick schemes and ponzi schemes in general. There are still hundreds if not thousands of scams that directly refer to Forex Currency Trading. These scams come in various formats but often get the record set straight on them quickly, however a few others somehow escape the negative publicity and go for years and hit unsuspecting profit seekers where it hurts the most daily. The problem with Forex is that so much seems too good to be true, and a lot of stuff is, but it's also true that many people have made millions and some are not really all that smart at it. You can profit from the right robot.

The first thing I would like to discuss is the topic of sales pages, that common pitch page that a lot of products use and you often think it's gone too far or it must be a scam just by looking at it. But when you think real hard about it, over half the time this is not actually the case ... These sales pages are so long and packed with information since they are commonly advertised on the web and it is more or less business strategy, as opposed to anything reflecting the product. Certain sellers force you to use pitch pages, they need a specific landing page and it makes things much easier for sales transactions.

So rather than guide you through a structured web site with more details through various sections; they often use this pitch page and they generally pack it with information and a ton of hard selling. This has proven to be the trend and it's gotten harder and harder for some EAs to market their software without these types of pitch pages. It is often the case with digital products and or / stuff you can order online. When it comes to these make-money-online and Forex sites they often have a lot of flash to them and obviously many things to draw customers in. In reality it's not much different from any other form of advertising, most certainly not the likes of gambling, and so forth. They need to have some sort of appeal and be competitive. My conclusion is that even if it looks like it could be a scam, do your homework anyway and it may not be. It just depends. Some things are signs, but in my opinion web design and hard selling are not direct signs of a scam. Although in the Forex Market something to hope for would be charts and proof.

With regards to the surveys and other things, it amounts to filling out spam for pennies pretty much, data entry is the same and much more annoying than even the most desperate realize. It also makes you look bad if you tell your friends. You still have to spend time to make any real money, not prizes, and some also require a credit card number on file, and they text you and stuff too. Let's be honest, it sucks. It's bottom of the barrel work that just is not worth it. It's for the ultra-lazy. The kind of human being who for example might get scammed by a Forex system. Not a serious adult who is looking to profit from investment and extend their savings, along with make more money in general.

I once tried a clicking service just to see if I actually could make money, on the popular moneytec forum it was this highly recommended thing by a bunch of lazy work at home users, but I bought into it at the time, and, no joke I signed up and they told me it would be easy and they would make it easy to visit 1000 sites or whatever they have you visit for 15 cents. So I clicked a link and it just starting loading every 2 seconds, it was awfully slow, I waited 15 minutes and that was only like 25 sites, i got a virus after, and i closed it fast. I abandoned the 15 cents for it and thought instantly that these poor souls who do this are a whole helluva lot more desperate than I am. I do not belong in these sort of slums of the internet. This is the first time I have ever written about it. During that several years ago before I started trading Forex I also wrote a few surveys and never got paid once. I have marketed online to some success but mainly my success has been through Forex Trading. That's why I do not need to work a real job and can sit around doing stuff like this all day. Publishing is very important to me. Once something you write online get indexed by a major search engine like Google, chances are that it will be there for a very long time. I find that important anyway ...

There are other ways you can make money online without Forex Trading, though sadly it is often below the barrel work; boring data entry, filling out surveys for pennies, to name a couple of the more common ones. If you're into making web sites you may also advertise on one of your sites or a network of sites, and for that you need fresh content and you need to get traffic, which is way harder than one might think. You can sell products as an affiliate, although you need to find your niche and work very hard at it, it becomes a time consuming job for some people and no matter what you're likely to going to need to invest in something no matter what you do. Whether it's Forex, Web Design, Advertising or whatever it is or a combination of things, most importantly it takes time and ability to adapt your passion. Although you still have much more freedom, affiliate marketing online is very crowded and has been for years. You can also use a revenue-share article and / or video submission service in hopes of being one of the few who can actually earn a living at it. Though that is not for everyone. If you've got four young children and only have an extra hour or two a day to pull in some extra income you most likely do not have time to play a Martha Stewart like figure. Most people do not.

Forex Trading on the other hand is more convenient in the sense that it is an extremely profitable investment opportunity given the right expert adviser, to advise your trade and supply signals, generally to guide you. That is option one. You need a broker. It's way easier than you think and in the Forex industry not as big of a word as you might think, easy to get and you do not gotta meet them in person or anything. It's an online thing.

There are many options to trade Forex, one of the most common would be the use of automated Forex platforms and Forex robots, all automated Forex trading in general. There is nothing wrong with it. This is where expert advisers come in, EAs for short. These are the Forex experts as I mentioned above who supply your trades and information to you. They pretty much tell you what to do. Some are much better than others. Some are not out to supply signals at all and simply selling their software to make profit from that end. Proper automated Forex software oftens runs on the metatrader 4 Forex trading platform, or at least the more popular ones do. Your EA software is like plug-in software for it. I'd actually be wrong to say all EAs use it, but many of the ones I have experience with use the Metatrader 4 Platform and I prefer it.

The other way to trade Forex is to study the market, find all the relevant information you need, take a very long time of a few months to several years to learn something, only to have it blow up as you were still too inexperienced to do something with your strategy when the market changed. Strategy is a very important element of online Forex trading but not just having a strategy, it's about having enough strategies and being able to adapt properly with the market. This is why a lot of people fail without popular EAs, because the EA is usually a well-trained trader and your common trader can not provide himself with signals even half as good and a lot less consistently. The well known EAs are usually like 15 year traders and so forth who studied the market like a school subject and make extra money on the side by selling there signals too you, or software which grants them.

A lot of Forex EAs today simply do not have that sort strategy or ability to adapt with the market ... So not making them scams, but just not prepared for the long haul in general. I have a lot of experience with failed systems and systems that worked for just a little while. I have others that work to this day but I am always seeking new ones. I can review several including one I use now however that has already been done a few times over.

