The Softnik Blog

Why Unsubscribing From Mailing Lists Is Very Good Idea

If you have any type of an Internet based business you know about auto-responders and mailing lists. Every body keeps repeating the "money is in the list" mantra!

Let us take a look at this concept from the other side!

Why do you subscribe to mailing lists?

Here are five valid, good reasons to subscribe.

1. To get notified when a favorite resource or product is updated or modified.
2. Because it is a competing product or service and you wish to monitor the competition.
3. Because you really like the ezine / list posts and wish to learn some thing from it.
4. Because you find the marketing methods interesting even though you don't have much interest in the actual product or service.
5. Because you like to buy products and services that help you or your business and the list has often recommended good products and services in the past.

Check your mailing list subscriptions at regular intervals and get rid of the ones that have not been helpful to you. The lists you don't want are the ones that distract you from your original strategic plans and make you chase other short-term schemes and tactics.

Distractions are the biggest reasons why many Internet based businesses start to fumble and ultimately fail. Unfortunately the Internet is full of distractions in the form of opinions and ideas from every one. It is very important that you learn to identify the practically useful ideas and ignore the distracting ones. This is not always easy to do because what is a bad idea for your business may not be bad for some one else.

The best way to remain focused on your task is to create a solid strategic path for your business. You should then learn to look at ideas through the lens of your long term strategic plan.

Five Types Of Products That People Will Always Want To Buy

We  often get emails from people asking about the keyword research they should do for finding a good niche.

Is keyword research based on faulty and random search volume counts the right method for deciding the type of product or service you want to offer?

Good products that fill a need will always do well. Here are five types of products that will always find buyers! Combine these product types with a unique twist or idea and decide the kind of Internet business you wish to create.

1. Products that make or save money

People always want to make more money. If your product or service will help them earn more or save money highlight it. Even if your product is not directly connected to making money, it is always a good idea to explain how it can save money for them.

2. Products that help people learn

People are always looking to learn something new. "How to" guides are always popular for this reason. This is also the reason why there are so many ebooks on all types of topics. Be careful about this because it is one of the most competitive niches on the Internet. However, this is one of the easiest niches to enter.

3. Products that entertain

It is no surprise that the top searches on Yahoo Buzz are almost always about TV shows, actors and sports. This niche does require some unique expertise. Go for it if you have a good talent for creating entertaining videos, cartoons, etc.

4. Products that make life healthy and comfortable

People want to live as comfortably as they can, without any aches and pains. Do you have an idea for a product that will help them do that? This niche is often abused and may have a bad reputation because of all the spam associated with magic herbs and pills.

5. Products that save time and effort

People love pressing buttons and getting things done! Do good research on popular topics and make your work available to your customers for a price. Create a software that will save your customer hours of work.

Internet Business Strategy - The brand and domain names

As you create and grow your Internet business you will often need to register new domain names.

You should ensure that you own the ".com" version of your brand name. Try and get the same name in other relevant TLDs like net, org, biz, info, etc and also in your local country code (.uk, .us, etc).

You should also keep a watch on emerging technologies and new domain extensions made available by ICANN (example? the Mobi TLD). ICANN does approve new domain extensions now and then. Keep a watch for this and do a defensive registration to ensure that you own the brand under the new domain extensions. Of course, you may not need to register your domain names in every ccTLD and TLD, just do what you think is best!

If you have different products, try and register the ".com" versions for the product names. You should also register domain names for products you plan to develop. It is always a good idea to registrar the domain name even if your plans are far into the future.

A Warning About Domain Name Availability Checks

Avoid searching for domain name availability at the registrar websites. There have been reports of certain registrars and websites monitoring searches and then blocking the domain name. It is safer to use a software like Domain Name Analyzer because it has an option to check for availability with minimum number of lookups and also use the registry whois servers. Since the software is run directly from your own computer, nothing is monitored or logged.

Go to the registrar website after you have decided the name to register and do the registration immediately. It is better to keep a credit balance in your domain name registrar account. This will ensure that your domain name registration is successful on the first try.

Domain Name Portfolio Management

Registering domain names is only the first part, you should make sure that you renew these domains on time. As already mentioned in the previous post, you could end up losing a good part your business if you forget to pay the $10 domain renewal fee!

