Category: Online Selling

  • List-Based Money-Making Methods

    Essence of the list

    A subscriber list is essential to any website or Web-based company, even if the entity is a small venture specializing in a specific niche or a larger, more established general merchant; because such a list – also referred to as an opt-in list – can make a world of difference in the form of extra income (and profit?) generated for an online business, niche-based entrepreneurship or personal cause, even if that cause is non-profit in nature. In today’s business environment, rarely would you come across an eCommerce site – big or small – that is operated without a subscriber list.

    The main purpose of a subscriber list is to allow a company, Web marketer or online merchant to promote websites, products and services to “opt-in” subscribers via a email. Such promotional emails are permitted because the subscribers previously “opted-in” to the list thereby authorizing the business or marketer to send email, newsletters and other promotional materials to their inboxes. The benefit of this arrangement to marketers and businesses is clear: they make money from any purchases. But there is also benefit to the subscribers: they can be kept abreast of latest trends, new product offers and industry news so they are able to make better and more informed decisions.

    It is because there is mutual consent between the two parties that any email sent to a given subscriber list is not considered as spam mail, which is obviously illegal and unwanted. Overall, the volume of promotional material that reaches subscribers’ inboxes, successfully opened, and read is enormous; and this material includes catalogs, newsletters and other such promotions. But it is sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up to receive it; meaning that they do want it to be sent to them.

    Subscription motivation

    While building a subscriber list should be an essential task of any business, it is important to point out that only a small percentage of website visitors actually opt-in to a subscriber list because many people find promotional mails annoying; but if you are a business owner or marketer who wish to build a subscriber list you’ll probably have more success in doing so by providing a high quality newsletter or catalog which, in turn, would demonstrate the time, work and care you put into this material and therefore should work to create interest in, and attract more readers to, your content after which you can watch your list nurtured and grow.

    You can also achieve such a list-building goal by having good and interesting content on your website, because if visitors like what they see and read on your site they are more likely than not to want more; and a newsletter would certainly be one way to attract them back to your website. Many businesses utilize little teasers, appetizers (in the case of restaurants) and samples to attract customers and your or entrepreneurship should be no different in its approach to building and maintaining a quality subscriber list.

    That having been said, keep in mind that a subscriber list can be used for purposes other than marketing your products and services in the sense that, it can be a powerful tool to enhance an already popular and reputable brand, or build an industry brand and create a credible, sterling reputation when used properly in joint ventures (JVs) and community forums. Of course it would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers, because the more subscribers your list is comprised of, the more money you can make and therefore the more of a demand that would be created for your list in JV arrangements.

    Ads, affiliations & deal-making

    The following paragraphs provide an insight into several ways your business can make money using nothing more than a subscriber list.

    Place advertisements – There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would rather place ads with lists boasting a huge subscriber base, and as a result, your newsletter could be selected by these companies and rewarded with many ads, each of which spells money.

    Establish affiliations – Affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or similarity to your site’s topic and content will encourage other companies to provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, or their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is known as P4P or pay for performance.

    Make deals with other companies – By asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list with these companies, every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter would trigger a payment to you by the other company by way of a smal percentage of the sales created via your list. Pursuant to this arrangement, the more members of your list that buy from them, the more money you make.

    Woman in a neon triangle

    Creative monetization

    Products from other sites – A quality, well-maintained list will help you to get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list members via a newsletter, catalog or other email campaign. Simply place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your preferred medium and when list members express interest in a given product – or even place and order – you can get the product from the other site and sell or deliver it to your buyer.

    Sell – Selling ebooks and compilations of article content to your list is another way to monetize that list. Manuals and how-to articles are usually in great demand and many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic or given subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an ebook could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

    Create a network out of your list – Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

    Selling information

    Selling certain types of information – Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and success.

  • Avoiding Spam in Your Ad Campaigns

    A fine and distinct line

    At one time or another we have all seen statements pertaining to spam which are admonishing in nature but designed to make us aware of the negative effects spamming can have on our promotional and marketing efforts. Such statements often appear in the form of short, two-to-three word directives like, “Don’t Spam,” “Avoid Spamming” and “Advertise, Do Not Spam,” along with other similar cautionary phrases. What is often left unsaid is what spam is and the various ways in which it is defined and interpreted; so in this article we will try to provide some clarification.