If you're looking for the cross between really learning Forex and just really having to learn complicated signals and software I'd suggest Forex Fap Turbo. The downside of this is you often need to buy extra stuff to learn it and some of it is useless. All of this for pretty decent software but it takes way more time and skill and not something I was happy with. I requested and received my refund for the software and some other software related to it, as it was just not for me and the only people i heard reviewing and bragging about it were a lot more educated before they tried it than I was. I was not ready then, am not ready now. Although it's a well reviewed Forex system and not a scam, I've provided a lot of help, but there are too many of the same, some are forex advertisements so that's not a lot of help. It also brings up a lot of the Fap Turbo related software that is not even the direct software and you gotta buy it separately. So it's a lot of hassle even more than some typical investments that are not related to Forex.

I have also tried automoney and several other Forex robots and automated Forex platforms. I have found that many of these automated Forex systems are a dime a dozen and send you through far too many loops to get the desired results. If they do not eat your entire investment ... Some systems do not have stops and you have to do too much often, others are slow, and sometimes the EA is simply just not your sort of teacher and you get lost sometimes. ..Some EAs will simply sniff you out and then screw you over in the end. This is why it's important to watch for signs of proof either by service trial or physical proof before making your purchase of expensive Forex software.

I have also used Forex Assassin, the eToro Forex trading platform and Forex Harvester but nothing really significant has come up from any of those systems for me.

Some Forex marketers, EAs and employees in general and so forth are so wicked that they monitor new "Forex" related domain registration and somehow get your email address and solicit you ... So you have to be aware that in the Forex market as far as Forex expert advisers go, there is a lot of them competing to get your money. You are sincerely seeking the ones who are also looking to have a solid reputation and actually provide you with profitable trades, your EAs # 1 objective should be successfully trading Forex and not selling their software. This is another thing that makes the simple "pitch page" easy for EAs with very little maintenance, on that end of things. The software should be and often is a side venture for Forex experts who can actually profit from their knowledge of the market and have the means to market themselves ... Can anyone create automated software and sell it? Probably not, I think it's a bit of a stretch but then again it depends if you even get software, or whatever, most systems that are fully developed and have good features but do not work - were more than likely meant to work at some point.

I have read up on quite a few of the most popular Forex review sites like Forex Peace Army and many other well known ones, and to me they all pretty much point towards the same complicated software and their voters are already experts investing 10s of thousands already and they barely feel some of their losses. They switch around a lot; nothing turns out to be solid in the end. The reviews on sites like that most likely got started through advertising. Too many people get to review their own systems on Forex sites like that, etc. You never know who the reviewer is. Searching for automated Forex software reviews is almost impossible nowdays since they all say pretty much the same thing and are mostly positive ...

I have read up on many "free Forex signal" reports on the web and I also participate actively on various Forex forums and other Forex related sites. I often find with these particular Forex signals at least my impression is that you get someone looking to be a mentor of some sort for you, they are usually shady and turn out to be lacking when you need them the most. These guys are usually empty handed. They are trying to freelance or whatever so that they can supply systems and build a name for themselves, but the problem is that these are the guys who after so many followers do create a commercial system and then extremely end up failing, their the failed EA newbies to some extent and you want an EA who is an accomplished Forex expert.

One should consider it much better and safer to use an established system that is known to work, and not the work of an aspiring EA, or even worse, somebody who does not have those credentials at all and are just trying to stuff their ego . I have not enjoyed the free Forex signals and find it more like looting through them then finding anything that productive, not much is there or else all the Forex signals would have to be free and would be for everyone, all the best Forex signals would be free. At least that is my concept. I do not want a rookie EA telling me what to do, since the trend in the Forex market nowdays is most definitely for more popular and well established EAs to sell systems, mostly automated software. That is one thing I do not understand, who these people are that clog up the forums with nonsense and think they can compete in the market with actual successful Forex EAs who really know how to trade.

How much you want to trade really depends on you. If you're a Forex starter you need to have a good EA for starters, and while I can not hand pick one for you, I can provide at least one review since I have spent time on the subject, in this article off- site to an excellent EA which i have tried and complies with several of my standards. I feel it is an excellent resource for people like me at least who gets lost on the big stuff. There are many fish in the sea.

Ways Young People Can Win With Money

Learning about money while you are still young is an awesome idea. Let me give you a few ideas that young people can use to really win in their financial lives.

Being realistic is key. And winning with money is realistic! This means you should use common sense, investigate investments, the markets, and the opportunities you are interested in. Read the fine print. If you were to take on debt, ask yourself if it would be worth it, or if the debt would be like an anchor. Again, be realistic. Look at the real consequences of the actions you could take. Good actions should be turned into habits.

Consider entrepreneurship. Write down business ideas. Learn the skills you need to succeed. See if your business idea is feasible by testing your product or service. If it is, type up a business plan, and get to work. Make the phone calls and do the web searches necessary to find the information you need.

Join a club or society for young entrepreneurs. Earn a business degree. The more you can learn about business, the better off you are. Being around and networking with other goal oriented, ambitious entrepreneurial types is a boon to your success. Being around the total risk averse and the complacent is not a boon to success.

Work hard at your job and / or at your business. Make a good name for yourself. If a job does not work out, do not trash your goal of being rich. Just keep plugging away and learn from your mistakes. Sales or customer service would be a good starting point if your first job is not running your own business.

While (and if) you live with your parents, sock away as much money as you can. W. Clement Stone once said, "If you can not save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you."

Learn about investments, by taking an investments class at your high school or college (taking a few more classes is better). Economics is good thing to study too. Finance and economics are tough courses but are very worthwhile. Read extracurricular books and read about your interests.

Winning with money is not always easy. Self discipline, sacrifice, frugality, hard work, managing risk, reading books, and holding on to your long term vision are essential to your success.

Learn and Earn With Affiliate Marketing

Do not Be A Statistic; Learn And Earn Your Way To Success

Having invested four years or more of hard work in a degree, it is imperative that you maintain your skills and have work experience recorded on your resume. Use your marketing skills and earn money at the same time. Affiliate marketing will provide you with the opportunity to learn and earn.

