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How to Double Your Income Starting With Just $20

By Paul Lawrence

Ever heard the expression "It takes money to make money?" Well, guess what? That's not always the case. And if you don't have much capital to start a business, you have no choice. Being a "cheapskate" is a necessity.

Years ago, I worked as a bill collector for a major chain of jewelry stores. I was barely making enough money to live on, and the job offered no opportunity for me to make more. Yet, without quitting my day job, I was able to launch a new career that – within just a few months – doubled my income. And it took just $20 to get it started.

How did I do it?

You see, I happen to love ballroom dancing. So, while still working at my day job, I took a free training program at night that enabled me to pass the instructor's qualifying test.

I began working at a dance studio, but soon realized I'd make a lot more by working on my own. So I invested $20 a week in little classified ads offering private lessons. And before long… I had my own dance instruction business.

My wife Blanca used the same cheapskate approach to escape from the "prison" of her first job as a nanny. Her idea was to start a home cleaning service. So she spent $10 to print up 500 flyers, and then hand-delivered them in upscale residential neighborhoods. When calls started coming in, she scheduled the work on her days off. Once she was confident that she could build up her service to a full-time business, she said goodbye to the nanny job she hated.

If you want to take the cheapskate approach to starting a business, here are three of the important steps:

1. Identify a business that won't require much start-up capital.

Most low-capital businesses are in the service field. If you have a marketable skill – like teaching piano, doing bookkeeping, or writing sales copy – starting a business in your area of expertise should be your first choice. If you don't have a specialized skill – or you'd rather do something else – consider a service like housekeeping, childcare, or running errands.

2. Figure out when you'll be able to service your clients.

If you're starting your own business while working at a regular job, you'll have to schedule your clients around your work schedule. And it's easier than you might think. There's no need to tell them that you have another job. Just tell them when you have openings, and they'll assume the rest of your time is booked with other clients.

When I was launching my dance instruction business, for example, I would check my voice mail while on break or at lunch, and return the calls. Most of those calls were from prospects with questions about my training, the kind of dances I specialized in, my fees, and so on.

After answering their questions, I'd suggest making an appointment for their first lesson – and I'd give them a few options: "Would you like to schedule on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.? Or would Thursday be better?"

If they asked about getting lessons during the day, I'd say, "Unfortunately, I won't have any daytime slots available for at least the next couple of weeks. Why don't you start with an evening appointment? Then, when a daytime slot becomes available, I'll let you know."

They usually agreed to try it. And in almost every case, they continued rescheduling at the same time every week or two.

3. Create and implement your marketing plan.

By using a little "out of the box" thinking, you'll be able to find many ways to promote your business without spending much money.

Remember, all it cost me to get my ballroom dance business started was $20 worth of classified ads. And Blanca got her cleaning service started with $10 worth of flyers.

So give it a little thought right now. What kind of side business do you think you'd like to start? And what ideas can you come up with to market that business on a "cheapskate" budget?

If you'd like some help with that, I've put together a free report you might want to take a look at. In it, you'll learn one powerful secret for getting other businesses to help you attract new clients… without spending a penny. You'll also get the skinny on 11 more cheapskate marketing tactics that can help you bring in new clients for less than $100.

Read this report – for free – right here.

[Ed Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur who's started more than a dozen profitable enterprises. If you're interested in starting a new business with less than $100 in capital, check out Paul's "Micrbiz" program right here. It can have you adding thousands to your bank account in as little as 30 days.]

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This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

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How to Get People to Open Your E-mails

By Alex Mandossian

Picture this: You spend hours writing an article that you KNOW will motivate people to tears/laughter/action. You send it to your e-mail list – a group of people who have specifically asked to hear from you – and no one opens the e-mail. The article ends up unread, deep in your subscribers' inboxes. Your words aren't digested, your ideas aren't discussed, and your suggestions aren't tested.

Frustrating, no?

It's even more frustrating if you're an Internet marketer and your revenue relies on people opening your e-mails, reading your articles or sales letters, and taking the actions you recommend.

