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The intent of leverage is to return the best advantage with the smallest effort.  Specifically, for affiliate businesses, that means highest ROI with minimal personal involvement, and we can make this happen via outsourcing.

Previous articles described ways of gaining leverage by 1) re-using, and 2) re-purposing content.  In this article, we’ll focus on developing leverage by outsourcing routine, or non-value-add work, and any work that simply isn’t a match with our personal skills, experience and/or nature.

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman described some interesting findings from more than 25 years of research by the Gallup organization - initially in their book, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, and subsequently elaborating on those findings in later books.  Two of their most important findings for online marketers and home-based business owners are these:  1) Play to your strong suits, not your negatives, and 2) Select staff for potential.

Online business has a large learning curve and requires a lot of different skills.  But, not very many people are talented at all of those skills - and even those who multi-talented, may not be applying their available energy and other skills if they focus on their weaknesses.

William of Occam, best known for “Occam’s Razor,” has noted:  “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.” As affiliate business owners, this has much to teach us in terms of our individual time management.

Tim Ferriss, who wrote “The 4-Hour Workweek” is a big promoter of outsourcing to virtual assistants to handle recurring, non-value-add activities or those for which he does not have either the time or inclination to perform.

Contrary to popular opinion, outsourcing is not limited to giant companies, but recognizing the low cost of international virtual assistants, even small, home business companies can now afford to outsource a lot of activities to virtual assistants.

One task that many internet marketers choose to outsource is writing articles.  Many see the value of writing articles, but either can’t write well, or simply don’t want to write, so they delegate those writing tasks to freelancers. 

You also might want to consider outsourcing to a call center (or virtual assistant) all the telephone and email follow-up required for lead generation and sales closings.

If you improve your areas of strength, you can multiply your results, whereas, focusing on improving areas of weakness will, at best, result in only an incremental improvement in results. 

Which would you rather do - multiply your results, or simply see incremental improvements?

If you would like to learn how to leverage your time, sign up for the Online Success for Beginners course.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

Technology is crucial for any internet marketing small business, but often beginning internet marketers don’t have a good knowledge of what kind of technology is required or how it will affect their business.

These ten recommendations ought to help you get off to a good start. Try to create processes and systems that integrate thoroughly, and are up all of the time to help buyers and prospects.

Create an automated system if you want to make your life trouble-free and your wallet full.

1. Computer & Peripherals

If you’re going to do online marketing, you’ll clearly need a computer of some sort - hopefully one that you own, either a desktop model or a laptop. You’ll need one with a lot of memory and processing speed. A broadband connection is desireable rather than dial-up. You’ll also need a printer. Get wireless capabilities for both.

2. Your Unique Domain Name

Be certain to get a domain name that you own, so that you can set out~start} to establish your own brand name. Further, some advertising platforms won’t permit you to reference affiliate links, or even subdomains, but only a website name that you own. A good quality domain name will be concise (30 characters or less), sensible to the eye and the ear, and reflective of your business or product. The most favored names end in “.com” and such names are ideal for most affiliate marketing small businesses, provided they’re obtainable.

3. Communications

One more necessary tool is telecommunications, including an ISP and a telephone - either land-line, cellular, or VOIP, with or without headset, whichever you like. It should have both local and long distance features, and if you intend to hold meetings for your downline, the ability to handle conference calls. If you’re going to do trainings, etc., you’ll almost certainly want to invest in a teleconferencing service that can run many, perhaps hundreds or even a thousand, callers at the same time.

4. Web Hosting

You’ll want a web host to provide a “home” for your website. There are many such services on hand to help home businesses and affilaite businesses. Their products do differ, as do their prices, so be sure to comparison shop before buying one.

5. Data & Systems Protection

You’ll also want good safety measures for your applications and information. This includes physical security, plus technologies such as firewalls, and security applications like McAfee or Norton.

6. Applications & Data Backup & Restore Capability

Another necessary, but frequently overlooked, need is for backup of your locally resident systems and information. In spite of the best security programs you might be able to implement, there will likely come a situation when you suffer some sort of a system crash, with either some or total loss of information and critical applications. Therefore you will also have to have a robust backup and restore capability.

