Tools for Online Businesses Blog

Give away software and make $1 Billion

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:26:00 -0700

Today Sun Microsystems announced they are buying the Open Source database company MySQL for $1 Billion. This is being heralded by many in the Open Source community as a great thing. So giving away free software can make you a lot of money.

But what does this mean to all the people doing marketing on the Internet?

Initially not a lot.

MySQL is the database that most people are using for tools like wordpress or other content management systems. It is part of the LAMP stack which stands for Linus, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. This stack allows the creation of dynamic sites, like blogs using tools like wordpress. This makes it much easier for people to create and maintain their websites without having to learn the details of HTML, stylesheets, and javascript to get fancy websites.

Sun Microsystems has long been in the open source and unix business. They started as a workstation company and grew to be one of the top Unix and Open computing platforms in most commercial businesses worldwide. They have always embraced Open Source but have done more in the last 5 years. This move continues their interest in open source.

The good news for Sun and MySQL is that this has the potential for taking MySQL into a lot more commercial businesses as an enterprise class database. MySQL has a fairly good reputation, but CEOs were somewhat reluctant to put this in Mission Critical systems because of the possible support issues. But with Sun to stand behind the database, you may see more of this going in to replace smaller Oracle, DB2, and Sybase installations.

The question is - Is Sun really ready to be a software company. They grew up a hardware company under Scott McNeally. Now with Jonathan Schwartz at the helm of Sun are they poised to be a software company? Jonathan came to Sun when Sun purchased StarOffice. Which at the time was a open source product that competed with Microsoft Office. So, based on Jonathan's background, chances are pretty good.

Right now, Sun is saying they want to continue to support the MySQL community and stay true to its roots. But, will the pressures to make MySQL more enterprise ready take away from its roots? I think we will see some merger pains, probably in two or three years, but I don't think the Open Source community, of which we play a huge role in, will allow Sun to screw it up too much.

In general, this is a huge win for open source because it continues to strengthen the Open Source market. This is good for us as I think you will continue to see companies creating products in this space. This will continue to help keep costs down and continue to provide the small online business community with inexpensive and quality products that we can use to grow our businesses.

2008 Advise: Take care of your Golf Balls!

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:03:00 -0700

Here is a little story to make sure you are focused on the right things in 2008....

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in
front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very
large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it
was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them
into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the
open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a
box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up
everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students
responded with an unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two
cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into
the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students
laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things--your family, your children, your health, your
friends, your favorite passions--things that if everything else was
lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles
are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else--the small stuff. If you put the sand into
the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the
golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on
the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be
time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf
balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The
rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer
represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you
that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a
couple of beers."

How To Get Others To Promote You N.O.W.

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 21:18:00 -0700

How To Get Others To Promote You N.O.W.
By Jimmy D. Brown, toolsforonlinebusinesses.com/info/salesarmysecrets/

See if you can spot the similarity.

What do the following three statements have in common?

1. I can�t do it right now, but maybe later.
2. I�ve already got my mailings scheduled.
3. Let me get back to you.

Got the similarity spotted?

These are all typical responses that most people get when
asking partners and affiliates to promote their offers.

Chances are you�ve gotten answers much like these, right?

Don�t despair ... there are ways around the barriers of
reluctance and passiveness.

Let me share some simple ideas for getting affiliates to
take action on your promotions quickly. I use the acronym
�N.O.W.� to describe three ways to get others to promote
you now...

N - News

In journalism, no one wants to be �scooped� when it comes
to newsworthy items. Sharing some big story that another
network or publication broke days ago is a big �no-no�.
You always want to be first when it comes to getting the
word out.

That same philosophy applies to what I�ve labeled �The
Principle of First�. The idea is simple: being �first to
market� aids in responses. Those who let their contacts
know about your news promptly will generate the greatest
results. If they wait, someone else will break the news.

So, to apply this principle, you simply need to create some
newsworthy buzz that your affiliates and partners can�t
pass up on sharing with their network of influence.

**CASE STUDY**

Several months ago I decided that I was going to remove the
archives from one of my membership sites. This
announcement served as a strong motivator to get my
affiliates to promote my site promptly before someone else
did. The result was almost 500 new members paying monthly
fees!

If you make dramatic changes to your offer, or create some
other kind of �story� or �news� that warrants discussion
promptly, you�ll find you can get many fence-setters active
in promoting you.

