Paint a Picture of Your Success with Carol's Art Shows. Acquire fine general,
ethnic and African Art from contemporary artists. Start an independent
Art consultant business. Raise money for your favorite church or charity.
Check out the art and opportunities at www.carolsartshows.com
Check Out the Digital Divide Bulletin Board for:
Black Business Grants
Minority Business Grants
Small Business Grants
Small Business Loans
Black Business Loans
Minority Business Loan
Minority Scholarships
Grants for Black Women Click Here
your Internet business or Off line business by taking these:
SiteSellit!
by
Dr. Ken Evoy, This Ebiz Primer is considered
the
Bible for Running
a
Successful Web Business. Absolutely the Best e business value
available in e book form. Click
for More Info
Search Engine Fast Start!
by Dan Thies. This E book
has helped me make
incredible gains in my
search engine promotion
and ranking. I give it my
Highest Recommendation See the Book Review.
Web Commerce Today -
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Legal
Stuff
This
publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information
with regard to the subject matter. Subscribers are sent this free periodic
e-zine with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering
legal, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other professional
assistance is required, we advise seeking the services of a competent
professional. Kamau Austin, does not
accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting from any claims
in articles or advertisements published in Keep It Real...Profitable!,
or the actions of the parties involved. This publication is for informational
purposes only.
I must
start the first issue of Keep it Real...Profitable! e-zine, with a deep
"heart felt" thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. In
the last few months our newsletter has grown by over 500 subscribers!
There is no way that this could of been accomplished without persons,
like yourself, taking time from your busy web surfing to fill out my web
form. Therefore, receiving your subscription and trust is an honor that
I don't take lightly.
In this
regard, I plan to work really hard to publish a newsletter and e-zine
that isn't only the standard for Black - Hispanic - and minority business
on-line, but concurrently, it will be written to give the top business
e-zines a run for their money. Doing this is not only a timely business
decision but, also a labor of love.
In
order to reach my goals I will need your input in the form of questions,
insights, and opinions on topics related to on-line business success.
I feel my expertise is in being a student, of the art
and science of e business. Some of you may feel that what I
just stated was a contradiction in terms. In other words, I plan to share
my knowledge (and resources) while learning with you. We will have a mutually
beneficial exchange of ideas in respect to what it takes to be successful
in today's e commerce world. Today's e commerce environment is extremely
competitive and we will need each others support to succeed.
I don't
have all the answers to e business success, however, I know where to get
the answers in most cases. So, lets get going on this journey together
and in all our sharing lets keep it real!
P.S.
Special thanks to my Editor Shamaine Henry (she is the next
Terry Mcmillian... Don't sleep on this sister, check out her Steamy
Urban Love Novel "This
Burning Desire". Also special thanks to my Mentor and Friend
John Payne publisher of Web
Marketing Ezine one of the Internet's top Marketers and
to my Wife and Daughter for all their sacrifices in supporting
me. Praise God from Whom all blessings Flow ... because
I wouldn't be anything without Christ.
2.
Mission Statement:
Why
is there a need for a Minority Ezine on
E business, E commerce, and Web marketing?
The
Internet is becoming a major force in the world's economy. Soon Internet
sales will amount to over 1.2 Trillion dollars, or about 10 percent of
the U.S. economy. People outside of the digital loop will be at a distinct
disadvantage if they are not tech savvy in an information age. My background
as an activist has made me aware that the fundamental struggle and issue
that most people, of all ethnic groups, share is a concern for economic
justice and equality. While the digital divide is closing in terms of
Internet usage, with over 15 million Hispanics and 10 million blacks currently
on-line, it is not closing nearly as fast in terms of e business usage
by minorities. According to Steve Balmer, the President and CEO of Microsoft,
less than 3% of black businesses have an Internet marketing strategy!
