"Archives Page #005"

Hi, Friend and welcome.

These archives have been stripped of all non-essential info to leave you with the more important articles. Read and enjoy.

***The Newbie Trail***

The Call To Action.
Web Site Promotion Continued.

Last time in the call to action we talked about:
Search Engine Submission, Reciprocal Linking, with the
emphasis placed on correct linking and not link farms
or any other man and his dog type-sites. Preferably sites
in a similar line of business.

This week we are going to talk about FFA's
(Sometimes known as: Fr*e-For-All Link Lists).

Now, before we go any further, I do not endorse FFA's as a
top method for promoting your wares.
However, if you have a unique product to sell or niche service,
then this can be a kind of fr*e advertising that you can use
to your advantage and the promotion of your web site.

A program such as Becanada's Isell Classifieds:
http://www.becanada.com/isell/?*emailpromo2*ed@dotbasic.co.uk
can be set-up quite easily in your server's cgi-bin. And once
set, can run on autopilot. Once or twice a week update your
own link or advert on the system and take advantage of the
email collecting part for extended promotions.

Each time someone adds a posting to your FFA, they
automatically receive a thank you email from you.
Each time their posting expires, they automatically receive
another email from you, telling them their posting has expired.
And every time that email left your site, it was filled with your
advertisement and promotional information.

It cost you nothing to set-up; nothing for the promotion
and nothing to run it if you already have access to a
cgi-bin within your server. If you have a desirable product
or service, it could be just the place for those extra sales,
a little more exposure for your site and another link for the
search engines.

That was the plus side, now for the down side:

FFA's are pages, which list web site links together with a short
description of the respective site, product or service. Web site
owners usually submit URL and description themselves, and the
entry is added without further editorial check. These lists are
a breeding ground for shady companies.

There will be all sorts offering "Get Rich Quick" opportunities!
"Laptops for silly money", "Rich without working -
Guaranteed!", etc etc. Additionally, YOU will receive a shed
load of junk emails.

The answer is, get yourself a throw away email from the likes
of Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com
and Hotmail: http://www.hotmail.com

Never use your main email account.

With that in mind, a unique or desirable product, software
or service and you shouldn't go far wrong.

In the next web site promotion article, we will continue with
submitting your articles to other ezines/newsletters.

============================================
Ed Bellamy is an Internet Marketer. Visit his site and
subscribe to his eZine/Newsletter. Are you a dotBASiC beginner? Become a dotBASiCWorld Pro at:
http://www.dotbasicworld.com/
Copyright (c) 2004. Ed Bellamy.
============================================

You are most welcome to reprint this article.
Please include the Resource Box.

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>>>>>>>>>Titbit of The Week<<<<<<<<<
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Always Carry A Mini DVR.

How often do you find yourself in the middle of nowhere,
with a hundred idea's floating around in those little grey
cells and then find you have no pen or paper to use to
record them on?!

It used to happen to me all the time. The simple answer
to this problem was - don't go anywhere!

That however, did have it's draw backs. So, a better solution
is this: get yourself a Mini DVR (Digital Voice Recorder).
They're light, they're portable and they don't cost much to
buy.

So as those little idea's for that ebook, eZine or Newsletter's
are popping into your head - you just pull out your DVR and
dictate away. When you get home, play it back and type into
your document.

Bingo! Problem solved!

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>>>>>>>> Featured Article <<<<<<<<
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Idea Hangouts: Where to Find Hot Product Ideas to
Use For Creating Your Next Best-Selling eBook

By Jimmy D. Brown of “How to Create Best-Sellers Online”

.........................

46,094.

That’s how many times I’ve been asked “Where can I find
hot product ideas to write about in my next eBook?”

Really. I’ve been keeping count. :o)

OK, so it’s probably not quite that many times, but you get
the idea.

I get asked that question a LOT.

And so, I’ve decided to share my favorite “idea hangouts”.
That’s right … “idea hangouts.” It’s been my experience
that there are specific places where hot product ideas are
always gathered. I call them “idea hangouts.”

*** Idea Hangout #1 ***

One of the “idea hangouts” that I’ve identified is
Amazon.com.

Amazon.com is the web’s largest bookstore.

It’s also a community center for new product ideas. I use
it as one of my top brainstorming resources. Again and
again I visit this site to come up with topics to write
about.

