Saturday, September 23, 2006
The Latest Gmail Information
Ok, I've run out of Gmail invites on one of my accounts but have a couple other that still have a lot left. It appears that Google has set a limit of 100 invites per account and will not renew them. Some people have not activated their Gmail or Google mail accounts through my invitation. I will likely, at some point, go through and find some that have not been activated to be recycled for other invitees. Please check your Junk mail folder if you have not received your invitation as I will usually send it out less than a week after I have received your request. If you're still interested in getting a Gmail invite, click the title of this post and you will see instructions on how to do so. That's it for now!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Gmail Invite Countdown
I only have FIVE (5) Gmail Invites left. Who knows if Google will give me any more invites so you'd better get'em while I got'em!
Monday, May 01, 2006
11 Month Update
Due to the increasing number of spammed comments, I have implemented word verification and comment authorization. I apologize for the inconvenience but it was a necessary step to avoid having to delete all of the spammed comments everytime. As far as Gmail invites are concerned, please continue to ask for them and I will send them out as quickly as I receive them. Please note that as of today, I have only 50 left!
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
14 Day Update
I thought it might be time to speak up here. The event that happened some 2 weeks ago was well received, well appreciated and well wished. Turns out I missed seeing the 6 o'clock news that was supposed to be video taped for me, a favour that I thought I could entrust to my faithful mother. It turns out that practicing her karaoke is more important than her son's TV debut, local though it may have been. Feeling like Caesar after being stabbed by Brutus, I called Pauline, the communications manager for the Kidney Foundation the next day, to beg for a copy of the footage. She was kind enough to say yes. As fate would have it, I have not seen, heard, smelled, tasted nor touched this so-called 15 second airing. It has yet to arrive. I will call her tomorrow. I wonder if she's awaiting payment for the shipping. I wonder if she wants me to pay for the video tape too.
As for the 2 local papers that showed up (if you recall, the big city paper bailed when they got called away for a better story), only one of them (as far as I know) had an article printed (which I have cut out and hermetically sealed). I think that they figured out that the vehicle was planted. Well, they saw them tow a vehicle (not my car) back to my place. The paper that didn't print anything was kind of skeptical about the car and didn't ask very many questions and took few photos. The Kidney Foundation should either have gotten someone who could donate their own vehicle that day or spelled out that it was not going to be my vehicle. Honesty is the best policy.
Anyway, I've been forced to re-evaluate my entire business existence. I have found a belief and a business model that I want to pursue. This change in direction is not really a change. It's more that I've deliberately incorporated my life philosophy into my business philosophy. So this means that there will be a temporary lapse as I rework my business plan and subsequently make minor changes to the commercial website.
In other news, I've thought of business idea that may be kind of cool. I don't want to divulge too much, but it involves eBay and blogging. It dawned on me after I bought a pair of tickets to the White Stripes show at the Orpheum in August. Stay tuned!
As for the 2 local papers that showed up (if you recall, the big city paper bailed when they got called away for a better story), only one of them (as far as I know) had an article printed (which I have cut out and hermetically sealed). I think that they figured out that the vehicle was planted. Well, they saw them tow a vehicle (not my car) back to my place. The paper that didn't print anything was kind of skeptical about the car and didn't ask very many questions and took few photos. The Kidney Foundation should either have gotten someone who could donate their own vehicle that day or spelled out that it was not going to be my vehicle. Honesty is the best policy.
Anyway, I've been forced to re-evaluate my entire business existence. I have found a belief and a business model that I want to pursue. This change in direction is not really a change. It's more that I've deliberately incorporated my life philosophy into my business philosophy. So this means that there will be a temporary lapse as I rework my business plan and subsequently make minor changes to the commercial website.
In other news, I've thought of business idea that may be kind of cool. I don't want to divulge too much, but it involves eBay and blogging. It dawned on me after I bought a pair of tickets to the White Stripes show at the Orpheum in August. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
My 15 Minutes
Today, I participated in a promotion for the Kidney Foundation of Canada's "Kidney Car" program. The event was coordinated with the Canadian government's Clean Air Day. There were 2 local newspapers and a TV station in attendance. Apparently, the big paper was also in the area prior to the appointed time, but was called away on another assignment. Too bad! The reporters took a few pictures and asked a few questions. I mentioned my company name and what it does but whether they include that information remains to be seen. CityTV will be airing the story tonight on their evening news and I assume that the local papers will print the story in an upcoming issue. Publicity aside, it felt good to give my time to promote a worthy program that helps people AND the environment.
Unfortunately, after all the work I've put in lately, I was still unable to get my website published in time for today due to my lack of planning. Successful entrepreneurs say that organizational skills are important so I'm working on it. The site won't be long! I have submitted what I believe to be my final changes and hope that I can sign off on it soon so that I can get my marketing campaign going full bore. The domain name has been chosen and I will be formally announcing the Grand Opening within the next week.
Please also note that there are many vehicle donation programs in the United States. So if you have and old clunker sitting in your driveway, you might as well donate it to a good cause in which you believe. Remember, check out any charities to which you want to give to see if they are legitimate and how your donated money is used.
Unfortunately, after all the work I've put in lately, I was still unable to get my website published in time for today due to my lack of planning. Successful entrepreneurs say that organizational skills are important so I'm working on it. The site won't be long! I have submitted what I believe to be my final changes and hope that I can sign off on it soon so that I can get my marketing campaign going full bore. The domain name has been chosen and I will be formally announcing the Grand Opening within the next week.
Please also note that there are many vehicle donation programs in the United States. So if you have and old clunker sitting in your driveway, you might as well donate it to a good cause in which you believe. Remember, check out any charities to which you want to give to see if they are legitimate and how your donated money is used.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The Kidney Car Program
I must first apologize for the extended absence from this and my other blog. Sorry! (seems like I've been apologizing a lot lately) I have been working feverishly to finish my first website. A deadline of Wednesday, June 8th has now been imposed! My domain name has been registered and require finalizing & uploading my database and some finishing touches to the site.
As per my last entry, I submitted my story to the Kidney Foundation of Canada to be used in promoting their Kidney Car program. They will be coming to my house to take pictures and do a little interview on June 8th! It also happens to coincide with Clean Air Day here in Canada. They've informed me that they will be issuing a press release so there may be some media here as well!! I fully intend to promote my website and this blog. My objective is to have my site live by that time, and to have announced my website to you for you to evaluate. Stay tuned for more details.