Filling
the Void for a Minority E business Ezine
As a
avid follower of e business and e commerce, I have had a hard time finding
information, that would help me harness the power of the Internet - web
apps, and software, to reach the target markets of me and my customers,
in what is known as ethnic markets. Many of today's top web gurus have
little information, content, or resources on the demographics or psychographics
of marketing to Black - Hispanic - or minorities on-line. I have searched
the sites of the top e commerce gurus and none of them have any information
on ethnic marketing. In point of fact, I have even done a search for black
business and minority business ezines, only to find that there are none
listed on Yahoo, Google, or the other major search engines.
Moreover,
there recently has been the failing of two important mega-sites
sites (Netnoir and The Black World Today). This situation begs the question,
how can other minority sitesavoid this same fate?
Just as revealing to me, has been some research that I am doing on the
design and web marketing savvy of minority web sites. In this regard,
I have recently reviewed hundreds of minority web sites, and observed,
in general, that the majority of them were going against the grain of
almost all conventional wisdom of web business. Conversely speaking, they
are defying all accepted practices of doing business on the Internet.
While there are thousands of general information minority business sites,
none of them focus specifically, on helping minority business survive
and thrive on-line.
In
order to fill the void, for minority business people, of this dearth of
information, is the impetus for starting -- KeepitReal...Profitable! By
keeping up to date on the latest successful web marketing and e business
techniques and tactics, we both can help each other grow and develop our
E businesses. It's Our Time to Thrive On-line!
3.
In Review: Make
My Site Sell!,
by Dr. Ken Evoy
Always
being one that questions the herd mentality, I avoided reading the flagship
media property of e commerce guru and pioneer Ken Evoy, "Make Your
Site Sell!". There are countless self appointed e commerce gurus
in cyberspace, all selling their info-products via web sites and e books.
Many use persuasive but, more commonly, tasteless hype and sales copy
to try and sell their goods. Since I am an astute follower of e commerce
and e business, I have a tendency to dismiss the promotional noise so
abundant online ...
Click Here for the full review
4.
Sample Chapters of Make My Site Sell!
If you
would like to read some sample chapters of Dr. Ken Evoy's, Bible of E
Commerce Selling, Make My Site Sell!, please click the following link
and look for the free trial download :
5.
Q & A : How can I get a
Minority Business Grant?
I have
received a few inquires asking about how to get minority business grants.
I understand the urgency of this question because, in my many years of
business experience and observation I noticed, that financing is one of
the most challenging issues any business will have to face. It has always
been my choice of action to try to use creative forms of financing to
fund my businesses rather than loans and grants. I just don't have the
patience to go through the process of another party doing due diligence
before funding my company. Especially, when it is a known fact that most
financiers don't like to finance startups.
This
is why I choose to stay in service oriented and Internet based businesses
which have low startup costs and overhead. I realize that many businesses
off-line with products need extensive capital to make a serious go of
business development. The Purpose of the Einfonews.com, and Keep it Real...Profitable!
Ezine, because of financing and other challenges, is to help Black - minority
and niche orientated small businesses survive and thrive online. This
is my editorial mission because, on the web, businesses without a lot
of capital or on a shoe string budget, have a better chance of making
it.
I am
more of a bootstrapper who has used pre-selling tactics to finance my
businesses. Therefore, my expertise isn't in grant writing, loan or grant
acquisition. However, I noticed that there are many sites selling business
grant books. These sites don't have any verifiable testimonials from satisfied
clients. Members of Keep it Real Profitable!, ezine have advised me that
the grants listed in these books have not been germane to their type of
business.
Therefore,
I would be wary of buying the free business grant books. In business there
is really no such thing as free. From my initial research on business
grants, most of these financial gifts are given to companies that are
giving to the community or contributing to the overall social good. In
lieu of these issues most of the grant books are primary like scams. They
are totally useless, to your business in most cases. You would be better
off going to the library yourself and researching business grants by reading
reference books like the Corporate Giving Directory 2002 by Taft and the
Foundation Reporter 30th Edition also by Taft. Your library will also
have other sources of minority business grants. On the web you can check
out the Federal Government site: www.grants.gov
While
I do provide grant information, as my sources make them available to me,
the main purpose of my websites and newsletters is to provide information
on bridging the digital divide in e business. However, since many of my
readers are interested in financing I will be doing extensive research
in this area. Until that time, I have compiled a special report on financing
your business from some consultants in the field. Access to the special
report is available to the subscribers of KeepitReal...Profitable!, Ezine.
