If you are new to marketing online, there are a lot of things you will know in the long run.

But if you are already an experienced specialist, for sure, you are aware that increasing traffic to your website is not an easy job.

You are almost certain that you already know that the search engines are the best and only free way to get additional targeted visitors coming to your website.

This simply means your website needs to have quite a few pages of related content.

The more unique your content is, the more improved your site will be because the principal search engine in the world, which is Google, is the source of the biggest percentage of all search engine traffic and uniqueness is one of the standards they use when taking into account how high your site will rank.

Getting a few articles from some of the ezine article directories will not be as effective as it used to be because you are only copying the content that is likely available from perhaps hundreds of other websites on the Internet.

These content affluent pages are obtainable for everyone to use for a number of reasons, including sellable expansion which is evidently outlined under the Public Domain policies of the United States copyright laws.

Although Public Domains can be useful tools in earning profits, you will need to follow some policies and rules.

The first policy states that you can legally reproduce any part of books, films, art works, and manuscripts in the early years before 1923. Meaning you can copy each and every word in the books which comes from public domain.

Find a public domain book which is relevant and similar to the market that you are targeting.

A lot of experts in the Internet marketing field have used public domains wisely for their websites. After doing so, they have noticed their sales have gone higher and they are getting high traffic from their sites. This is the reason why most web site companies have adopted the strategy to their own sites.

There is software available that you can use that will enable you to make corrections of the pages displayed on your website. You won’t really need to check it from the top to the bottom. This shortens your job in checking and proofreading.

You will find out how to come up with hundreds of more article thoughts and ideas every day of the week.

These article thoughts are so influential that they oblige people to read through them and make you free money in the process. That is why a piece of writing is so prevailing. Not only do you get free and high traffic, but you can probably earn thousands of dollars in sales from the development of articles and public domains.

The Quick Page Generator will provide you with the absolutely fastest way to writing a winning article. Whether you believe it or not, there are only two main factors that will determine whether your piece of writing is so good that no other publisher can turn it down or make your piece get thrown in the pile along with the rest. The Quick Page Generator will show you how.

Even if you are successful at recruiting new members to your Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) program, it is not enough. You need to be able to show your downline how to recruit, or you won't have a business. The most important thing you need to promote any MLM program online is a duplicatable system. A system is an organized, established prodcedure, which will produce consistant results, no matter who is using the system. Systems are duplicatable, while most people are not.

Most successful MLM recruiting systems have a few things in common, including:

Your own domain or presence on the internet. There is no easy way around it. You MUST have your own site if you are going to succeed easily, or you'll find yourself struggling like crazy just to break even, like over 90% of those without their own website are doing.

A lead capture, or "squeeze page". Lead capture pages focus specifically on capturing leads for a newsletter or making sales for a specific product – and make no attempt to give visitors any other option. Usually you offer something of value to entice a potential downline member to sign up to your opt-in list. It can be an ebook, or perhaps a free report. Almost all successful internet marketers know the importance of having their own list. The best quality lead is always the one who specifically asked for your information. Build your own opt-in list, and you will get the best quality leads you could possibly get. All the money you'll ever make in this business will come from your list. It is the same for any other business. Their customers and potential customers are their most valued assets, because that's where the money comes from.

An autoresponder loaded with a series of follow ups. Over half of your members won't sign up on their first visit, but they might submit their name and email address to get free information. Studies have shown time after time that people will still be signing up after 7 or more contacts. Write a series of 7-10 followup messages to be sent automatically over a period of about a month for best results. With a good follow up system, you can convert several times more prospects into members rather than just one-time visitors.

You should advertise the marketing system that your team is using to achieve huge success. People will join you if they believe you have a workable system in place. If you advertise only your affiliate link you are losing out on a lot of potential money. Think about it for a moment . . . If you just advertise your referral page for the program you're promoting, what happens to the traffic you create? You are creating leads for the owners of the program you are promoting, and very often you won't even know it. They would have been your leads if you had sent them to your own website, instead of your referral page. Make sure to advertise generic recuiting information on your own website, and have a way to capture visitors information for YOU.

The natural bonding of the Internet and Offshore stems from the fact that both, of their nature, manage to avoid tax. Businesses which can operate on the Internet without, so to speak, touching ground in a high-tax jurisdiction will naturally migrate to offshore or low-tax jurisdictions; while businesses that already have offshore existence will find it highly convenient to be able to use the Internet to trade with their high-tax customers without having to make a landing in their countries.

