How to Find a Top Rated Affiliate Program?

If you're reading this, then it's pretty safe to assume that you are interested in marketing and very interested in making as much money as possible without working too hard. Well, that's what top rated affiliate programs are for because the only way a program can get to the top of the affiliate world is to provide the affiliates with everything they want and then some. Being proactive in meeting the needs of affiliates pay handsomely, which is why top rated affiliate programs can be counted on to offer the terms that make a marketer's heart race with excitement.

What are the features of a top rated affiliate program? For starters, such a program offers high commissions. The people behind it know that their products will sell very well and don't mind giving up a bigger share of the money in order to motivate affiliates and reward their efforts. If you're spending a couple of hours everyday pondering traffic statistics, thinking up ways to improve your website to get top search engine placement and generating a lot of sales then you deserve those high commissions. And if your conversion rate is high enough, you will be making a lot of money in a short time.

Aside from the high commissions you will need quality affiliate support from the associate program in the shape of free website templates to choose from, free content for your website (or websites) written by professional copywriters, tutorials and guides if you're only just beginning and lots of information and advice on the niche market you are going to be operating in. Plus, you get access to advanced affiliate tools for keyword research and traffic tracking. Another very important thing to look out for is the way products are sold. If the managers ask you to buy the products and resell it to customers, then you're walking into a scam.

But you probably know by now that there are no magic buttons to push that can make you a super affiliate in a couple of days. You'll have to work your way to a position of financial security and you have a lot to learn about how to be a good marketer. But joining a top rated affiliate program goes a long way to making your dreams come true as fast as humanly possible because the sad alternative is to do the same amount of work for less money. And that runs contrary to the fact that you deserve to get as much as possible for your efforts.

Low commissions and small percentages of low prices are highly NOT recommended and working for a greedy bunch of managers is an experience that should be avoided. Why waste time and effort when you can start on the right foot by joining a top rated affiliate program? If some people out there are willing to work for low commissions and others can't find anything wrong with investing their own money in a business that doesn't ever pay off, then let them do it. You have other priorities.

Italics - When you should use them

by Paul D Kennedy

The purpose of italic typefaces is to aid comprehension by separating off certain words and phrases from their surrounding text. But when exactly should you use italics?

The basic purpose in typesetting a story or article for a book, newspaper or periodical, for print or online, is to enhance understanding of the text and thereby make the reading an easy, pleasant experience.

Roman type is the straightforward, upright type we read everyday in our newspapers, magazines and books, and on our monitors.

Italic is the 'handwriting' equivalent of whatever roman font we are reading. It has a sloping cursive quality that reminds us of the manual writing we learned in primary school.

Bold type is roman or italic font that has been emphasized by thickening and making it darker than the surrounding text.

The question is: when should we use which version of a particular typeface - roman, italic, or bold? The answer must focus on the reader's needs and the reading experience.

It is obvious that for most copy the roman version of the chosen font should be used. This is because, having an upright face, it is the easiest to read and it is what readers expect.

Because the bold version of a font makes text stand out strongly, it is used for highlighting important words, phrases and sections. Thus headlines, decks and subheads set in bold will, along with pull-quotes and other tricks of the typesetter's art, provide the casual scanner with clues as to what your article or story is all about. The judicious use of bold in this way will induce him or her to read the main story.

Bold however is too strong to be used, except very occasionally, within body text. To set off words from surrounding text is the main function of italics.

So when should you use italics exactly? Here's a sort of check-list, a mixture of accepted practice and my personal opinion.

Most of these when-to-use-italics rules apply equally to words in body copy, head-lines and captions, and whether you are typesetting books, articles, stories or web-pages.

[1] The names of ships and aircraft; eg: The Caribbean Cruiser sank yesterday. This is the oldest when-to-use-italics rule. It allows the reader to quickly grasp what is being referred to in the message.

[2] The titles of poems; eg: As You Go Dancing by James Stewart is famous among the literati of the Arabian Gulf. This is another very traditional use of italics that enables quick reader-uptake.

[3] Foreign words; eg: We turned left and found ourselves in a cul de sac. Another very traditional use of italics that makes for quicker reading.

[4] The titles of books, newspapers, articles and stories occurring within a sentence without further explanation; eg: The Saturday edition of the Limerick Leader was always on the streets by Friday afternoon.

However titles that appear within larger works are not italicized but are set off in quotation marks; eg: 'An Irishman's Diary' in the Irish Times is sometimes interesting.

[5] Latin phrases used to classify living things; eg: Many people wonder why mankind is referred to as homo sapiens. Another use of italics that has been around ab aeterno.

[6] Where a word is used as an example rather than for its meaning; eg: The word Kennedy is a proper noun. This is neater than setting the noun within single quotes as in: The word 'Kennedy' is a proper noun.