    First and foremost it is necessary to point out that there is a fine line between advertising and spam, but unfortunately many business owners do not understand the things that distinguish one from the other, although understanding these distinctions is very important in the sense that a smart and well planned Web marketing campaign can help to attract new customers and keep existing customers loyal, spam will likely alienate potential customers as well as an existing customer base. Such alienation can be extremely damaging to profit margins for many business owners. So let’s begin by taking a look at three examples in which basic Web marketing activities – banner ads, email campaigns and message board posts – can quickly cross the line from smart advertising to spam and how it can occur in each instance.

    Banner ads

    Banner ads are some of the most popular ad placement strategies that can accompany a Web marketing plan. They usually appear at the top of websites, spanning the width of a standard website – which is how they originally earned the name ‘banner ads’ – but in today’s marketing environment banner ads can actually refer to ads of various different sizes and shapes (instead of the standard 468×60 and the larger leaderboard 728×90 versions) that appear in an array of different locations on websites throughout the Web. In many cases a business owner (merchant) might purchase advertising space on certain websites but the banner ad may also be placed as part of an exchange or an affiliate marketing campaign.

    Exchanges of banner ads occur when one business owner (say merchant A) posts a banner ad on his own website in exchange for his banner ad being placed on the website of another business owner (say merchant B). These agreements may be made individually between business owners with complimentary businesses or as part of exchanges facilitated by a third party (an affiliate of one or the other). In the case of affiliate marketing it is often the case that an affiliate will post advertisements for a given merchant on his/her affiliate site in exchange for compensation when the banner ad produces a desired effect such as, traffic to the business site or product purchases. The terms of these agreements are determined and agreed to beforehand and are generally based on a scale of pay per impression, per click or per sale/lead.

    Now that you have a better idea of what banner ads are it is just as important to understand how they can be overused and, as a result of such overuse, be interpreted as spam. For example, judiciously placing your banner ad on a few websites which are likely to attract an audience similar to your target audience is smart marketing; whereas placing your banner ad on any website that will display the ad regardless of the target audience can be construed as spam. Be assured that Internet users who think your banner ads are everywhere they turn regardless of the content they are pursuing will not likely take your business seriously, in which case they certainly will not purchase products or services promoted under that business name as a result of such pervasive distribution of banner ads.

    eMail marketing campaigns

    Email marketing campaigns can also be very useful tools in the industry of Web marketing as these campaigns may involve sending periodic eNewsletters filled with information as well as advertisements and short, informative email courses or discounts on product and service offerings. Loyal customers who opt into a marketer’s email list will likely not view these emails as spam and may purchase additional products and services from the marketer or merchant as a result of this marketing strategy.

    Additionally, potential customers who have specifically requested more information on certain products and services will also find this type of marketing useful. However, email recipients who did not request information are likely to view such emails as spam. Similarly, harvesting email addresses in a deceptive manner and using these addresses to send out mass emails will most likely be always considered as spam. In fact sending unwanted commercial email to recipients who did not agree to receiving emails from the sender are considered one of the reasons for enactment of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, more of which are highlighted in the excerpt below.

    The CAN-SPAM Act was implemented in the United States on January 1st of 2004 as a means of protecting the privacy of consumers. CAN-SPAM is short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. The act prevents the use of misleading “to” and “from” headers in emails. The law requires marketers to include their physical address in the email as well as an “opt-out” link in every email designed to give consumers the ability to reach the marketer and tell them they no longer want to receive information from them after which the email sender must remove this email address from their data base within 10 business days. Any email that contains sexual content must be clearly labeled and identified before the recipient opens it. Marketers have to get permission from the consumer in order to sell their email address.

    Excerpt taken from Web Connections website. More about the legal aspect of spam can be obtained from, www.cauce.org.