What makes Amazon.com so useful as a research tool for
getting new ideas is their searchable database of books.
There are thousands of great ideas lurking in there if you
just know how to use it.

And that’s what I’m here for. :o)

I’m going to show you how to find hot product ideas with
Amazon.com anytime you want.

It’s really a matter of three simple steps …

STEP 01 : >>> Decide Upon A Broad Category. When
brainstorming ideas, you must begin with a broad category
to work with. Some examples might be: weight loss,
marketing, dating, travel, baseball.

So, you need that ahead of time. Figure out a broad subject
that you know is popular (I.E. You know that losing weight
is ALWAYS going to be a popular subject, as is “making
money.”).

As an example for this article, I’m going to choose GOLF.

STEP 02 : >>> Search Amazon’s Database. After picking
your broad topic to research, it’s time to visit Amazon.com.

Specifically, you’re going to SEARCH their database of
books they are selling.

Upon arriving at their site, locate their SEARCH form. At
the time of this writing, it was in the upper left hand
corner of their main page. Pull the menu down and select
BOOKS from the options.

In the space provided, type in whatever broad category you
chose. I’d type in “Golf”. (You don’t need quotation marks)

If you did indeed start with a broad category, then hundreds
(or even thousands) of book listings should appear as a result
of the search.

STEP 03 : >>> Brainstorm Ideas From The Listings. Let the
brainstorming session begin! Now it’s time to look at the
books that are listed and write down as many possible ideas
as you can find.

Look for the different TYPES of books written about the
subject, identifying different THEMES, STYLES and
SUBCATEGORIES.

Let’s look at an example …

When I searched for “Golf”, I was able to immediately spot
dozens of great ideas. Here are a handful …

1. Becoming a better golfer. There are many golf books
available in this area, covering everything from “A-Z of Golf
Shots” to specific topics such as “Improving Your Short
Game.” There were lots of different themes from “learning
to break 100” to “shaving 10 shots off your score” to “7
shots that will change your golf game forever.”

2. Guides to Golf Courses. Again, we have many different
ideas here. Specific golf guides like “Florida golfing”,
“golfing in Tennessee” and “golfing the Robert Trent Jones
trail” appear, as well as books on “the best golf courses in
America,” “best kept secrets: great golf courses you’ve
probably never played,” and “golf vacation guides.”

3. Profiting from Golf. More ideas pour in with “opening a
golf repair business,” “becoming a golf retailer,” “learning
how to caddy” and “buying & selling used golf clubs.”
What about “running an online golf auction”, “organizing a
golf tournament for profit” or even “writing information
products about golf!”

4. Golf and Business. There are millions of dollars in
business deals negotiated on the golf course every single
year. And there are books available to teach folks how to get
it done. “How to negotiate business deals during golf
outings,” “Legal golf tax deductions for business people,”
and “business seminars and golf: how to mix training and
fun for maximum profit” are just a few more ideas worth
exploring.

5. Golf Products. My, my, my there are so many ideas
floating around in here! Everything ranging from reviews of
the latest golf equipment to ratings of golf courses to
discounts on golf packages. Resource guides to finding the
best deals on golfing products, how to negotiate discounts,
and how to find the best products for your specific golf game
also come to mind as product ideas.

One Broad Category (Golf)
+ Amazon.com Searchable Database of Books
= 28 Potential Product Ideas

See how easy that was? I found TWENTY-EIGHT potential
new product ideas (and there were MANY MORE that I
didn’t mention in this article) from a simple brainstorming
exercise using ONE “idea hangout.”

There’s got to be a best-seller in that bunch somewhere.
And certainly with a little “mix -n- match” I can come up
with a hit product with these ideas.

Not bad, eh?

So, now it’s YOUR turn. It’s a simple system for coming up
with product ideas anytime you want.

Like right now.

.........................
Jimmy D. Brown is the co-author (with Ryan Deiss) of
“How to Create Best-Sellers Online”.

DISCLAIMER: We disclaim any liability for the use of any
contributed information contained herein. We cannot
guarantee the serviceability or merchantability of any
products purchased or obtained by whatsoever means
through this web site or its associates. The information
relayed in this document is the opinion of the author.
And subscribers may feel they should seek independent
advice before entering into any agreement.