Ecommerce Beginnings - Part X

Welcome to this weeks' Ecommerce Beginnings article. After the past month of persistent cold we finally got a taste of spring today, with the temperature around 50 degrees, together with bright sunshine and light winds. So, my friend and I took a ride during lunch down to the beach (we work less than a mile from the ocean in Rhode Island. Yeah, I can hear everyone now - tough life right?) and watched around 20 people who were surfing on some really good waves. Dreams of the summer that is soon to be!

Well with the approaching spring there are several large New England Product Tradeshows coming up. They are the 23rd annual New England Products Trade Show on March 17-19, the Cape Cod Gift Show on March 18 and 19, and the New England Gift Show on Oct. 1-3. All three of these shows showcase the "Made in New England" product theme. Together there are several hundred unique "Made in New England" product manufacturers represented at these shows. So, if you are looking for products to sell on your online business, be it on eBay or on your main business website, don't miss the opportunity to check out one or all of these shows.

Lately, in addition to focusing on fine tuning and the marketing of Original New England Enterprises , I have been working on the development of my next website. The idea with this site is for it to complement Original New England Enterprises by focusing on the "Made in New England" product theme/niche. The name of this site is going to be Best New England Made. My goal is to have this new site online by the middle of March at the latest, to coincide with the spring "Made in New England" product shows.

The focus and goal of this site, as reflected by its' name: "Best New England Made" will be to showcase the made in New England product niche. Additionally, as part of this site, we will be providing a free, comprehensive database of New England manufacturers, as a complement to the services we offer with Original New England Enterprises complete Ecommerce Solutions. So, now you will have the ability and option to:

• build your complete ecommerce business
• have access to a unique, focused and in-demand product supply
• have the complete tools required to effectively market this business online
• be one of the top 1% of the people who know how to sell online.

Whew - that was a mouthful! It almost sounds too good to be true, but in this case it is 100% true and backed by solid guarantees! The key is to follow the process that is taught in these solutions, by working smarter, not harder and by being persistent in your quest for success.

There is a fantastic book that I think everyone would benefit from by reading. It is: Pushing Up People, by Art Williams. You can find this amazing book on Amazon.com. The main idea of this book is that by showing others how to be successful that you too will become successful. I hope you take the time to read this. I truely believe you will benefit from this if you do.

As always, I wish you the best in your success!

We hope you found this weeks' article helpful. Make sure you stop back each week for our latest installment. Take care and have a great week!

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - Part IX

Hello and welcome back to this weeks' article on Ecommerce Beginnings.

Well I think we all know what time of year it is, don't we. Yes - it's tax time. This is that wonderful time of year when we need to make sure that all of our records are in order so we can submit our tax forms to Uncle Sam and hopefully don't have to pay any additional taxes.

This year will be my first year completing my taxes as an official business. I incorporated as a single owner LLC. This means that any income, etc. will pass through the corporation and will be treated as personal income. Well, I started off the year doing everything I thought I was supposed to do correctly. I went out and bought Quickbooks Professional and spent some time setting up my company file, with the chart of accounts, etc. This program is an excellent and fairly straightforward piece of valuable software to keep your books with. Don't just take my word for it, you can trust the thousands of other satisfied customers opinions on this matter.

Well, I kept fairly good records throughout the year, but I didn't enter the information into Quickbooks like I should have. This neccessitated me spending an entire day with a friend who is an accountant to input all of my data around 2 weeks ago. I learned a valuable lesson here, because it can be difficult to try to remember what all of the transactions were throughout the year and we know what the result of this can be - CHAOS!!!, which for people who are over 40 know is the opposite of CONTROL. Remember: GET SMART!

The end result is that I now have a nice, well organized balance sheet, a profit & loss statement together with all of my records now accurately documented. I also have a clear picture of the current state of my new business. Shame on me for not doing this along the way, but I definitely learned my lesson going forward.

Two links that I am recommending:
QuickBooks and Janelle Elms to help you with your finances and general business advice. Both are excellent sources of information to guide you in your business.

That's it for this week. I hope you have a great week and please stop back next week for another informative and possibly entertaining article.

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - VIII

Welcome back to Ecommerce Beginnings. This weeks' posting is a little late because I have been having some issues with my website and its' ranking on Google. You see, my main site: www.original-new-england-enterprises.com has been, as they say: "kicking butt" in all of the search engines, with a large number of #1's for multiple keyword combinations. That was until this past week when my site all but disappeared from the Google pages. What happened??? I had no idea, so I started to do some research. It seems that there is some sort of a correlation between my website and the service I had been using for my blogging posts (Serendipity). Each time that I sent out a new post on my blog approximately two days later my website would drop out of site on Google, to reappear a few days later after the Gogglebot had revisited.

Now, I'm not positive about the correlation between Serendipity and my website. I have also been using pinging services each time I send out a new posting. These services are Pinggoat and RSS Junky. This issue has only effected my rankings on Google. My rankings have not been effected on Yahoo, MSN, AlltheWeb,etc. by this. It is definitely perplexing!!!