As subscribers please see the following link. To view this link, you will
need to enter your subscriber's username and password. Your User
Name is: Subscriber ; Your Password
is: KeepitReal . Click
Here to Read the Report . Moreover,
I will be publishing more info in this area, so please stay tuned!
6. E biz Tips: Develop Your "USP"
"Stand
Out From the Other Millions of Web Sites"
Since
there are over 16.6 million Internet Business Sites in cyberspace how
do you stand out from the crowd? One way is to establish an USP. What
is an USP you ask? USP stands for unique selling proposition or unique
selling point. The reason you need an USP is to establish your business
brand and identity so, people remember your web site and want to do business
with you. By establishing a USP you can communicate why people should
do business with your company, instead of other sites or your competition
on the web.
Resist
stating your USP as being the best product or service for your prospects.
Self proclaimed superlatives, like the best - fastest - or most, won't
be accepted by potential customers because, they will see your USP as
self serving hype! Site visitors see the best, fastest, and most superlatives
plastered all over the Internet on sites. You have to be more savvy, in
your sales copy editing, to win over your potential customers.
In order
to properly arrive at your USP, list the features of your business, and
itemize them from the strongest to the weakest. Then translate your features
into benefits for your potential customers. In other words, try to think
like your customer ( i.e. - what's in it for
them). I'm sorry, your customer only cares about what your
product or service will do for them. Just keeping it real! Be careful,
it is difficult many times to distinguish between the features of your
products, and the benefits to your potential customer.
For
instance, if I were to state to potential subscribers of KeepitReal...Profitable!,
ezine: "subscribe to the only ezine that is written to share the
latest tried and true web marketing techniques". This would come
off as a self proclaimed feature. On the other hand, if I were to state:
1. Discover
how to identify minority business sectors with high consumer demand and
low competition;
2. Learn
how to get your web site to rank well in the search engines;
3.
Find free software to increase your web marketing effectiveness; and ...
4. Obtain
syndicated content to add value to your ezine.
These
statements would actually be listing some benefits to subscribing to KeepitReal...Profitable!,
e-zine. To explain this another way, features
just describe aspects of your e business, while benefits tells your potential
customers - what's in it for them, when they buy your products
and services. Always illustrate benefits of buying from your business
first, and then describe features later.
Once
you have translated the benefits your customer will obtain from buying
your product or services. Then visit the sites of your top competitors
and note the differences between their products or services and yours.
Just remember, people don't buy based on the
features of your business (although they may justify buying
based on features). They actually buy emotionally, determined
by how your business will fill a want or need
in their life. Therefore, many times your USP will be based
on your top benefits, presented in a way that is - unique and distinct
from your competition.
The
full blown process of arriving at your USP is a sophisticated one, that
is beyond the scope of this ezine. However, there are other great e books
and web sites that will help you in the process of developing an USP.
Like the free web site of Joe Robson Ad
Copywriting.com, and the best source for net copywriting and developing
a USP, at a low cost, is Make
My Words Sell!, again by Joe Robson and Ken Evoy, two of the most
successful web business persons, in terms of small business sales.
7.
Tools - Free Software: Good Keywords
A fantastic
desktop software that will really help web business people save time and
be more efficient in terms of marketing is Good Keywords. I use this software
every day to analyze how many links my competitors have, the keywords
that are most popular on the Overture network of major SEs (MSN, AOL,
Yahoo, Alta Vista, and Hot Bot). Also, I use the software to get the ranking
of competing sites, and sites that I would like to advertise with or in
which to exchange links. All of these tasks could be done by hand but,
they would take quite a bit of time. Try this software now for free by
clicking
here
8.
