Friday 30 September 2011

Why Use A Pseudonym?

Pseudonyms, commonly known as pen names, are names authors use rather than their own name.

Pseudonyms are also used in other creative professions. For example, actors and actresses call them stage names. Marion Morrison was known as John Wayne; Norma Jeane Mortenson (Baker) was known as Marilyn Monroe.

For many centuries authors have written under different names:
George Orwell's real name was Eric Arthur Blair.
George Eliot's real name was Mary Ann Evans.
Lewis Carroll's real name was Charles Dodgson.
Ayn Rand's real name was Alisa Rosenbaum.

In what ways can pen names be used?
1.) Conceal Gender: Concealing gender was especially important for women during the eighteenth century. Women writers used male names to gain credibility.

2.) Writing in Multiple Genres: Authors use different names for a different genre and their real name for another. Charles Dodgson wrote math textbooks under his real name and Alice in Wonderland as Lewis Carroll.

3.) To Recover From a Mishap or Poor Reputation: If an author has attracted poor publicity under his real name, he may change to a pen name to establish credibility.

4.) To Produce A Series: Series such as the Nancy Drew books were written by multiple authors all using one name, Carolyn Keene, to publish the series.

In what ways can pen names not be used?
1.) Some writers have used pen names, so they can attack their enemies. They incorrectly believed they could avoid being sued for libel or slander.

2.) Exploiting another author's already respected name. Writers have tried to jumpstart their careers by using a name similar to, or the same as, a well-known published author.

3.) Tax time: If you think that you can lower your taxable income because it was not earned under your real name, then that is tax fraud.

Most people decide on their own pen names. However, it is a good idea to do an Internet search to see if the name belongs to a real person. It could belong to another author or a blogger in the same niche market. You may not want to be confused with that person.

Some governments require people to register their pseudonyms if they are to be used for business purposes. This is not often the case, but you can check it out for yourself.

Copyright laws allow you to register copyrights under a pseudonym with or without disclosing your real name. Copyrights usually last a life time plus a predetermined number of years. The copyright law does vary depending on whether it is a real name or a pen name.

In summary pen names add an air of mystery and excitement; you can write about something totally different from your familiar topics. There is a freedom, like dressing up in a clown costume and dancing a silly jig. Nobody knows who is in the costume!

Let that inner child out. Have fun writing under different names!

Learning about when to use pseudonyms is part of the training at Small Biz Incubator.

When Should You Bring Up Your Opportunity For Your Online Business?

For all you marketers out there, do you ever wonder when its appropriate to bring up your opportunity for your online business? This is a very valid question.

We all know that if you bring it up at the wrong time you will drive them away, right?

We also know that if you're just telling them about your opportunity and not giving any real value that you are definitely driving them away.

So when is the very best time to tell your prospect about your opportunity so you can increase conversions?

Best Time To Bring Up Your Opportunity

The best time to bring up your opportunity is:

  • After they opt-in
  • In your emails
  • In your thank you page
  • In your teleseminars
  • In your webinars

In other words, bring up your opportunity every time they are getting something from you, in a nut shell. You've got their attention because of the value you're giving. Otherwise they wouldn't have opted in, or given you their email, or attended your teleseminar or webinar.

Also notice, they are all different avenues. Multiple streams of traffic creates a stable business & top of mind awareness in your prospect.

So, you were giving them value first. Then after giving them what they came for, time to express your opportunity.

Introducing your opportunity every chance you get (after giving value) is going to increase your conversions, timing is everything! If your followers are constantly getting great content from you, in time don't you think they are going to be very attracted to you and everything you have to offer?

What Is Involved In Becoming A Marketing Manager?

If your brain is a melting pot of analytical thinking and creative ideas, if you're a natural born leader with exceptional communication skills, and (finally) if you can handle the stress of deadlines without caving into the pressure, then you might want to consider a career as a marketing manager. In smaller companies, the CEO or owner may have to assume a multitude of responsibilities such as advertising, promotions, public relations, sales, and marketing. On the other hand, your larger companies have a vice-president to manage these areas.