In most (if not all) cases, you'll never have a 100 percent open rate – where every last one of your subscribers opens your e-mail. In fact, according to e-mail marketing company Campaign Monitor, "If you are getting an open rate between 20 percent and 40 percent, you are probably somewhere around average."

The thing is, the more people who open your e-mails, the more chances you have to make sales.

Let's say 5 percent of your subscribers open your e-mails. Of that 5 percent, 10 percent buy the product you're offering. If you have 1,000 subscribers, that means you'll make $500 for every $100 product you sell via e-mail.

Even if your conversion rate (the number of people who buy what you're selling) remains the same, you can DOUBLE the number of sales you make if you can double the number of people who open your e-mails. Today, I'm going to give you two simple ways to make that happen.

Here's the heart of the matter: Whenever you send an e-mail message to your subscriber list or to your friends or colleagues, they ask themselves these two critical questions before taking action:

1. WHO is this e-mail from?

2. WHAT is this e-mail about?

Test this yourself the next time you're about to open the e-mail messages in your inbox. If you're like most people I've surveyed, you ask yourself WHO? and WHAT? before grabbing your mouse, clicking, and reading each one.

The WHO? Question

Answering the WHO? question is easy, because it's right there in the "from line." I recommend that your from line never changes. Here's what mine looks like:

~ Alex Mandossian ~

Specifically, I put a tilde symbol ("~"), then a space, then my first name, then another space, then my last name, then another space, then a second tilde.

That's it.

Key Point: The reason I use the tilde in my from line is because it often puts my message at the top of my recipients' list of new e-mails. Many e-mail programs sort alphabetically, and they give the tilde symbol an even higher alphabetical ranking than words starting with the letter "A" (like my name).

The WHAT? Question

Answering the WHAT? question is not so easy, because it depends on the way the "subject line" is written. Unlike your from line, it makes sense to constantly test your subject line copy until you find the winners.

I don't make any claims with my subject line, because I feel the one and only job of that copy is to pique my recipients' interest – so they open, read, and click the link in the body of the e-mail message.

The purpose of the from line is to motivate your recipients to read your subject line. The purpose of your subject line is to persuade your recipients to read the body copy of the e-mail.

It's that simple.

What to Do Now

First, I want you to decide on what your from line will look like for all your e-mail communications. Once you make this decision, always keep your from line the same. Never change it.

I recommend using tildes or asterisks or dashes in your from line so you'll get top alpha-numerical priority in your recipients' inboxes. Here are a few examples:

* Jane Doe *

~ Jane Doe ~

- Jane Doe -

Second, I want you to become a student of effective subject line copy. So keep a file of subject lines that elicit your own curiosity. (Remember, that's what you want your subject lines to do for your recipients.)

The subject lines that work best for me are brief (seven words or less). Here are some that have had good pulling power for me:

• This ONE is for you…
• Your presence is requested…
• Have you seen this?
• Will you say "YES" to this?
• This is about our appointment…
• It's not your fault…
• Who's to blame for this?

What about you? Have you ever written a winning subject line? If so, please share it here.

[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian knows a thing or two about success. He has generated over $233 million in sales for his clients. And in the past three years, he increased his own revenues from $1.5 million to $5 million. You can get Alex's advice and practical marketing tips for info-publishers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs for free at www.AlexMandossianToday.com.

Increasing your e-mail open rates is just one way to boost your revenues. Now you can get in-depth, cutting-edge marketing techniques and tips from ETR Publisher and CEO MaryEllen Tribby, the rainmaker who guided the Early to Rise team from $8 million to $26+ million in revenues in 15 months. Learn how to get your hands on all that multimillion-dollar advice, including play-by-plays of case studies... copywriting "cheat sheets"... media buying guides... and much more right here.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney,New South Wales,Australia

RACHEL METZ
July 3, 2009 – 4:05AM
Page 2 of 2
"They don't deliver product, they don't take any money from a consumer, and most of the time they don't even know who the consumer is," she said. Because the tax crackdown could curtail the business generated by affiliates, "the states are sort of shooting themselves in the feet," she said.