    Message boards

    Message boards provide an excellent opportunity for business owners to obtain some free advertising where it will be noticed by members of a particular target audience; and if the products and services you or other business owners offer appeal to a specific niche, it is worthwhile to join message boards and online forums related to your industry of choice. Here you will find a large population of Internet users who may have an interest in your products.

    You might consider including a link to your marketing website in your signature or posting the link when it is applicable to the conversation. However, care should be taken to closely review the message board guidelines so you can avoid doing anything inappropriate while employing a technique which many consider to be smart marketing. Conversely, replying to every message with a link to your website when it is not relevant to the conversation is likely to be construed as spam by other members. Once they begin to view your posts as spam, they are not likely to visit your website via the links you post.

     

  • Key to Building a Subscriber List: Trust!

    Fashion world descends upon us

    Trust earned begets loyalty

    Let me begin by saying that there are many elements of a home-based business that are specific to that business type in the same way that there are those elements of a Web-based business that are specific to that business type; but there is a set of elements shared by both business types in today’s business landscape and many of those common elements have been discussed in many of the posts of this site. One such element is trust.

    While the rest of the world have developed many barriers and protections to keep their email accounts spam-free, there are also those who subscribe to emails that promote their products, services and websites because this particular group of subscribers want to know more about what these sites are offering that may be beneficial for them. They subscribe because they wish to be kept informed about marketplace aspects that interest them as well as new trends and developments in the field they’ve chosen.

    Most businesses would be fortunate to have this type of subscriber as representative of their customer base; but attracting and cultivating such subscribers would require the business to demonstrate the one basic element needed to do so. That element is trust. However, it is a known fact – offline as well as online – that before consumers will entrust a business with their time, information and money they must first know and like that business. Only then will consumers trust the business, after which they will reward it with their loyalty.

    Enhanced security steps

    This is evidenced by the fact that many internet users have gone to great lengths to protect their email accounts from spam mail, supported by the steps taken by some free-mail internet providers and internet service providers (ISPs) to offer spam protection while others incorporated the added step of screening the incoming emails of their users. These considerate and well meaning steps taken by the free-mail providers and ISPs have led businesses and email marketers to adopt guidelines set forth by the CAN-SPAM Act and require anyone wanting emailed information to authorize such emails by providing their name and email address via an “opt-in” (subscriber) Web form.

    An opt-in or subscriber email list therefore consists of members who have agreed to receive email sent by the business or email marketer which might contain promotional material such as newsletters, catalogs and marketing media which should be permitted through by ISPs (although some are still held up). When intended recipients are able to read and view email sent by the business it is considered a successful transfer of information; but it starts with securing the trust of internet users not previously known to the business, and vice-versa.

    Credibility begets trust

    The entire process of getting consumers to know, like and trust you and your business is no doubt a huge accomplishment and, in the realm of Web marketing, major achievement; but it is worth every minute spent in doing so. That having been said the following paragraphs provide a few suggestions as well as some steps a business – both Web-based and home-based – can take to gain the trust of potential list members.

    Although described above as a process it does not mean that getting the trust of website visitors should not be too difficult a task, especially if you have a legitimate business; because part of getting your customers’ trust is undoubtedly based upon your expertise, and people tend to rely on professionals who know what they are talking about. So demonstrating credible knowledge, trends and industry norms about the business you chose is a good first step in getting consumers to pay attention to your business; and if you are not yet in an established business, a display of such know-how and industry savvy could go a long way toward that objective.

    Put another way, show your prospective subscribers and customers that you know what you are talking about by provide them with helpful hints and guidelines that pertain to what you are promoting and/or selling. Talk about how to install a roof if you’re into hardware products, or provide articles on insurance settlements if you’re a settlement lawyer. You don’t have to be a big corporation to make use of an subscriber list. If your customers see you as someone who knows what s/he is doing and saying, they will trust you quicker than otherwise.

    Trust builds reputation

    Be true to your customers in the sense that if you want to hype your products/services it enhances your credibility to provide guarantees, because the more satisfied your customers are the more of a probability that they will recommend you to others; and those recommendations and referrals would help to build your reputation in the marketplace since it is a known fact that most people tend to trust someone they know and when that someone recommends you there is a greater probability that you’ll be more of an acceptable choice. Some of these recommended folks will go to your site just to check it for themselves and others will go to make a purchase.