Characteristically, marketing managers are in charge of coordinating the many facets of marketing strategy including marketing research and public relations. Additionally, they employ managers in areas such as advertising, pricing, product development, promotion, and sales. With the exception of the larger firms, these managers direct advertising and promotion staffs which are rarely large. Many of the smaller firms will outsource their advertising and promotional responsibilities, with the management person serves as the liaison between the advertising agency and the corporation.

The professional, scientific, and technical services industries employed roughly 1/3 of the marketing managers in the labor force in 2004 according to a Department of Labor report. Also, advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers held approximately 700,000 total jobs --- marketing managers accounted for 203,000 of them or 29%.

Typical Responsibilities of the Marketing Manager

Marketing managers and their subordinates --- market research managers and product development personnel --- are usually charged with developing the marketing strategies for their firms. Typically, the firm's products and services are also analyzed in this way. Additionally, they are responsible for identifying customers as well as potential markets such as businesses, the general public, government, retailers, and wholesalers.

At the same time that the marketing manager is striving to maintain customer satisfaction levels, they are also attempting to maximize market share and profits by utilizing effective pricing strategies. Marketing managers will also team up with other managers in an attempt to attract consumers by promoting the company's products and/or services. Finally, in an effort to monitor trends which indicate the need for developing new products and services, marketing managers will oftentimes collaborate with product development and sales managers. When the product enters the development stage, they will assist in overseeing the process.

Educational Background and/or Requirements

Typically, there is no clear cut course of educational requirements when it comes to qualifying for the position of marketing manager. Normally, the marketing managers in most companies have been promoted from within, having risen through the ranks as either sales managers or market researchers. As far as education is concerned in this sense, it relates to the training one can receive by virtue of climbing up the corporate ladder. So the first step involved with becoming a marketing manager is to get one's foot in the door, and then work your way up.

Formal education may or may not have to involve an actual marketing curriculum. In fact, there is quite a variety of acceptable core studies. What seems to be common among a lot of employers is that they oftentimes will seek out those candidates that have a fairly broad liberal arts education with any pertinent or related work experience. Requirements will vary from position to position.

Surprisingly, many companies will look favorably on the candidate that has a bachelor's degree in journalism, literature, philosophy, psychology, or sociology. Other companies may prefer that the successful candidate have a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in marketing. In the more high-tech type of environments, such as computer manufacturing, the employer may want the candidate to have a bachelor's in a computer science with a master's in business administration.

Another avenue shows that some employers want their marketing manager candidate to have a degree in journalism with a solid foundation in areas like consumer behavior, marketing, market research, and sales. Basically, internships and management courses in general are all desired qualities and are highly valued as proper preparation for a marketing management career. As always, computer skills are considered vital, and in some instances, a foreign language (especially Spanish) is considered a desired quality.

Finally, personnel managers that employ the strictest set of educational criteria usually look for a candidate with at least a bachelor's and preferably a master's degree in either accounting, finance, or marketing. Additionally, an MBA in business administration or business management with a concentration on marketing is preferred over a Bachelor's.

Salary Range and Employment Outlook

Career opportunities in the marketing industry have improved steadily in the past four years and the US Labor Department expects the number of marketing occupations to grow faster than the average career sector. Competition for jobs is expected to be fierce and the individual in the field who aspires to move up into management may have to acquire extra years of experience compared to the current requirements.

As of January of 2008, the US Bureau of Labor statistics reports that marketing manager salaries range between $66,247 and $93,073. The wide range in salary is relevant to the business or industry, the level of employment, and the size of the company.

6 Steps to Maximizing Your Marketing Management Potential

Specific job growth oftentimes varies by industry and employment opportunities for marketing managers is expected grow faster than the national average through 2014. The following six steps are recommendations for what a marketing manager candidate can do to hopefully enhance their chances for an upward career move.

1. First and foremost, try to pursue an education that is what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Minimum educational requirements call for a B.A. or a B.S. in business management, marketing, or the company's industry niche, e.g. engineering. Some employers may also require an MBA.

2. If at all possible, try to intern with a marketing company. It's a good way to nurture some knowledge and gain invaluable experience in the process.

3. Spend anywhere from 3 to 5 years in lower-level jobs such as a customer service representative, marketing assistant, market researcher, or sales assistant. This will help you enhance your background skills as well as gain the experience needed to become a marketing manager.