As per my last entry, I submitted my story to the Kidney Foundation of Canada to be used in promoting their Kidney Car program. They will be coming to my house to take pictures and do a little interview on June 8th! It also happens to coincide with Clean Air Day here in Canada. They've informed me that they will be issuing a press release so there may be some media here as well!! I fully intend to promote my website and this blog. My objective is to have my site live by that time, and to have announced my website to you for you to evaluate. Stay tuned for more details.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
A Chance for Local Media Exposure
First of all, I must thank Nam for including this blog in an entry on his very popular blog. THANKS Very Much, Nam!!!
Second, I must apologize to Nam for not updating the blog that he was gracious enough to include in one of his entries of his very popular blog. SORRY Nam!!! I have been busy doing my ecommerce website. In fact, I'm working on it while writing this blog.
Meanwhile, back at the business*, I was finally able to talk directly to Marie today and I have been asked to submit a little of my story and my reason(s) for donating to their Kidney Car Program. All of this is to promote the program locally through, I believe the newspapers but possibly TV. So I am furiously trying to complete everything in order to publish the site so that I can gain maximum benefit from the media exposure.
Nam was absolutely right about doing two blogs at once. Well, he actually didn't say anything about writing two blogs at once but, it was obvious that he thought I was crazy. But I will persevere! I have noted to myself to go to the blog idea generator site.
*This is, in some way, a shout out to Nam and all the comic book readers/lovers.
Second, I must apologize to Nam for not updating the blog that he was gracious enough to include in one of his entries of his very popular blog. SORRY Nam!!! I have been busy doing my ecommerce website. In fact, I'm working on it while writing this blog.
Meanwhile, back at the business*, I was finally able to talk directly to Marie today and I have been asked to submit a little of my story and my reason(s) for donating to their Kidney Car Program. All of this is to promote the program locally through, I believe the newspapers but possibly TV. So I am furiously trying to complete everything in order to publish the site so that I can gain maximum benefit from the media exposure.
Nam was absolutely right about doing two blogs at once. Well, he actually didn't say anything about writing two blogs at once but, it was obvious that he thought I was crazy. But I will persevere! I have noted to myself to go to the blog idea generator site.
*This is, in some way, a shout out to Nam and all the comic book readers/lovers.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Donation Tax Receipt
I received a tax receipt for the donation of my vehicle to the Kidney Foundation of Canada's Kidney Car program. I proceeded to e-mail Marie (a person to whom I talked to several months ago about my idea to sell my vehicle on eBay that eventually fell through) to thank her and the rest of the staff involved. I also asked about the possibility of starting a business relationship with the Kidney Foundation. First of all, I was thinking about putting a button on my blog for visitors to donate to the Kidney Foundation of Canada. I also want to make regular donations from the net proceeds of sales from my current and future projects. She has been kind enough to ask me to call her to talk about it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to talk to her tomorrow so I will call her on Wednesday.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Forgot About Someone Good
In a previous post, I mentioned that I bought an MP3 player on eBay. It being defective, I asked for an exchange. The seller agreed and I sent the item back to him for a "new" one. He sent one back and to my pleasant surprise, it was a black one instead of the blue one I originally bid on and won. You see, I asked him if it was possible to get a black one with the exchange and he was nice enough to comply. Makes me hopeful of other Internet people...
In other news, I am waiting for approval from several suppliers. Once I have been approved, I will start listing some items on eBay and see how everything goes. I will try different suppliers and test various aspects of the whole logistics/fulfillment chain. Hopefully I will get approval this week. Keep your eyes peeled!
In other news, I am waiting for approval from several suppliers. Once I have been approved, I will start listing some items on eBay and see how everything goes. I will try different suppliers and test various aspects of the whole logistics/fulfillment chain. Hopefully I will get approval this week. Keep your eyes peeled!
Friday, April 29, 2005
eBay Update
Recently, I updated my eBay About Me page, moving most of the content here, to my Blogger profile. So the plan is to start listing some items in eBay while contructing/authoring the storefront. This way, I can test some copy and keywords as well as get some experience with the supply chain and logistics of it all. I am also going to list some things in the Amazon mall with the same mindset. The reputation that I build on eBay and Amazon will carry a long way in helping me build traffic and customer loyalty to the website.
Money in the Bank! (well, almost)
Yesterday, I went to the bank and opened up a Canadian dollar business chequing account and another in American dollars. I will also be setting up a business savings account at a different institution later on. I was looking at all the fees and wondered why it takes money just to maintain a simple business chequing account that bears no interest until you have $10,000. The pay-as-you-go plan costs 8 dollars a month plus a per-use transaction charge. Great plan to drain your account. Then the next plan seems to "save the day" by giving you 10 "free" transactions for 10 dollars a month. I really should look into a credit union...
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
As of NOW!
As of today, I am registered as a provider of Internet services with the city and carry an official Business License. I have also applied for accounts with two different suppliers which look promising. I am currently researching like mad to construct my copy and keywords as well as develop my niche market.
I've also forgotten to mention that I have my provincial tax number. I already have a federal business number from my previous job. Neither of these will come into play very much because most of the customers will come from the States. As the supply is located in the States, I won't have to pay or collect either way. These will come into play only when the customer comes from BC or another part of Canada. I will try to find a Canadian supplier for another one of my sites.
I've also forgotten to mention that I have my provincial tax number. I already have a federal business number from my previous job. Neither of these will come into play very much because most of the customers will come from the States. As the supply is located in the States, I won't have to pay or collect either way. These will come into play only when the customer comes from BC or another part of Canada. I will try to find a Canadian supplier for another one of my sites.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
My Car
I was planning to fix up my car and sell it on eBay with some of the proceeds going to the Kidney Foundation of Canada. However, after some research, I found that it was cost prohibitive as I would need to invest quite a bit of money to fixing it up. I have since donated the entire car to the Kidney Foundation's Kidney Car program without any repairs. As a result of my donation, my brother (whom donated his kidney to me) also donated his car to the Kidney Car program as well. It felt good to be contributing back what little I could to an organization that helped me out in my time of need.