Suggested Sites:
A Good Black Man and
Digital Woman
Two
great sites to visit, from both a male and female vantage point, are Digital
Women and A Good Black Man. Digital Women, is a supportive portal
type of web site for woman in business. It receives hundreds of thousands
of visitors per month and therefore, is a serious place to consider sharing
reciprocal links. Placing advertising with them is also very reasonable.
Digital-women is a great place for woman netpreneurs to network and share
tips and tricks. Check them out at www.digital-women.com
In contrast,
A Good Black Man, a contradiction in terms for too many people,
is a themed site created by sister D. Anne Browne. She showcases "the
invisible man", in our communities, the - positive black men. This
kind of site is long overdue, and should be viewed by the faithful. But,
more importantly, it should be visited by those who have lost faith in
Black men. This site reaffirms, that there are indeed, still positive
black men. Lets reacquaint our selves with these brothers by: clicking
here
9.
Ebiz by Design: Download Time
"Avoid
Turning Off Your Customers"
Since the average web surfer will, only wait
8 seconds for your web page to download (or appear in their browser)
it is important to have small file sizes on your
web pages so, they download
quickly. Most usability experts (persons who study how people like to
use the web, and what features on your web site help users become more
efficient), suggest files sizes of 25 KB - 50 KB. This is very hard to
achieve since, the average JPEG picture could easily be 10-15 KB by itself.
This would not take into account other page elements like text, links,
and animation. A typical Flash animation could run 100-200 KBs embedded
into a web page.
Although broadband (high speed Internet access with cable,
DSL, and wireless), has made tremendous strides in market penetration,
obtaining critical mass at 33% of Internet users, nevertheless nearly
67% of web users still have slow dial up connections. Therefore, I would
suggest obtaining web designers that know how to optimize photos extremely
well, use movie clips in Flash to keep animation file size to a minimum,
don't use music files unless absolutely necessary, and use thumbnails
pictures - linked to larger pictures, on e commerce sites (where necessary).
Furthermore, if you use animation, only
use: one per page. Find a web designer that understands how
to design a graphical interface in one file, that the whole site will
use so, the interface will be cached (stored in the Browsers memory).
This is important because, as users surf from page to page the interface
only has to be downloaded once -- speeding
up surfing on the site. Make sure you have them make all your
pages under 100 KB -- no exceptions.
If you need someone to help you develop a fast loading user friendly
site, that also scores well in search engine
ranking, contact me at: Kamau
Austin
10.
Back to Business Basics:
The Sales Process
"You
Will Need Traditional Sales Skills to
also Survive in E Business"
I have
found that many E business people lack the skills of traditional business
people because, the Internet has made it easier for all people to make
attempts at business via e commerce. A digital business is nevertheless
a business, and you will need traditional businessskills
to be successful in running an on-line business. In this column, I will
cover basic business skills, or traditional business skills, to help you
become more effective in your business development. We will start by examining
the sales process because, it is the life
blood of any viable business.
Due
to the pressure of the 24/7 barrage of telemarketers and sales persons,
always pushing their goods at us, what may come to mind, when we think
of the sales process and profession, is: the high pressure art of persuasion.
However, sales when informed by its marriage partner marketing, is simply
: helping people to buy! Sales and marketing
are in a marriage because, these two are in a "for
better or for worst" inseparable relationship. For instance,
if you have done your marketing planning and research effectively (i.e.
you know you have a substantial market for your products or services)
your sales will be for the better. The opposite will be true, if your
marketing is shaky, and of course your sales will be for the worst.
Hot
Tip: If you haven't developed, or need help with, your marketing
plan, Planning Your Internet Marketing Strategy,
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson AKA Dr. E Biz, is the best book on the subject.
You can read my review of the book by clicking here.
We will assume that you have done some marketing research
and therefore, you need a sales strategy. Usually the more expensive
- difficult and sophisticated your products and services are, the
more you will be need to use - in person sales.