    Another tip in getting a customer to trust you quickly is to provide them an escape out of any agreement or contract they signed with you. This shows them that you are not there to trap them into something they really don’t want. A good example of how to do this is by providing a link at the bottom of each email you send that would enable them to unsubscribe anytime they want. In addition you can modify your web form by providing information on how to unsubscribe from the list. Guarantee them that they can let go of the service whenever they want to, thereby removing any reason for them to be wary (leery?) about signing up in the first place.

    It may help to keep in mind that when you get the trust of your website visitors and potential customers and clients you must do everything within your power to keep that trust, because if you don’t cherish (place the highest value) on it, chances are you won’t have it for too long. For example, if you do anything with their email addresses like sell them or farm them out to others who should not have them, you will lose many members of your list as well as members of your customer base. The quickest way to degrade the quality of your subscriber list and collapse your customer base is to disappoint those who have recommended others to you. So keep the trust.

  • Proven Steps for Building a Subscriber List

    Birth of the WMS model

    According to Internet Growth Statistics provided on the Internet World Stats website, in December 1995 only 0.4 percent of the world’s population used the Internet; by December 2005 that percentage had risen to 15.7 percent (fueled in part by addition of the World Wide Web, circa 1997); and by June of this year (2017) the number stood at 51.7 percent of the world’s population using the Internet. So it is reasonable to state that there was a growth rate of Internet use which was indeed rapid.

    That having been said, it is probably as reasonable to state that the growth rate of online marketing have surged just as rapidly as that of the Internet (Web), except that it did not cover the same period of time; but as more Web-based businesses were created and vied for a share of the eCommerce marketplace, the need to develop new marketing skills and information products became more evident and, as a result, an increased number of marketing strategies were being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of business in the eCommerce world.

    Needless to say, such growth could not have occurred without a demand for the services provided via the Web and the new business type it fostered. However, there was also demand for online marketing tips and strategies which resulted from the astronomical number of new businesses that were created on the Web and continue to be created, leading to the birth of a new Web-based business known as Web Marketing Strategies (WMS). Part of understanding this seb-set of Web Marketing is accepting the nature of business, the market it serves, and its motivating factor which is profit.

    Staple of email marketing

    So it follows that while there are companies engaged in WMS activities that are all too eager to help your Web-based business build a clientele for a fee, there are also a number of methods you can utilize to promote your website in a more cost effective – and in many cases – free way. One of these methods is Email Marketing (EM), also known as permission marketing, in which Web-based business owners (known as merchants) can actually engage by getting permission from site visitors to send them emails about their company and/or product offers. Those who grant such permission become subscribers to such emails and are considered members of a subscriber list maintained by the merchant.

    The staple of email marketing is a subscriber list which, as stated above, requires permission from website visitors, supporters and past customers of a merchant or publisher (website owner) who are willing to subscribe to marketing materials, newsletters, catalogs and other promotional material via email; and the more marketing emails are sent by the merchant or marketer, the more chances s/he has of making sales and perhaps encouraging more future purchases. To do this s/he, the email sender, must build a list consisting of all those who wish to subscribe to the list.

    From this list the merchant or email marketer will be able to designate certain members of the subscriber list as target customers for some product types and other members for different product types. This is considered a good list since these different sections of it will have already shown interest in different product offers the merchant has to show and sell. As list members have a preference for what they’ve seen on the merchant’s site, and have decided they want to see more, and maybe even purchase whatever product or service the merchant – through his/her website – offers they will have the opportunity to follow through on that preference.

    Strategic patience

    In view of the above many people may harbor the opinion that building a subscriber list takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time to build and collect names and addresses; and when approached in the wrong way this could indeed be true. However, if the correct steps are taken, the process takes a bit of patience and a few solid strategies that have been proven to be effective in building subscriber lists. Such a list-building process can be instrumental in a publisher’s ability to open his/her website and business to a whole new world of target marketing.