I had been unemployed for a few months; every recruitment agency within a 20 mile radius had been bombarded with e-mails, phone calls and of course, had been provided with several copies of my CV. Never before have I been unemployed for such an extended period of time, and I have an extensive experience in my chosen field. The financial climate gives employers the upper-hand; This is an ideal opportunity for employers to choose the most experienced candidates, leaving those with less than perfect CV's at the back of the queue. I can only imagine what it must be like to be a student or graduate just out of university. I decided to trawl the internet for any home-based opportunities to earn some money, as my savings were being sapped, and my resources depleted. I spent a good week researching; affiliate marketing was the one opportunity that appeared to be legitimate. In the process, I had fallen foul to three scams; I did not lose a fortune, but any amount is too much when lost to a scam.

Affiliate marketing is the most lucrative online opportunity. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and you will not become a millionaire overnight; it requires hard work, dedication and motivation, but it is the ideal opportunity for those who might be unemployed, or anyone looking to top up their incoming, to tap into what is fast becoming, a booming industry.

Currently, there is no specific affiliate marketing degree or diploma, although this is likely to change with time. In simple terms, it is where a customer searches online for specific products and is directed by the affiliate to the required product via a link. The user clicks on the link and is driven direct to purchase the product or service on the seller (merchant) site. The seller pays the affiliate commission as a percentage of the total sales value and this can be anything from 15-75%. The affiliate must have the knowledge and know-how to find the right products for the right customers at the right time. Advertisers prefer to have their products marketed in this way because advertising costs only become effective when a sale takes place.

The golden rule of affiliate marketing is finding niche markets. A niche market is defined as a specific targeted product that satisfies the consumers requirements. It is highly specialized and requires much fine-tuning. Research is imperative; finding the right keywords will lead you to the right customers and products for that customer. It is possible to market a product in two ways; either by choosing a consumer and providing the product that consumer wants, or by providing a product and finding consumers to purchase that product. The affiliate finds the niche market, shows the product to sell, then chooses a marketing technique and then builds a campaign leading to action. It is possible to earn money online within any industry but the key is to provide the right product to the right person at the right time and for the right reason. Initially, you should promote a product, service or topic that you know something about, or at least, are interested in. You are more more likely to succeed if you are passionate about your subject; what graduate is not passionate about their subject?

You will benefit from joining an affiliate program initially; An affiliate marketing training program is the easiest and quickest way to lead you to success. There are hundreds of programs, and I have researched them all. Joining is usually free, and a reputable program should provide you with all the expert training, resources, research tools, market information, mentoring and support to ensure your success. The program should be able to turn marketers into sales machines, keep you ahead of the game and make you a force to contend with. Be aware of programs that expect you to pay considerable amounts to find out about what they offer. You would not pay a company to interview you; this information should be free. You will need to pay a membership fee for joining; this the norm, but in return your offer should include all the training and resources you need to start your business.

You will need products to promote, so will need to join an affiliate network. The beauty of affiliate marketing is that you do not need to invest in products to sell; you simply market and sell products already offered by merchants. Networks such as ClickBank, LinkShare and CJ.com are reputable networks. There are many networks to choose from; choose those offering a good rate of commission and confirmed payment method. These networks offer thousands of digital products but you will need to learn quickly how to master these networks and achieve the best possible sales potential.

You are far more likely to succeed in maximizing your potential through the use of your own website. Your website will provide you with an identity wherey you can market your products in your own style. You will also be able to target your products to specific markets and update your product offer when applicable. Your marketing efforts will be automated and therefore your earnings potential will be continuous. Websites can be built using free web development programs and do not need to cost the earth.

There are many marketing strategies you are able to use to promote your products; the affiliate program will train you to master these techniques. There are free marketing techniques and paid-for ones. Article marketing is a free marketing technique to get traffic to your email marketing campaign. By writing short articles and submitting them for distribution in the market you will achieve credibility. You will need to write unique, relevant quality content and also unique content. Every article contains a resource box and by-line, including the author's contact details. Writing good articles can achieve valuable backlinks to your site.

Other strategies include Pay-Per-Click, wherey you use advertising mediums such as Google AdWords to promote your offer. E-mail marketing will quickly build you opt-in mailing lists which are great for targeting specific products to customers at specified times, and you can utilize autoresponders to manage your e-mail campaigns. Search Engine Optimization is key to driving traffic to your website and achieving high page ranking with Google, Yahoo and MSN can bring huge amounts of traffic to your products.

Joining a program has other advantages; it will enable you to earn from the outset if you choose one offering promotion incentives; promote the program you have joined, and you are able to earn from day one. Take advantage of your skills and marketing capabilies; learn and earn to put that much-needed experience on your CV. I wish you the best of luck!

Best Ways That You Can Use to Make Money Online

There are quite a number of industries operating online today and there are people making a living through online platforms. So as to actually make it big, you need to start out from the ground up. You may have little knowledge but if your heart is in the right place, you will definitely make it big. Passion is necessary if you are to survive online work. Remember that failure is a great teacher and it actually helps you to be much more productive as time progresses as you know the pot holes that you should avoid.

If you are serious about any kind of appeever regardsless of whether it is offline or online, you need to offer great value. Building authority does not come easy. It takes time and it is necessary if you want to create a great audience. The audience and authority are ingredients that can make all the difference in the success on the web.

Most of the people who enjoy success in business have actually been able to deliver great value as they started out. They had to work a lot and they also had to inspect all aspects as meticulously as possible. There is a need to verify that the customers are satisfied with what you are doing so as to make sure they stick around for a long time. There is nothing like an easy buck, especially if you want something that will keep you afloat for a long time.

You need to:

Select a niche

If you would like to make money online, then finding a niche is important. You need to understand what you are actually good at or what you would like to be good at. There is no need to be a great expert when you are starting. All you need is to decide whether or not you will thrive in the niche so as to have a chance to make lots of money later.

Create a blog

Make use of a custom domain as the blog will be like a virtual home for you. Here, you will be able to filter all sorts of traffic that you attract.

Value

Adding value at all times is always important as this is the way to create authority. Authority in turn breeds great trust and this is how you grow your audience. When you have a good following, your Traction online is greatly improved.

Creation of email lists

You need to have an email list. Marketing to a group of interested parties is a great way to go. Email subscription is great. There is still a great potential that lies within online marketing.