For example, if you need to sell high priced ticket items like jet planes,
display advertising, real estate, and automobiles you will need an in
person sales strategy. These sales people will need to be highly trained
specialist or executive sales people. Selling $2000.00 vacuum cleaners
door-to-door (a difficult sales job), you will also need in person sales
people. Although, the people won't need to be executive sales people.
To change gears, if you are selling lower cost high volume
ticket items like classified advertising, long distance phone service,
or broadband service it isn't feasible to hire in person sales persons
because, a telesales person will be more efficient. On the other side
of the spectrum, if you are selling lower cost e books, web applications/ASPs,
or shareware selling on a web site will be more than adequate and effective.
Now that we have those preliminary things out of the way,
it is important to note that the telephone will become a pivotal tool
in the sales of most businesses. This is because, although the Internet
is the medium of e business, communicating with the human voice is still
our more natural way to communicate. Therefore, many times interest may
be created on-line but, you will need the telephone to seal the deal.
Even executive sales people have to use the phone initially to book their
initial appointment to discuss their business proposals.
In light
of these factors, in many cases you will have to master phone sales for
high priced and medium priced ticket items. The initial sales pitch over
the phone, will in most cases, make or break your sales presentation.
In our next issue of Keep It Real... Profitable!, we will discuss the
structure of an initial sales pitch over the phone. We will examine
what are the ingredients to a great sales
pitch, which will help you to get your foot in the door.
11.
Minority Business Stats
"Pinpoint
Profit with Diversity"
The
Majority of Internet Users are Women
(51% according to E marketer statistics). Women are responsible for 80%
of household purchases. As of 2002 75% of Women had yet to shop on on-line,
therefore this market is posed for explosive
growth. 63% of women shop more than once a week. While men
focus on transactions in shopping, women focus on relationships. Source:
Make
My Site Sell!
By 2007
senior citizens
will comprise about 25% of the percentage of people that buy
products via the Internet. Presently, there are about
7.6 million senior citizens on-line. This population is predicted to grow
to 16.3 million by 2007, with the biggest growth period being in 2004.
Furthermore, mature persons
comprise a large part of Internet users today with 40.2 million users
being middle adults (ages 35-49) and 23.7 million older adults (ages 50-64).
That's over 71.5 million Internet users over
the age of 35 (source Jupiter Research).
Contrary
to popular belief that young people are the primary group using the Web
as a location for their business, 80 percent
of online small business owners surveyed are over the 30-years-old
(source Affinity Internet).
The
over 35 demographic disproportionately
buy items over the Internet. This is why you should design your sites
to be user friendly to people over 35 in most cases (unless you have a
youth orientated site). Make sure your type is large enough and contrasts
with your background to be readable because, eye sight tends to deteriorate
with age. Moreover, make sure you include pictures of mature person's
on your web site to woo this market.
Hispanics
are now the largestethnic minority
(Hispanics are not a racial minority because they
are comprised of different races) with 38.8 million
people in the U.S. (according to the U.S. Census)and about 15 million
web users (source U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy by AOL/Roper ASW U.S.). Hispanics
spend more time on-line than the general population (source www.Terra.com).
Hispanics spend about $439 dollars each on-line a quarter, or approximately
about 6,585,000,000 (almost 6.6 Billion dollars) dollars in aggregate
(every 3 months). This means Hispanic web users spend about 26.4 Billion
dollars on-line. Ignore this market at your
business' own risk!
Blacks
represent 8 percent of Internet users with 10 million users (blacks are
still the largestracial
minority
with 38.3 million people according to the census). Blacks are converting
to broadband (high speed Internet access) at a fast pace with over 32%
of blacks on-line with high speed connections (source: Nielsen Net Ratings).
Blacks seem to be more brand loyal in their Internet consumer attributes,
with most of them using the services of AOL, MSN, and Yahoo.
12.