The widespread use of the Internet has brought a paradigm shift in the way small to medium sized business owners, or those just launching a business, can access offshore banking. Because of the nature of Internet eCommerce where servers can be physically located in any part of the world, there is a near-perfect match with the world of offshore International Business Companies (IBC) and Offshore Trusts. This phenomenon has been referred to as deterritorialisation.

One offshore expert who researches this field describes it this way:

"Among the innumerable things that the development of the internet has changed for the better, online eCommerce has had the greatest effect in freeing humanity from the concept of location, as a factor in owning and operating a business. It is now possible to run a business from cyberspace while living anywhere in the world, choosing the most preferable jurisdiction as a tax base, and using any number of jurisdictions as they may apply to manufacturing, distribution, banking, web hosting, and other related factors."

It is common knowledge that many entrepreneurs outside the U.S. have been using U.S.-based servers for some years now to run offshore ecommerce and thus by accident, became the first true offshore ecommerce enterprises. Until recently, the U.SA. was the only place where you could get a reliable web hosting account at a decent price. This was due mainly to the fact that low cost Internet bandwidth and web hosting expertise was centered in the U.S. In some countries it is very expensive, and in some cases your are simply not allowed to operate a web server. Thus foreigners had no choice but to get U.S. based web hosting to run their ecommerce shops.

Now reliable web hosting at good prices is available from many countries, this making for a much wider pool of available offshore servers. Coupled with an International Business Company or Trust, and a merchant account, a savvy entrepreneur can run an offshore ecommerce website selling anything from horoscopes, to ebooks, dating advice, matchmaking services, DVDs or whatever from any place on earth, with offshore banking accounts to capture the ecommerce revenue.

By locating websites in low-tax jurisdictions to carry out functions previously based in high-tax jurisdictions such as sales and marketing, treasury management, supply of financial services, and most of all, the supply of digital goods such as music, video, training and software, businesses can take advantage of low rates of taxation for increasingly substantial parts of their operation.

Turn visitors into customers

The sole purpose of a website is to sell. Thus no matter how much traffic your website gets and how impressive its rankings are, it all comes to a naught if your sales numbers are not as positive. In fact, this is the most serious ailment that most e-commerce sites suffer from ¨C the matter of conversions.

Conversions are about turning visitors into buyers. The process is not simple and there are numerous factors affecting the outcome. In fact, the e-commerce scenario is fast changing and you need to be in tune with the latest developments to remain competitive. An e-commerce website is not just an online catalog. There is more to it than efficient shopping carts and secure payment gateways. Buying decisions, whether online or offline, are regulated by extra- rational factors. So the important question to ask is whether you¡¯re set up evokes the desire and the trust in visitors required to complete an online transaction.

If you wish to improve your site's conversion rate, here are a few tips -

1. Distinguish your offerings If you are the only one selling what you are, you have it easy. But if you are not, then you have to create a distinct identity for your business. Give the visitors a convincing reason to choose you over your competitors. Your marketing campaigns have to emphasis this aspect too.

2. Target your traffic When it comes to traffic, huger numbers might be impressive but not necessarily effective. While most of the sites hover around a conversion rate of 3 ¨C 4%, a conversion rate of around 8% is not very unusual. In fact, the best of e-commerce websites have a figure as high as 18%. It's up to you to decide which figures are for you.

But if you are looking for high conversion rates, then advertise accordingly. Your advertisement should be very specific to your offering. Broad keywords get you bigger traffic but result in lower conversion rates too.

3. Get the content that converts The copy on your website has to speak business, it has to tell the visitor clearly and categorically what you are selling and how it's different from other similar products in the market. Emphasis the benefits of buying from you. The visitor is in a hurry and has numerous other options. Show the carrots to him blatantly; let it not be a puzzle for him.

If you are using landing pages, then make sure that they have attractive product descriptions, pictures and very prominent 'call to action' buttons. Compare your product with those of others; there is nothing more convincing than fair comparisons.

4. Gain the prospect's faith When you walk into a superstore, you already have a fair idea about the store's reputation, customer service and availability of goods. Successful e-commerce websites function on the same principles. You read about them in forums, shopping comparison websites; get impressed with their website's design and content, hassle free navigation, easy loading etc. They will have a toll free number to call on, probably live support, customer testimonials, and real address on the Contact Us page. If you have any news items or press releases have a separate section for them too.