7. Products

You’ll require one or more services to sell - products that you have developed yourself, or ones that have been created by one or more third parties. If you offer your custom created goods, then you’ll also have to worry about all the associated back office capabilities. If you get your products from others, then you’ll have to worry about supply relationship management, order fulfillments, customer satisfaction and that you get properly paid.

8. Affiliate Program Network

If you’re intending to market multiple affiliate products, you’ll almost certainly also want to participate with one or more Affilate Program Networks (APNs), such as ClickBank, Commission Junction, or LinkShare, etc. to handle your commissions, sales statistics, and other back office functions for you.

9. Web 2.0 Features

The Net is constantly changing, so if you want to be successful in today’s online world, you’ll want sites and services that enable blogging and interactive communities (i.e., ones that use Web 2.0 to enable a whole host of participation, using the web as the network platform).

10. Technical Support

Finally - again a frequently overlooked requirement - is the need for first-rate technical support - for both your local hardware and software, but even more importantly, for any of your customer-facing websites and product systems.

If your customer-facing systems go down and you are not able to get quick technical support from any/all your suppliers, the resulting downtime can blow your marketing campaigns, you can lose or push away potential purchasers, and ultimately, your profits will suffer (including your brand, as well).

Technology is the lifeblood of an affiliate marketing business, and Murphy’s Law being what it is, you need to get ready for the ultimate downtime and computer crashes that crop up as well. Applying all these required technologies will ensure the success of your online business.

I’m taking my own advice and operating my own affiliate marketing business. I encourage you, too, to take control of your future and your financial security by launching an internet marketing business.  Get the FREE MaxPro Report and CD to learn how.

Technorati Tags: backup, computers, hardware, security, software, technology, telecommunications

According to Wikipedia, leverage is “A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot” and “By extension, any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage.”

Most of us were probably first introduced to the concept of leverage as we explored the wonders of the Teeter-Totter in our schoolyard or at the nearest park.  In the beginning, we played only with same age kids - and weight class - and we were entirely content with the relationship of the lever and the fulcrum being predetermined.

But, as we aged and started playing on the teeter-totter with children that were a bit older - and a little, or a lot, heavier - we rapidly discovered that if we could change the location of the weight (thus in effect modifying the length of the teeter-totter relative to the fulcrum), we could easily lift bigger and heavier children.

When we just re-use content, we pursue essentially the same market niche and use effectively the same tools and media to reach them.

But, when we re-purpose the content, we change our focus to a different use, normally for a slightly different market segment, and we may also substitute the media as well. When we re-purpose content, we effectively alter the length of the lever and position of the pivot point.

Many online marketing businesses sometimes hold live events of one sort or another; e.g., a workshop, seminar, training class, etc.  Best practice suggests that we plan (from the beginning) to re-purpose available content and extend its value to a larger audience.  For workshops, seminars, training classes, etc., we will be smart to audiotape and/or videotape the event for later distribution via audio or video files, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Re-purposing extends the benefits of leverage beyond simply re-using existing content - it extends our communication efforts into additional market niches, thus increasing overall exposure of our products and services, and ultimately increasing the bottom line.

To learn how to leverage your efforts with residual income - get the FREE MaxPro Report and Audio and put your income on autopilot.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

The Wikipedia dictionary defines leverage as “A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot” and “By extension, any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage.”  The extension of that definition has the most applicability for home-based businesses.

Leverage is frequently defined in either monetary or mechanical terms, but it applies to many different situations as well, including the internet marketing industry.

So what does “any influence” mean for our affiliate income companies?

One of the most used ways for an online business to gain the advantage of leverage is by re-using accessible content.  I’m sure you’ve seen the countless ebooks currently advertised on the internet - most of these are examples of re-using content, although some may have been originally written as ebooks, most started out as a single blog post, or a response to a customer email, perhaps even some Frequently Asked Questions.

Within Finance, the benefit gained from leverage is usually expressed as a ratio of some type; e.g.,, a debt-to-equity ratio.  Such ratios are useful for bookkeepers, but accountants are not the primary audience here.