Update
It's already 3 weeks into April and I had yet to post an entry into my blog. I have neglected updating it because I was busy researching products, suppliers and market conditions. I have to get at least one website up and running (and hopefully generating some money) soon. I AM going to have one ready to accept orders within 2 weeks. Oh, and by the way, it is not going to be video games. I have decided my first product will be something consumable that inherently has repeat customers (that is, if you have a quality product and your customer service is good.) I will announce the product here when the site is up.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
My 2nd Anniversary
For those of you that don't know, I am kidney transplant patient. Today is the second anniversary since my new kidney was transplanted. I just invited my brother out for dinner tonight. He was the one who donated his kidney to me. Big shout out to my bro', y'all!
Anyway, back to business. I found a few more places that I am going to consider as a dropshipper for my wares site because I am going to need to have more than one for stock back-up and pricing comparisons. Also, there are slight differences in shipping policies and what carriers they use, returns policies, etc., etc. I've already downloaded files for the images needed on the website, pricing and other data. So now my next step is the actual "programming" of the site itself. I will update you on the progress...
Thanks for dropping by!
Lester
Anyway, back to business. I found a few more places that I am going to consider as a dropshipper for my wares site because I am going to need to have more than one for stock back-up and pricing comparisons. Also, there are slight differences in shipping policies and what carriers they use, returns policies, etc., etc. I've already downloaded files for the images needed on the website, pricing and other data. So now my next step is the actual "programming" of the site itself. I will update you on the progress...
Thanks for dropping by!
Lester
Monday, March 21, 2005
Crunch Time!
For those of you who may have been following along, I do have 6 open websites ready for development. I am in the process of getting one up in the next week or so. The website will be an e-commerce enabled page where people can purchase PC games and video games & consoles.
The authoring of the page and getting the products prepared will be the first stage of the development. I will keep you informed as it comes along. If there are any of you who would like to help me with this, please e-mail me at softsellmarketing at gmail. com.
The second stage will involve search engine optimizing, keyword tweaking and a pay per click campaigning. It will also involve getting feedback from customers to make improvements to the site.
The third and final (hopefully) stage will be incorporating a good customer service interface. What I mean by this is a system whereby the customer can get answers to questions from me or other staff as soon as possible. Obviously, a basic one will be setup in the beginning to handle the requests but it will prove inadequate if traffic and volume pick up. I have thought of a system but implementing is the problem now.
Anyway, I have already looked into the distribution and there are a couple of candidates from which I can choose. (Sigh) I will tell you what happens tomorrow...
Thanks for reading...
Lester
The authoring of the page and getting the products prepared will be the first stage of the development. I will keep you informed as it comes along. If there are any of you who would like to help me with this, please e-mail me at softsellmarketing at gmail. com.
The second stage will involve search engine optimizing, keyword tweaking and a pay per click campaigning. It will also involve getting feedback from customers to make improvements to the site.
The third and final (hopefully) stage will be incorporating a good customer service interface. What I mean by this is a system whereby the customer can get answers to questions from me or other staff as soon as possible. Obviously, a basic one will be setup in the beginning to handle the requests but it will prove inadequate if traffic and volume pick up. I have thought of a system but implementing is the problem now.
Anyway, I have already looked into the distribution and there are a couple of candidates from which I can choose. (Sigh) I will tell you what happens tomorrow...
Thanks for reading...
Lester
Friday, March 18, 2005
Wow, this is cool!
Well, the number of people coming by (some of you even asked for and got a Gmail invite) to see exactly what it is I am up to has increased the last two days!! It's really cool to see where you all are. And I mean you're from everywhere! That's totally cool and I was amazed at what Internet technology has been able to do for this world. I mean, people from all parts of the world are here, in "Cyberspace" together! I can see you all come and go through this blog courtesy of StatCounter. THAT is cool! As you can see, I overuse the exclamation point a bit too much. But it's really exciting to me and I would hope it would be exciting to some of you. So what does that have to do with you? EVERYTHING! People are social beings and we really do rely on each other. We got together in forums and then here and then to other places. Each place has many people and... we need each other. I need you, as an Internet Marketer... Love your fellow humans!!
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Gmail!
As mentioned before, I've been hanging around some forums lately. One of them happens to be a Gmail discussion/help forum. For those of you who aren't familiar with Gmail, follow the link and you can find the details all there. Now, if you would like an invitation to open a Gmail account, then you can mail me here: blog.softsellmarketing[at]gmail.com. Or leave your e-mail addy in the form of a comment on this entry (I will delete your comment as soon as I send you the invitation.) Would love to hear from anyone about anything, really. Drop me a line! I only have 45 invitations left though, so get 'em while I got 'em!! I will be checking my mail and this site to respond quickly.
I should also add that I will not give, rent, sell or share your e-mail address with any other parties than the ones involved (you, me & Gmail).
Thanks for dropping by!
***UPDATE***
Although I originally said that I only had 45 Gmail invitations, Gmail periodically topped it back up to 50 invites. Now I can send up to 100 invites at a time over a period of about a week or so. This means that I will probably NEVER run out of Gmail invitations. If you want one (or 100), give me a shout by leaving a comment here or by e-mail at the address above.
***MORE UPDATES***
Please click on this link for more up-to-date information!
I should also add that I will not give, rent, sell or share your e-mail address with any other parties than the ones involved (you, me & Gmail).
Thanks for dropping by!
***UPDATE***
Although I originally said that I only had 45 Gmail invitations, Gmail periodically topped it back up to 50 invites. Now I can send up to 100 invites at a time over a period of about a week or so. This means that I will probably NEVER run out of Gmail invitations. If you want one (or 100), give me a shout by leaving a comment here or by e-mail at the address above.
***MORE UPDATES***
Please click on this link for more up-to-date information!
Count Yourself Counted
This is where I get my HIT COUNTER which is free! They have awesome stats of your visitors and you can totally get meaningful data from your marketing campaigns. AND they have a FORUM for all who are interested in that sort of thing! In fact, that's where you can go to ask questions and support for their service!!