Just as an experiment, a friend of mine subscribe to ten different opt-in e-mail marketing lists to see which ones are effective. Many websites and online businesses have resorted to sending promotional materials to people who have subscribed to them in an effort to boost their sales or traffic. Opt-in email marketing sends newsletters, catalogs updates and many more promotional materials to website visitors who have agreed to be updated whether monthly, weekly or semiannually.

Through e-mail, an internet user that is on the list will receive their updates through email. If a promotional material piques their interest they will go to the site to learn more or to purchase outright. For the website operators or owners, this is a chance to remind their list of their existence and parlor their wares. With the numerous sites in the internet that offers the same products or services in one way or the other, the competition can get pretty tight and it is easy to be forgotten.

Back to my experimenting friend, he tried to find out which opt-in marketing strategies grabbed a person into begging for more. Some would send in very simple fashion, some would very outlandish while there are some that would just lie in between. The differences could easily be noticed and some have gotten the idea of an effective opt-in marketing strategy. He dubbed them effective because he felt like he just couldn’t wait to go their site and learn more, the more persuasive ones even got him halfway to reaching for his wallet and to his credit card before he realized this was only for an experiment.

Many companies and site present their promotional materials in a wide variety of concepts. Each has their own distinctive style and designs, but more than the outline and the presentation, the content and the articles are what keeps the attention of your potential customer locked on to your opt-in marketing medium. Creativity is the key here.

From talking to many satisfied opt-in list subscribers and forums, I have learned of what is essential in opt-in marketing and what makes the subscribers begging for more instead of lining up to unsubscribe.

Keep your promotional materials light, creative and original. Many people are stressed out as it is. Getting a stuffy business proposal rather than a light hearted e-mail may just agitate them more. A warm friendly smile or banter is always more welcome than a serious business meeting or proposal. While you do want your customers to take you and your products and services seriously, you also want to show them that you know how to have fun.

Splash some color in your emails as well as provide some photos and articles that can be related to you but show good news or good light hearted images as well. Provide a newsletter or promotional materials that will keep them in a light mood. Make your materials eye catching and grabbing that they wont be able to take their eyes of them. Pique their interests.

Since the advent of the information technology, the Internet had been a valuable commodity to most people. Here, they find ways on how to earn more money even without having to spend more capital on building a business.

Nowadays, many business people are realizing the importance of email marketing. Through emails, an online business can market their product directly through their customers.

Generally, the main purpose of email marketing is to reach their target audience as quickly and as direct as possible. They need to reach their target market so as to promote their products and services that would benefit their customers.

However, some businesses use email marketing in order to maintain their contact and relationship with their customers.

The reason why email marketing has grown in such unprecedented rate is based on the fact that people in the virtual community are always hungry for information. They subscribe to information that they are interested in.

On the other hand, not all people are willing to subscribe to such information. They may be interested on your products once but may no longer be interested to buy again. Moreover, when you continue to send those emails that do not have their permissions, you can be accused of spamming.

Today, spamming is a serious offense especially in the world of information technology. Because the Internet is such a wild place, most authorities regard the privacy of each person as valuable and they continue to uphold this thinking even on the Internet.

With this, the creation of opt in list had gained tremendous acceptance. Because of its viability and feasibility to most online businesses, a lot of people have realized how important opt in lists are in email marketing.

Basically, opt in list refers to the list of email addresses of people who have agreed to subscribe to your mailing list. In this way, you can freely send emails that entail promotions, brochures, new product announcements, and every aspect of your marketing campaign.

When you build an opt in list, you do not only increase the probability of being successful in email marketing but also boost your sales and profits as well. This is because building an opt in list will give you the chance to stay in contact with your customers by getting their email address.

In this manner, you can continue to promote your products and services in which they are interested in because they have opted to subscribe in your mailing list. Hence, whatever it is that you feed them, chances are, they will most likely respond positively.

In reality, building an opt in list is actually letting the people realize the charisma and magic of email marketing. In this way, spams will be avoided, if not eliminated, and will not ruin the positive image of email marketing.

With spamming, email marketing becomes a disgraceful activity in the Internet. But with opt in list, online businesses can continue to boost their businesses through email marketing without having to worry about being accused of spamming.

The overwhelming fact is that with most advertised residual income business opportunities, performing research and verifying these money making statements necessary before you think of following through with any of the residual affiliate income opportunities online. You can start by checking with the Better Business Bureau which can remove doubts about some of the business that offer such riches. If you have chosen to invest time or money on a new residual income business opportunity it is vital to check with other employees, customers or even the state Attorney General's office before making any commitments.