That's not how the states see it. In 2008, New York started requiring retailers to collect sales tax if they solicit business in the state by paying anyone there for leading customers to them. Matt Anderson, spokesman for the state's Division of the Budget, said New York expected the change would bring in $23 million for the fiscal year that ended March 31, and estimates $34 million for the current fiscal year.

"We believe we have to keep the tax code in line with technology, and that online retailers shouldn't have an unfair competitive advantage over off-line businesses," he said.

Amazon and Overstock sued New York in 2008, arguing it unlawfully imposes tax-collection obligations on out-of-state entities. A judge dismissed the cases in January, and Amazon is collecting taxes in New York. The company has not shuttered its associate program there.

North Carolina expects it could collect an additional $13.2 million in the coming fiscal year on sales generated by Web retailers that use affiliates, and from a new sales tax on downloads of music, video and software, according to a legislative fiscal analysis.

But while states may see these marketing programs as a way to shore up budgets, they're just one way these companies drive visitors to their Web sites. Companies also use ads on Google and links on comparison shopping sites.

Patrick Byrne, head of Salt Lake City-based Overstock, said sales made through affiliates account for less than 10 percent of Overstock's revenue. The amount of business it will lose by cutting about 8,000 of its 25,000 affiliates loose is a "small fraction" of what it would have to start collecting in taxes if it kept the affiliates, he said.

Judy Browning, 66, worries she's done collecting affiliate revenue from Amazon for her Vegetable Goddess Web site, which she runs from Honolulu. Browning did not want to say how much money she had been getting from Amazon, other than to call it a "tremendous" opportunity for her.

"If I don't get paid by Amazon, then I'm not making money," she said. "If I'm not making money, I can't spend money."

© 2009 AP DIGITAL
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.

Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney,New South Wales,Australia

RACHEL METZ
July 3, 2009 – 4:05AM Page 1 of 2
In a big break for online shoppers, Web retailers generally don't have to charge sales taxes in states where they lack a store or some other physical presence.

Increasingly, states aching under the weight of the recession are seeking a way around that rule. Because companies like Amazon.com Inc. get help drumming up sales from online affiliates _ people who link to products on their blogs, promote Web shopping deals and offer coupons _ several states say the Internet retailers should charge sales taxes in states where those affiliates are based.

The financial benefits may not be quite what the states atiipte touh.Rahe tangerig p o olec txe, maon ad other Web retailers are simply shutting down their affiliate marketing programs. As the small businesses that participate in these programs get cut off, a state could lose tax revenue rather than add to it.

A look at what the affiliates do helps explain why. They're just one of several methods that e-commerce companies have for driving visitors to their Web sites, so nixing them is not necessarily a big loss for the companies.

It's a far bigger deal to people like Rich Owings.

By running Web sites like GPSTracklog.com from his home in Asheville, North Carolina, Owings serves as an affiliate for Amazon and other companies. Owings, 53, spends most of his time reviewing GPS gadgets and covering industry news. He links to navigation products of his choosing on Amazon's site, and if his readers click through and buy one, he gets a commission.

Owings estimates he brought in about $80,000 in affiliate revenue from various companies in 2008, about $50,000 of which came from Amazon. After Amazon recently shuttered its North Carolina affiliate program in response to that state's attempt to collect sales taxes, Owings said he and his wife were thinking about heading elsewhere to run their business.

"We're terrified," he said. "We just bought a house here a year ago and we're looking at having to move out of state just to keep our business going."

The amount of money at stake overall for state governments is somewhat murky. According to a recent University of Tennessee study, uncollected state and local taxes from online sals oud toal$7bilin hi yar Hweer olya mal ar o this would sem from consumer purchases, because transactions between businesses make up the bulk of e-commerce sales. (Consumers are generally supposed to pay a "use tax" themselves on online purchases, but few do.)