Friday, March 11, 2005
Posting in Forums
Lately, I've been going to some forums and posting entries, either anonymously or by becoming a member. Every chance I get, I've been leaving my blog address to "advertise" myself and my company. This is a great way for getting some (a little) traffic through to your website! As long as what you post in the first place is good, makes sense and you don't "spam" your blog site on every post (unless it's a signature file). If I've created a signature file for my account with a particular forum, I don't worry too much about it. But I try to keep it to once per thread for which I've posted an entry. I don't want to be obnoxious, afterall.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
OK, here we go now
So looking back at the last month, I posted all of 5 posts. This is indicative of the progress I've made last month. There were several contributing factors to all of this including my health. It seems that I pulled a muscle playing street hockey taking a slapshot. A good endorsement for stretching before physical activities, I think. The muscle was located on the left side of my chest very close to my heart. I felt a pang when I took the shot but it went away relatively quickly and didn't think twice about it. A few days later, it started to hurt again but I had subsequently forgot about how I got the pain or thought it was something completely different. Anyway, I went to the ER to get it checked out and they found nothing wrong. After a day or two, I recalled that I had strained my muscle playing hockey and felt kind of dumb because I had to cancel a meeting with Caroline. Then, of all things, perhaps partly because Caroline and I didn't meet, she decided to go on an "exercise binge." She ended up getting what sounds like a charlie horse in her thigh and a cold. To top it off, she thought it wasn't anything too serious (or maybe that it was just a sore muscle) and continued exercising and made it even worse. Three weeks later, it has still not completely healed. Anyway, we had our last meeting on Monday to go over what we had done on her business plan. She had summarized everything into a rough draft and was amazed at what we had managed to get done. We were missing parts of the plan, most notably, the financials. But we got most of the things that we thought were important and it gave her an idea of what was involved in running this business. The financials would have given us a more complete picture but those numbers would change over time. I'm sorry. I should bring you up to speed with what is going on with our partnership. I mentioned above that it was our last meeting. She has decided, after much deliberation, that she is not at the stage in her life where she wants to run her own business just yet (if you go to her blog, you can find out even more details). I totally respect that decision and must take some responsiblity for not realizing that this could have been a distinct possibility. As part of writing a business plan, I should have asked what it is specifically that she currently wanted to accomplish in her life as this has a direct bearing on the business plan itself. What I did ask was what she wanted out of the business and assumed that the business was something that she wanted to pursue right now. Overall, this has been a great learning experience and I got a chance to get to know a great person and an equally inspired artist. I would like to publicly thank Caroline the opportunity to collaborate with her. THANKS CAROLINE!!! =)
So now comes the question, "What next?" Well, some people know that I have 6 undeveloped e-commerce sites with hosting and website tools. If anyone out there that is reading this (or your family, friends or acquaintances) would like me to market their products or services on the internet and would like to start a joint venture (JV) with me, please contact me. I will acknowledge everyone who responds but due to the limited number of sites, I can only pick up to 6 partners and/or products/services (1 person could have 6 different products/services). It also depends on the product or service and several other factors. I would have to do some market research on the product/service before making a decision. First, there would have to be demand for the product/service. Next I would have to determine the type and number of competitors already in the market. Many competitors does not automatically mean that we can't do business. For one thing, a lot of competitors could mean that there is a lot of demand or it could mean that there is too much supply. The former is good, the latter, BAD. If there is too much supply, our main focus (and the focus of the potential customers) would be pricing which means little or no profit to be made. My main focus is the customer. My main strategy is to coddle the customer. So if you do not have the same values as I do, it would also be hard for us to do business together.
As mentioned before, my views of everything has changed over the last few years. I have come to realize that all people are connected to each other and because humans are social animals, we need each other. Equally important is where we all live, the Earth. Although our lives are short compared to the age of the Earth, our species, among others, will continue to exist here for a very long time. You say, "Who cares about what happens to the world after I die? All I care about is what is happening to me now in this life." Yes, well it is our children and our children's children that are going to continue to live here well after you die. What we do now affects what happens in the future. So it is our duty as humans to protect Mother Earth for the sake of our children. A little off topic there but I felt it was important.
Another change is the status of my vehicle. As my vehicle is not in great condition, I tried to enlist the help of a few businesses in town but failed to get any response from everyone except for Jim Pattison Toyota (big shout out to JP Toyota). It would be too costly for me to repair the vehicle myself and JP Toyota can't fix everything so I have decided to donate the entire vehicle to the Kidney Foundation of Canada's Kidney Car program.
So there you go. You now know a little bit more about what's going on.
Thanks for dropping by and see you guys soon!!
So now comes the question, "What next?" Well, some people know that I have 6 undeveloped e-commerce sites with hosting and website tools. If anyone out there that is reading this (or your family, friends or acquaintances) would like me to market their products or services on the internet and would like to start a joint venture (JV) with me, please contact me. I will acknowledge everyone who responds but due to the limited number of sites, I can only pick up to 6 partners and/or products/services (1 person could have 6 different products/services). It also depends on the product or service and several other factors. I would have to do some market research on the product/service before making a decision. First, there would have to be demand for the product/service. Next I would have to determine the type and number of competitors already in the market. Many competitors does not automatically mean that we can't do business. For one thing, a lot of competitors could mean that there is a lot of demand or it could mean that there is too much supply. The former is good, the latter, BAD. If there is too much supply, our main focus (and the focus of the potential customers) would be pricing which means little or no profit to be made. My main focus is the customer. My main strategy is to coddle the customer. So if you do not have the same values as I do, it would also be hard for us to do business together.
As mentioned before, my views of everything has changed over the last few years. I have come to realize that all people are connected to each other and because humans are social animals, we need each other. Equally important is where we all live, the Earth. Although our lives are short compared to the age of the Earth, our species, among others, will continue to exist here for a very long time. You say, "Who cares about what happens to the world after I die? All I care about is what is happening to me now in this life." Yes, well it is our children and our children's children that are going to continue to live here well after you die. What we do now affects what happens in the future. So it is our duty as humans to protect Mother Earth for the sake of our children. A little off topic there but I felt it was important.
Another change is the status of my vehicle. As my vehicle is not in great condition, I tried to enlist the help of a few businesses in town but failed to get any response from everyone except for Jim Pattison Toyota (big shout out to JP Toyota). It would be too costly for me to repair the vehicle myself and JP Toyota can't fix everything so I have decided to donate the entire vehicle to the Kidney Foundation of Canada's Kidney Car program.
So there you go. You now know a little bit more about what's going on.
Thanks for dropping by and see you guys soon!!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Changes
Ok, so there has been some changes in what I plan to do in the next little while. I have been given an ultimatum that I must keep. I think it is very possible but I need to plan things out. To be more specific, I must start to make money by the end of March or I am forced to take up a part-time job. I know that this sounds very selfish and ignorant, but I don't want to work for other people. So I have an idea how to go about things, it's just a matter of getting it organized and executing it...
Oh, by the way, my company Soft Sell Marketing Company, just opened for business on February 22, 2005! Congratulations to me!! It just means that I registered my company with the province.