You don’t want to put a halt to any potential residual income by opting for the wrong opportunity. Many of the offers out there that promise excellent chances for earning residual income are nothing short of fraud. When you search online for these offers, you often get sent to a fake website that was listed only because the host is getting paid for you to visit. The most popular type of residual income to earn online comes from affiliating with another site. It is a good way to make a lot of money without having to do much work. It is a great opportunity if you like the idea of being wealthy.

Affiliating is not only way that you earn residual income either. You can also use MLM as a way to generate a lot of cash with little work on your side like Avon does. Its basically just micromanaging your sales people so that they do the work for you. How it works is that you hire someone on commission to sell your product for you and also offer them bonuses to get other people to sell for you. It is a very simple process. This way you can earn residual income while others do the actual work. All you have to do is find the initial sellers and the rest is left to them.

An opt-in list can be quite crucial to any site or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche profit site an opt-in list can make a world of difference and also add some extra income for your pocket. Rarely would you see an e-commerce site, big or small, that is without an opt-in list.

An opt-in list allows for a company to market their wares and site via an e-mail. With an opt-in list, a site and a subscriber consents to sending and receiving a newsletter from your company. Through this, you can keep your subscribers abreast of what is currently available in your site as well as whatever is coming out.

And because there is mutual consent between the two parties, any mail sent to the list is not considered as spam mail. There is a great number of successfully read promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters and such that are sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.

Building a list is crucial, only a small percentage actually subscribes for an opt-in list. Many people find promotional mails annoying but of you provide a good newsletter or promotional material, you will see your list build up and grow. You can also achieve this by having good content on your site. If people like what they see and read on your site, then they surely would want more. Newsletters would be a way to attract them back to your site. A little teaser or appetizer if you will.

But other than marketing your wares and your services, an opt-in list can also be used to earn extra profit. Not all lists can be used though. It would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers. The more subscribers you have, the more money you can get. Here are seven ways to make money using nothing more than your list.

1) Place advertisements. There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would just rather place ads with lists that have a huge subscriber base. Your newsletter could be placed with many ads and each one spells money.

2) Have affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or relation to what your site is about. Here other companies will provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This P4P or pay for performance.

3) Make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list. With every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter, the other company will pay you a small percentage of your sales. The more people who buys from them, the more earnings you get.

4) You may also get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list via your newsletter. Place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your newsletter. There will be those who will buy from you and when that happens, you can order the product from the other site and sell it to your buyer.

Autoresponders are one of the most simple to use yet most effective promotional tools created in recent times and are an essential requirement for any online business. You may hear the terms, automatic emailer, email responder, autobot or mailbot. Whatever the term, the important point is that an autoresponder will automatically answer incoming email messages on your behalf and once set up, will continue to do so indefinitely, without further intervention from you.

No matter what task an autoresponder is performing, the biggest benefit it offers is that of saving you time. Autoresponders never take a break, they tirelessly work 24/7 all year round and for no extra pay, they very rarely get sick...(as long as you have a reliable service provider), they never question your decisions or the tasks you have set them and they follow your instructions to the letter.

If you've noticed that I'm using the plural 'autoresponders' that is because even though you will opt for one autoresponder service provider, every campaign you run will need a separate autoresponder sequence, which is simply a series of response messages concentrating on one specific issue. For example; you may have an autoresponder set up to welcome new subscribers to your newsletter and maybe follow through with a short series of related messages. You will also need to set up another one to send out chapters of your e-course over a predetermined time span. You will need yet another to follow up with customers who have bought your ebook or special report and so on. Therefore you will be dealing with one autoresponder service provider account with which you can run multiple campaigns, each one being known as an "autoresponder".

We all realize that the Internet is growing day by day and will continue to do so with thousands of new users coming online in a never-ending stream. This means that you have an expanding international marketplace at your disposal. Naturally, competition is fierce...especially in certain markets (such as internet marketing;-). There are many thousands of companies vying for attention and business so you must do whatever it takes to get an "edge". The last thing you want to happen is that you gain that edge, attract hundreds of visitors to your site every day and then fail to capitalize on the advantage you have worked hard to win.

Internet companies and marketers know full-well that bringing in visitors is only the very first step in doing online business. What you must do next is convert visitors into paying customers. They know from experience there is no way they will convert every visitor, they also know that very few visitors buy anything on their first visit. It's statistically proven that it takes an average of five to seven visits before a person will pull out the plastic and make a purchase online. Therefore it follows, to succeed on the Internet you have to bring back those visitors time and time again until they like and trust you enough to do business.