    The central point here is that simply making the effort to build a subscriber list by utilizing strategies that have been proven effective can take your business to a new level which will often result in increased traffic and decent profit, if that’s your objective, and can ultimately do wonders for your business venture. keep in mind that there are many sources and articles which are accessible from the Web to anyone wanting who wish to build a subscriber list, even though they can sometimes be confusing because there are so many sources; and seldom do they all promote the same approach.

    And while different groups of marketers, “gurus” and tutorialists have different approaches in building subscriber lists, be assured that there are certain fundamentals that must be adhered to when building your own list; and some of those fundamental steps are outlined in the following paragraphs.

    Steps one & two

    Step one – requires that you install a good, workable, legible web form on your website which can be located immediately following each of your articles and/or blog posts, or in the side bar of your website. While some may say that immediately placing a web form on a newly created website is too soon ask visitors to subscribe to a list, there is really no best or ideal time to ask a visitor to opt-in to your list. As long as your homepage provide a quick, good (first) impression and a website visitor finds something s/he likes, that might just be enough reason for signing up.

    A good web form for opting into a subscriber list is not hard to come by, and asking your website visitor opt-in to your list is really not hard to do. Simply write a simple short statement inviting your visitors to see more and get updated information about the site and what it stands for. Then there should be an area where they could put in their names and e-mail addresses. This web form will automatically save and send you the data entered on the form; and as more people sign in, your list will grow accordingly and proportionately.

    Step two – requires your site’s home page (or landing page if other than your home page), as mentioned in the first step, be as impressive as you can make it; and the articles, as well as the description of your website should be clear, well-written and free of any derogatory language or graphics. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s interest while making your content useful and your site easy to navigate. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy! Invest in having good programming on your site and make your graphics beautiful while making sure to not overload it.

    Don’t waste your time making the homepage or landing page overly large megabyte-wise, since there is a strong possibility that all visitors to your website will not have dedicated T1 connections; so the faster your site gets loaded (a consequence of reduced number and size of the graphics placed on it), the better experience your visitors will have. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge.

    Steps three & four

    Step three – requires that any products or services you offer via your site be of high quality, value and reliability which in turn will have the affect of satisfying any customer who makes a purchase, and can therefore result in very positive responses. Remember that a returning customer is more likely to bring in more business; and a satisfied customer will more likely recommend new customers that do business. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more and better business than an expensive ad. As your clientele roster grows, so too will your list; and with more members on the list even more people will get to know about what you have new to offer.

    Step four – requires that you maintain a clean and private list while never losing the trust your customers who have entrusted to you their email addresses and other private information; and remember this rule if you don’t remember anything else you’ve read thus far: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER engage in unlawful activities by sending SPAM email to anyone! Bad news has a tendency of spreading fast, and such illegal activities will reach your subscriber list members quicker than you can compose a one-line email.

    Be assured that many of your subscribers will most likely unsubscribe from your list as a result of such activity, or even accusations of doing so. Keep your reputation untarnished, because a good reputation will drive more traffic and subscribers to your site/business, as well as strengthen the loyalty of current customers.

  • Build Your Subscriber List Quick and Easy

    Woman in a neon triangle

    Subscriber List: A thing of value

    It would be quite understandable if you have looked at the title of this post and muttered to yourself something along the line of, this guy (meaning me, the writer) is crazy, there’s no such thing as “quick and easy” when building a subscriber list. You might express even more disbelief if you had started a subscriber list that did not work out as well as you had expected. So if this sounds familiar I’d ask that you don’t click away yet, and don’t give up on building your subscriber list yet either, because we may be able to help each other.

    Of course, I’m assuming that a subscriber list is something you still value and would like to have; and if that is true then let me suggest that you make a fresh start by utilizing the suggestions outlined further down this page; but before we proceed it might be helpful to share some of our previous efforts to build a subscriber list, because it is important to recognize and separate methods that failed from those that work so we can avoid the former and utilize the latter.

