Just 2 little announcements:
A few days ago, Audrey read that Visa/Mastercard were raising their
discount rate.
We don't believe everything we read. So, for every industry that our
business has a stake in, we always try to have a relationship with a
real "Source".
We got on the phone with Christine Phillips from Advanced Credit
Systems to talk about what a rate hike could mean to our business in
terms of our bottom line.
Now, in the grand scheme of things, there's nothing anyone can do
about a merchant account rate increase - it's like watching your
mortgage rate climb. You can either sell your house, or suck it up
and pay the higher interest.
But, if you're using Christine for your eStore merchant account, the
rate hike is almost inconsequential....
One of the reasons we think Christine's company is the best in the
business is because of her personal attention to her customers. She
actually talks to people - she works with their business to find the
best merchant account solution.
For example - In our heyday, we had 10 Yahoo! Stores. At the time,
we were with a merchant account that charged us $27 per month just
for the privilege of working with them. That means we were shelling
out nearly $300 a month.
When we met Christine, SHE suggested that we could consolidate our
merchant accounts for our stores.
Do you understand what that means? She was making less money - and
we told her as much! But her position was that it was better for our
business.
I said to her "You were never a politician, were you..."
Still, that not the only reason we think her merchant account
company is tops...
Her Visa/MasterCard rate is 2.15%. And unless I'm mistaken, that's
the lowest rate you can get unless you're doing $100,000 a month in
business.
So, if you're in the market for a merchant account, DO give her a
call before you make any decisions. She knows her stuff, has no
monthly minimum, and answers her own phone...
Advanced Credit Systems 1-800-814-3163
----- The other announcement is about The Market Research Wizard.
After receiving some feedback, the folks over at World Wide Brands
have added a new function to the Market Research Wizard.
If you don't know what The Market Research Wizard is, check out the
review I did at:
The Market Research Wizard
The New Market Research Wizard will now let you look at eBay prices.
So, in addition to all of the other Supply and Demand functions that
TMRW analyzes, you can now test the waters of eBay without having to
slog through hundreds of auctions.
Nifty is not a big enough word.
If you haven't already, download the free trial from their site.
Market Research Wizard Free Trial
Just look for the link for The Market Research Wizard.
--------------------------------
ANNOUNCEMENT
Let me introduce to you a new element of the YSP Newsletter...
Andy's Op/Ed
An "Op/Ed", or Opinion/Editorial writings are usually reserved for
political commentary, social and cultural issues, or ranting and
raving...
That's not what Andy's Op/Ed is all about (Except the Ranting and
Raving).
For the sake of serenity, I'm not going to talk about a single
politician in this newsletter, EVER (although I might poke fun at
them from time to time).
Instead, I wanted to create a section to talk about how the business
of eCommerce is evolving and what sorts of steps you might want to
consider taking in order to maximize your chances of long-term
success.
Let me just warn you - Some of the stuff I'm going to talk about is
Advanced, some of it will take money, some of it will require a
commitment to learning new things, and all of it will be 100% my own
opinion - meaning, you are free to disagree with me. In fact, I
think constructive debate is the one of the healthiest things any
business owner can embrace.
I'm not going to recommend any products or services, just talk about
what our business has become over the last 3+ years, and how we plan
to make it grow during the next 10.
As always, I'm interested in your feedback. If you have an opinion
about Andy's Op/Ed, please tell me about it at:
oped@online-store-profits.com
All points of view are welcome.
---- Andy's Op/Ed - What's with all of this Multi-Media buzz?
Later this week, I'm traveling to Las Vegas to attend the National
Association of Broadcasters Convention. While I'm there, I'll be
interviewing the top 10 movers and shakers in the DVD industry.
Ultimately, I'll be producing a Video called Authoring DVDs Like A
Pro. This DVD is going to teach folks how to, you guessed it, make
their own DVDs for fun and profit! (I couldn't resist)
One of those movers and shakers that I'm working with is a company
called CustomFlix.
CustomFlix has perfected a DVD Production Technology that allow DVD
authors to distribute DVDs one at a time, rather than spend
thousands of dollars for hundreds of DVDs in a bulk order. The
concept is called "DVD on Demand" and it's not unlike Dropshipping.
In fact, they have a catalog of DVDs already in distribution that
eStore owners can sell.