My inability to solve this problem has led me to shift my postings to this venue (Google Blogger). Maybe that will solve this problem. If anyone has had a similar problem or knows of a solution to this please let me know ASAP! If your solution works I will put your children through college. I will paint your house for free - you get the idea!!!

That's it for this week. As always: Thanks for stopping by and please stop back next week for some more interesting and hopefully informative information.

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - VII

Monday, January 29. 2007

Welcome back for this week's article on Ecommerce Beginnings. I hope everyone had a great week!


Research

During the past few weeks I did a lot of research on Email Management Services providers. I needed to find a solution to manage my email marketing efforts. So, like many people I went to the Google Search Engine and typed in: email marketing solution. This query returned 4,120,000 possible results. What to do next? To save some time I pretty much did what most people probably do - I investigated the options presented on the first page. All of a sudden I was faced with another entirely new language to learn. Terms like: permission based email marketing, pop-up creator, double opt-in confirmation, unlimited autoresponders, and on and on the list went????


Decision

I ended up narrowing the list down to 4 different email marketing solutions. I read each of their features offered lists, checked out their price options, some were by the month, some were set up to charge based on the number of emails sent each month, some were set up based on your birth date, combined with your mother's maiden name and if anyone on the list was named Smith.

Well, I almost felt like this after trying to compare all of the apples to apples to oranges options offered by each company. In fact most of the options were very similar, which made the decision process a little more difficult.


Note: I am currently signed up to recieve several ezines from well known and reputable businesses and online marketing gurus. Each one seems to use a different provider and they each mention how happy they are with their email service provider. Just another curveball thrown at me in the decision process.

Well, I like things to be fairly straightforward and simple. You know, I like lots of features, but I also like the options to be easy to understand and implement. I don't need to load my brain up with too much more as it is! I ended up choosing GetResponse because of several factors:

* their website layout (logical and well organized)
* online video tutorials (very helpful - also provided in PDF format)
* streamlined plans to choose from (you know the KISS principle)
* and last, but not least, their pricing, (either a limited free plan to start out with, or a Pro version)

Note: You know those marketing types. They use terms like: basic, intermediate, etc. and then they use the term: "PRO"! Well, who wouldn't want to be a user of the "PRO" version? Doesn't "PRO" sound so much cooler? Guess which one I chose? Those marketing people are geniuses aren't they?


Learning to Use

As I mentioned above, GetResponse has 4 well organized videos that you can watch to learn "how to" set-up and manage your email marketing campaigns. I will admit that I watched the videos twice. It definitely helped and was prompted more by my lack of knowledge in this area.

I decided that I wanted my website's newsletter to be formatted on one of my website pages vs just a text email message with links. I felt that this was a better choice for marketing purposes. Next I had to create several new web pages and an opt-in form. Click here to see the NEW FORM

The new pages I created were to support the process of capturing an email address, verifying they meant to make this choice, sending another email for their free e-book download, then the actual newsletter notification email, the newsletter itself, with the multiple articles and product download options. Whew!!! It was a lot of work, but I actually enjoyed it. I was just like a proud new father showing off his new child to the world! Click here to see my 1st NEWSLETTER Please let me know what you think of the newsletter and/or if you would like to see other options/choices offered in it.


Conclusion

As I stated above there were many excellent email marketing solution options available to choose from. Here are links to 4 that I felt were the best options to choose from:

* GetResponse
* Constant Contact
* Aweber
* Vertical Response

I'm sure there are more excellent options available, I just didn't have the time to keep researching all of them. I hope this information proves helpful to you. Make sure you stop back next week for another entertaining and informative article and Have a great week!

Mark@Original-New-England-Enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - VI

Monday, January 22. 2007

Welcome back for this weeks article on Ecommerce Beginnings. Where to begin? Well, as anyone who is a football fan is surely aware of, the New England Patriots fell a little short in their quest to return to the Super Bowl for a 4th time in 6 years. My congratulations to them for an excellent season!

The reason I keep discussing the Patriots is because, to me, they are the epitomy of an organization that excels at getting the most out of their abilities. This ability to excel under constantly changing and demanding circumstances is a blueprint for success that everyone who wishes to be successful should follow. As the quote says: " People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan!"

Don't Let This Happen to YOU!

Now, getting back to two articles ago, I left you with some advice on thoroughly learning the eBay system. Once you establish yourself and become comfortable using eBay, i.e. have hopefully made a few purchases, possibly listed an item for sale and completed a sale or two. That is great! You should be feeling more comfortable and understanding how everything works.

To expand on this I recommend you go to the eBay Site Map, then go to the Selling Tools section. You'll find a complete listing of all of the tools that are available to support and to develop your selling ability on eBay in this section, both within eBay and through third-party solutions. Again, a word of caution - investigate each and every option very carefully. Be smart - check out each company before you make a decision. Look for independent reviews to see what others are saying about them.