    If you’re like I was I discovered the subscriber list-building methods that really work, you probably have read countless articles and success stories of people creating small fortunes with subscriber lists and sought expert advice on how to create a subscriber list of your own. Then when you thought you knew everything there is to know about building subscriber lists and have followed their advice to the letter and still weren’t able to create a list you can make a profit with, you became upset and this led to disappointment and, ultimately surrender; and you stopped trying.

    Proper research

    Then you decided to invest your money in a different way by hiring professional email marketers, subscriber list builders and content writers to help you out, but quickly realized that the expenses you incurred, when compared to the very small percentage of your subscribers who actually bought anything from you, it was clear that you were still in an unprofitable position; especially after seeing the statistics and sales figures yielded by campaigns you launched with the help of those so-called professionals.

    So you asked yourself, what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? Could it have been that you committed the common mistake of launching email marketing campaigns without the proper research? Or that you chose a topic you thought to be quite popular but it turned out not to be the case? One lesson which is learned from proper research is that list subscribers do not buy a product or service instantly simply based on their subscriber status or because the email marketer (you or I) sent them offers.

    I’ve learned that the first and most important step you can take in order to build a profitable subscriber list is to get your potential customers to know, like and trust you after which they are more likely to take a chance on your products; because let’s face it, just launching an subscriber list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. You have to put some acquaintance work into the process by publishing a number of articles on your chosen topic, presumeably the subject you know best and feel most passionate about.

    Consistency

    If your chosen topic is not the one you know most about, then change it and write about the topic you know well, and make sure your overal website theme is based on the same topic so that your articles, blog posts and website theme conform to the same topic. This is known as consistency and it is the one element that helps to establish expertise and create trust between a website publisher and audience more than any other.

    In addition to consistency of topic in your articles and website theme, it is certainly helpful to gain some knowledge about your website visitors; because knowing a little about their preferences, likes and dislikes will help you to create the kind of content that will more likely win them over. You can gain this insight by asking your visitors to complete a brief survey from time to time, or even at the end of each article or blog post you publish.

    Similar information can be obtained through forums, in the sense that these sites allow you to provide expert advice as it pertains to the topic of your expertise. This is another instance in which the results will not come instantaneously, but rather in time as your participation is recognized as helpful, valuable and – in some cases – indispensable to other forum participants. The expert advice and opinions you provide at these forums should be as forthright and factual as those you provide in your blog posts and, as a result, forum members will follow you to your site and may end up being part of your customer base.

    Highlighting value

    At the point you feel that people trust you, you will then be able to start your own subscriber list which could consist of subscribers from various sources; and after that you can build a customer base from these same sources which could end up consisting of website visitors, forum participants, survey responders and even your own friends, who can usually be good customers once you let them know about your website. just email them a link to your site so that they will be able to see what your business is all about. It is important to understand that the money will only come in when consumers and subscribers know, like and trust you.

    As for your product or service it is important to know and understand that most people looking to lay out their money to buy something is no different to you and I; they want a product or service that they believe will be a good exchange for their money. They are simply not going to buy something on your recommendation if they don’t know and trust you, but they also will not buy an item if it is not worth the money, so you need to find a product or service that people want and need.

    You don’t have to be the product maker as long as you have researched and learned about it well and have determined that it is of high value. Invest your time, effort and money to learn what you can sell to the satisfaction of your customer and subscriber base, thereby keeping them happy and you in their good graces. Even if it is a product you don’t want (you don’t necessarily have to like it either), it may well be something your customers need, so do your research well and you would see the results can be very positive (and profitable). It often helps to provide your subscribers with promotional material that they could actually use and spread around, so a free ebook can get generate a lot of interest and positive results.

    A profitable subscriber list

    By now you’ve probably heard about the joint venture (JV) whereby subscriber list owners cross sell each other’s lists. This technique works only after you have built your own subscriber list; but it might be quite helpful to make friends with other subscriber list owners anyway. This can be most beneficial, especially if it is someone who has already launched a successful subscriber list and have the experience in this venture. Because – as they say – experience is still the best teacher. While there are many articles available on the Web for you to read and learn from, there is nothing like getting a first hand account from someone you trust, so if you’re going to pursue a joint venture it helps to know (and probably like) the other marketer as well.

