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Anatomy of a Website: GreatFX Business Cards

With the busy Christmas season just around the corner....(Ok, it's actually not, but for business people who need to prepare, it is!) I thought I should do a full review of a website so that some of you newbies who want to make some money during Christmas can get a feel for what makes for good website design. Today we're visiting the GreatFX business cards website which offers a wide array of free business card templates as well as business accessories and resources. First Impressions As we know, first impressions count on the internet. You only have a few seconds to capture the interest of your customer. My first impression of GreatFX was good. The design is very professionally done and I immediately knew what the company was offering. There's enough contrast in color between the sections of the page and information doesn't get lost in the design. You never want your design and color scheme to overpower your message. With this website I can't say that there is anything that I didn't initially like about it. Easy to Navigate Can customers access every page of your website from your navigation bar? I found it easy to navigate through GreatFX's website from the left sidebar. Generally you'll want to put your navigation bar on the left, but some people choose to put it across the top, which is fine. However, keep the nav bar in the same spot on every page. Information and Uses For the Product(s) I like that GreatFX has articles on business card design and marketing. You always want to provide useful information related to your product or service. For example, if you sell skis on your website, maybe you could give tips on the best places to ski or offer info on how to clean and take care of skis. Overall, I like the design of GreatFX's website. On a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10! Which reminds me, I do need to stock up on new business cards! GreatFX prices are pretty decent. I've paid $39 for 250 business cards before, so $28 for 250 cards from GreatFX isn't all that bad... If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources! **Sponsored Post

Do You Believe In Your Business?

Have you ever thought about what your business is and if it is truly what you want to do? At the core of any real entrepreneur is the idea that his/her business is one that of course, will make a great deal of money, but it is also a business that will make a huge impact on the society as a whole. The question you should ask yourself is: Do I believe in my business? Is it something I truly believe will be successful because it has the potential to change lives? Am I willing to forgo profits for the first or second year if need be? What I'm beginning to realize is that those who will make it into the long-term are entrepreneurs who have that conviction to stay the course until their dreams are fully realized. They enjoy each and every moment and don't feel as if what they're doing is "daunting" or "difficult". Starting and working an online business is actually easy if you simply think it is easy. If you think an online business is hard work...Well, that's because you want to believe it is. Everything you need to do your business is laid out before you. All you have to do is Google it! (Or Yahoo! or whatever search engine you use!) Thanks to LifesPerspective for the inspiration! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Website Design Case Study: Event Websites

If you're planning an event, what better way than to announce it via a website? Sure, you could do it old school fashion and pass out flyers, however, a website makes it easy for people to get more information about the event and sign up right away. It also makes the event planners' lives easier because they don't have to deal with all the paperwork and money handling - all they have to deal with is the conference payment software. Today we're going to take a look at a couple websites and see how effective they are in getting people to sign up for an event... Case Study #1 This first website announces a "Wounded Heart" conference which will cover the topic of sexual abuse. When I first visited the page I noticed how dark and somber it is. I know it is dealing with a somber subject, however, I probably would have used a dark blue for this page like the one pictured here. From a psychological point of view, blue is a more calming color and evokes trust. However, overall, the website design is good and the button prompting people to register stands out. It has a call to action: "Register Now", which is what you want people to do! Contact information is also in a prominent place. Case Study #2 This next event website for a marketing training camp is fun! It's colorful and if I was invited to attend, I definitely would. However, for this website, I would have added more information about the event like what attendees will learn, who is speaking, and time schedule for each session. For both websites I would have added testimonials from previous years' events, if any. Some people are skeptical, so you want to add some credibility to the event or speaker for the event. Now you tell me... Would you have attended these events based on what you saw? What would you have added or taken away? If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources! **Sponsored post

Exactly How Do They Do It?

Do you ever wonder how people are making millions of dollars on the internet? Do you think it has anything to do with where they got their college education or that they were born into a family of internet gurus? Ok, being born to parents with online entrepreneurial skills may help, but I can bet that's not the case for about 99.9% of the entrepreneurs out there. If you want to know what it takes to be a truly great entrepreneur, I recommend watching this video of James Ray. For those of you who don't know, James Ray is a motivational speaker and success coach. I love watching this man speak because he has so much energy and enthusiasm! Some key takeaways from the video: Success in life is about your MINDSET and has nothing to do with luck It's not about what you do, but how you do it Passion and enthusiasm for what you do will get your further in your career Study that which gives you the most power Any mind resistance makes you weak If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Put Down That Remote!