There are a number of ways that you can do this – from setting up a website to setting up a weekly garage sale during the summer. We'll take a look at four ways you can continue making a profit when the doors of another craft show close for the weekend.

1.) Set up a website – Studies have shown that more people are becoming comfortable and actually prefer to do their business online. Essentially you could have a craft show that goes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Taking the time to set up a website that showcases your crafts and also provides people an avenue to purchase the crafts can be a huge seller for you in the long run.

2.) Have an e-mail list – What is the next best thing to having a website? Why not set up an e-mail list top contact people that are interested in your crafts? These could be people that were at a craft show where your products were displayed, and they took a liking to them and wanted to be informed when new and different crafts would be available. You can even take it one step further and inform them of where you are going to be for your next craft show, what new products you have, and other interesting news. All you need to do is set up a sign up list in your booth at any craft show.

3.) Sales list – You will all likely have it happen at one point or another – someone sees something of yours on display at a craft show, and you are all out of that craft. What do you do? This person really wants your craft, and you don't have one. This is where a sales list comes in very handy. You can write down the names and addresses of people that want one of your crafts. Essentially, you have the beginnings of an ordering system on your hands. Soon, your order list becomes a funnel of after-craft show sales that you had never even thought of!

4.) A weekly sale – Who needs a craft show to be set up for them, when they can set up a mini-craft show themselves? Many crafters will spend one weekend day a month in the comfort of their own garage – displaying and selling the crafts they have put together. You don't have to pay for the craft show fee, because you are on your own property and the only thing you might have to splurge for is a pot of coffee and some fresh donuts for potential customers! This is a great time to work on your sales list and e-mail list too!

The craft show profits don't have to end when the craft show is done for another weekend. The enterprising crafter will always find a way to market and sell their craft as much as possible – generating more income for their business!

In my last column I discussed the process of credit card enabling your brick-and-mortar business. I pointed out that research has shown that accepting credit cards can help increase revenue and enhance cash flow. I also pointed out that you may have to look beyond your local bank for help in getting things set up. This week we will look at setting up an online payment system for your business website. If you think hooking up a brick-and-mortar location with a credit card system stymies most bankers, try asking them how to do it on your website.

If you'll recall, the question that spurred this topic came from a lady who went to her local bank for help in setting up a credit card acceptance system for her business and her banker wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject. I pointed out that her banker's ignorance of the subject probably wasn't a reflection on his skills as a banker, but a reflection on the compartmentalization of the credit card aspect of banking.

The fact is, most banks can provide you with the merchant account needed to accept credit card payments, but beyond that have little to do with the process. Even larger banks may only have a single person on staff who is tasked as the "credit card expert" and if that person ever goes on vacation, you're pretty much out of luck (voice of experience talking here, folks).

I have helped many clients set up online credit card processing systems and more than once I've had to sit down with the bank issuing the merchant account and educate them on how online payment systems work. Don't believe me? This is a direct quote (here's the Bible, here's my hand) from the bank employee who was in charge of processing internet merchant account applications, "When someone pays online how do they swipe the credit card in their computer…"

Much like a brick and mortar credit card processing system, you will need the following to accept credit cards on your website: (1) an electronic shopping cart system that allows the customer to select products and checkout when ready; (2) a payment gateway service to get approval or declination of the credit card; (3) a credit card processor who will process the transaction; and (4) an internet merchant account issued by an acquiring bank in which processed funds are deposited.

We covered most of these elements last week. Here's a quick refresher for those who missed the basics, then we'll talk about a shopping cart system.

Payment Gateway Service: The payment gateway service comes into play when a customer submits their credit card information to the webpage form. Think of the gateway service as the middleman in the process. The website's shopping cart checkout system electronically submits the credit card to the gateway service who then routes the information to the processor for approval. Depending on the reply from the processor, the gateway service will return an approval or declination for the purchase. This entire process takes just seconds to perform.

Credit Card Processor: The credit card processor is an electronic data center that processes the credit card transactions coming from the gateway company, ensures that the charge is valid, then settles the funds in your merchant account.

Internet Merchant Account: An Internet merchant account is a bank or financial institution account in which funds from online sales are deposited. Merchant accounts are usually issued by banks who are associated with the major credit card services like Visa and MasterCard. Be aware that many banks will not grant merchant accounts to Internet merchants as they are often categorized as "high risk ventures." This policy varies widely and in the end, the granting of the merchant account will come down to economics from the bank's point of view. If the bank sees even the smallest iota of risk, you will not be granted the account. Fortunately, the growth of online sales has given rise to an entire industry of merchant service bureaus that will grant you a merchant account and everything else you need to accept online payments. The fees are usually higher, but it's better than not having an online payment system at all.