Domain name portfolio management is a very important part of your Internet business. There have been posts on this subject before. So I will just link to them!

• Eleven Steps To Safeguard Your Domain Names
• Ever lost a domain name because you forgot to renew it?
• Our software products for domain name management

How Vulnerable Is Your Internet Business?

While browsing a popular forum you often see the same question being asked by a lot of different people. It is about doing something using a very popular third party product.  You have some knowledge on the subject and decide to create a solution.

So you spend a few weeks creating an add-on software for processing the output from the product in question. The original third-party product is extremely popular and doesn't offer that particular feature.

Your product is a big hit!

You start getting many orders. After a while you get so comfortable that you quit your day time job.

A few months later disaster strikes!

The original product developer has updated their product and has now implemented the same feature into their offering, at no extra cost!

Is your on-line business vulnerable?

Most probably the answer is "Yes"...

• What happens if you are suddenly not able to process credit card payments? Do you have a backup plan?
• What happens if your web hosting company suddenly shuts you down? How long will it take you to be back up and running?
• What if 40% of your website traffic comes from a single source and you suddenly lose that source?
• What if a lot of your income comes from a single source (example?. Google Adsense) and suddenly you are shut off from it?

Many of these vulnerabilities exist because of using short term tactics instead of creating an overall strategic plan for your on-line business. Your ideal strategy should include multiple tactics to minimize possible future problems.

Short Term Tactics and Long Term Strategy

A lot of Internet based businesses are based on short term tactics without any thought to a long term business strategy.

In fact, most on-line businesses do not have a strategic plan.

Creating a practical and profit generating business strategy for your Internet business is probably the best way to ensure that your Internet business is successful over the long term.

It is a good short term tactic to create a service that expands a popular existing product.  But it is not good strategy to build a business that is completely dependent on a third party resource. Doing so creates a situation where a third party has control over your product. A simple tweak in their product can and will kill your business.

[to be continued...]

Some Simple Tweaks Using Web Page Explorer

Are there moments when you just want to take a break from whatever you have been doing?

Here is a simple web page tweaking exercise you should try when you want to take a break but still want to use the time productively!

Start Web Page Explorer (part of IM Toolpad). Run any of your web sites through it to analyze the pages.

Do you find multiple but identical anchor texts? Replace these with more relevant keyword rich text (but not spammy looking)

Here is a sample screen shot that shows multiple anchor texts that simply say "download now!" In some cases this may be relevant (for example, as a call to action). But you may want to find such identical texts and replace them with good keywords.

You can find identical texts by sorting the anchor text column (click on the header).

You can also use the software to check the heading structure of your web pages.  Always make sure that you have a good h1, h2, h3.. structure and that your headings are meaningful. The software can also help with your web page titles and decsriptions.

Do You have A Strategy For Safeguarding Your "Invisible" Business Assets?

One of the most important part of your Internet business strategy is safeguarding your business assets and resources. Unlike a regular brick-and-mortar business, an on-line venture involves a number of invisible assets that are difficult to quantify.

Here are some...

• Your domain names
• Your Websites
• Your search engine rankings
• Incoming links from other websites
• Your mailing lists
• Your products and services
• Your email communication archives
• Sales and customer records
• Your on-line accounts at your web-hosting provider, email provider, etc.
• Your reputation at forums and other community sites
• You on-line account passwords and access data.
• and so on...

One important fact about an on-line business is that it is very easy to lose everything in the blink of an eye. A computer crash can instantly kill your business or set you back by months or years. Some thing as silly as not paying a $10 domain renewal fee can make your profit making website disappear!

So, if you haven't done so already, sit down and plan your business restoration strategy in case of an emergency.

Consider creating a document containing important information on your business assets. Leave detailed instructions about how to manage your websites even when you are not around. Keep it in a safe location so that your successor can find it. Include important passwords and other login data.

Make a list of all essential monthly and yearly payments. Make sure that these are paid even if you have an emergency.

Use a remote backup service like Mozy (or any other service) to do daily backups of all your important work. It is important to backup to a remote location so that the data is safe even if there is a natural disaster in your area.