O - Occasions

Another great way to motivate affiliates to get active is
to use �occasions� that have a real deadline involved.

Some examples include �

* Product launches
* Firesales
* Live events (teleseminars, workshops, etc.)
* Contests
* Special offers
* Limited quantities

This is what might be referred to as �The Principle Of
Force�. That is, you MUST promote the offer now or miss
out simply because the offer will no longer be valid. You
�force� participation.

For example: If you have a 3-day �firesale� set for a
specific date, then anyone interested in earning
commissions for referring customers to the �firesale� would
be �forced� to promote it during your pre-determined
timeframe or they�d miss out because the event will end.

My recommendation is that you schedule some kind of
�occasion� every quarter. That should give you four
significant spikes in your revenue each year, which can be
a tremendous boost to your bottom line.

W � Wants

What do your partners and affiliates want? Seriously, stop
and think about that for a moment. In fact, go one step
further than that and ASK them a simple question...

�What would it take for you to
promote this offer this week?�

Make it happen.

I want you to remember the intangibles here: the sales of
your initial offer aren�t really all that important.
(Don�t freak out, hear what I have to say :-) It�s
building a lead list, an affiliate list and a customer list
along with ADDITIONAL offers over time that makes the real
money.

Consider this �

Option A:

Miss Ima Guru ignores your request to promote your offer as
it currently stands.

Option B:

Miss Ima Guru accepts your modified offer which includes
giving her 100% of the revenue she generates. You make
nothing off her promotion...but in the process of her
promotion she adds 500 new subscribers to your list, 75 new
affiliates and 60 new customers.

Which would you rather have?

Whatever it takes to get people to promote your offer now,
make it happen.

*** NOTE ***

Now, let me make a simple suggestion here: The deal you
make should be directly proportional to the potential
results the partner represents.

Some affiliates and partners bring more to the table and
should be offered more in order to get them to participate.

That being said, you can get virtually any affiliate to
promote you now if you make it worth their while. So, ask
them, �what will it take?�

This is what I call �The Principle Of Fear�. That is, a
feeling of �This is such a compelling offer, I can�t afford
to miss out on this deal.�

All of this adds up to more involvement and participation
among your affiliates and partners...

N � News +
O � Occasions +
W � Wants =
-------------------
Other people promoting you NOW!

-----------
Jimmy D. Brown is the author of the course, "5 Practices
Of Highly Profitable Affiliate Programs". For your free
copy, drop by toolsforonlinebusinesses.com/info/salesarmysecrets/
------------------------------

Great ideas come in strange places

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:06:00 -0700

If you are trying to grow your business, you are always looking for new ideas, new topics for articles, blogs, etc. But my guess is that you don�t always get your new ideas sitting at your computer or your desk? These ideas may hit you when you are driving, or in the mall, or in the shower.

Yes, I do get some really good ideas in the shower. I may be tossing around a simple idea in my head and then pop. I have an idea for a new article or product or something. Sometimes they come in clusters, where I may get 2 or 3 ideas off of that one thread.

The problem is when I get on the computer to work on my great idea, it�s gone. I lost it and I can�t remember what it was. So, I may try to go back to the bathroom or the place I had the idea and try to create it. Sometimes I get lucky. But other times, I just can�t remember what I was thinking about. So, I have to drop that idea for a while and hope it comes back. Sometimes it does, sometimes it is gone forever.

Has that ever happen to you? I am sure it has. Now, not every idea I have in the bathroom makes me money, but I hate to lose these ideas, because you never know what one is going to make you money.

So, I have come up with some ideas to help me remember and track these ideas when I get them.

I keep post-it notes in various rooms around the house. When, I get an idea, I write it down with a few notes to remind me later. I may put it in my pocket, or leave it in the room for a while and then pick them up later when I am ready to work on them.
You could carry a small spiral notepad that will fit in a shirt pocket or purse with you all the time. Make notes on this. This is probably a little old fashion for me, but may work for some.
I have a PDA (personal digital assistant). I use the memopad feature of this device to make notes on my idea.
If I don�t have my PDA with me, I usually have a phone. So, I can text a message to myself or send it to my email.
Sometimes having a picture is helpful, so sometimes I have taken a picture of something with my camera phone. I can either keep it on the phone, or I can send the picture to my email account.