[7] For introducing new terms; eg: In Freudian psychology reference is made to the ego, the super-ego, and the id. This is a neat solution to highlighting words that will probably be explained later.

[8] For the subjects of definitions; eg: An odd number is any number that cannot be divided by two. This is useful for the reader as, should he or she wish to refer back to the definition later, a word in italics among a sea of roman letters is easy to find.

[9] For mathematical symbols: eg: The standard acceleration of gravity g is 9.81183 metres per second per second. The symbol does not need to be surrounded by commas or single quotes which would be required if it were set in roman type.

[10] For emphasis; eg: Janice wasn't the only girl at the party. The use of italics for emphasis is less intrusive than bold and more subtly suggestive.

[11] To indicate a character's internal reflections in stories; eg: This just does not seem right, Janice thought. However many writers prefer other ways of expressing inner thoughts.

[12] Using a letter or number as a noun; eg: He was vexed because they had left out the d in his name. However many writers would prefer to put a letter or number used in this way between quotes: eg; He was vexed because they had left out the 'd' in his name.

That's about it for the when-to-use italics rules. Except, what should you do if you need to use italics within italics?

If some word or phrase that should be italicised is already within a run of italics, the trick is to switch back to roman type for that word or phrase; eg: I'm in a really weird situation, Janice thought.

This italics-within-italics solution works best when italics are used to highlight internal reflections; eg: Why can't we just look up Wikipedia for the answer? he wondered to himself.

Of course, you don't have to follow these when-to-use-italics rules. However most of them are in current use because they do aid reader comprehension.

Indeed, most of us have an instinct as to when the use of italics is appropriate. Perhaps you can devise better rules of your own. If so, let me know.

About the Author
Paul D Kennedy (paulkpg@yahoo.ie) is a freelance writer of articles and stories. He offers a complete service - research, writing, editing and proofing - for corporate newsletters and commercial magazines on http://www.writingservices.eu.

Are Your Marketing Strategies and your Website on the Same Page?

by Brody Dorland

Last week a sales rep from a local printing company walked in to my office to pimp his company's "superior" printing services. I gave him a few minutes and he proceeded to give me his pitch, walk me through his large list of printing capabilities, and show me a smattering of past print jobs that included an impressive mix of brochures, folders and binders with fancy die cuts, foil stamping and intricate embossing.

His sales presentation was actually very good and I imagine that he does a great job of new business development for his company. As I walked him out the door, he handed me his card and some cool branded notepads and I told him that I'd keep him in mind on future print jobs.

Upon sitting back down at my computer, I grabbed his card and typed in their website address. This is where things went down hill.

The Not-So-Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Now let me preface this by saying that I'm a marketing consultant/website developer by trade. So my critical eye for proper website design and usability is a bit more sensitive than the next guy. But wow, this company's website was REALLY bad. Their design looked remedial, severely dated and unorganized. Their logo looked completely different than the logo on their business card and notepads. The content was poorly written. There were very few images of printing samples. And upon scanning their printing capabilities page, several of the services that the sales person had mentioned were nowhere to be found.

I threw his card in the circular file (the trash). I kept the notepads.

This situation serves as a good example of the vital role that a website plays in your company's overall sales and marketing strategies. It is critical that your website convey a consistent brand image, perceived value and sales message for those soft-selling opportunities that happen when you're not present.



A Quick Test for Your Website

1. Can a website visitor get a thorough understanding of your bread-and-butter product/service and reach your contact info page in two clicks or less?

2. Is your website design and content consistent with the quality of your company and its products/services?

3. If you looked at your website and sales materials/brochures side by side, are they conveying a consistent brand image?

4. If your salesperson were to read aloud your website's content word-for-word during a sales call, would they close the sale?

I could go on, but hopefully you get the point. If you answered "NO" to any of the questions above, your website probably needs some work.

A Marketing Strategy Lesson

Back to the printing company with the horrid website. Let's say they've come to their senses and hired me to revamp their website. In our initial meeting, I would do a quick audit to learn about the different strategies and tactics they use to develop new business. Next, I would find that they execute a nice mix of advertising, sales and local tradeshows, and since they are a printer, they have very nice brochures. They even do educational sessions on the latest printing techniques through their local Chamber of Commerce.

When I ask about their website, they say, "It's a low priority and we've always worried about the cost."

With so many opportunities to utilize the online tools to market your business and sell your wares, it's a shame that so many companies view the web as their last priority. And some don't even realize the amount of clients and dollars that are going to their competitors who have made an appropriate investment.

5 Ways to Get Your Website on the Same Page

1. Perceived Value - First impressions are everything. In the first few seconds of a site visit, your website's design quality and content layout is subliminally communicating your company's value to the visitor. If your site's design quality is poor or unorganized, your company will be perceived as poor quality and unorganized, and thus, the visitor bounces.

