Your Copyright

Are you writer or someone you know a, composer, publisher, novelist, playwright, artist or anyone who produces a body of work? If so, do you know how to protect your work and your potential income from being hijacked without any recourse? Do you know how to copyright your material yourself and save those legal fees?

You've done the hard part now take the time to protect your investment in yourself. Join us for a webinar on Your Copyrights.

Glenn Gordon (GG) and I have teamed up to offer this Webinar to you.


Find out more and sign up here: tinyurl.com/nqwxzs

A Day In The Life Of An Affiliate Marketer

Being in the affiliate marketing business is not that hard now with the Internet at your disposable. It is much easier now compared to the days when people had to make use of the telephones and other mediums of information just to get the latest updates on the way their program is coming along.

So with technology at hand, and assuming that the affiliate is working from home, a day in his or her life would sound something like this…




Upon waking up and after having breakfast, the computer is turned on to check out new developments in the network. As far as the marketer is concerned there might be new things to update and statistics to keep track on.

The site design has to be revised. The marketer knows that a well-designed site can increase sign ups from visitors. It can also help in the affiliate’s conversion rates.

That done, it is time to submit the affiliate program to directories that lists affiliate programs. These directories are means to attract people in joining your affiliate program. A sure way of promoting the affiliate program.

Time to track down the sales you are getting from your affiliates fairly and accurately. There are phone orders and mails to track down. See if they are new clients checking the products out. Noting down the contact information that might be a viable source in the future.




There are lots of resources to sort out. Ads, banners, button ads and sample recommendations to give out because the marketer knows that this is one way of ensuring more sales. Best to stay visible and accessible too.

The affiliate marketer remembered that there are questions to answer from the visitors. This has to be done quickly. Nothing can turn off a customer faster than an unanswered email.

To prove that the affiliate is working effectively and efficiently, inquiries would have to be paid more attention to. Nobody wants to be ignored and customers are not always the most patient of all people. Quick answers should appear professional yet friendly too.

In the process of doing all the necessities, the marketer is logged on to a chat room where he or she interacts with other affiliates and those under that same program. This is where they can discuss things on how to best promote their products.

There are things to be learned and it is a continuous process. Sharing tips and advices is a good way of showing support. There may be others out there wanting to join and may be enticed by the discussion that is going on. There is no harm in assuming what opportunities exsist ahead.

The newsletters and ezines were updated days ago, so it is time for the affiliate marketer to see if there are some new things happening in the market. This will be written about in the marketer’s publication to be distributed to the old and new customers.

These same publications are also an important tool in keeping up to date with the newly introduced products. The marketer has put up a sale and promotion that customers may want to know about. Besides, they have to keep up with the deadline of these sales written in the publications.

It is time to show some appreciation to those who have helped the marketer with promotions and sale increases. Nothing like mentioning the persons, their sites and the process they have done that made everything worked.

Of course, this will be published in the newsletters. Along with the important information that has been written already.

The marketer still has time to write out recommendations to those who want credible sources for the products being promoted. There is also time to post some comments on how to be a successful affiliate marketer on a site where there are lots of wannabees.

Two objectives done at the same time. The marketer gets to promote the product as well as the program they are in. Who knows, someone may be inclined to join.

Time flies. Missed lunch but he is quite contented with the tasks done. Bed time….

Ok, so this may not be all done in a day. But then, this gives you an idea of how an affiliate marketer, a dedicated one that is, spends the marketing day.

Is that success looming in the distance or what?

5 Important Rules in Website Design

When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well.

1) Do not use splash pages

Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the "back" button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements

Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valueable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation

You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is

When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don't confuse your visitors because confusion means "abandon ship"!

5) Avoid using audio on your site

If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your content, you will want to make sure they're not annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control over it -- volume or muting controls would work fine.

5 Ways to Keep Visitors Coming Back

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue just melts away. Hence, keep your visitors coming back to your site with the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers -- all of them are visitors of your site. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal, or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

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Home Business ... A Laughing Matter?

What's so funny about being a home-based business owner? Well, some days ... nothing. Those are the days you'd rather pull your hair out, beat your head against the wall or just plain 'ol freak out.

There are bad days in business and when you're working alone from home, those days can be a lot harder to take.

This morning I enjoyed my first laughing yoga session. It was quite fun and even more importantly, very educational.

We all know laughter makes us feel good. It can turn a mood around, change the energy in a room, stop a fight in its tracks and even heal our bodies.

Stress is going to be a part of our lives forever and there will be bad days in life and business, so we have a choice ... let it hurt us or keep it from growing into a raging monster.

As you go about your daily business, make a point of laughing throughout the day, even if you just don't feel like it. Why? Here are a few good reasons...

1. Laughter is a coping mechanism for stress.

2. Your body doesn't know the difference between fake laughter or real laughter, so you'll reap the same health benefits whether you're forcing laughter or genuinely laughing.

3. Cardiovascular-wise, one minute of laughter is equivalent to 10 minutes on a rowing machine. Your heart rate can increase to 120 beats per minute with laughter.

4. Laughter is a natural pain killer. It releases endorphins reducing the intensity of pain.

5. Laughter boosts your immune system. It increases the activity of natural killer cells that help fight disease.

6. Laughter lowers blood pressure.

7. Laughter alleviates bronchitis and asthma.

8. Laughter increases the blood supply and efficiency of internal organs.

9. Laughter massages your internal organs, enhancing blood supply and increasing their efficiency, thus promoting regularity.

10. Laughter encourages people to breathe properly as during laughter, the exhalation releases the residual air in the lungs.

11. Laughter increases antibodies in the mucous of the nose and respiratory system.

12. Laughter reduces depression.

So, what will you do the next time you're feeling angry, frustrated or sad? Hopefully, you'll laugh your way out of it.

This might sound crazy, but it really works and if you aren't in an environment where you can laugh out loud, make a point of looking at your reflection in a mirror, window or any reflective material and give yourself a big, full tooth smile.

Then when you're alone, think of those 10 or 20 grins you gave yourself that day and have a good laugh about it.

Bring laughter back into your daily life and you'll be surprised at how soon you start feeling pretty darned wonderful.

*If you're in the Sudbury, Ontario area, look up Sari Huhtala of Cheer Factor. She's a phenomenal laughter yoga instructor.

"The human race has only one really effective weapon, and that's laughter. The moment it arises, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place." - Mark Twain

Want to use this article in your web site or ezine? You're more than welcome to as long as you include the following author bio in its entirety.



Laurie Hayes is the expert and visionary behind The HBB Confidential, a no-cost bi-weekly ezine for home-based business owners. Each issue delivers simple strategies you can use right away to build a profitable home business while creating fun and freedom in your life! Go to http://www.thehbbsource.com to learn more.