How can we calculate the leverage advantage to be gained from re-using our existing content?  Consider the following simplistic example (no rocket science here):   Assume you could write a single document for one customer in ten hours and then sell it for .00.  You have earned $50.00, but it took 10 hours of your time to earn that .00; effectively, you would have earned about $5 per hour (less than the current minimum wage) for your labor and made zero profit. 

If, however, you take that same document (adapted to remove any non-generic) and offer it as an ebook via the Web for $19.95, and that you finally sell 100 copies of your new ebook.  You would have earned $1995, and if you deduct the $50 to create the previous document less another $5 to customize it for any customer/proprietary info, leaving you with a much larger profit of $1940.00.

This simple example illustrates the benefits of leverage, specifically the advantage obtained from re-using existing content. 

Once we become aware of the concept of leverage, we can learn how to apply it in many different ways to our online businesses.  This article has addressed one of those ways.  Separate articles will discuss other ways that home businesses can benefit from leverage.

If you like what you’ve just read, and would like to learn how to leverage your efforts, and become a millionaire - get the FREE Infinite Income Plan report and put your income on autopilot.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

Leverage is the ability to achieve a large return from a minimal input - regardless of whether that investment is time, effort or money.

We often think of leverage as the mechanical increase that derives from using a lever.  In fact, Archimedes once said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

But leverage isn’t limited to the physical world of mechanical advantage - it applies in a lot of different conditions also.

In the corporate world, Change Agents frequently speak of varying several different business “levers” to change the organization’s structure or performance. Unfortunately, in today’s world, those business levers often result in job losses, down-sizing, “right-sizing”, or other forms of corporate re-organization.

But leverage has many positive connotations as well.

People utilize financial leverage when they use borrowed funds to maximize their ROIs, or when they use options to control large numbers of stock for much less cost than if they purchased the stock.

Home based businesses apply leverage when they function online.  Simply by being online, they’ve eliminated the boundaries of geography (and largely, time as well) and leveraged their advertising monies, since it requires about the same amount of money to execute an announcement that reaches only a small number of prospects as it does to create an Ad that reaches a global market.

If we were managing a small “brick and mortar” company, we might be satisfied with traffic that numbered in the hundreds, but as an online business, we need visitors numbering in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions - and not just any traffic, but targeted traffic.

We are using leverage when we use automated tools like Google AdWords:  we use the Google technologies to generate pre-qualified visitors for us and send to our landing page.

The Web provides us with many opportunities to apply leverage, but they all essentially boil down to the use of technology. Technology can provide the best leverage.

Many internet marketers are familiar with the use of autoresponders and search engines, etc., but they habitually don’t fully use the computerization lever in their administrative processes - including everything from managing sales leads to order fulfillment and taking care of the follow-on payment and customer service issues.

Those affiliate businesses that take full advantage of the leverage that technology provides are the ones which will survive in today’s dog-eat-dog environment.

To discover how to leverage your time, effort, and money by putting your income on autopilot - get the FREE Report and CD that reveals the ancient secrets of creating massive fortunes.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

Wikipedia defines leverage as “A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot” and “By extension, any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage.”  The second component of that definition has the most applicability for online businesses.

Leverage is often discussed in either monetary or mechanistic terms, but it has much broader application to a lot of contexts, including the world of online businesses.

So how can we interpret the term “any influence” for our internet businesses?

One of the fastest and easiest ways for an online business to maximize our profits is by re-using accessible content.  I’m sure you’ve seen the countless ebooks currently advertised on the internet - most of these are examples of re-using content, although some may have been originally written as ebooks, most began as a single blog post, or a response to a customer email, perhaps even some Frequently Asked Questions.

In the world of finance, the advantage gained from leverage is frequently expressed as a ratio of some sort, for example, a debt-to-equity ratio.  Such ratios are useful for bookkeepers, but accountants are not the primary audience here.

What advantage can we realize by leveraging our existing content?  Consider the following simplistic example (no rocket science here):   Assume you could write a single document for one customer in ten hours and then sell it for $50.00.  You would have earned $50.00, but it took 10 hours of your time to acquire that $50.00; in other words, you have earned about $5 per hour (less than the current minimum wage) for your work and made zero profit. 