Do you know how much time you waste by watching TV? Why not turn that time into money making time and start an online business? I know many of you out there are complaining about having too little money and yet you spend 3 hours or so each night vegging out in front of the TV! If you want to watch TV, then watch the online reality show, The Next Internet Millionaire and be inspired by these aspiring internet gurus. If you've been hanging around the internet for some time, you're probably familiar with Joel Comm, the man who has sold a company to Yahoo!, has written best-selling ebooks, and launched dozens of websites. He's the host of the show and I'm pretty impressed with it. I thought it was going to be cheesy, but it's done Donald Trump style - except that the contestants don't have to dress up! Watch the first episode here: http://www.nextinternetmillionaire.com/ Join Joel Comm's Internet Products Affiliate Program! Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

The Carnival of Capitalists Available For Your Reading Pleasure

What I've discovered to be one of the more effective ways to generate free traffic to your blog is to submit an article to a Blog Carnival. A post I wrote recently, The One Thing You Can Do To Make Money Online, is part of the Carnival of the Capitalists, the "Grand-daddy" of business carnivals! Check it out! Here are a couple submissions in the carnival that caught my attention: Michelle Cramer talks about "Seeking a Dream" where she advises us to answer some questions: • Do I have experience or training in the area I would like to pursue? • Do I know what is essential for success in the area I would like to pursue? • Have I ever been successful in that area? • Do I know anyone who has been successful in that area? Don Lawson of AffiliateWatcher.com talks about "thinking" your way to affiliate marketing riches. I feel that this is the only way you're going to be successful online! And speaking of Carnivals, I invite you to submit an article to the Customer Service Carnival! That is, if you blog about customer service ;) Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

How The Law of Attraction Can Make You Successful In Your Business

There's this common perception that the Law of Attraction is just a way to attract material possessions or attract money. However, did you know that you can use the Law of Attraction in your online business as well? While you're meditating and using your thoughts to attract what you want in your personal life, why not extend those good vibes to attract more customers to your website? Why not let The Universe bring you into contact with the resources and people you need to propel you to success? I was reading a transcript of a lecture that Bob Doyle gave titled "How Can I Get the Money Flowing?" This is what he says: Your ultimate success will be totally determined by what you attract, and what action you take based on the inspiration that occurs to you. In other words, the Law of Attraction will always be at work in all areas of your life, including your business endeavors. Knowing how you're attracting and how to modify that is truly the Ultimate Secret Weapon in business... ...the Law of Attraction gives you an edge over all the thousands of people starting businesses WITHOUT that knowledge - who will still be slave to their resistance areas, and probably work infinitely harder at what they're doing than necessary..." I don't know about you, but I don't like to work hard! Isn't it much easier to work knowing that you don't have to worry about the money....You just know The Universe is going to take care of you? All you have to do is just enjoy what you're doing and have your energy aligned with that bliss. Here are a few things you can start doing to now to put the Law of Attraction to work for you: Write down goals for your business. There is a great deal of power in writing down your goals! What I do is write my goals on a 3x5 index card and either carry them around with me in my purse or post them up on my computer screen. Create a vision board for the things you want to attract in your business. If it's happy customers you want, you can glue on people with happy faces! If it's more money, glue on money on the board! Watch videos with positive affirmations like the one below... Any other tips to share? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Inspirational Thought For the Weekend

Here's a nugget I got from the newsletter sent out by SmallBusinessConsulting.com. Michael Pellegrini says: "...Don't let money dictate your career. If you love what you do, the money will come. You can't buy happiness or passion, it has to be genuine, and when it's there, you will not only know it, you will feel it..." Think about this as work on your internet business this weekend! Do you have a passion for it? If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

What's Stopping You From Achieving Your Business Goals?

What are you doing today to move closer to your goals? If you’re at odds about what to do with your life or what you think your purpose is, then this is what I recommend… Sit down and write a list of things you love to do. What are those things that give you the greatest joy? What can you do all day without thinking about the time? For some reason some of has been brought up to think that doing what we love was only reserved for our “days off”. Have you ever entertained the idea that you could do what you love and get paid for it? What’s stopping you from achieving the goal of doing what you love and producing an income from it? Is it fear? I can guarantee that’s probably at the top of the list. I know, I’ve been there and to this day still continue to battle those fears. For me, it’s the fear of being rejected. Well, I could apply for that loan to start my business, but who’s going to loan to me when I don’t even have capital? Royleena Nicholas says in her article, FEAR - The Dream Killer! "...To get to where we want to be in life, to become financially free and happy firstly we have to stop all this false rubbish! It’s what we think about and how we control our thoughts that really count. Everyone, including myself, has negative thoughts on a daily basis, but it’s how we control our thoughts that make the difference between our online success and failure...." If you just stop and think for a moment… The Universe is always with me…The Universe will bring the necessary resources in due time… These thoughts make it much easier to just keep moving forward. Just keep doing what you love to do and The Universe will make a way for you. There should be absolutely no doubt in your mind about the outcome of your work. If you want it, it will happen! Thanks to David Allen of Greeting Card Profits for the inspiration! For more inspiration, please check out the How to Create Unlimited Wealth With an Internet Business. _____________________________________________ If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Online Business Resources Has a New Header and a Mission!