Morals

If you want to make money online for a long time, keep your morals close by. Do not sacrifice them for anything. This may put people off and you may lose the trust of search engines. Do not be worried too much about adding ads to a blog until the following goes up significantly. Before you engage in any activity, think of the results that they will have on you in the long-term.

Make Money Online - Starting Your Internet Business

Making money online by starting your own internet business is a big draw with economic conditions the way they are, many are trying to make extra or replace their income. Although the need and want are there, knowing where to start and what to market, gets many beginners very confused. Having a plan will help the confusion.

Time management is where many go wrong, they may have a regular job, or family to deal with and feel they just don't have time to start a business online. However having a plan with an effective system in place will allow even the beginner to run their business with less time.

Evaluate business opportunities When deciding what business you should set up, be sure they fit your needs and desires. Choose wisely, because by planning ahead you will be able to find many things that can be marketed by using the same type of system.

Choose one thing to market and learn the marketing techniques that it will take to make money online, by doing this before jumping to market a lot of different things at the same time, you will understand what it will take to make your business a success. Then you can take what techniques you know are successful and apply them to other markets.

By learning and improving your marketing skills, testing what works and fine tune it, you will be successful at starting your internet business. As an example: Many begin with affiliate marketing because it is easier to do, it can even be done without a web site or advertising budget.

However, as they learn an apply what the learn they soon realize that they can make more money online by having the proper tools in place, such as a domain name, web site and auto responder. These tools are used to build a list of potential buyers instead of sending them to someone else who will put them on their list and profit from you.

Another example is many start out writing articles to promote the products that they are selling because of budget restraints, but once they make enough they want to move on to pay per click or other ways to bring even more traffic, so take the time to learn and improve your skills and profit from them.

If you want to making money online by starting your own internet business, take action, make a plan so time can be managed, and you will have a system to follow. Evaluate business opportunities, and of course learn an improve as this needs to be done.

SEO for Business IT Marketing

Onsite SEO is related to everything on your actual website. Titles, meta decryption, internal linking, keywords density, sitemaps, alt tags for images and video. Keywords are the words or phrases that potential customers type when searching for your products or services on search engines.

Ranking high for relevant keywords matters because it brings your business to the top of the search results, helping you reach more potential customers. Offsite most important are: Listings refer to all the sites and directories where your business's information appears. Listings matter because they enable potential customers to find you or your business on relevant sites, and because they can improve your position on search engines like Yahoo, Google or Bing. If not, you're missing out on reaching consumers at the most critical stage of the buying cycle - when they're comparing products, price and services to choose a business. Do not assume that having a website is enough to succeed online. With many of your competitors already promoting themselves online, you need to make sure your web presence is effective as well on all major local search sites. The good news is that promoting yourself online and expanding your clientele can be easy and affordable. By investing in your online marketing, you can attract new customers while reducing your overall advertising budget!

One of these other SEO strategies is called ATO (Ad Text Optimization) which is a type of paid search advertising. Now, a successful SEO campaign can create organic traffic (a natural relevance to search terms instead of being an advertisement), but it could also include paid advertising, creating great quality web pages, setting up a way for owners to gauge their online success, and improving a website's conversion rate (which is the ratio of people who visit a site versus the amount of people who take action). The problem with SEO is that search engines change their algorithms and there are no guarantees on continued referrals. Because of this a business that may require a lot of help from search engine traffic could suffer losses if a search engine stops sending visitors to their site. This being the case it is advised to keep from dependence on search engine traffic. Most search marketers will share that it is better to receive traffic from links as they are stronger. For advice on how to link your business website to another website, you should seek professional company for help.

Fundamentals Of Successful Business App Development

Nowadays, the web & mobile apps serve manifold advantages to businesses. Industrialists introduce these apps to facilitate their customers, employees, & occupy dominant brand position in the global market sphere. Either to carry out official tasks or manage your projects smartly, you rely on business app development to make your efforts in a right way. Whereas customers install these apps to enjoy better services like online shopping, booking, traveling, & more.

Our deviation towards mobile app technology indicates its significance in business promotion & brand recognition. Several local business owners, startups, SMEs, eCommerce firms trust their business app developers who create innovative application that can increase their sales & build their brands.

So, if you aspire to go for business app development, here are some fundamentals you need to consider for fruitful outcome:

Know your audience- Your customers reflect core value of your business and you need to prioritize their interests, choices, or other options regarding their likes & dislikes. Never leave any question that may harm your app's user retention and therefore, you must make sure to analyze your customers' preferences right from the beginning your app development process.

Convey right message- Either you want to sell specific products or facilitate customers with exceptional services, it's completely up to you. You already know that marketing always rules in the corporate world & hence, make sure to transform your app idea specifically for business promotion. Just concentrate on your message to adorn your app with something specific & original. Try to add relevant content that can inform your customers & promote your brand via promotional blogs on popular social media channels.

Focus on your business goals- Enlist your business objectives prior to the business app development. Business owners lay down certain expectations from an app & they mend their futuristic steps if it successfully interacts with the users. You must clear your business intentions & make your mind to strengthen its potential to steer heavy traffic within a short span of time. You can determine the success of your app idea considering the factors like user-engagement, customer response, popularity of content, app searches & downloads, and more.

Device compatibility is a win-win- Business is more profitable when you don't take risk to lose out even a single customer from your reach. Your business app development will double your revenues if your app is accessible on cross-platforms. So, you need to launch your business app for all devices as there are millions of Android & iOS app users. Communicate your Android or iOS app developer if you aspire to get a cross-platform app to uplift your brand image.

Strategize for business app development- Research work will help you know your competitors & their strategies to generate leads. Small-scale & mid-sized businesses innovate apps to make their footprints in the industry & plan to dive in the ocean of success.

Every business faces several ups & downs while struggling to keep a pace ahead in the corporate globe. Therefore, you must go for business app development as it serves a commendable contribution to get established & maximize your revenues.

Keys to Learn Options Trading

Options trading - maybe you have heard about this and your interest lead you to visit this page. If that is your reason, you are in the right site. From here you will know what does that term means through some keys that will help you to learn options trading.