How to Get On the Same Page: Work with a professional website designer who can help you design your site's look and feel to match (or exceed) the quality of your company, products and services.

2. Brand Consistency - Your company's brand is what people think of you. And whether people notice a magazine ad, see your booth at a tradeshow or find your website, it's vital that you present a clear and consistent sense of who you are at every customer touch point.

How to Get On the Same Page: Everything you put in front of a customer needs to look and sound consistent. This means every ad, every brochure, your website, corporate identity elements, etc. An integrated campaign works wonders when designed professionally by a single designer or agency.

3. Message/Content Quality - I've said it before and I'll say it again…content is king. Keeping your website updated with fresh, high-quality, informative content positions you as an expert in your field. And people want to do business with experts.

How to Get On the Same Page: Hiring a professional content developer/copywriter is a great way to ensure that your message is delivered in a high-quality fashion, and with a consistent voice. Have the copywriter sit down with your salespeople to discuss the most effective messaging to help convert your visitors into buyers.

4. Self Promotion: Be Your Own Cheerleader - If you're not promoting your latest happenings (new product/service offerings, company news, upcoming educational sessions, tradeshows, etc.), no one else is going to. But don't get caught with a site that is difficult or costly to update. Nothing screams "dinosaur" like seeing a news page where the last news item was from two years ago.

How to Get On The Same Page: If your salespeople are out there telling customers about a new product or an upcoming educational session, your website should be doing the same. Frequent site updates tell customers that you are an active company that is on the move, as well as providing new content that serves as food for search engine spiders.

5. Track Your ROI - It baffles me that companies will spend thousands of dollars each year on marketing tactics that make tracking your return very difficult (a.k.a. advertising, direct mail, brochures, etc.), but they won't spend a few thousand dollars to build a decent website with an analytics program that practically gives you a two-way mirror to watch your prospect's browsing behavior.

How to Get On the Same Page: Website analytics, and even e-mail marketing, now offers great, inexpensive tools for customer research and ROI tracking that not only help you calculate ROI, but also help you hone your marketing strategies towards the content/messaging, products and services that bring home the bacon.

The Bottom Line

How many clients has that printing company lost over the years because of their poor, neglected website? Who knows? The bottom line is: they lost my business, and as a marketing consultant, the amount of stuff that my clients print alone could probably pay for a website in a matter of years.

About the Author
Brody Dorland - Since receiving degrees in Public Relations and Marketing from Kansas State University, Brody has worked for both advertising agencies and corporations creating award-winning, integrated marketing programs for companies in a variety of industries. Today, Brody manages Something Creative, Inc., a Kansas City-based, virtual marketing and interactive agency.

10 Tips on Estimating Your Business Start Up Costs

by Umer Hayat

Here are ten very important tips on estimating your business start up costs. You definitely shall benefit from them.

1. You need to figure out everything that you need for the start up costs of the business. Remember, this amount is different than the amount cost for the survival of the company for the year. You need money for advertisements, chairs and office supplies, inventory, cash registers, and service supplies. You need to include some money in the start up costs for any other items that you may have forgot about.

2. Don't borrow money from the bank unless you have to. If you borrow money from the bank then make sure to see if you can afford the interest on it. You don't want the interest to be too high.

3. You need to figure out how much it is going to cost for your household expenses during the time of starting your business. You need to have money to cover the amount or be able to get a loan to cover the amount

4. You need to figure out how much it will cost money wise for your business to survive the first year. You need to have enough money for any extra additional costs that will come up every once in a while through out the year.

5. You need to have enough money for any extra additional costs that will come up every once in a while through out the year.

6. You need to take into consideration how much food is going to cost for the entire year. You need to budget money in there for food and other basic expenses. This is important so that you don't suffer during the first year of business.

7. Your company needs to be able to get business loans just in case you end up running out of money during the entire year. Only take out a loan if you can generate enough sales to pay back the loan. If your business isn't surviving very well during the first year then you might want to close it.

8. You need to figure out how much it is going to cost each year for employee's if you have any employees. Remember, you need to include business insurance, any health insurance, and of course workers comp payments. You also have to pay an extra fee to the city for any part time and full time employee's that you have working for your company.

9. Depending upon the type of company that you are interested in starting then you might have to pay money to get certified for any tests. It is important to see which tests that you need to take to get certified and any other rules regarding your type of business.

10. You can sell some items to earn some extra money for your business if you don't have enough money. Just make sure the business is worth selling items for. You don't want to end up broke due to selling everything just to have enough money to start the company.

About the Author
Umer Hayat. http://www.UmerInsurance.com - This is a site where you can learn almost everything related to Insurance and you can also learn almost everything on Insurance types. But if you only want to read more about the above thoughts then you need to work with this link. http://umerinsurance.com/commercial-insurance/10-tips-on-estimating-your-business-start-up-costs