Oh, by the way, my company Soft Sell Marketing Company, just opened for business on February 22, 2005! Congratulations to me!! It just means that I registered my company with the province.
Friday, February 18, 2005
What's Going On Now?
Ok, so here's what I am currently working on:
- Caroline Ogawa Project
- eBay Motors/Kidney Foundation Charity Car Sale
- Author my "free" website at Bravenet
- Develop & finish my Business/Marketing Plan
- Self-study e-Business management
- Self-study Internet marketing
- Market research
1. Caroline Ogawa Project
- help with development of business plan
- formulate an Internet marketing plan
- author her 2 e-commerce websites
- implement the marketing plan on her e-commerce sites
- fine tune her business & marketing plans
- implement new objectives that arise from changes in plans
2. eBay Motors/Kidney Foundation Charity Car Sale
- set-up meeting with Jim Pattison Toyota
- pursue other sponsors
- evaluate costs associated with sale of vehicle
- determine feasibility
3. Author my "free" website at Bravenet
- determine goals of website
- determine content of website
- determine tools to include
- decide on appearance/layout of website
4. Develop & finish my Business/Marketing Plan
- develop/revise mission, vision & values statements
- gather information/market research on concept, customers, competitors & cash
- list of features, benefits & unique selling points
- determine and assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats (SWOT)
- develop a sound business model
5. Self-study e-Business management & marketing
- read books & take notes on relevant issues
6. Self-study Internet marketing
- StoresOnline course material
- evaluating various online marketing tools
- practise using online marketing tools & interpreting results
- test "ad copy"
7. Market research
- fine art
- commercial art
- retail products
- art supplies
- Internet marketing
Monday, February 14, 2005
My Car & Kidney
Hello there again!
After a weeks absence, I am feeling a little guilty for not writing my Blog. Expanding on last day's theme of procrastination, I will delve into my mind and try to explain why...
I talked to Caroline and asked her how everything was going. We had talked a lot about personal things in the last two meetings and it felt like she was on the right path to fixing a lot of things that she wanted to fix. I am really happy that I was able to lend an ear and give her my thoughts, opinions and some advice. I do not purport to be a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a counsellor but I hope that my life experience and knowledge helped her a little bit. As a result, we didn't get as much done as we would have both liked. But then again, I feel that any "emotional baggage" that we might be carrying around in either of us would hinder our progress anyway. Also, I mentioned that we got to know each other much better as people which is also important in any type of relationship.
Well this last week has been a kind of re-awakening of the original awakening. I was going through some emotional rollercoaster times and that definitely affected the progress of my business. This, I believe, also had a negative impact on Caroline and I publicly apologize, "Sorry Caroline!" I will be meeting with her tomorrow to continue with our project together...
As far as my business and I are concerned, I have decided to sell my 1986 Toyota Cressida that I had mentioned before on eBay Motors. I will also be giving half of the net proceeds to the Kidney Foundation of Canada for the support (financially and otherwise) that they have given me. Although I am not completely recovered from my situation, I have come to realize that there are kidney patients that are a lot less fortunate that I am. My car isn't it the best shape so I have enlisted the help of Jim Pattison Toyota, Fountain Tire and Rags to Riches Top Shop Auto Restoration. I have heard back from Jim Pattison Toyota so far and they seem interested in helping us out. I am also checking about shipping my car to the winning bidder so that it is not just a local thing. I am trying to set up a temporary web site at softsellmarketing.bravehost.com so that I can feedback and comments from everybody. You can contact me in a variety of ways but the most efficient would be to e-mail me Please tell me what you think of the idea or if you have any suggestions, I would like to hear them.
I am back and I will be here tomorrow so look for me!
After a weeks absence, I am feeling a little guilty for not writing my Blog. Expanding on last day's theme of procrastination, I will delve into my mind and try to explain why...
I talked to Caroline and asked her how everything was going. We had talked a lot about personal things in the last two meetings and it felt like she was on the right path to fixing a lot of things that she wanted to fix. I am really happy that I was able to lend an ear and give her my thoughts, opinions and some advice. I do not purport to be a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a counsellor but I hope that my life experience and knowledge helped her a little bit. As a result, we didn't get as much done as we would have both liked. But then again, I feel that any "emotional baggage" that we might be carrying around in either of us would hinder our progress anyway. Also, I mentioned that we got to know each other much better as people which is also important in any type of relationship.
Well this last week has been a kind of re-awakening of the original awakening. I was going through some emotional rollercoaster times and that definitely affected the progress of my business. This, I believe, also had a negative impact on Caroline and I publicly apologize, "Sorry Caroline!" I will be meeting with her tomorrow to continue with our project together...
As far as my business and I are concerned, I have decided to sell my 1986 Toyota Cressida that I had mentioned before on eBay Motors. I will also be giving half of the net proceeds to the Kidney Foundation of Canada for the support (financially and otherwise) that they have given me. Although I am not completely recovered from my situation, I have come to realize that there are kidney patients that are a lot less fortunate that I am. My car isn't it the best shape so I have enlisted the help of Jim Pattison Toyota, Fountain Tire and Rags to Riches Top Shop Auto Restoration. I have heard back from Jim Pattison Toyota so far and they seem interested in helping us out. I am also checking about shipping my car to the winning bidder so that it is not just a local thing. I am trying to set up a temporary web site at softsellmarketing.bravehost.com so that I can feedback and comments from everybody. You can contact me in a variety of ways but the most efficient would be to e-mail me Please tell me what you think of the idea or if you have any suggestions, I would like to hear them.
I am back and I will be here tomorrow so look for me!
Friday, February 04, 2005
Procrastination
OK, I would be the first one to admit that I am a master with many degrees in procrastination. I'm sure I am surpassed by many others, but up 'til now, I was pretty darn good at it. It has taken a sort of "awakening" in me to realize the impact of everything. So each day I struggle with it internally. It is internal and it exists within me. I thought that I had purged it from my system, but obviously it had not been completely expunged from my mind. I am seeing it creep back in and I don't like it! Therefore, the logical solution is to just do it! Right? Yeah, it's that easy... ... ... No, it didn't work. Why? Whyyyyyyyyy???