Way back from the ancient times, people seek different ways to get what they need and want. They engage in different kinds of trade and find ways to exchange their products and services in order to gain things in return, in the form of money, other products or services and others alike. The same thing goes as time passes by.

The concept of trade development synchronizes with the use of modern technology. One component of trade known as the market is highly influenced by this change. The world is known today as borderless due to the advancement in communication, primarily in the use of computers to connect to the internet, helping people from around the world become able to connect with each other. This causes traders to gain a big market not just locally but internationally.

This situation calls for many people to engage in the trade business. They are developing different avenues in order for them to insure success. One way to this is to learn options trading.

Options trading is a unique way to trade. Unlike holding shares in a company, here, you are not holding physical stocks. In here, you are having an arrangement or contract with another trader that one party will send something to another in a particular period of time in a particular price. This trade will become effective based on the strategy and approach that a trader will use. In its years of occasion, options trading already proved that it is an effective form of trade based on its flexibility.

The presence of losses is always present in any form of venturing into trade. People may be limited by this fact and become afraid of trying new things. But an option trader can overcome this attitude by simply finding options trading strategies. This will serve as his weapon to his victory.

Sources where you can find effective trading strategy are freely available in the web. Reading materials such as newsletters are available in some trading sites. You can also seek help from those people who are also in to options trading by reading their blogs and joining a group and participating in some forums. You can also subscribe or join webinars about it if you want a formal discussion about your concerns regarding options trade with bonuses such as handouts, manuals and other reading materials where you can find additional information about the subject matter.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to save more for your future; if you want a worry-free and early retirement; if you want to gain financial security, stability and freedom; this is an avenue for you. Learn options trading and engage into it then you will see yourself enjoying its benefits. It is just a matter of trying a new thing for there will be no loss for you but you will gain from it. Come on now! Lift a finger and reach your success!

Postcard Marketing - A Few Simple Tips You Should Know!

Direct mail Postcard Marketing is nothing new. This method of marketing has been used by direct marketers for decades. Effective postcards need to be simple yet eye-catching. A postcard can also double as a gift certificate or a coupon. You can also use both sides of the card to promote your campaign. Your postcards should also have multiple ways to contact you. Your address, 800 number, web site, etc. If you offer multiple ways for someone to contact you, the more likely it will be that they will contact you.

If you have the time and money to invest, Postcard marketing can be very lucrative. From the cost of designing and printing postcards, to the cost of postage for delivering the postcards. These costs can vary greatly. The costs will range from $ 1500 to more than $ 3000 for 5000 postcards. How much you pay for shipping, designing and printing, can all vary depending on current shipping rates, and the deals that can be found for design and printing. The higher the quantity of postcards, the lower the cost per card. This, however, leads to a higher overall upfront cost.

With postcard marketing you can easily track the success / failure rate. If you send out 5000 postcards, a 5% response rate might be expected. That means you would have 250 responses. Of 250 responses you might again expect 5% to buy your product or service. That's 12.5 products or services sold for every 5000 postcards sent out. That equates to about 1/4 percent overall. These percentages are just an example and will vary significantly. The types of products and service being sold, and whether or not there's a market for that particular product or service at the time, are two factors that will play a major role in determining the overall success of any direct mail Postcard Marketing campaign.

In conclusion, direct mail postcards are more likely to be read than emails. For that reason, direct mail postcard marketing has proved to be very successful for a wide range of companies selling a wide range of products. However, it is not for every business or every product. I would not recommend this method of marketing to someone just starting out. In my opinion there are many other methods of marketing that are far more cost effective, and have far better results than direct mail postcard marketing. That being said, should you still choose this method of marketing, please make sure you do your homework. The more targeted your mailing list, the better the results will be.

The Easiest Way Grow Your Online Business Opportunity With Article Marketing

Whether your website is selling a product or a service you need constant exposure to get new visitors to your site. The only way you'll move up the search engine ladder is to learn how to grow your online business opportunity with article marketing. It's really an easy way to find new customers and make more money on the internet!

Search engine optimization, also known as SEO, is essential for moving your site into the top ranked postings on every popular search engine. After all, what's the point of listing keywords and key-phrases associated with your business if you're not going to optimize them?

Your friends are right! Article banks are filled to the brim with back-linked articles that not only get more visitors to the originator's website or blog, but also serve to increase and optimize their site's all important search engine rankings. Aside from providing a greater chance for your business to turn into a viral online success story, marketing through social networks and article data banks just makes good sense.

Article marketing began to gain strength as more business owners began using self produced prose to help promote their business. News editors began frequenting article databases for story leads and the number of hits to the sites grew to enormous proportions.

Article marketing services will write and post informative prose for you all over the web! You won't have to become an internet or SEO-guru to figure everything out. Article marketing services can have the articles written for you and post them to all of the popular article banks.

In fact, simply by providing a keyword or key-phrase, these fee-based services can have a professional writer prepare your articles in as little as twenty-four hours for proofing. Then the article marketing service does the rest of the work.

In fact, there are many services available now that will write your articles and post them for you. All you need to do is supply a small fee and a keyword or key-phrase and Voila! In a day or two your articles are appearing all over the web and your search engine rankings increase accordingly.

You'll get all of the important backlinks needed to get your site noticed for just a few dollars. It's like getting big business level assistance for the price of a few Venti Lattes! What could be better than that?

Article writing and submission services range from $15 per unposted article to as much as $3,500 or more per posted article or prepared press release. There is a service to fit every budget and meet every unique marketing objective.

Whether your enterprise is large or small, you can grow your online business opportunity with article marketing. If you know how to write using keywords and key-phrases properly, the process can cost you nothing more than a little time. But if you would prefer to concentrate on your core business, there are many cost-effective article marketing service approaches that are available.

The Evolution of Marketing Automation

While aiming to promote products and services successfully in the market, businesses had realized the importance of adopting marketing strategies early on. Due to the intense competition, marketing strategies got infused with the technological innovations in order to evolve out as the modern marketing, which is now embedded in the customer's lives and affecting it at a rapid pace.

Fortunately, from radio to internet and smart-phones, nowdays technology has revolutionized the ways marketers can reach their potential customers. But, back then in the late 50's, with almost no effective marketing channel, companies were finding it challenging to approach a huge customer base.