The key is to write it down and save it for later. Don�t assume that you can remember your idea. So, do a little planning so when you have an idea, you know how you are going to save it. Get some post-it notes or other paper to record your ideas and put this is various rooms or your car. Or use one of these electronic devices (PDA or cell phone) that you carry with you all the time. You never know when that little idea you had in the shower could be your next big check!

If you have other ideas on ways to collect and save ideas, I would love to hear about them.

Offer a Free Report and Watch your Affiliate Sales Improve

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 23:41:00 -0700

Why give away a free report?

As an affiliate marketer the more you can give your prospects in terms of quality and information, the more you�ll stay on their minds. Giving a way a free report is a good way to build your mailing list as well as give something of value to your customers. You�re also establishing yourself as an expert in your chosen field, which will build trust and credibility with your customers.

It�s also thought that when customers download a special report onto their computers it creates a sense of increased value. This report is on their computer and they can access it at any time, whereas an email can simply be deleted. If you go a step further and have a nice cover made for your free special report you will increase the perceived value even further.

So when do you write a free report?

Anytime you can is the answer. Free reports can be written around a product or several products you�re promoting to your target market. For example, if you�re promoting a learn to read phonics program for parents of younger children, then you can write a report which talks about the importance of reading to children, how early reading helps build vocabulary and self esteem and so on. You can add reading statistics about reading improvement by using the phonics system and even include a story or two about children whose reading has improved due to using phonics.

The report shouldn�t read like a sales pitch but instead should focus on providing value to your customers and the information they crave. Throughout the special report you can include your affiliate link to a recommended phonics programs, and perhaps several other affiliate links for similar helpful products. You don�t want too many links and you want to make sure the products you do recommend are all related.

How long should the free report be?

It all depends on the product you�re promoting and the information which needs to be shared. There are some special free reports which are quite long and others shorter. On average 15 to 17 pages is reasonably good, but it all depends on your target market and the information they�re looking for.

Do you need help writing a report?

There are 2 main ways to get content for your free reports. You can hire a ghostwriter to create the content for you. You then have the rights to send this out as your free report. Another option is to use Private Label Rights content. This can be a collection or articles, or a full report on a topic. You buy the rights to this content that you can distribute in a number of ways.

These 2 options may cost you a little money upfront, but if done correctly this content can help you convert more leads to sales.

Providing a free report is a great way to promote affiliate products you believe in.

Technorati Profile

Personal vs Business email

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:54:00 -0700

When most people get started in a new business, they use the one email that they have for everything. This can quickly become a problem as the volume of email increases, and the opportunity for spammers to get your address, your junk mail increases too. Before you get too far into your new business, think about how you can keep your emails separate.

The easiest thing to do is create a new email address just for your new business. This way you can direct all the business email to one account, and you can keep all your personal email separate.

There are lots of ways to get a second email address.

Create another mailbox with your ISP: Most ISPs all you to have 5 to 8 mailboxes for each account that you have. If you have not created mailboxes for everyone in your family, then create another mailbox for your business email. Details on how to do this vary by ISP, but go to their help site and search for create mailbox.
Use your business website: If you have a website hosted with a company, these websites usually come with some mail boxes. They usually have a web mail interface that you get to thru the cpanel interface. Most of the hosting companies have some information online about setting up and view your email.

This has a couple advantages in that the address looks like it is part of the company. So you can appear bigger than you really are. You can forward these addresses to a personal mailbox. This is good for reading, but if you reply it goes back using your personal mail address, so be careful.

Get a free email account: You can get one from yahoo, gmail, hotmail, etc. These are nice because they are free and easy to setup. The problem with these accounts is that if you don�t use them for a while (some are 90 days), the provider may cancel the account. Then you have lost this account, and all the emails. Now if you are doing business regularly with this account, this may not be a problem. But if you are doing this part time, and stop, you could lose it.

The other problem with these accounts is that some vendors that you work with may not want to setup an account with you, if you use your free email account. This is especially true for vendors that have recurring charges, or some that may want to pay you for your work.

I would use these accounts for some correspondence, but I would not use these accounts for anyone that I was doing business with that involved money. I want to make sure that I am getting my checks, or that I can use the email address to cancel a service that I no long need.

There really is no limit to the number of email mailboxes that a single person can have. The challenge becomes how to manage them.

So, think about your email mailboxes. Think about how you want to keep your business email separate from your personal emails. If you have only one mailbox now, then look into creating a new mailbox. Then you can tell folks about your new address and move your business emails to the new mailbox.