Shopping Cart System. To accept online payments you must have what's called a "shopping cart system" that allows your customer to choose and purchase products. Adding a shopping cart system to your website can be simple or complex, cheap or very expensive. It depends on the product you're selling and the options you wish to offer your customers. As in everything, you get what you pay for.

A shopping cart system typically consists of three components: a product catalog, the shopping cart, and a checkout/payment system. The product catalog is your inventory component and displays the items you have for sale on the website. The checkout/payment system is the part of the program that allows your customers to "add this to my cart," and the checkout/ payment system is the component that allows the customer to checkout and pay for their purchase.

There is a wide variety of shopping cart software on the market and the price is dependent on the features you want. Shopping cart systems range from simple HTML form insertions to full- blown catalog and inventory systems like those used by Amazon or Dell.

You can spend from zero to tens of thousands of dollars. Some of them you can set up on your site yourself while others should be set up by someone who knows what they're doing.

You can get a free Paypal.com shopping cart system which is the most simplistic in nature, but the easiest to implement. Using Paypal also alleviates the need for a bank merchant account because everything is handled by Paypal, for a fee of course. You insert HTML forms into your website code and when an item is purchased.

There are also numerous online companies who will assist in the setup of your ecommerce / credit card system. These companies charge several hundred to several thousand dollars for their services, so it would be wise for you to have an idea of exactly what you need before calling them into play.

Customer submits credit card. The site sends the transaction to the gateway. The gateway sends the info to the processor. The processor contacts the issuing bank of the customers credit card. The issuing bank returns the result of the processor. The processor routs the result to the gate. The gateway passes the result to the website. The website displays the result.

One thing to remember when setting up an ecommerce system on your site is this: online it's all about security and privacy. Though online credit card processing has been around for years there are still many people who are uncomfortable giving their credit card number online. These are the same folks that do not hesitate to give their credit card number over the phone to a complete stranger or hand their credit card to a waiter who disappears with it for ten minutes. Online credit card processing is much less susceptible to fraud and abuse than either telephone processing or giving it to a waiter.

Eighty-five percent of internet users surveys said that a lack of security made them uncomfortable sending credit card information over the Web.

In the last column we discussed the process of credit card enabling your brick-and-mortar business. I pointed out that research has shown that accepting credit cards can help increase revenue and speed up cash flow. This week we will look at setting up an online payment system for your business website. If you think hooking up a brick-and-mortar location with a credit card system stymies most bankers, try asking them how to do it on your website.

The fact is most banks can provide you with the merchant account needed to accept credit card payments online, but beyond that, they have little to do with the process. Even larger banks may only have a single person on staff that is tasked as the "credit card processing expert" and if that person ever goes on vacation, you're pretty much out of luck (voice of experience talking here, folks).

I have helped many clients set up online credit card processing systems and more than once I've had to sit down with the bank issuing the merchant account and educate them on how online payment systems work. Don't believe me? This is a direct quote (here's the Bible, here's my hand) from the manager who was in charge of processing Internet merchant account applications at a local bank, "When someone pays online how do they swipe the credit card in their computer..."

You will need the following to accept credit cards on your website: (1) an electronic shopping cart system; (2) a payment gateway service; (3) a credit card processor; and (4) an internet merchant account issued by a bank or other financial institution or service bureau.

Here's how online credit card processing works. (1) Your customer submits his credit card information at checkout on your website. (2) The shopping cart software sends the transaction to the gateway. (3) The gateway routes the information to the processor. (4) The processor contacts the bank that issued the customer's credit card. (5) The issuing bank approves or declines the transaction. (6) The processor routes the result back to the gateway who then passes the result back to the website shopping cart system. The entire process is done electronically and takes seconds to complete.

We covered most of these elements last week. Here's a quick refresher for those who missed the basics, then we'll talk about the shopping cart system you'll need to implement on your website.

Payment Gateway Service: The payment gateway service comes into play when a customer submits their credit card information to the webpage form. Think of the gateway service as the middleman in the process. The website's shopping cart checkout system electronically submits the credit card to the gateway service that then routes the information to the processor for approval.