Fear
Procrastination almost always comes from fear. "Yeah, right! You're just lazy," says Person M and D. Maybe. Laziness can come in varying degrees. Procrastination is putting off something that you must or want to do. I see laziness as being the lack of desire to do anything. Lazy people don't care and don't want to do anything about the situation they find themselves in. I, myself want to do something yet something holds me back. The fear of failure. The fear of not living up to my own (not to mentions others that we won't mention[pa.re.nt.s]) expectations of the final result. Are these fears justified? I don't really think so. If it's territory that I've covered before, then I should know what's coming, and that is an advantage always. If it's new territory, I've never been there so I am not qualified to make judgements on it.
Failures & Miskates
Failures & mistakes are built into everything. They are natural and naturally occuring. Without failure, there is no success. Failures & mistakes give us feedback & knowledge. Knowledge is good. But knowledge is useless without action. Without action, we have no failure, no mistakes, no success, no feedback and no information. So failures & mistakes are necessities and we are to minimize them by learning from them.
Choice
Life is simply a series of choices. Those choices lead to other situations in which we must make more decisions. These choices define and make us who we are. So now that I know why I am procrastinating and that those reasons are unjustified, I can put that knowledge to good use. Or I can choose to not do anything. Whatever I choose to do, I must take responsibility for it. It was a choice I made so I must face the consequences of that choice. Too often in society today, people shirk the responsibility of their choice and blame someone else for something that they chose to do. My choice is to do it and not blame someone else if something goes wrong. I will prevail.
Tune in next time!
Thanks!!
Fear
Procrastination almost always comes from fear. "Yeah, right! You're just lazy," says Person M and D. Maybe. Laziness can come in varying degrees. Procrastination is putting off something that you must or want to do. I see laziness as being the lack of desire to do anything. Lazy people don't care and don't want to do anything about the situation they find themselves in. I, myself want to do something yet something holds me back. The fear of failure. The fear of not living up to my own (not to mentions others that we won't mention[pa.re.nt.s]) expectations of the final result. Are these fears justified? I don't really think so. If it's territory that I've covered before, then I should know what's coming, and that is an advantage always. If it's new territory, I've never been there so I am not qualified to make judgements on it.
Failures & Miskates
Failures & mistakes are built into everything. They are natural and naturally occuring. Without failure, there is no success. Failures & mistakes give us feedback & knowledge. Knowledge is good. But knowledge is useless without action. Without action, we have no failure, no mistakes, no success, no feedback and no information. So failures & mistakes are necessities and we are to minimize them by learning from them.
Choice
Life is simply a series of choices. Those choices lead to other situations in which we must make more decisions. These choices define and make us who we are. So now that I know why I am procrastinating and that those reasons are unjustified, I can put that knowledge to good use. Or I can choose to not do anything. Whatever I choose to do, I must take responsibility for it. It was a choice I made so I must face the consequences of that choice. Too often in society today, people shirk the responsibility of their choice and blame someone else for something that they chose to do. My choice is to do it and not blame someone else if something goes wrong. I will prevail.
Tune in next time!
Thanks!!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Another Meeting and More eBay
So I had another meeting with Caroline yesterday. Although we spent a lot of time together, we mostly talked and socialized. We got to get to know each other much better and as a result, our relationship is better for it. I believe it's pretty important to build a social relationship with business partners. While it is not imperative, it helps with understanding your partner better. Also, we met last time on Wednesday so I guess we didn't have as much accomplished between meetings as we had hoped. We're meeting again on Thursday so we had better get more done this time.
I received an e-mail from eBay regarding my question about listing my car for charity. My car is a 1986 Toyota Cressida and I want to sell it on eBay with part of the net proceeds going to charity. eBay has told me that I must list it in eBay Motors and that I must get consent from the charity to which I want to donate. I hadn't decided on a charity but thinking about it now, I am thinking that I should donate the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Originally, I thought maybe that I would give to the Tsunami Relief effort but after seeing how much money is being directed to that cause, I decided that it would be better to donate to a cause that has supported me in tough times. I will be contacting the Kidney Foundation to find out what processes I must go through to be able to list my vehicle on eBay. Stay tuned for more details.
Thanks as always for dropping by!
I received an e-mail from eBay regarding my question about listing my car for charity. My car is a 1986 Toyota Cressida and I want to sell it on eBay with part of the net proceeds going to charity. eBay has told me that I must list it in eBay Motors and that I must get consent from the charity to which I want to donate. I hadn't decided on a charity but thinking about it now, I am thinking that I should donate the Kidney Foundation of Canada. Originally, I thought maybe that I would give to the Tsunami Relief effort but after seeing how much money is being directed to that cause, I decided that it would be better to donate to a cause that has supported me in tough times. I will be contacting the Kidney Foundation to find out what processes I must go through to be able to list my vehicle on eBay. Stay tuned for more details.
Thanks as always for dropping by!
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Uh-oh!
I received an e-mail from eBay today that they have canceled my listing for Norton AntiVirus(TM) 2005. The only thing is that that auction has finished and the entire transaction has been completed. In the e-mail, it states that eBay was asked by Symantec(TM), the owners of the intellectual property, to cancel it. I proceeded to do a search of eBay for others and lo and behold, there are many listings like mine. After giving it some thought, I realized that my listing states that the product is OEM. I mistakenly said that this was an OEM product and this probably cost me bids in the end as well. For those of you that don't know, OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer". It is a term that is used in the computer sales industry which means a product that is included with another main product. For example, some newer software is sold together with other slightly older titles that are at the end of their sales cycle with little or no extra cost. The added software is a bonus and is termed "OEM". For those of you who care, I believe this term was adopted from the hardware side of sales where components came without a retail box and sold bare to computer manufacturers and resellers. It was usually the exact same piece of equipment yet cheaper because there was little need for packaging and there was much more volume than retail.
My first reaction was to e-mail Symantec(TM) right away asking why my listing was canceled. But I thought it better to leave it alone and do some more research on my own. Well, I scoured Symantec's(TM) site and wasn't able to find out specifically what I did wrong. I searched for their End User License Agreement but it did not tell me anything. I looked even further but did not get anywhere. So, I decided, as a responsible eMerchant, I should contact the buyer of the software and inform him of the situation. I explained my belief on why my listing got canceled and offered to rectify any problems he might have. Right now, I'm just waiting for a reply.
So all of this has taught me a bitter lesson. Two auctions listed, two auctions officially canceled. (Sigh) Well, I can honestly say that this whole thing could have turned out a lot worse.
Well, I hope I have a better week next week...
