The Dot Com Woman.
Vol. 2, Issue 1
The Official Ezine of
'Dot Com Women'
EVEolution On Web
01.03.2004
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Info at the bottom
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TOP
SPONSOR AD
A
Better You eBook Lifestyle
and Personality Improvement tips for women by Lata Budhrani,
Founder of Dot Com Women.
A 'Must Have' eBook for every woman! Special Introductory
price of $10. Immediate Download available. |
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| Editor's Note
One full year of fun and friendships, work and progress, trials and successes has passed.
Dot Com Women will be one year old on March 8th! A great contest
has been started to mark the 1st Anniversary of Dot Com Women. Get
details of the 'Submit Content' contest at http://www.dotcomwomen.com/contests.shtml.
After the great success of the 'Valentine's Day Love message
Contest', the contest needs all your support and participation. An
Online party to celebrate the occasion will be held on March 8th.
Invitations will be sent out shortly. An Anniversary being a great
occasion for all new things to begin, I have also launched my
first eBook - A Better You - today. The eBook is a great source of
tips for boosting your self-esteem, conversation skills,
entertaining skills, improved appearance, balancing and
de-stressing etc. It is now available at a special introductory
price of $10 at http://www.dotcomwomen.com/betteryou.shtml.
All those who purchase it are requested to send their reviews to
me at lata@dotcomwomen.com
or post it at the DCW Book Club at http://www.dotcomwomen.com/forums |
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Contents:
1. What's Hot at DCW
2. Business & Entertainment
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Let's Talk Business
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Recipes
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Self Development
3. Useful Info |
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'Submit
Content' Contest!
Are you good at
something? Writing, Cooking, Photography, Crafting, Gardening,
Budgeting, Home Improvement, Parenting, Web/Graphic Design,
Finance, Travel or anything you love! Submit Original, Unpublished
Content on Any Topic of your choice and Win Grand Prizes!
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Make Your
House, a 'Home'
Take time to think about
comfort, family time, household safety and kids activities also when
decorating or designing your house.
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Muffin Candle
- Free Craft Project
Complete with chopped
crayon bits for nuts and decorations, many people will mistake them
for edible, freshly-baked, icing-topped muffins!
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Middle
Sponsor Ad |
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Bellezza
Cosmetics/Rivage Bath & Body 
This
unique formula features Dead Sea salts that gently exfoliate
while essential oils penetrate the skin leaving it
incredibly soft and smooth.
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LET'S TALK
BUSINESS
8 COMMON MARKETING MISTAKES TO AVOID
By Charlie Cook
Advertising can be one of the fastest ways to market and grow your
business or it can be one of the quickest ways to go out of
business. With the right ad you can attract clients to your business
and increase your profits. With the wrong ad you can spend your way
into bankruptcy.
To grow your business you need to attract the attention of your
prospects, advertising can help you do so if used correctly.
Unfortunately, many small businesses owners waste thousands of
dollars on advertising efforts that only achieve minimal results.
If you want to get the most from the money you spend to promote your
products and services, make sure to avoid these common mistakes.
Focusing on Your Products and Services
If you want to get the attention of your prospects, speak to their
needs and wants. Your prospects' primary concern isn't that you've
been in business for 25 years; it is do you know the problem they
want to solve. Use your ad to identify at least one common problem
of your prospects and the benefit of using your product or service.
Having a Weak Marketing Message
All to often you hear ads and it takes some thought to figure out
what they are even promoting. Make sure your advertisement includes
a 7-10 word description of whom you serve and the problems you solve
so people who read or hear your ad know how you can help them.
Using the Wrong Words
A word here, a phrase there can change your response rate by
hundreds of percent. When you spend money on advertising, first test
a number of versions of your copy to identify the one that works
best. Just by revising her ad copy so it was client and problem
centered, I helped one small business owner achieve her best month
in sales ever.
Missing Motivation
Most ads miss the mark in moving prospects to action. If you want to
prompt prospects to visit your web site or your store or to contact
you, include an offer that motivates them to do so.
Lacking in Frequency
Some people make spur of the moment buying decisions, but most need
to become familiar with your services and products, and this takes
time. If you want your advertising to work, you need to ensure that
your prospects see or hear it regularly.
Web Sites that Don't Move Prospects to Action Many small business
owners direct prospects to a web site where they have more extensive
content covering available services and products. I constantly get
calls from people who have been successful at attracting prospects
to their web site, but generate few sales.
Once prospects get to your web site make sure the content and visual
organization moves them to take the action you want them to. Whether
it is providing them with ample opportunities to fill in your
service inquiry form, or including a subset of your product catalog
in your web page navigation bars, help prospects move to client and
customer status.
Lack of Follow Up
Sometimes making a sale requires sending a note or picking up the
phone and calling your prospects. If you have an effective lead
generation strategy, prospects will provide you with their contact
information and the problem they want solved. Use the web, email,
and the phone to follow up and close the sale.