Credit Card Processor: The credit card processor is an electronic data center that processes the credit card transactions coming from the gateway company, ensures that the charge is valid, then settles the funds in your merchant account.

Internet Merchant Account: An Internet merchant account is a bank or account in which funds from online sales are deposited by the processor. Merchant accounts are usually issued by banks that are associated with the major credit card services like Visa and MasterCard. Be aware that many banks will not grant merchant accounts to Internet merchants as they are often categorized as "high risk ventures." This policy varies widely and in the end, the granting of the merchant account will come down to economics from the bank's point of view. If the bank sees even the smallest iota of risk, you will not be granted the account.

Fortunately, the growth of online sales has given rise to an entire industry of merchant service bureaus that will grant you a merchant account and everything else you need to accept online payments. The fees are usually higher, but it's better than not having an online payment system at all.

Shopping Cart System. To accept online payments you must have what's called a "shopping cart system" that allows the customer to select and purchase products from your website. A shopping cart system typically consists of three components: the product catalog, the shopping cart, and the checkout/payment system. The product catalog is the component that displays the items you have for sale on the website. The shopping cart system is the component that allows your customers to select products by clicking to "add items to cart," and the checkout/payment system is the component that allows the customer to complete the checkout process and pay for their purchase with a credit card (or in some cases an electronic check). It is the checkout/payment component that communicates with the gateway system to complete the transaction.

Adding a shopping cart system to your website can be a simple or highly complex task, depending on the system you select. The cost of shopping cart software ranges from free (for simplistic form-based systems) to very expensive. Which shopping cart system is best for your business depends on a number of factors, including the product you're selling, the depth of your product line, the purchase options you wish to offer customers, the inventory control functionality, and the extent of automation you desire.

There are numerous companies who can assist in the setup of your shopping cart and online credit card payment system. These companies typically charge several hundred to several thousand dollars for their services, but like anything you get what you pay for, so always use a company with good references in this area. When you're dealing with something as important as credit card processing and cash flow, bite the bullet and get it done right the first time. The money you spend now will be returned many times in increased sales volume from credit card customers.

The most important thing to remember when setting up an online payment system is this: online it's all about security and privacy. Though online credit card processing has been around for years there are still many people who are uncomfortable giving their credit card number online. These are the same folks who do not hesitate to give their credit card number over the phone or hand their credit card to a waiter who disappears with it for ten minutes. Online credit card processing is much less susceptible to fraud and abuse than of those scenarios.

Wow -- you finally have your website completed! Now comes the flurry of activities for getting it noticed on the Internet. You'll be submitting to the search engines. You may be blogging. You may be submitting to the directories. And you may be promoting through articles, amongst other things. Internet marketing is a lot of work that involves patience and persistence. The results are not always seen immediately.

But there's one method of Internet marketing that is often overlooked and your SEO expert may not tell you about it. Chances are, you may see immediate traffic by using this strategy. Why is it overlooked? It might be because this marketing method is not directly related to the Internet.

The method is marketing your site offline. The old, tried and true offline marketing strategies can often deliver many targeted visitors to your website in a short amount of time, particularly if you are announcing your URL to people with whom you already do business. The beauty of offline marketing is that it is simple. You don't have to spend hours and hours finding link partners, writing articles or submitting your URL.

The most basic form of offline marketing is to include your URL on your business cards, on your letterhead, on your fax forms, and on your printed fliers. If you use any printed business forms, including sales receipts or estimates, be sure to include your website address.

If you give press releases, be sure to include your business URL in the contact information. That way, people who are reading your press release can easily find your online presence to learn more about your expertise, services and products. If these readers have taken the time to look at your website because of the press release, you are attracting a highly targeted and responsive audience.

Promotional gifts such as coffee mugs, calendars, t-shirts, hats, key chains or other items, are an excellent form of offline Internet marketing. If someone is drinking coffee from your promotional mug every day, he's going to be seeing your URL every single sip! If you mail Christmas or holiday cards to your clientele, be sure to include your web address.

You may have a customer list that is responsive to catalogs or newsletters that you periodically mail. Announce your URL in your mailing, along with a special promotion code or number that will give your loyal subscribers discounts for online sales.

If you have an ad in the yellow pages of your local phone directory, be sure to include your website address with your company information. Other forms of printed advertising, such as magazines or newspaper ads, should also include the web address. Of course, if you advertise with billboards, there's another opportunity for offline website announcements.

Provided that your domain name is one that people can remember, include it in your television or radio ads. Long and complicated domain names do not work too well in this method of offline advertising.

