Scott Fox's Internet Riches E-Business Success Blog

Killer Real Estate Agent Video

Can you out-market this guy?  Watch his award-winning video to be inspired.

Mike Lefebvre is a rookie real estate agent in Massachusetts.  In today's market it's not surprising that he had a slow-moving house on his hands.

To sell this house, did he take the standard real estate agent approach of mailing flyers and posting more bus stop bench ads? 

No, Mike stepped up and into the Internet Age - leaving most agents in the dust. 

Check out this video.  Wouldn't you want him on your side when selling a house?

What marketing can you do that's "outside the box" for your industry?  Traditional marketing is tired and the Web offers you the greatest marketing platform in history.  What are you doing to take advantage of it?

p.s.  Mike's pitch email to me was also full of easy-to-use links so that I could follow his story easily.  Thinking ahead to make my job more convenient by doing so was smart.  He's still working on his very first home sale but if you need an agent in Massachusetts, I'd say Mike Lefebvre is probably a good bet.

Hillary T-Shirt Test: I ran for President and all I got...

Hillary Clinton says: "I ran for President and all I got was this Lousy T-shirt!"

Actually, I’m just running a test on “instant merchandise stores” as research for you. 

Check out this tshirt I made: 

This only took me about an hour and it’s now onsale for $11.69 here: http://www.cafepress.com/lousytshirtshop

I’m trying to measure word-of-mouth promotions for topical products like this. Could you please forward this to a few friends if you find it amusing?

(Sorry, Hillary fans...)

Thanks!

http://www.cafepress.com/lousytshirtshop

Ask Scott Fox - What's Your Question for Me?

If you could ask me one question about e-business, what would it be?

Now's a good time to ask me - I'm compiling questions for my next Teleseminar. 

How can I help you make more money online?

Do you need help with SEO, financing, online marketing, web site design, customer service, web site hosting, software, keyword advertising, affiliate programs, or...? 

Please email us or post your question in the Comments using the link below. 

Marketing thru Social Networks - LowesforPros.com

Lowe's home improvement stores recently interviewed me for their LowesforPros.com web site, a very popular online destination for construction contractors.

The result was a useful article titled "Carving out Your Space in a Myspace World."  It's about how how effective use of online networking sites can expand your business. The specfic topic was applying social networking techniques to building business for their contractor customers, but the tips that Dennis McCafferty's article offers apply to any small business looking for more clients.

Here's my quote:
“Online networks are the 21st Century version of the Yellow Pages,” says Scott Fox, an online marketing consultant, as well as author of the bestseller, Internet Riches. “You always put an ad in there, don’t you? You should also have a presence on the leading online networking sites. This will allow others to refer business to you, just like the Yellow Pages traditionally has done.”

Anyone reading my blog knows that the Internet can be a valuable tool for business contacts and networking.  This article is full of tips on how to take advantage of these new media.

Read the full article here:  http://lowesforpros.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleID=1352

The Snowboard, the Subdural Hematoma, and the Secret of Life

Here's a quality piece of writing that can help inspire you toward e-business success. 

Copyblogger's Brian Clark shared this morning a personal and inspiring story about how he was inspired to "take the plunge" into full time e-business entrepreneurship.

Check out "The Snowboard, the Subdural Hematoma, and the Secret of Life." It may be just what you need to get your Monday morning (and your new online career!) started.

Amazing $7.49 .com Domain Name Sale!

I just figured out why I’ve been seeing a lot of traffic and more purchases than usual at my domain name registrar, InternetMillionaireDomains.com.

New .com domain names are on sale for only $7.49! And .com transfers are only $7.49, too!

Sorry for the "hard sell" here but many of you have signed up because you want to hear about "deals and discounts".  Here's why I had to share this AMAZING deal with you. 

• Network Solutions still charges $34.99/year for .com registrations.
• Register.com charges $35.00/year.
• Dotster.com charges $15.25/year.
• Even GoDaddy.com charges $9.99/year these days!

That means that this $7.49 .com deal is even $2.50 LOWER than at GoDaddy.com (which supplies the InternetMillionaireDomains.com service to me).

I doubt that they are even making money at these prices, so please take advantage of it while it lasts.

You’ll get all the customer service followup you need, plus free email, free forwarding, free online photo filer, and more.

So, if you have a domain name (or two or twelve) that you’ve been thinking about, visit InternetMillionaireDomains.com for the $7.49 .com deal. Now is the time to buy!

You can even buy for up to 10 years at the hugely discounted $7.49 price.

A 10 year registration at this low price can be a very worthwhile investment if you agree with me that domain names, especially good .com domains, are “Internet real estate” worth investing in. (See my previous post on the financial upside I expect from domain name investing.)