Lack of Tracking
If you are making more from your advertising than you are spending,
you're ahead. Frequently small business owners can't tell you which
of their efforts helped bring in the business. Track each of your ad
campaigns and you'll know where to spend your money in the future,
what to modify and what to eliminate.
- Do you know how many sales and how much money you made as a result
of each of your advertising campaigns?
- Are you making any of the above common marketing mistakes?
- What elements of your marketing should you change?
Put your marketing house in order. Fix
your strategy and your materials. If you don't know what to change
or how to change it, use experts to help you with strategy,
copyrighting, design, PR, and media placement.
Avoid these common marketing mistakes and you'll find ore people
contacting you about your products and services and that your making
more than your spending on your advertising.
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2004 ?© In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The author, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small
business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up
to receive the F*ree Marketing Guide and the 'More Business'
newsletter, full of practical tips you can use at http://www.charliecook.net
RECIPES
Diabetic Crunchy Chocolate
Raisin Fudge
1/4 c Diet margarine
1 1/3 c Non-fat dry milk
2/3 c Cocoa powder
1 c Sugar (artificial equivalent)
1/3 c Evaporated non-fat milk
2 ts Vanilla
1 c Rice Krispies
1/4 c Raisins
Mix margarine and milk powder until crumbly. Add cocoa and
artificial sweetener. Mix until blended.
Add evaporated milk and vanilla. Mix until almost smooth and
sticky.
Remove from bowl and mix in Rice Krispies with hands. Continue
mixing with hands until fudge is smooth and shiny. Shape into 2
10inch long rolls. Wrap in clear plastic wrap. Chill until firm.
To serve, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Store in refrigerator.
SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Promises, Promises!
By
Minister G
What is it you promised yourself you would accomplish in 2003 and
it never happened? Each year we make some resolution for the coming
year and we never get to it let alone stick to it once we??™re
gotten that far.
People lament over never reaching their goals and spend most of
their lives ???crying because the milk got spilled???. We look at
ourselves as failures when in reality we have placed our goals so
high that we set ourselves up to fail even before we begin. The only
reason others accomplish more than we do isn??™t because they are
smarter, it??™s because they don??™t have sense enough to fail.
I am not a betting woman, but I will venture this, most of you
reading this column are brilliant and you are the last to know it. I
have completed writing my second book and am in the middle of a
third, not because I am brilliant, but because I don??™t have the
sense to fail.
Most of the time we are too logical and we think about things too
much. I do things. I suggest you get a ???do??? spirit about your
goals. If you want to write a book, then do it. If you want to start
a business, then do it. It is not rocket science; it is ???get to
it??? science. I wrote a business book regarding the business if
starting a business. The name of this book is ???There are No
Secrets, It??™s Merely a Process???. It is a line by line guide
to starting your business. It is written in simple to follow wording
and it does not confuse you. It is daily task oriented for maximum
progress.
In one of my Self-Health columns, I even give tips on how to free
up some of your time and then you can do more of those things that
make you uniquely you. I am a promoter of creativity. I will always
promote creative thinking. Plus, I challenge those that I coach to
stretch their thinking capabilities.
The formulation of habits comes from the thoughts we think
regarding ourselves. Because I have such a sense of determination, I
don??™t have failing sense. I don??™t promise anyone anything. I
take action and move on my words. I don??™t allow anyone to promise
me anything; I challenge them to move on their words.
The main thing that destroys faith in yourself is those
unfulfilled promises that you have made to yourself and they have
not come to pass yet. Let??™s do some practical promises: 1. You
promised yourself that you were going to loose weight. You are still
the same size. 2. You promised yourself that you were going to start
exercising, you park your car as close to the entrance as you can
and spend a half a tank of gas circling the lot trying to find a
closer parking place instead of parking the car and walking the
distance. 3. You want to start your own business or at least have
some extra money coming, but you sit and watch soap opera??™s all
day long because you are not satisfied with the life you have. I
will stop here before I loose you all.
People want to be coddled and I don??™t do that. I give it
straight and then walk you through to the next step. I will not hold
your hand either. Don??™t promise yourself another thing in this
life. Do it and do it today.
About the Author:
Minister Gloria J. Little: No receipts, no beauty or shopping tips, just encouragement to creativity and wealth. Visit Minister G at
http://www.ministerg.com
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Thanks to all of you for
supporting Dot Com Women and helping it become the large Women's
community that it has become. The credit for the successful completion
of one year of our existence goes to all you website and forum
members, ezine subscribers, advertisers, contest sponsors, contestants
and all our well-wishers. Your continued support in the coming year
and henceforth will always be sought.
C' Ya next week,
Lata Budhrani.
Copyright ?© 2003 The Dot Com
Woman Ezine. All
Rights Reserved |