Do you affix labels or tags to your products? Or require your employees to wear uniforms? This is another opportunity to add your URL to your offline signage. Add the URL to all printed labels and uniform logos. If you drive a company car or have a fleet of vehicles, you might want to include the company's URL in your vehicle signage. The possibilities for announcing your site offline are endless.

Wherever your company name is printed or announced in the "physical world," be sure to include your URL. Since many of these offline methods involve customers or clients who have a working relationship with your business, this may be your most targeted and responsive Internet audience.

People like to learn more about your company by browsing your website. By marketing offline, you will attract people who are already interested in your company and what you have to offer. This is an invaluable component to Internet marketing.

Successful affiliate marketers are always on the lookout for a good market or product that will provide them with a large and ongoing paycheck. Do they have a magic formula available to them to market these products? The short answer is no. It is a more complicated than a magic formula. It requires some hard work and dedication.

There are a number of tactics that have worked in the past and continue to work to this day in online marketing. I am going to provide you with 3 marketing tips that are essential for you to use if you want to survive as an online affiliate marketer. If you continually follow these 3 tactics, you will be able to increase your online sales and continue to grow your customer base and earn success as an affiliate marketer.

Only 3 tactics you say? In reality, of course there will be more than 3, but by using the 3 listed below with your other tactics, you are assuring yourself that you are going to make some sales. Have you pre-determined the tactics? OK, here they are.

1.) You must have your own web site. I know you've heard many 'gurus' saying you can make millions without your own site. To a point this may be true, but eventually, to be a top affiliate marketer, you will need your own web site. Once you have a site, you want to make sure you use a different web site for each product you are promoting. Do not get lazy and try to put everything in one. You don't need different hosting for each site. You can use one hosting account and use add on domains. We won't get into these here, but an add on domain is actually a sub-domain that has a top level domain name. This is an entirely different topic, so again, that is all we will say about them here.

You need to make it look like you have used or tested the product you are promoting on your affiliate web site. It is actually not a bad idea to purchase the product and run it through the mill. Then you can write a review about it on your site. Don't hold back. If you loved the product, tell your potential customers why. Explain how it works, what was easy to do, did you see something that needed improving, but wasn't a big enough problem to out weigh the good things. Let them know your honest opinion. Let them know uses for the product that you have discovered. Think outside of the box. If you found a problem with the product, it may be a good idea to let the developer know so they can consider fixing it. Make your review so it has a call to action for your readers. Get them excited about the product. Make the call to action irresistible so they want to go and get the product. Perhaps your friends could try the product and then get testimonials from them and put those on your web site. Of course, get their permission first.

By giving a review and testimonials, your customers will have some idea of what the product is about and how it works. This can get them excited enough to want to purchase from your page.

2.) Offer your potential customer something free from your site. This could be a report you have created or have rights to, an ebook you have rights to, a newsletter, anything that is of value. It is a proven fact that it takes approximately 7 visits from a customer before they purchase, so if you don't get an email address, there are only 2 other avenues for the prospect. Either they buy the first time they or on your page, or you lose them forever.

Get an autoresponder and put a subscription form near the top of your page. Make it enticing to your prospects to sign up and then have a message going to them every other day, then once a week, then once a month. Just make sure you stay in contact with them so they are constantly reminded about your product. Don't make every email a sales push, just a gentle reminder of specific reasons why they can't live without the product. Use a very strong subject line, and then make sure you focus on the important things. How the product makes life easier, saves time, makes less work, etc. Benefits are what people want to hear about. Also, avoid using the word free and other spam triggers, or your email may never get through.

3.) Get traffic that is targeted to what it is you are promoting. If you are promoting dog training and you are driving traffic to your site for everything, you are wasting your time and money. People that are not interested in dog training will come to your site, see it is not what they want, and never return. Write some articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. Tailer them to your site theme and only send them to e-zine publishers that are in that niche. If you can, make an attempt to write and submit at least 2 articles a week. Again, you want traffic that is interested in your site theme. Another statistic is that it takes approximately 100 people to visit your site to make 1 sale. That is a 1% conversion rate. Some sites do much better. If your visitors are targeted to your theme, you may break the 1% mark.

As you can see, the above tactics for your affiliate marketing are not hard to do. However, they take some time to do correctly. The main thing you need to do is take action and implement these tactics, the extra work on your part will be well rewarded with increased sales and customer list. If you want to succeed and be a super affiliate marketer, these are easy steps to take you along that path.