Create Monthly Snapshot Views Of All Your Websites

A previous post, from a month ago, discussed creating a target market snapshot view and how having it in front of you while doing strategic keyword research or creating the sales copy is extremely important.

In addition to keeping the target market snapshot, you should also have quick access to how your sites are doing. This will help you quickly identify problems with your sites and take actions to improve the performance.

So go ahead and create a website snapshot view of all your important websites!

You need to be using a good web analytics service or software for this. Make sure that you collect new data every month.

Here are some suggestions about what your website snapshot might contain...

1. The list of top 10 entry pages as reported by your website analytics.
2. The list of your top 10 exit pages as reported by your website analytics.
3. The top 10 performing web pages on your site (web pages that get real results). We will call this the star pages.
4. The overall bounce rate for your site.
5. The individual bounce rates for each of your star pages.
6. Visitors per day and per month to the website.
7. The top keywords that brought traffic to your site and the top landing pages for those keywords.
8. The list of long-tail keywords that brought traffic to star pages or that got you good results.
9. Your sales / expenses / income / profit data.
10. Any other parameter you think is relevant.

Open a folder and start filing this information every month. If possible, take hard-copy prints and file it physically. Use it to analyze how your sites are growing and to fix any negative trends.

There will be More on this in upcoming posts... and the upcoming Internet Strategy Studio Software.

"Why Should I Get a Dedicated Server Instead of a Shared Server?"

Recently we got a question from a customer asking our opinion about getting a dedicated server. Here is a part of his email...

Why should I get a dedicated server when...

1. I have to monitor the server myself
2. I have to fix any problems with the dedicated server
3. I have to make sure that the server has the latest security patches

I can get a fully monitored, always patched, good web hosting account for $10-$20. So why?

His web host was constantly shutting down his scripts and he asked us for a solution. I recommended he get a dedicated server or a VPS instead of a shared server. Hence the above question.

At first glance getting a dedicated server is a bad idea. It costs more and requires a lot more attention. But a dedicated server also gives you complete freedom to run the scripts you need and offer the solutions you want without worrying about using up the shared resources.

Another advantage of a dedicated server is that others don't have access to the server. On a shared server the probability of your account being compromised is high if some one else has a bad script. Yes, you do have to make sure that the dedicated server is fully secured. But there will be only a few people with access to your server and you can keep things in control.

Also, on dedicated servers you can install only the stuff you want and nothing else. For example, our main server doesn't run DNS, mail server and a lot of other things that are found on normal shared servers. This makes things simpler.

You do need to monitor your server and apply the latest patches. There are companies that offer this service at competitive rates. Many hosting companies also offer fully managed dedicated servers. So it is possible to get a decent dedicated server setup for under $150 a month. If you don't have that budget you could also consider the cheaper Virtual Private Servers (VPS).

If your website is made of mostly static files, a shared server is all you need. However, if you wish to install complicated scripts and do more with your server, a dedicated server is a much better choice.

What Internet Archive (Way Back Machine) Can Teach You About Success!

Peter contacted me three years ago for creating a custom software or as he called it, a bespoke software. He said he had a fantastic idea with a very high probability of success and very little competition. He didn't tell me what it was about because he wanted us to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) first. We normally don't do custom software if it is not related to our existing products, so I turned down the work.

He did keep in touch and over the years even bought some of our regular products.

A few days back Peter emailed again asking a question about his site and how he can do better than a competitor of his. This time he included his and his competitor's site URLs. He also told me how he was late to market his idea because he couldn't get the software developed fast enough.

Before offering him any suggestions, I decided to do a simple historical research.

The Internet Archive spiders and archives the websites on the Internet. This is the best place to see how various websites evolved over the years. We checked Peter's site as well his main competitor's site.

Here is what I saw...

2005, January

Peter comes up with the idea and contacts me. He is looking for some one to convert his idea into a software. He registered the domain name a month before, but no website yet!

2005, June

A competitor launches a site. The site has a single page with 4 short paragraphs on the subject. There is an email link to contact him for more information.

Peter's domain is parked at the registrar.