Visit InternetMillionaireDomains.com now for the $7.49 .com registration deal!  This sale can't last!

Ask Scott Fox: Customer Service Problems - The Invisibility Principle

Hi Scott,
A lot of books tell me to invest more on customer service by offering returns and unconditional refunds, etc. and give a memorable shopping experience to my customers.  But how should I cope with serial returners, or customers who abuse the service?
Do we always assume people are good and there are always more genuine shoppers out there?
- Barbara

SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER

Hi Barbara,
"The customer is always right" is a common maxim in business.  This applies even more strongly on the web because of what I call the "Internet Invisibility Principle."  Here it is: 

Your online store is effectively invisible to the customer once they leave your web site or mailing list.  This is a key difference in online business from traditional bricks & mortar retailing.  Unlike in the "real" world, former customers will not drive past your shop each day or naturally return to your neighborhood to buy groceries. 

This means that your customer relationships ARE your business in the online world.  The permission you have from your opted-in subscribers and purchasers, their trust in you to deliver the products you promise, and their attention to your marketing messages are 100% of both your present and future revenues. 

This is why, despite the pain and possible expense, most customer service experts recommend accomodating customers as much as you can afford to, and even more so online.  The alternative is that you become INVISIBLE to possibly your best customers when they stop visiting your site, leave your mailing list, or otherwise forget about your products/services because they feel poorly treated (rightly or wrongly).

After all, the person most likely to purchase from you is someone who has purchased from you before.  Keeping all of your customers as happy as you can afford to do is therefore the best way to grow your revenues online.

In more practical terms, I try to presume the best but be prepared for the worst.  For my e-businesses and clients, this has meant implementing customer service policies that empower customer service reps to quickly and forthrightly respond to customer concerns.  Often an honest explanation of whatever the problem is can work wonders.  I've found that sharing the simple truth is surprisingly rare and customers appreciate it. 

It's also quite common that the most annoying customers are simply venting their frustrations on you due to difficulties in other parts of their lives.  Polite followup can often elicit surprisingly accomodating responses once they have cooled off.

I recognize that on the web, however, the ease with which people can contact you can also easily lead to mismatches in communication or expectations.  So, if people abuse your trust, products, or policies, you need to cut them off.  A polite but firm explanation of the situation and the remedy you propose is about the best you can do.  Delivering this with a personal touch and apologies for any misunderstandings can help. 

Where to draw the lines on these issues will be different for every entrepreneur who reads this.  But the factors in your calculation should include the potential lifetime value of a customer versus the annoyance and/or expense of servicing them to meet and exceed their expectations.

One of the most expensive parts of business is acquiring new customers.  If going the extra mile (and expense) will keep a paying customer from becoming "invisible" to you, that's very often less expensive than trying to replace them with a new one.

Best regards,
Scott Fox

How about you?  What have your customer service experiences been like online? 

Does your advice to Barbara differ from mine?  Please COMMENT below.

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Ipower Web Sucks Survey

Many of you who have read my book know that I used to enthusiastically endorse the web hosting services of Ipower Web. 

Unfortunately, as readers of this blog also know, I revoked this recommendation several months ago.  I did this because their customer service suddenly became terrible and their transition to a new hosting platform caused havoc for my web sites and email systems, as well as those of many of my readers. 

Their transition even included deactivating the web site template design systems that I had praised in my book, Internet Riches - replacing it with a much inferior version and calling it an "upgrade".  (As well as a surprise "premium" option which was not any better but cost extra, of course.)

I have since moved my web sites to Typepad.  (See my review and recommendation of Typepad hosting here.)

Ipower continues to send me newsletters bragging about their supposed improvements and email me with surveys asking how they are doing.  (This despite my repeated emails to them asking for help during the server transition which were ignored.)

If you are one of the many readers who wrote me complaining about IPW, I thought that you might enjoy completing this survey they sent me today.  Please tell them how you feel about their shabby customer treatment and poor services.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1lO4x6XcfbL_2fLeYABM550w_3d_3d

Or you can email them directly at: support@ipower.com.

Tips for Growing Blog Readership - Asian Food Fanatic

AsianFoodFanatic.com is a new blog started by one of my readers. 

Read on to learn Victor Lee's story.  He's doing a lot of things correctly on his web site but I have a list of suggestions for him that may be helpful in your e-business, too.

My response points out areas for improvement that should help Victor build his blog audience and advance toward making some money from his new hobby.  Do any of these better blogging tips apply to your online venture?

Hi Scott,

Your video message about following one's passion when choosing an e-business really resonated with me.