Your SEO: What is SEO
"Search
Engine Promotion Should be the
Spring Board of Small Business Web Marketing"
What
is SEO and why do you need to be aware of it? SEO, stands for Search
Engine Optimizer. Since the search engines direct about
47% of Internet traffic (source Nielson Net Ratings), and theaverage web site only receives about 4 site visitors a month, SEO
is more than likely critical to the success of your web site! However,
the search engines are a mystery by the very nature of their business.
This is why you need experts in the field of Search Engine Optimization
(called SEOs) to help shed some light on these main drivers of Internet
traffic.
What
is essential to understand is the mentality that people bring once
they reach your site from a search engine. Most people resist various
forms of advertising because, we know we are being sold something. On
the other hand, when they find your site via the search engines,
they have less resistance because, they feel they have found
something (rather than being sold something).
Obviously,
there is a natural tension between the search engine developers
and search engine optimizers. The search engines must deliver the
most relevant search results to information seeking Internet users. The
search engine optimizers must deliver web surfers, as potential customers,
to their client's sites. Many times these two
divergent goals are not compatible. In the case of unscrupulous
web marketers and SEOs the divergent goals can become diametrically opposed!
In our next issue of KeepitReal...Profitable!, we will discuss
the definition and operatives of search engines like Google,
Alta Vista, Hot Bot, MSN, Teoma, or AOL search and contrast them with
directories like Yahoo, DMOZ, and Joe Ant. If you are looking for
someone to help you receive high search engine
rankings for your web site contact me by clicking
here.
My
Sites are Experiencing 17 Top 20 Rankings In Yahoo
and Google Since, I Read and used the Search Engine Promotion
Tips in this Book. Therefore I Highly Recommend it.
As
I mentioned earlier recently, there has been the shocking loss of two
major minority mega-sites sites: Netnoir, and The Black World Today.
Both of these pioneering sites reached hundreds of thousands of site
visitors a month. These sites also offered great content but, were under
supported in terms of advertising from major corporations. Furthermore,
they did not develop a loyal paying subscriber base which supported
the e publications. This signals the end of the free content days of
the Internet.
Meditation:
Support the E Media You Love
We
will now have to learn to support the media on-line that offer great
content if we expect them to survive.
Donations:
Lets Keep it Free
Let
me state for the record, I am not too proud to ask for donations (if
you feel our content is valuable). Help keep this e-zine FREE
... Please Contribute your Donations
Safely and Securely now via Ebay'spayment system:
Pay Pal. Thank You and God Bless You For Your Support.
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Published
by:
AdPro Media Sales
Vol.1 Issue 1
Written and Designed by:
Kamau_ Austin
Edited by:
Shamaine_Henry
Media Consultant:
John_Payne
Keep
it Real ... Profitable! is the Web business and Update Newsletter of Einfonews.
This Ezine is 100% opt-in and is distributed exclusively to subscribers.
Only completely ethical means are used to gain new subscribers.
Topics:
E commerce info, Minority Business Loans, Minority Business Grants, Business
Book Reviews, and Web Marketing Tips.
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Editorial Calendar:
Until
further notice Keep it Real...Profitable!, will publish monthly.
Next
Month's Articles!
Why
Now is the Time for Minority Business to Make its Move On-line Part 1.
In
Review: Make
Your Words Sell!
E
Biz Tips: Your
MWR
E
Biz by Design:
Color Theory
Back
to Business Basics:
The Sales Pitch
Your
SEO: What is
the difference between a Search Engine and an Internet Directory
Released
in the Winter:
7 Deadly
Mistakes that Kill Minority Web Sites!
The
Tao of Search Engine Promotion
E Business
Boot Camp
The
Web Marketing Workshop
Keep
it Real...Profitable! Ezine > Vol.1 issue, Issue 1. Presented by Einfonews
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2000 - 2003 Barry "Kamau" Austin All rights reserved. Keep it
Real ... Profitable!, :
is published by Kamau Austin, Publisher of Einfonews.com, Einfonews.com
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