As I meditated on business today, I kept going back and forth with this blog... What niche to I want to focus on? There's been a central theme in my blog readings as of late and the message was loud and clear: Find your niche market and stick to it! According to Wikipedia, the definition of a niche market is: "a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector" When it comes to internet marketing and online businesses, there are so many niches that one could focus on. There's blog marketing, starting an eBay business, affiliate marketing, Google Adsense, and the list goes on and on. I know that for this blog I wanted to help people start and grow their online business. I also know that I love to inspire people... With that said, I created a new header for this blog with the new tag line: "Inspiring entrepreneurs to Greatness". It was the first thought that came to me as I created it, so I think that's what I should do! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

5 Old School Ways To Find Blog Readers and Build Community

A blogger’s heaven is to have a constant stream of traffic and readers who come back for more, right? We’ve all heard of Digg, Reddit, MySpace, and all these Web 2.0 social networking sites to market and bring traffic to our blog, but somehow we’ve forgotten the old school ways of marketing a website. At least I have forgotten…until recently when I started reflecting back to when I first started my online business years ago… It’s back to the basics, my friends, and I’m here to tell you some old school ways to get more traffic to your blog: 1. Yahoo! Groups - you can find just about any kind of group over at Yahoo! Groups. Are you a blogger who blogs about gardening? How about an artist in L.A. looking for other artists in the area? There’s a group for you to share your expertise and of course, the link to your blog ;) 2. Google Groups - pretty similar to Yahoo! Groups in that you can find a wide variety of groups related to your blog topic 3. Ryze.com - This is a business networking forum where you can build your own profile page and join various business groups. You can also do searches for people within a specific geographical location or industry 4. Your local community - Who says you have to stay online to find readers for your blog? Why not venture out into your local community and find groups who would love to have the information that you provide? If you blog about fitness, drop by a gym and ask if you could leave your business cards at the front desk. Oh, and speaking of business cards… 5. Pass out business cards to people you meet and who show an interest in your blog. For many of you, your blog is your business, so business cards are a must! When all is said and done, it’s about establishing relationships with people and making meaningful connections. What better way to do that than to connect with them through old school ways - via groups - and establishing yourself as an authority by sharing your thoughts and experiences within these groups. People will remember you and your blog because you helped them! This post is my submission to the Problogger "31 Days to Building a Better Blog" Project. __________________________________________ If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Is It Possible To Be a Billionaire In Affiliate Marketing?

Well, if you think like I do, of course it is possible!! And actually, I came across some proof that the sky is the limit when it comes to affiliate marketing! Read about 2 British guys who are making boat loads of cash with their online business... Now that's what I call passive income ;) Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

The One Thing You Can Do Right Now to Make Money Online

If any of you have watched the movie, The Secret, you learned that thoughts become things. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you make money online. It’s not about working hard, it’s about taking inspired action and simply enjoying the journey. Let me repeat that… It’s about taking action. This is the one thing you can do right now to start making money online. If you don’t take action, you don’t get any results. However, when you do take action you get the energy moving towards your goals. You just have to let The Universe know that you want it. And how do you show that you really want it? Yup, you guessed it - you take action. Even if you just spend 30 minutes a day on your online business - DO IT. Apply that knowledge that you’ve been given in those ebooks you’ve read. Some of you may have even attended a seminar and felt that post “seminar fever” - that wave of excitement and inspiration you feel after attending an internet business seminar. I know, I’ve been there! However, to keep that energy going you have to take action! Ok, now that I’ve drilled it into your head to take action… What are you going to do now? Well, your first step might be to join the Online Business Resources Group so that you can get help on action steps you need to take. It’s free to join…for now…and you get access to all kinds of resources (updated weekly) - not to mention getting the support from other fellow members. Here is just a sample of ebooks/reports that you'll receive when you join the Online Business Resources Group: The Marketing Nightmare by Tahir Shah and Chris Freeman Freedom Lifestyle Income Program by Christopher Westra Blogging Traffic Blueprint by Mitchell Harper The Ultimate Spiritual Marketing Course - a teleseminar with Dr. Joe Vitale and Jo Han Mok ….plus much more! So, what are you waiting for? Take action now and join the Online Business Resources group! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!