This is how automation technology came into existence. It has traced its origins back from a Customer Relationship Management or CRM that came out of Rolodexes and a pack of business cards. It acted as a rescuer for the companies who were endeavoring to maintain their employees and client's records into a central knowledge group. But, in no course of time, it became the fundamental business element and started finding its applications in professional business services as well.

During the late 1980s, CRM platforms had gained more power in terms of customer support servicing, sales management, and forecasting. But, the high price tag kept it limited to few multinational corporations.

In 1999, Mark Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, invented the Monthly License (MLC) fee model, with aiming to offer cost-effective and agile business model, that further introduced SaaS or Software as a Service. And in contrast, this technology evolved out as an amalgam of email capability, web analytics, and the Marketing Resource Management (MRM). With the advent of the internet, marketers were seeking potential ways to reach their customers. The pioneer of this space Eloqua came in 1999 and developed a product, later renamed as automated marketing service in 2003.

Soon, the success of this trend led to the arrival of more players in the market such as Pardot, HubSpot, WhatsNexx etc, and industry started gaining momentum while shifting marketing automation services to cloud platforms.

By 2008, new platforms such as HubSpot, Act-On, rule the market, and the advent of social media marketing, content management, search engine optimization made marketers incorporating a variety of automation tools.

In the period 2013-2014, the automation industry witnessed a huge growth financially through acquisitions when a giant marketing software company ExactTarget acquired a marketing automation company Pardot for $ 95.5 million and in turn, salesforce.com spent $ 2.5 billion to acquire ExactTarget, This is recorded as its largest acquisition ever.

I found people wondering if CRM and marketing automation co-exists. In fact, few consider the later as a subset of the CRM industry which follows one of the marketing laws proposed by Al Ries and Jack Trout. To clarify, CRM is sales focused software while the other is user-centric software that completely focuses on marketing strategy. Where a CRM manages company's interactions with their customers, a automation software streamlines company's marketing tasks, and work-flows. However, these two, together, go hands in hand and reinforce company's insights and efficiencies. A good CRM-marketing automation integration unleashes an opportunity to handle data management and strategies marketing plans.

It can filter relevant data and required fields to standardize tagging and data, and ideal processes. Also, it can run auto-cleaning processes to clean the dumped data in a CRM system. Businesses utilizing automation software have witnessed an incredible growth of 451% in qualified leads and 14.5% in sales productivity as well as 12.2% marketing overhead reduction. We can conclude by saying that the future of marketing completely belongs to Marketing Automation.

12 Ways to Keep Your Data & Identity Safe Online

How to Boost Your Digital Security for Peace of Mind

From the recent Facebook data break to compromised customer data at huge companies like FedEx and Delta, personal security is more relevant than ever.

In fact, it might even seem that our data is under attack!

While you can not always prevent data security issues, here are 12 ways to help you protect yourself in this fast-moving digital age:

1. Stop sending sensitive information digitally.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but many people email tax documents to their accountant, or text a password to a family member in a pinch.

2. Beware of public Wi-Fi.

Anything you send in a coffee shop or airport can be intercepted by someone on the same network. Consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when you're out and about.

3. Secure your texts.

Whether you use a free app like WhatsApp or a paid Android or iOS solution, there are lots of end-to-end encryption options, ensuring only you and the recipient see messages.

4. Stay up to date.

If you do not, you could be at risk for malware, viruses and cybercrime attacks. Make sure your operating system and software are updated - many devices do this automatically.

5. Worry less about wireless.

Secure your wireless network with a password so nobody can jump onto your Wi-Fi network and steal info.

6. Be cautious of clever email scammers.

Today's phishing emails can have links that lead to realistic-looking websites. Never give out passwords or other sensitive info by email, text or phone unless you're sure that you're talking to the actual organization.

7. Lock down your laptop.

Make sure your laptop requires a password when it boots up. That way, if it gets stolen or prying eyes try to access your device, they'll be stopped before they start.

8. Wipe out data .

If it's time for a new laptop or smartphone, make sure your data is not hanging around. Once you've backed up any data you need, use a software program to permanently erase your hard drive.

9. Choose security questions wisely.

Avoid using common words in your passwords. Period. Google estimated someone would have a 19.7% success rate answering "pizza" to "What's your favorite food? Customize questions or pick harder ones to guess.

10. Avoid sites that are not https.

Https stands for "hypertext transfer protocol with secure socket layer" (other known as having a SSL certificate.) Sites without an "s" on the end are not secure if you are being asked to make a purchase or submit private / sensitive data that could get intercepted.

11. Pay attention to privacy settings.

Choose who can see the content you post on sites like Facebook and Instagram, and who can view your profile.

Opt for the highest level of privacy possible but be aware that some settings will prevent potential clients from seeing your posts, so find a happy balance that will not sacrifice your social media marketing efforts!

12. Back up your data.

If your device gets stolen or compromised, what happens to that work report or your niece's baby photos? Schedule automatic backups through your operating system or a cloud service.

While even the largest and brightest companies can be hacked or otherwise attacked, these online security tips can help you reduce some of the risks.

Also, if you're hiring a web professional developer to help with your business, make sure they're well-aware of current security issues. We build websites with our clients' safety in mind and perform regular security updates for ongoing peace of mind.

How to Make Email Marketing Works for Your Business

Topic 1 ~ Your Email Subject Lines ~

How To Write A Good E-mail Subject Lines That Works?

Here are the 5 tips:

1. Ask a question. One of the best ways to get a reader's attention is to ask a question. But like a trial lawyer questioning a witness on the stand, make sure it 'll get you the response you're looking for. "What's the best way to grow your business?" is a great subject line for business owners. After all, what business owner would not want to grow his or her business? Or let's say you run a health club. An e-mail with the subject line, "How can you lose 5 pounds in one month?" would certainly be compelling. It's important your question to be relevant to your audience.

2. Be a tease. A clever subject line can be enticing. When it's done right, reader curiosity is piqued. They want to know more - and they'll open your e-mail. Writing a teaser-style subject line requires some creativity, and your content needs to deliver. A company that sells high-definition TVs could use the subject line, "You're not going to believe your eyes" as a teaser to introduce a new addition to their product line.