My first reaction was to e-mail Symantec(TM) right away asking why my listing was canceled. But I thought it better to leave it alone and do some more research on my own. Well, I scoured Symantec's(TM) site and wasn't able to find out specifically what I did wrong. I searched for their End User License Agreement but it did not tell me anything. I looked even further but did not get anywhere. So, I decided, as a responsible eMerchant, I should contact the buyer of the software and inform him of the situation. I explained my belief on why my listing got canceled and offered to rectify any problems he might have. Right now, I'm just waiting for a reply.
So all of this has taught me a bitter lesson. Two auctions listed, two auctions officially canceled. (Sigh) Well, I can honestly say that this whole thing could have turned out a lot worse.
Well, I hope I have a better week next week...
Friday, January 28, 2005
Feels Good!
Man, does it feel good to get a lot of what you set out to do accomplished. I still have some time left in the day so I still can get more stuff done. Actually, I've done more stuff than I had planned so that's all the better.
I received a copy of my credit report and there were a few changes that I needed to request. I also did a lot of banking today (meaning I paid all my bills), including making provisions for consistent savings. I still have to ask my brother for an "investment" and still have to get my business plan finished (sheesh!). After talking to Marshall today, and after visiting some of his websites, I get a sense that I'll be doing a lot of business with them, now and in the future. Really big business... Left Emelio a message, so obviously my end of month goal is not going to be completed. However, I decided with Caroline that we're going to get both of her websites up by the end of February. Stay tuned!
Talk to you soon!
I received a copy of my credit report and there were a few changes that I needed to request. I also did a lot of banking today (meaning I paid all my bills), including making provisions for consistent savings. I still have to ask my brother for an "investment" and still have to get my business plan finished (sheesh!). After talking to Marshall today, and after visiting some of his websites, I get a sense that I'll be doing a lot of business with them, now and in the future. Really big business... Left Emelio a message, so obviously my end of month goal is not going to be completed. However, I decided with Caroline that we're going to get both of her websites up by the end of February. Stay tuned!
Talk to you soon!
Thursday, January 27, 2005
I'm an Amazon.com Associate
I have signed up to be an Amazon.com & Amazon.ca Associate. This allows me to show a banner on my blog (see the left hand column) that links to the Amazon.com products. If someone clicks the link and subsequently purchases products from Amazon.com, I will get a little kickback for sending the person in the first place. The unfortunate thing is that it starts to look like any other website with advertising that it kind of gets ignored. SO..., if you're thinking about buying something from Amazon.com, get there through the banner here on my blog. This will help me get my business started and I'd be extremely gracious not to mention really happy.
I also will be posting my SquareTrade seal and PayPal link here on my blog. SquareTrade is an organization that ensures the identity of people/companies who sell products or services online. It also ensures that the terms & conditions of these people are accurately reported and disclosed. PayPal is a company that provides payment services for sellers and buyers. If you sell things on the Internet and do not have a merchant account, chances are that you have a PayPal account. If you don't already, then sign up here or click the link in the left column to open your Seller's account. It is one (among others) of the easiest & cheapest ways to collect payment over the Internet.
Well, I'm trying to keep busy so off I go! See y'all later.
I also will be posting my SquareTrade seal and PayPal link here on my blog. SquareTrade is an organization that ensures the identity of people/companies who sell products or services online. It also ensures that the terms & conditions of these people are accurately reported and disclosed. PayPal is a company that provides payment services for sellers and buyers. If you sell things on the Internet and do not have a merchant account, chances are that you have a PayPal account. If you don't already, then sign up here or click the link in the left column to open your Seller's account. It is one (among others) of the easiest & cheapest ways to collect payment over the Internet.
Well, I'm trying to keep busy so off I go! See y'all later.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Another Long Meeting
Tonight was another power meeting with Caroline and again, we got a lot done. First of all, I am so happy that we got her Mission Statement semi-finalized:
"The mission of Caroline Ogawa _____ is to create original works of art for customers who can relate to and appreciate unique designs of personal expression and to provide a variety of customized products that build strong relationships with our customers by fulfilling their needs."
She hasn't decided on her official company name yet, hence the blank. Personally, I think that this a really good mission statement. I encourage all of you to comment on it and give us some feedback. Reading it again, I can already see some minor improvements.
Things are moving along well and it seems that it's just not fast enough for Caroline. To tell the truth, I am really anxious to get things going for her as well. So we scheduled our next meeting for this Monday. We'll be working on: finishing her business plan, acquiring finished products and marketing. Most of the marketing, I will be doing on my own, but that will be restricted mostly to the commerce website. She will, of course, do her own self-promotion like she has always been doing and I will help her in any way that I can. Between now and Monday, there is a lot of work to finish. So I hope to see you back!
Thanks for dropping by.
"The mission of Caroline Ogawa _____ is to create original works of art for customers who can relate to and appreciate unique designs of personal expression and to provide a variety of customized products that build strong relationships with our customers by fulfilling their needs."
She hasn't decided on her official company name yet, hence the blank. Personally, I think that this a really good mission statement. I encourage all of you to comment on it and give us some feedback. Reading it again, I can already see some minor improvements.
Things are moving along well and it seems that it's just not fast enough for Caroline. To tell the truth, I am really anxious to get things going for her as well. So we scheduled our next meeting for this Monday. We'll be working on: finishing her business plan, acquiring finished products and marketing. Most of the marketing, I will be doing on my own, but that will be restricted mostly to the commerce website. She will, of course, do her own self-promotion like she has always been doing and I will help her in any way that I can. Between now and Monday, there is a lot of work to finish. So I hope to see you back!
Thanks for dropping by.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Keyword Analysis
Yesterday, I submitted several of Caroline's keywords for analysis. The report that is generated gives me detailed information on the keywords, how they are used on the top websites and where these websites are ranked on search engines. The information gives me an idea about which words I should be using for my website title & description as well as Meta Tag Keywords & Meta Tag Descriptions. These four things are what most search engines (except for Google) look for when a user types in their search criteria. Getting your website ranked higher in the search engines has always been a major objective of all eCommerce websites because the higher you rank, the more visitors you are likely to get. The more visitors a website gets, the more likely you'll have sales. Of course traffic is not the only thing a website needs but it is a very good start. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was once big business on the Internet, but search engines have evolved. The way searches were conducted and the rules governing how webmasters should structure their websites for higher rankings had been in a state of flux. The SEO business was therefore put in a precarious position and many companies offering these services have fallen by the wayside though several still remain. Although all of this may be true, search engine placement still the MOST important part of any Internet marketing strategy. You should also realize that this is not the ONLY strategy you should apply.