You can see what these folks are all about at:
Custom
Flix DVD Duplication
So, why am I, a happy owner of e-commerce stores and purveyor of
eBook information products going all the way to Las Vegas to talk to
some technical nuts about DVDs?
In case you haven't heard, every other Internet Marketer - and their
brothers, are screaming about how Multi-Media based information
products are the next wave of internet fortunes.
Some of the less scrupulous ones have actually claimed that they are
now expert Multi-Media Guru's - ready to help you "whip up" your
Video Information Product.
Funny, I thought these guys were Marketing Experts.
Odd how the "Get Rich Quick" message changes depending on where the
money is...
You might be asking where I'm going with this... Let me tell you.
Have you seen some Internet Marketers selling Public Domain
Material? You know, the fellas that are selling reprints of sales
and marketing material that was published back in the early 1900's?
Why? Why do they think that any book, report, or text that's nearly
100 years-old could be of any use to the home internet business
crowd?
Because the same fundamental rules of running a successful business
from 100 years ago apply just as much as they do today.
Here's my take on all of this new fangled Multi-Media mumbo-jumbo.
(Authors note* Now, in a minute, I'll explain to you why I'm not a
hypocrite because I have several multi-media products on the market
even though I'm calling them Mumbo-Jumbo-Multi-Media).
Multi-Media is sexy and some folks think that eBooks are outliving
their usefulness as an information distribution medium. So, with
broadband on the horizon, with the promise of streaming video,
audio, and interactive media, they THINK that they can repackage the
same old information, burn it onto a CD-ROM or DVD and charge 3
times the price for the same info...
They're right.
Here's the thing. Information is only worth something if you're
actually able to comprehend it's meaning.
In the world of the Home Based Business, the fundamentals of sales
and marketing still apply - the fundamentals of cash flow and
advertising still apply.
But today's home based business has an added factor that the
publishers of 100 year old information didn't have - the internet.
The Internet is an interactive search and information medium. It has
pictures, sound, video and can capture data - it's the ultimate
resource gathering tool.
But, if you want to open a home Based Internet Business and actually
make some money - you need to advertise, market, sell, and service.
My point is this: If using Multi-Media increases the comprehension
of information, either to you or your customers - then you need to
embrace it as a learning tool.
Now - Right Now, we're in the middle of this Internet Revolution.
Remember when CompuServe was the big thing? Remember when AOL first
made its appearance? Those were heady days...
Those days are back. Over the next 18 months the Internet is going
to evolve - again.
It's going to mature as a medium of information distribution and
e-commerce. It's where people are going to go FIRST to shop, FIRST
to research, FIRST to communicate.
So, prepare yourself.
I know, I know - you don't know computers, HTML scares you and
you're doing just fine with your dial-up.
That's fine for now friend. But not for long. I hate to sound harsh,
but if you want to make money using the Internet, then you need to
try your best to understand all of the things that are part of the
Internet - like your computer, or HTML. You may even want to
consider the ramifications of a cable modem or DSL...
My point is, if you're on this newsletter list, I have to assume
that you're interested in e-commerce, or working at home, or having
your own business.
If that's the case, then you should know that getting the skills to
manage your Internet technology is going to make a big difference in
your ability to earn an income.
We're lucky to have services like Yahoo and FinestShops and Monster
Commerce to help us create turn-key e-commerce solutions without
having to know a lick of programming.
But those services are just the gateway to growth - and ultimately,
they are just tools. Consider how long you worked at your current
job to become good at it. Think about how much you had to learn,
even if it was just bureaucratic nonsense and politics, in order to
function efficiently.
You were getting "On the Job" training, and it's what made you able
to qualify to do your job.
Please, don't neglect your own home businesses "On The Job"
training. Learn what you need to learn so you can make the big
moves. And if that means learning a new piece of software - then do
it.
Sooner than later, our eStores will have little buttons that will
allow us to show videos of the products that we sell. The
manufacturers will let us stream little "How to Care for your
Medieval Armor Collection" training bits right next to our store's
order buttons.
As people who want to make a real living online, don't let
technology like that frighten you. Give it a big hug. Get dirty,
stretch your brain and figure out how to make it work in your
business.
Become good at it now so when you HAVE to be good at it, it's as
simple as sending an email.
Thanks for listening,
Andy Jenkins
http://www.online-store-profits.com