If, however, you take that same document (customized to remove any customer-specific or proprietary information) and offer it as an ebook via the Web for $19.95, and that you eventually sell 100 copies of your published ebook.  You would have earned $1995, and if you subtract the $50 to create the initial manuscript take away another $5 to tailor it to remove any customer/proprietary info, leaving you with an increased profit of $1940.00.

This simple example illustrates the leverage advantage, specifically the increased profit obtained from re-using existing content. 

Once we become aware of the concept of leverage, we can learn how to apply it in many different ways to our online businesses.  This article has addressed one of those ways.  Future articles describe additional ways that online businesses can gain the advantage of leverage.

If you like what you’ve just read, and would like to learn how to leverage your efforts, and become a millionaire - get the FREE Infinite Income Plan report and put your income on autopilot.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

According to the Wikipedia dictionary, leverage is “A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot” and “By extension, any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage.”  

Most of us were probably first introduced to the concept of leverage as we explored the wonders of the Teeter-Totter in our school or at our local playground.  In the beginning, we played only with same age kids - and weight class - and we were completely content with the lever and the pivot being fixed.  

However, as we got a little older and started playing on the teeter-totter with older and heavier kids - we quickly learned that if we could change where the other child sat (thus for practical purposes changing the length of the lever relative to the pivot point), we could easily lift bigger and heavier kids.

By re-purposing content we are effectively chaning the length of the figurative “lever” and the location of the figurative “pivot point”.

When we simply re-use content, we seek out for the most part the same market niche and use essentially the same tools and media to reach them.

However, when we re-purpose the content, we modify our focus to an alternate usage, generally for a slightly different market niche, and we may well alter the media as well.  

For example, a lot of affiliate marketing businesses sometimes conduct live events of one sort or another; e.g., a workshop, seminar, training class, etc.  

Best practice suggests that we plan (from the beginning) to re-purpose available content and extend its value to a larger target audience.  In the example of the workshop, seminar, training class, etc., we will be smart to audiotape and/or videotape the event for subsequent distribution via audio or video files, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Re-purposing adds another dimension to simply re-using existing content - it extends our marketing efforts into additional market niches, thus increasing overall visibility of our products and services, and ultimately increasing the bottom line.

If you like what you’ve just read, and would like to learn how to leverage your efforts, and become a millionaire - get the FREE Infinite Income Plan report and put your income on autopilot.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology

The objective of leverage is to return the most advantage with minimum effort.  In particular, for online businesses, that means maximum profit with minimum personal involvement.

Previous articles described ways of gaining leverage by 1) re-using content, and 2) re-purposing.  In this article, we’ll focus on obtaining leverage by outsourcing repetitive, or non-value-add work, and any work that simply doesn’t fit our personal skills, experience and/or temperament.

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman recounted some interesting findings from more than 25 years of research by the Gallup organization - initially in their book, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, and subsequently elaborating on those findings in later books.  Two of their most important findins for online marketers and home-based business owners in general are these:  1) Play to your strengths, not your weaknesses, and 2) Select staff for talent.

The world of online business has a large learning curve and requires many different skills.  Unfortunately, few people are talented at all of them - and even those who are may not be making the best use of their available time and other skills to focus on their weaknesses.

William of Occam, best known for “Occam’s Razor,” has stated:  “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less.”

Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek” is a big promoter of the use of virtual assistants to handle repetitive, non-value-add tasks or those for which he does not have either the time or inclination to perform.  It may come as a surprise to realize that outsourcing is not limited to the world of giant corporations, but given the low cost of international virtual assistants, even small, internet companies can afford to outsource a lot of tasks to virtual assistants.

One task that many internet marketers choose to outsource is article marketing.  They see the value of article marketing, but either can’t write well, or simply don’t want to write, so they outsource article authoring to ghost-writers. 

You also might want to consider outsourcing to a call center (or virtual assistant) all the telephone and email follow-up required for lead generation and sales closings.

If you focus on your areas of strength, you can multiply your results, whereas, focusing on your weaknesses will only marginally improve your results. 

Would you rather multiply your results, or simply see incremental improvements?

If you like what you’ve just read, and would like to learn how to leverage your efforts, and become a millionaire - get the FREE Infinite Income Plan report and put your income on autopilot.

Technorati Tags: affiliate internet marketing, home business, internet business, leverage, online business, technology