It takes a day to generate the Keyword Analysis report. I have received them and have begun to formulate titles & descriptions to test. Testing is one of the most critical parts of putting a website together. I will explain why testing is important and how to test in a later post.
Thanks for visiting!
It takes a day to generate the Keyword Analysis report. I have received them and have begun to formulate titles & descriptions to test. Testing is one of the most critical parts of putting a website together. I will explain why testing is important and how to test in a later post.
Thanks for visiting!
Monday, January 24, 2005
A Positive eBay Experience?
So I bought an MP3 player for my brother on eBay a couple of weeks back. It arrived and we got to use it for less than a week before it crapped out. We couldn't turn it on anymore. I e-mailed the seller that I bought it from and he was great! He had sent it to my neighbour's PO Box in Blaine, WA (I saved $10 USD but gave my neighbour $5 CAD to use it). The player had been sitting there for a few days before we actually got it in our hands. I explained all of this to the seller and he was gracious enough to allow us to return it for repair or exchange. It's already on its way back to him via Canada Post expedited insured parcel at a total cost of $11.94 CAD. I'll keep you up-to-date on this...
Friday, January 21, 2005
What is an Internet Marketer?
After talking to some of my friends, I've found that there is some confusion about what an Internet marketer is or does. Some people have even confused it with "Network Marketing" or "Multi-Level Marketing". Although these methods may be aspects of Internet Marketing, they are definitely not the ONLY aspects. In fact, an Internet marketer doesn't necessarily have to implement network or multi-level marketing in their overall strategy although a lot do.
Simply put, Internet marketing is marketing on the Internet. Let's start with the basic question, "What is marketing?" For a lot of people, advertising is the first thing that comes to mind. Some others might think that marketing is just selling stuff. These two elements alone or together are too simplistic and do not adequately describe the complete scope of what marketing is. The Miriam-Webster Online dictionary describes marketing as:
1 a : the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market b : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service
2 : an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer
Definition 1b & 2 best describes what I am doing on the Internet although it is still somewhat ambiguous. There is actually a specialized way to market products online that is VERY different from traditional forms of marketing. This being said, it is similar in a lot of respects to "Direct Marketing". Some people might be familiar with direct marketing. To quote Wikipedia:
"Direct marketing is a form of marketing that attempts to send its messages directly to consumers, without the use of intervening media."
To break this definition down further, the message is usually in the form of "copy" (sales message) on a website or in an e-mail. Uh-oh, the word "e-mail" raised some eyebrows out there! Bear with me here. An Internet user (or "prospect" because he is a prospective buyer) would first visit a website that he has specifically chosen. In other words, the person has either used a search engine to look for this information, or has clicked on a relevant link from another website. The user finds that the information contained within the website he has chosen and either decides if it is what he was looking for (considers buying the product or service) or not (keeps searching). However, most Internet consumers are usually cautious about purchasing online. If the website owner is any good at marketing, the site will ask for your e-mail to send the user more information about the subject or a newsletter whether the user decides to purchase or not. This is what is called "opt-in e-mailing" or "permission e-mailing" and not the dreaded "SPAM" or "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail" because you opted to receive this e-mail. In the e-mail, the information that was promised is sent along with another subtle sales message. The Miriam-Webster definition of marketing above also mentions the distribution of the product or service to the consumer. Once a sale has been secured, the product or service must be delivered to the consumer. For a lot of people, this might seem like the end of the role of an Internet marketer. Truthfully, a good marketer's job and the realtionship with the consumer is never done.
I hope that this post has answered some of the questions that you may have had about Internet marketing. For those of you who would like more information, a very good place to start is located here. It is one of MANY websites that millionaire entrepreneur Stephen A. Pierce has. From his humble beginnings, he has grown into one of the richest Internet marketing consultants in the world. I have learned and continue to learn from him and other's like him. Please do not hesitate to leave me comments or e-mail me if you should have further questions.
Thanks for dropping by and see you soon!
Simply put, Internet marketing is marketing on the Internet. Let's start with the basic question, "What is marketing?" For a lot of people, advertising is the first thing that comes to mind. Some others might think that marketing is just selling stuff. These two elements alone or together are too simplistic and do not adequately describe the complete scope of what marketing is. The Miriam-Webster Online dictionary describes marketing as:
1 a : the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market b : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service
2 : an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer
Definition 1b & 2 best describes what I am doing on the Internet although it is still somewhat ambiguous. There is actually a specialized way to market products online that is VERY different from traditional forms of marketing. This being said, it is similar in a lot of respects to "Direct Marketing". Some people might be familiar with direct marketing. To quote Wikipedia:
To break this definition down further, the message is usually in the form of "copy" (sales message) on a website or in an e-mail. Uh-oh, the word "e-mail" raised some eyebrows out there! Bear with me here. An Internet user (or "prospect" because he is a prospective buyer) would first visit a website that he has specifically chosen. In other words, the person has either used a search engine to look for this information, or has clicked on a relevant link from another website. The user finds that the information contained within the website he has chosen and either decides if it is what he was looking for (considers buying the product or service) or not (keeps searching). However, most Internet consumers are usually cautious about purchasing online. If the website owner is any good at marketing, the site will ask for your e-mail to send the user more information about the subject or a newsletter whether the user decides to purchase or not. This is what is called "opt-in e-mailing" or "permission e-mailing" and not the dreaded "SPAM" or "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail" because you opted to receive this e-mail. In the e-mail, the information that was promised is sent along with another subtle sales message. The Miriam-Webster definition of marketing above also mentions the distribution of the product or service to the consumer. Once a sale has been secured, the product or service must be delivered to the consumer. For a lot of people, this might seem like the end of the role of an Internet marketer. Truthfully, a good marketer's job and the realtionship with the consumer is never done.
I hope that this post has answered some of the questions that you may have had about Internet marketing. For those of you who would like more information, a very good place to start is located here. It is one of MANY websites that millionaire entrepreneur Stephen A. Pierce has. From his humble beginnings, he has grown into one of the richest Internet marketing consultants in the world. I have learned and continue to learn from him and other's like him. Please do not hesitate to leave me comments or e-mail me if you should have further questions.
Thanks for dropping by and see you soon!