3. Tell it like it is. Often, what works best is to say exactly what you want your reader to know. Examples of this straightforward approach are, "Sale on all sweaters this weekend," "Master jazz pianist plays live this Friday" and "The seven secrets of a profitable business." This just-the-facts approach works especially well when you can appeal directly to your audience's interests. It's also the best approach to use when you send a newsletter.

4. Remember "WIIFM". When a person gets your e-mail, the first thing they consider is "what's in it for me?" They have a decision to make. Do they open your e-mail, leave it for later or delete it? If there is not something about the subject line that lets them know why it's worth their precious time to see what's inside, then the choice will be clear. Keep WIIFM in mind when creating every aspect of your e-mails, including the offer, content, images - and most definitely the subject line. It's all about them. They know that; just make sure you know it, too.

5. Get personal. The more you can make each contact feel you're speaking directly to them, the more effective your communication will be. Whatever style of subject line you use, you can make it personal by using the word "you." Professional copywriters know the secret of using this powerful little word. Just look at the advertisements, mail and e-mail you receive. A few examples are, "Find the right swimsuit for you," "You can save 50 percent on travel," and "You're look phenomenal in a custom-tailored suit." "You" is ideal, but "your" works too.

6. Not sure which approach is right for you? Try them all, and then show a friend or colleague to get their feedback. Pick the one you believe will be most effective for your audience. Whichever approach you choose, it's always worth spending the time and effort to write a great subject line. Because if your readers do not open your e-mail, they'll never have the chance to read the important message you've created for them inside.

Topic 2 ~ Increase Click-Through Rate (CTR) ~

How to Increases Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

Here are some guidelines:

1. Include a feature, a benefit, and an advantage in the opening. This needs to be used in a subtle way, but in the opening you're really doing a small marketing job for this issue of your email newsletter. Highlight an article or two that are important, explain what you're providing the readers that they will not get elsewhere, and tell them what the benefit will be. A great example is something like "Nokia and Sprint announced second quarter earnings today. Learn what our Wireless Week experts say about the results, and what effect you can expect them to have on the industry at large."

2. Put the email newsletter in the context of your readers' day. This goes hand in hand with the last point. Your readers are busy, and if you can make a compelling case for why they should stop what they are doing and take a few minutes now to read your email newsletter, you'll get them in. We recommend editors reference important events, upcoming trade shows, or other things that say to the reader "You will find it worthwhile to stop and read this email newsletter now, because the information in it will help you stay on top of your business."

3. Keep it fresh. Do not craft a "perfect paragraph" and use it issue after issue after issue. One of the keys to success is to keep the copy fresh and highlight items in that issue of the email newsletter. If you use the same generic language repeatedly, people will stop reading it and it'll be a waste of your time.

4. Keep it short. This is critical. We recommend no more than two to three sentences - just enough to get them interested and pull them in to read the rest of your email newsletter.

Try it out and see the results! This is just one of the simple things you can do to engage your reader and optimize your CTR.

Topic 3 ~ Killer Email Sales Letter ~

How to Write Killer Email Sales Letter That Get Results?

Here are what we've found works best. Use these tips correctly and your results will skyrocket.

1. Your email "from" sender line should be your brand name or company name and stay consistent. Use your own personal name only if that is your brand image.

2. Send emails only when you have something to say that will benefit the reader. No fluff. No filler. You must be relevant. If you can not be, do not send an email until you have something beneficial to say.

3. Start your emails with the specific benefit the reader can get from your message. You have no more than 3 seconds to pass the crucial "what's in it for me?" test.

4. The copywriting tone and language should be personal and conversational, instead of stuffy and "corporate".

5. Make a specific offer to the reader and, if possible, include a short deadline by which he must respond to get it.

6. Use as much copy as is needed to fully pile on all the benefits the reader will get by ordering, answer objections, create urgency, and close the sale.

7. Test your subject lines and offers on small segments of your list before you send the email to your entire list.

8. Include "Email this to a friend" service in all your communications for pass along and viral marketing.

Topic 4 ~ Good Call-to-Action ~

Get More Clicks With a Good Call-to-Action!

The call-to-action is a determining factor of your click-through rate. It is an important component of your email copy because it answers three important questions for the recipient. They are:

1. What you want them to do

2. Why they should do it, and

3. How to take that next step.

Whatever action you want your recipients to take, you can make it happen more often with a good call-to-action. First, decide what you want them to do:

1. Buy something

2. Sign up for a service

3. Fill out a form

4. Read an article or get more information

5. Visit your website or store

6. Make an appointment

Etc ...

Then, make sure you incorporate these 6 characteristics to get the results you're looking for. Make your call-to action:

1. Visible - People read, react, make decisions and take action differently. Some make decisions right away ("You had me at hello.") And some need more details ("I'm from Missouri."). Place call-to-action links in the beginning, middle and end of the email so that recipients can click whenever they are ready.

2. Clear - Stick to simple words, short phrases, bulleted benefits and paragraphs of 1-3 short sentences. Include appropriate graphics and cut the clutter by making effective use of white space.

3. Compelling - Use action-oriented verbs and phrases: "buy now," "call today," "save" and so on.

4. Rewarding - Offer an incentive or reward for action. For example, "Act now and also receives ...," or "the First 100 responders will be entered into a raffle to win ..." The giveaway, or prize, you choose should be closely related to your product or service. That way, you will be targeting customers who are interested in what you have to offer, not just the latest gadget.

5. Urgent - The longer an email sits in an inbox, the less likely it is to be acted on. Create a sense of urgency to get a more immediate response. Try limiting the offer to a specific time period, to the "first 50 customers," "while supplies last," etc.

6. Direct - Your call-to-action links should go to the appropriate page on your website with more details on the specific product or service you're promoting. If you do not have a website, the call-to-action might be store locations to visit or a number to call for an appointment.

Keep in mind that, in addition to repeating your call-to-action, you can vary your call-to-action to appeal to different types of buyers (and to fit your sales cycle). For example: "Click here to buy now" will naturally work better with loyal customers. The softer, "Click here to learn more" may be better for newer prospects.