4. Enroll in a creative or technical writing class, or join a public speaking group. It will help you develop your written and oral communication skills.

5. If the opportunity to relocate is offered to you, take it. Transfers from a home office to a branch, or between branches, increases your chances for a promotion and/or looks good on a resume

6. If your local college offers continuing education courses or a management training program, enroll in it. This helps to hone your skills and alerts your employer to the fact that you are committed to developing and advancing your career.

What Is the Cost of Internet Complaints Management?

The cost of Internet Complaints Management will vary depending on the system that the company will use. The system is important in the sense that it will be the main determinant of how things will be done. The cost of the system will vary depending on the amount of money that will be used to setup the website, the workforce that will be used in investigations and the cost of updating the website regularly. Since the system will be internet based, it will vary with the area that will be used to set it up. The cost can be broken down into these three ways in order for a person to have an idea of how much it will cost to setup an Internet Complaints Management company.

Setting up a website will require certain things to be done. These things will determine the expenditure that will be incurred. The first thing is the creation of the website. Websites are created by creating web pages and uploading them online by using servers. This is mainly through a hosting company. The hosting companies that are available have various charges that will range from $100 to about $ 5,000 a year. This will all be determined by the space and the type of hosting that a person uses. Secondly, the cost of designing the website for an Internet Complaints Management company will vary depending on the contractor gotten to make the website. Some of them will charge about $ 200 while others will charge more.

Once the website has been launched and it is up and running, the next step would be to get a workforce that is learned in the art of doing investigations on products online. This workforce can either be in house or it can be outsourced. The workforce will require some form of remuneration. The remuneration package will be determined with the kind of work that is going to be done when investigating the complaints. Since different markets have different remuneration packages, this will be determined with the budget of the Internet Complaints Management Company and the demand of the workforce. In most cases, an agreement can be reached such that the company will be able to start at a low budget and increase the budget as it grows.

Finally, maintenance of the website and company premises will be the last thing to put into consideration when getting the cost of running such a company. Maintaining the website can be done by one or two individuals. They will be online on a daily basis giving the rusts that have been found by the investigating team. They can also gather news about the latest development in complaints on the internet and update the website. In general, the cost of starting an internet complaints company should no be high. With the current economic times, one will find that there is a rise in consumer goods. However, the rise in services has not been affected adversely. Therefore, starting an Internet Complaints Management company should not be very hard.

What Do I Do Now That I Have All These Keywords?

Life After keyword research?

You Just spent countless hours researching the best keywords for your niche and you are at a stopping point because, you've probably come to this question...

Now what? - What do I do now that I have all these keywords?

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news folks but it's kind of simple.

( actually I might be little sadistic, because I kinda do like telling you this )

You're Going to Have to Get a Bit Dirty and Do Some Real Work On Your Website.

- With these precious new keywords -

You will base all of your website's writings (content ) on.

You will be sure to use proper on-page search engine optimization.- This means using your keywords and related keywords enough times so that the density (how many times the keyword is used ) is high enough. -by the way I usually look for between 3% and 5% keyword density.

You will make sure the web site and the keywords are thematically correct. I'm pretty sure you're not going to be offering swimming pool services, and pony rides on the same website so this shouldn't be a problem at this stage in the game.)

You will simply start out by writing an article for your website or a product description using your best chosen keywords.

Keep in mind- The thought of "The person visiting your page" - Why are they there? - What information they are trying to find?

If you haven't already begun the process of selecting the best keywords for your niche, my best advice is to get familiar with Google's Keyword tool.

Special NOTE: to Procrastinators, and Professional Time Wasters:

Too many people, including myself sometimes get caught up in keyword research. The hours will slip away from you.

Try to keep this in mind: Keyword research is just about taking a few keyword phrases that have enough traffic, and aren't too difficult for your website to show up for in searches.

It's a lot simpler than most make it out to be. Dont let it Stop you from making a great SITE.

Lastly, Hope and Confidence are two different things..... You hope it works.... but you're not sure.... So you don't act.. Well, inaction is an action.. Just not the one you want...

So Lets change that..... Start writing today (using those keywords)