    Experienced subscriber list owners as joint venture partners will make sure you know what to do and what not to do since they also value their lists that they will be entrusting to you (your product and/or service) and therefore must make sure that you do nothing to tarnish their reputation with their subscribers. So while different situations occur for different people, the general concept can still be very helpful to you and them. There are many things to avoid and it is in the interest of your joint venture partners to tell you which ones are most critical.

    Building a profitable subscriber list don’t just happen overnight. There is much preparation and effort involved in the process; and since a subscriber list should be built from scratch you will do well to diligently maintain the quality of your list as it grows; keep it organized, manageable and even if you have to get or hire help just make sure that your subscribers are happy and satisfied, and they will be willing to buy from you continuously.

    Just for the record, “quick” as used in the title of thisd post is a relative term, so think of it in the context of a subscriber list that serves your purposes (profitable, well-maintained and consisting of list members who know, like and trust you, as opposed to continued failure and disappointing efforts which could go on forever. Hope this helps… Good luck!

     

  • Digital Photography: A Question of Its True Nature




    Up for debate

    When discussing the true nature of digital photography, one question that is frequently asked pertains to whether or not this medium is fundamentally science or art; and while there is no answer which can be placed in the “unequivocal” category, the true nature of digital photography remains a topic that will probably be debated among photography enthusiasts of all skill levels for years to come. In view of this unsettled question, however, we at TPJaveton WebNet would like to contribute, based on our observations, to the discussion in our own little way through the following paragraphs.

    Here is a look at what we consider to be philosophical arguments that support both viewpoints:

    Pro art

    As an Art –- Many who consider digital photography an art view it as such based on that natural quality which allows (evokes?) an expression of emotion. They believe that digital photography is a continuation of the art of drawing or painting such that, in their eyes, digital photography is beheld as a painting in the sense that, although it does take accurate pictures of reality, there is enough room available for modifications through the various digital tools available today.

    But even without the editing, many people still believe that digital photography is art because of the fact that it does take an artist’s eye to find a great subject of digital photography. The nature of digital photography as an art has something to do with the artist’s ability to express emotions and statements through visual subjects.

    Supporters of the “artistic nature of digital photography” also argue their case by stating its ability to convey emotional messages through aesthetics. The beauty of each photograph, of course, needs also to be credited to the person taking pictures at any given moment; but those who argue strongest for the artistic nature of digital photography are the beholders who believe that the picture is seldom really what is seen with the naked eye, and as such, through the camera and computer, a person can alter any image in order to present it as what s/he wants to show.

    Pro science

    As a Science – Those who proclaim that science is the true nature of digital photography employs one argument, the basis of which is that photography, unlike painting, actually comes from something that already exists and not from a painter’s mind, emotion and ultimate expression on a canvass or other such medium. This can be very persuasive, especially since a photographer does not actually make photographs. He or she merely uses a tool and certain combinations of equipment to take them.

    Another strong argument in favor of the scientific nature of digital photography is based on various types and manner of editing done by users, and adjustments that photographers make based on a series of steps that can be narrowed down scientifically. People who argue for the scientific nature of digital photography may reason that the same series of steps can be taken in order to achieve the same results every time; and are supportive of the belief that there is a certain quality of constancy about digital photography which renders it a science.

    A beautiful paradox

    Have we convincingly or conclusively resolved what the true nature of digital photography is? Of course not, even in view of arguments supporting science and art have been put forth; because this, like many other debates about the nature and origin of various phenomena, might remain unanswered for many decades to come; and since there appears to be no solution to this question, we must recognize that the true nature of digital photography may always be a paradox. This means that although it can be considered as an art, it can also be considered a science.

    So you may ask, exactly when is the paradox of the nature of digital photography solved? The answer could well be, it is solved when a person takes a digital photograph; because the true nature of digital photography lies in the hands of the individual who takes the pictures. The manner in which a person treats the process of picture-taking defines the nature of digital photography for him or her. It is not absolutely art nor is it absolutely science. The true nature of digital photography is a paradox; and which this might seem to be contradictory, it is somehow true.

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