Topic 5 ~ Avoid Common Pitfalls ~

Read Your Email Message Backwards to Avoid Common Pitfalls

Here are some common problems to look out for:

1. Misspelled words - It's a good idea to spell-check a document, but it's not enough. A spell checker will not catch every error.

2. Wrong word used - This is why a spell checker is not enough. A spell checker will only flag words it does not recognize. It can not tell if a legitimate word is used incorrectly. Some words commonly confused: accept, except; your, you're; then, than; there, their, they're; cite, site, sight; lay, lie; loose, loosen, lose. Also, look out for missing "r" in the word "your." It's easy to overlook a sentence such as "Visit our Web site now to receive you free copy."

3. Grammar error - Again, if you know you're not a good writer, have someone else look your writing for grammatical errors. Mistakes make you look bad.

4. Punctuation error - This is another area where you'll benefit from a review by someone who knows their stuff. If you're determined to do it yourself, purchase a good grammar or style book. One of the most common punctuation problems: Too many stupid commas!

5. Vague or confusing statement - Make sure every sentence is crystal-clear. You do not want your promotional message to raise more questions than it answers.

6. Ilogical statement - Read over what you have written slowly. At the end of each paragraph, ask yourself: "Did that make sense?" Rewrite so that it does.

Topic 6 ~ Frequency of Sending Emails ~

How Often (Frequency) Should You Send Email?

There's no quick answer to the frequency question. It depends on the goals for your email and the type of content you send. Some rough guidelines:

1. Mail at least once a month. Mail less often than this, and you risk being forgotten by recipients. Monthly is the bare minimum if you want to keep your brand or company name top of mind (a common email goal).

2. Let content be your guide. Look at what you provide readers and you'll get a feel for proper frequency. Analyze how often the information changes and how quickly readers must receive it to act on it.

3. Work within your resources. A daily email requires many more resources than a monthly. Better a well-done monthly email than shoddy weekly or daily. It's recommended to start with a monthly. Once that's going smoothly, they can think about moving to weekly. You need to walk before you can run!

4. Watch for trends. Declining response, open, and click-through rates can be signs of list fatigue. Although some decrease is normal, watch carefully and cut back frequency if you see a problem. Do not assume if the unsubscribe rate is stable you're OK. Many people prefer to forward email directly to their delete folder rather than unsubscribe.

Topic 7 ~ Understanding Spam Filters ~

Understanding Spam Filters to Avoid Your Emails Get Junked!

If you send email campaigns long enough, you will inevitably run into spam filter issues. On average, you can expect 10-20% of your emails to just get lost in cyberspace, mostly due to overzealous spam filters. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. If you want to avoid getting your emails junked by spam filters, you have to understand how they work.

Generally speaking, spam filters look at a long list of criteria to judge whether or not your email is junk. For example, they might look for spammy phrases like "CLICK HERE!" Egypt "FREE! BUY NOW!". They'll assign points each time they see one of those phrases. Certain criteria get more points than others. Here's a sample of criteria from Spam Assassin, one of the most popular spam filters out there:

o Talks about lots of money (.93 points)

o Describes some sort of breach (.32 points)

o Looks like mortgage pitch (.297 points)

o Contains urgent matter (.288 points)

o Money back guarantee (2.051 points)

o Why Pay More? (1.249 points)

It's easy to use "spammy" keywords in your email without even knowing it. Here are some common ways marketers unwittingly trigger spam filters with their campaigns:

1. Using spammy phrases, like "Click here!" Egypt "Once in a lifetime opportunity!" too many times in your email. Sometimes, you can not avoid phrases like "FREE SHIPPING!" but use them sparingly, and do not do anything else risky.

2. Going crazy with exclamation points !!!!!!

3. USING ALL CAPS, WHICH IS LIKE YELLING IN EMAIL

4. Coloring their fonts bright red, or green

5. Coding sloppy HTML (such as converting a Microsoft Word file to HTML)

6. Creating an HTML email that's nothing but one big image, with no text (since spam filters can not read images, they assume you're a spammer that's trying to trick 'em)

7. Using the word "Test" in the subject line (agencies run into this all the time, when sending drafts to clients for approval)

Topic 8 ~ Why Email Marketing Does not Work? ~

If Your Email Marketing Does not Work, Think Again Why?

Before you arrive at the faulty conclusion that email marketing does not work, let's look at this from a different perspective for a moment that would make your emails ineffective.

First there's what you are writing in the body of the email. If this is your first attempt to get in touch with a prospect, what are you putting in the email? A dissertation? If it's longer than one or two paragraphs, it's too long. Look at your emails like an initial cold call. You need to laser in and deliver a compelling opening statement that's going to grab their interest and stimulate a conversation. Because there's no one to cut you off in an email or stop you from persistent pontification, people have a tendency to ramble on and on in an email, giving the prospect the life story of the product or service they want them to consider. Keep it short and focus on the one or two benefits, opening up the opportunity to have a dialogue. That's it.

Second, are you sending attachments in the first email? No attachments! It's hard enough sending an unsolicited email to a prospect. Now you're adding more barriers and increasing the opportunities of your email winding up in their spam box or junk email folder. Some people have filters on their email that if an attachment is sent it automatically gets deleted. No attachment until that information in the attachment is solicited by the person.

Third, html or text? Once again, with all the email filters people use today, you will increase your odds by sending a text message only rather than trying to get fancy with formatting, graphics and pictures. The prospect really does not care about how beautiful your email looks; they care about the core message. Beside, they will never even get a chance to see your beautiful masterpiece in an html email if it's winding up in the trash.

Finally, you are using way too many spam words. As mentioned, the largest enemy to email marketing or selling via email is the additional security that companies and individuals have on their network or computer. As such, the specific words you are using in the body of the email can be the culprit who is sending your email directly into the trash or spam box. In other words, you are using words that are often identified is spam and in turn, you email is getting flagged and deleted. Not even eye contact! The prospect is not getting a chance to, at the very least, see your email let alone read it and have a chance to respond accordingly.

Ending ~ Please Forward ~