2005, August

The competitor's site has now grown to 4 pages. There is a newsletter sign-up form. A couple of articles and a free PDF report. The report is is given as a bonus when some one signs up for the newsletter.

Peter's domain is still parked.

2005, November

The competitor's site has now grown to about 15 pages. He is now offering more free reports and also selling a package on a CD. The CD appears to be a collection of reports and some tools compiled after obtaining permission from various shareware and freeware sites.

Peter's domain is still parked.

2006, December

Peter launches his site. He is now selling the software for about $50. The site looks professional and well created. There is a user guide and more details about how to use the software with all the features well explained.

2007, February

The competitor's site has grown. It now has a large number of articles, free and paid reports, multiple newsletters and yes, he is now selling a software similar to that offered by Peter but at double the price! There is also an announcement that more advanced versions will be released soon!

2008, April

Peter's site is not doing that well, while his competitor is huge. They have a very popular forum and blog that attracts a lot of comments. They are selling multiple versions of the software in different price ranges.

So, What happened here?

Peter  had almost 5 months head-start but didn't do anything because he thought he should have everything perfect before the launch. He could have launched his site even after the competitor created the one page site. He didn't!

He waited almost an year to get started! Meanwhile, his competitor who had no software and very little content got started and then slowly entrenched himself. By the time Peter was ready with the software, the competitor had a commanding position in the search engines, had a mailing list and even had paying customers!

Even after Peter launched his software, it took his competitor just a couple of months to create a competing product!

One of the best advantages of having a website is that at least some visitors will interact with you and tell you what they are looking for. Our own products have improved over the years because of customer feedback. When Peter's competitor saw the new software, he could create a better one in no time because he had the experience and the expertise he had acquired during the time.

Get Started Today!

If you have an idea, start working on it. The best thing about the Internet is that you can add and modify things almost on a daily basis and you can interact with your target market. Your end user simply wants to solve his problem now! So all you have to do is give him an opportunity to tell you the problem. If you have a solution give it to him immediately!

Many people are worried about some one else stealing their idea if they discuss the product. If you are worried about this you should talk to an IP lawyer and start the patenting  process.  Then launch your product as early as possible! Even If you don't get a patent you will still have the product!

The real truth is that ideas are dime a dozen! In 99% of the cases, the ideas are never really unique and there will be so many others toying with the same idea. The winner is the one who takes action!

It doesn't matter if your final product is not ready! You should still be out there with a website. Get enough people interested so that there will be an eager group of people waiting to buy your product the moment it is ready! Otherwise some one else will walk away with the trophy!

Are You Driving Away Your Website Traffic By Giving Too Many Choices?

An earlier blog post discussed how you can improve the web page bounce rates. One of the methods suggested in that post was to give the visitor a few more choices. It also warned about too many choices being bad.

The problem of too many choices is discussed very well in a video presentation by psychologist Barry Schwartz. He calls it the paradox of choice and it has some valuable lessons for marketers.

Does your website feature similarly priced products with overlapping features? The customer now has to make a choice. And the most probable choice she or he will make is to look elsewhere or to postpone the decision making! Either way you just lost a potential customer.

An important difference between offline purchases and online purchases is that an online visitor can and will click away in an instant! For an offline purchase the customer has already invested some time and effort to walk into a shop. So, she is not likely to just walk away without making some effort to complete the purchase.

On your website, always clearly define the product variations and explain the differences. Avoid unnecessarily overlapping product features. Make sure that the customer has enough information to make an informed choice without getting confused.

If you have to have different products with overlapping features make them in different price ranges so that the the costlier products have more features. That way the customer will have at least one fixed reference point (the price) from which to make a choice.

Another solution is to ask some questions to your website visitor and then offer the ideal choice based on the answers. If you already have a good reputation your customer will consider you to be an authority on the subject and will gladly accept the recommendation.

So what kind of choices are the bad ones?

• The bad choices confuse the visitor.
• The bad choices force the visitor to postpone the decision.
• The bad choices make the visitor think that you are trying to make him or her buy everything!
• The bad choices make the visitor feel bad about himself and his level of knowledge.

Avoid these and you will have a lot less problems with your websites.