Because any extra revenue is precious, several states, such as New York, have passed laws seeking to cash in on Web retailers' affiliate relationships, while others are considering doing so.

Amazon cut off affiliates in North Carolina in late June, anticipating legislation requiring it to collect sales tax will soon pass there. The company has also stopped working with affiliates in Rhode Island and Hawaii because of similar laws that already have passed. (Hawaii's Republican governor, Linda Lingle, vetoed the bill Wednesday, so Amazon plans to reinstate affiliates there if the state's Democratic majority does not override Lingle's decision.)

Discount retailer Overstock.com Inc. and online jeweler Blue Nile Inc. have also closed down affiliate programs in Hawaii, Rhode Island and North Carolina, and Overstock stopped working with affiliates in New York last year.

Rebecca Madigan, founder of the Camarillo, California-based Performance Marketing Alliance, which represents affiliate marketers, called the new state rules "pretty devastating." Echoing opinions of several online retailers and associates, Madigan argues that the nation's estimated 200,000 affiliate marketers are advertisers, not salespeople. Continued…

© 2009 AP DIGITAL
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.

Matt Bacak and Shawn Casey Join Forces to Launch Fast Affiliate Cash Training System

Internet marketing legends Matt Bacak and Shawn Casey have joined forces to launch a new cash-generating system. The Fast Affiliate Cash Training System (FACTS for short) reveals how to start an affiliate business from scratch and quickly get solid, dependable money rolling in. For a limited time, the FACTS system is available at an ultra-low introductory price.

MarketingSherpa's research team estimated that, in 2006, affiliates worldwide earned US$6.5 billion in bounty and commissions from a variety of sources in retail, personal finance, gaming and gambling, travel, telecom, education, publishing, and forms of lead generation other than contextual advertising programs such as Google AdSense.

Duluth, GA (PRWEB) June 18, 2009 — Two of Internet marketing's most well-recognized legends have just teamed up to devise a new product. The Fast Affiliate Cash Training System (FACTS for short) is a proven, step-by-step system to get cash coming in quickly and easily. This money-making blueprint contains information that is extracted straight from Matt Bacak and Shawn Casey's best live training sessions. While such one-on-one access would normally cost several thousand dollars, the same millionaire-generating strategies can be had through the FACTS system for an introductory price of just $47. Struggling Internet marketers who would like to sit back and capitalize on someone else's hard work can learn more about the Fast Affiliate Cash Training System online at http://promotingtips.com/theFACTS

BusinessDictionary.com defines affiliate marketing as "a means of achieving greater market penetration through Web sites that target specific groups of Internet users. The entire sales transaction takes place at [the targeted Web site, which is equipped to handle the complete online payment acceptance process. [The targeted Web site then passes on a percentage of the sold item's price as commission to the affiliate Web site from where the sale originated." More simply stated, affiliate marketing lets someone else do all the hard work and allows the affiliate to then skim off huge commissions on that someone else's profits."

According to Wikipedia, "MarketingSherpa's research team estimated that, in 2006, affiliates worldwide earned US$6.5 billion in bounty and commissions from a variety of sources in retail, personal finance, gaming and gambling, travel, telecom, education, publishing, and forms of lead generation other than contextual advertising programs such as Google AdSense." And those revenues continue to rise. In fact, affiliate marketers are estimated to have raked in $8.0 billion in earnings last year.

Matt Bacak and Shawn Casey are proof of affiliate marketing's profitability. Collectively, they bring in $15 million each year. Now they're revealing exactly how they've accomplished such a feat with their Fast Affiliate Cash Training System. The FACTS system contains three jam-packed hours of video training conducted by Bacak and Casey themselves. And at the introductory price, it averages out to just 25 cents per minute of tips and techniques that can help individuals stop worrying about money once and for all.

For more information on the Fast Affiliate Cash Training System, contact Tamara Smith at (770) 623-3008. To take advantage of introductory pricing on the FACTS system, visit Matt Bacak online at http://www.twitter.com/mattbacak.

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