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FIB - Scams 101 - Ye Olde Archives
Posted By: Mel. White In Response To: Need guidance on some e-biz basics (Pete Gee)
Wednesday, 19 October 2005, at 9:11 a.m.
> I've read and enjoyed this forum (as well as a couple others) off and on
> for the past several years. I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to take
> some action. I have an idea for an hardcopy and e-"booklet"
> publication that will help a specialized type of small service business
> increase revenue streams and profitability. I hope to sell it for between
> $10 to $25.
Who is your target population -- and don't make the mistake of saying 'anyone who does business or wants to do business.' That's too general, probably isn't true, and leads you to waste your time marketing to the wrong people. So who is this "just perfect" for? Knifemakers? Comic book artists? Writers? Garage bands?
> 1) How do I go about listing a website with the search engines and
> optimizing results? Is there a free or inexpensive way to do this, or is
> this a pay for placement?
You can submit for free. You can also pay, and some of the services are both dubious and expensive. Most who know some HTML do it themselves.
Question is: is the Internet the chief source of information that your target population uses? For example, if you're targeting comic book artists, most of them do NOT get all their information from the Internet. They use the Comic Buyers Guide and several other trade papers, and their audience may not use the Internet. Auto mechanics have their own trade magazines and I suspect Internet is probably the least effective way to reach this particular group.
Research your population. Making too narrow a focus is as deadly as making too broad a focus. Don't try to "wiggle the data" (example: "plumbers who use the Internet a lot." is wiggling data. It should be good for ALL plumbers, even the ones who can't tell a computer from a Ceratosaurus.)
Know the language style they prefer (I wouldn't use this style for a group of homeschooling moms with kids under the age of 8, for instance.) Know what needs your product is absolutly going to address. Think about it from "what would sell ME on this if it was being sent to me by a stranger that I don't particularly trust" (because they don't know you and they have no reason to trust you.)
> 2) What software do you recommend for producing the ebook? If I use
> something like MS Publisher, or even Word, is there an easy way to convert
> it to a pdf file? What the heck does "pdf" mean anyway?
"portable document format" and "use the service at the Adobe site" (or other free converters) and Publisher and Word convert just fine.
> 4) Any info about auto-responders would be appreciated. Are any available
> free that are usable? Any you recommend as best value for price?
Is the autorespoder for collecting addresses or shipping out a file?
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