Here are a couple of excellent sources of information to help you out:

• Entrepreneur Magazine
• Ecommerce Guide

Remember, don't forget to check out the eBay Workshops. They are another great source of relevant information to help you.

Thanks for stopping by this week. I hope you have a great week and make sure you stop back next week to see the next posting for more helpful and sometimes entertaining information.

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - V

NEW ENGLAND 24 SAN DIEGO 21

Welcome back for this weeks article on Ecommerce Beginnings. Believe me when I say I almost needed a tranquilizer to calm me down after yesterday's New England vs San Diego playoff game. Again, the Patriots (the cardiac kids) came through in the clutch. The way they accomplish the goals they set is amazing. Congratulations to the New England Patriots on another hard fought victory!

The reason I am starting out discussing the Patriots is two-fold. First, I am a Patriots fan, but second, and more importantly, because the New England Patriots are the role model for success. They continuously accomplish what they set out to, many times against huge adversity. Their success isn't predicated on having a large ensemble of superstars on their team. It isn't predicated on luck either. What their success is predicated on is a result of excellent planning, determination, hard work, execution and a firm belief in their ability to succeed. People say that they get lucky. I say that they make their own luck through their dedication, consistency and belief in their system.

My word of advice to anyone who wants to be successful with their home based business is to look at who is already successful, be it in business, sports, or any other area of life. There is a consistent theme to the successful people/organizations in this world. We know that it isn't always the most talented who are successful, but usually those who are better prepared, better prepared to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves in the face of constant change. That is who is usually successful.

I don't mean to be too preachy this week, but I want to make sure that everyone understands that it is really hard to keep your eye on the ball, to remain focused 110% of the time on your success. That is probably one of the reasons that 90% of new businesses fail within the first year or so. Be like the Patriots, the model of consistency, the model for taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves and doing something purposeful with them. There is a reason that they continue to be so successful year in and year out.

For anyone who is looking for some great ideas to implement for their own personal success, check this out. I'm currently reading a great book that I believe anyone who is considering becoming or is already involved with an online business should read. It is: SUCCESS SECRETS OF THE ONLINE MARKETING SUPERSTARS by Mitch Meyerson. I picked up my copy at a local Barnes & Noble. I'm sure it is available in through many different outlets. This book contains interviews with 24 of the top internet marketers in the world today. They share their proven strategies for making money online.

Note: I have no affilliation with the sale of this book. My recommendation is strictly based on my belief that it is an excellent source of information that will help you to be successful with your online business.

That's it for this week. I hope you found the above to be helpful and informative. Please stop by next week to read the latest installment of Ecommerce Beginnings. Thanks and have a great week. Oh yeah, don't forget to cheer on the Patriots in next week's game. GO PATS!!!

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com

Ecommerce Beginnings - IV

FINAL SCORE: PATRIOTS 37 JETS 16 THAT JUST ABOUT SAYS IT ALL!

Hello to everyone. I hope everyone had a great week. I sure did and as you may have guessed, I am from New England (no kidding!!!) and I am a completely devoted fan of the New England Patriots. I was very excited to see them beat the NY Jets today. Next stop: San Diego!

Ok, enough about the football game. The real reason you are probably reading this posting isn't for my humor or my sports likes and dislikes, but to find some information that may be helpful to you with your online business. As I stated last week I plan to discuss buying, selling and marketing on eBay this week.

Through all of the research I did in respect to buying, selling and marketing on eBay I realized one huge fact: that there is a tremendous amount of duplicative information out there. It reminds me of the old advertisements on TV for the "Ronco Vegematic - It slices, It dices, It chops, etc., etc. - all for $9.99!" I think you get the picture here. So my advice to you is:

In the beginning spend a lot of time on the eBay site. By looking at other peoples' listings, by buying on eBay, by reading all of the tutorials, going to the chat rooms, etc. you can find and learn 99% of what you need to about how eBay works. To make it real easy to navigate around on their site use the SITE MAP page. Make sure you bookmark this page. It makes it so much easier vs. clicking around on multiple pages and trying to find this or that page later on.

Once you become familiar with eBay there are a lot of resources available to assist you. It all depends on what your goals are. My advice is to take your time and evaluate everything very carefully before you give someone some of your hard earned money. Like a good carpenter: measure twice and cut once!

I found these two free ebooks to be very helpful. They are a good source of information on buying and selling on eBay. They are written by a man named Terry Gibbs. He is an eBay Powerseller who has been selling on eBay for the past 5 years or so. To get your FREE copy of his ebooks click on these links:

• The eBay Buyer's Guide
• The eBay Seller's Guide

Here are some additional links to help you out:

• ecommerce articles
• ecommerce information
• ecommerce tools

Thank you for stopping by this week. I hope you find the information provided above to be helpful to you. I hope you have a great week and make sure you stop back next week to see the next posting for more helpful and sometimes entertaining information. Remember to cheer on the Patriots unless you are a San Diego fan. GO PATS!!!

Mark@original-new-england-enterprises.com