Your book, blog posts and email newsletters inspired me to follow my own passion and start a website about a topic I absolutely adore: Asian Food!

My website www.asianfoodfanatic.com is a blog about my experiences visiting various Asian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area (which is an absolute paradise for Asian food lovers like myself!)

Using the tools you recommended, the process of setting up my website was ridiculously easy. I used Blogger.com as my blogging platform (and had my blog up and running in minutes) and Godaddy.com to register my domain name.

I found your recommendations and advice to be really valuable - thanks and keep them coming!

My current focus is on how to drive more traffic to my blog. If you have any advice on that I would greatly appreciate it. Once I have healthy traffic, the next stage would be to monetize. I envision Google ads, affiliate links, referral partnerships with local Asian restaurants, and more,...BUT... I am having so much fun working (seems more like playing) on this blog that I would continue to do it even if I didn't make any money out of it. It adds a lot of fun and enrichment to my life.

That goes back to the whole idea of following one's passion - it allows one to reap rewards that go well beyond money. I think you just can't lose when you follow your heart.

Thanks for helping me get started.

Regards, Victor (aka AsianFoodFanatic)
www.asianfoodfanatic.com

SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER:

Hello Victor,

I'm very pleased that Internet Riches and this blog have been so inspiring to you.

Your blog looks great – informative articles plus plenty of very attractive photos. (Filipino fried chicken sure looks tasty…)  You've picked a good niche with lots of readership online, and a memorable name/URL, too.

To grow your blog's readership, there is a long list of online marketing techniques.  Here are a few:

1. To start increasing your traffic make friends with other food blogs. If you exchange links via your blogrolls, that should help attract new readers and also improve your search engine rankings.

2. I see that you have good ranking on Google but I don't see your blog listed in Yahoo's search results yet. If you haven't already, you should submit your URL to them.

3. Buy some keyword ads. By doing so you can quickly attract more traffic from a search engine that is not otherwise listing your site yet. If you target ads to specific niches of interest to your audience (like "pansit" or "Filipino restaurant"), it shouldn't cost too much and you should get new visitors interested in your content.

4. Consider how to expand your focus so that the content in your blog appeals outside the San Francisco area. Adding recipes or reviews of restaurants in other cities that you visit, etc. could help broaden your readership.

5. Lastly, I don't see anywhere on your blog to give you my email address if I want to hear more from you. You should install an email collector or at least offer an RSS feed to make it easier for interested visitors to receive your content updates.

I hope that's all helpful to you. Good luck. I'm always pleased to hear from readers who are making it happen.

Most of all, I'm glad to hear that you are having fun with it.

Best regards,
Scott Fox

Would you like me to offer suggestions on your web site? 
Click on the COMMENTS link below to ask or email us!

SEO Teleseminar - Did You have Technical Difficulties?

Apparently there were some technical difficulties with our "Critical Basics of SEO" Teleseminar yesterday.  Several people have emailed that they were not able to join the call.

My apologies!  That must have been frustrating.  We are working with our teleconference provider to fix this issue for next time.  Thanks to those of you who wrote in detailing the bugs.

The MP3 Download of the recording of the teleseminar just went on-sale in the Scott Fox Store for $19.95.

If you were one of the folks inconvenienced by the technical difficulties, we'll arrange for you to get a free copy of the MP3.  Just email us in the next few days.

Quoted in Saipan?

It really is amazing how big and wide the Internet network is - Google Alerts just informed me that I've been quoted in a newspaper in Saipan!

In a recent article in the Saipan Tribune, Walt F.J. Goodridge spiced up his column about self-reliance during a recession with this surprise quote from me:

According to author and internet expert Scott Fox, "The key to finding the right new business is to combine a person’s skills, interests, and hobbies to target the right group of customers with in-demand products and services that will help them solve their problems in a cost-effective manner."

Thanks, Walt.

As this example demonstrates, Google Alerts is a great, fr-e.e tool you can use to keep track of web posts about you, your web site, or your company, too.

Visit Google Alerts to enter any search term that interests you - the system will automatically scour the web and email you updates on that topic.  Great and very cost effective research for your e-business.

Fr-ee Teleseminar: SEO - Critical Basics for Your Web Site

Search Engine Optimization is the topic for my next F-REE Teleseminar.

I'm calling it "SEO Basics: The Critical Steps for E-Business Web Site Success". 

On this call, you'll hear the latest directly from me, Scott Fox, on how to ensure that your web site includes the basics necessary to attract the search engine traffic that your online business needs.

The 45 minute call will be held at 630 pm Eastern Time (330pm Pacific Time) on Tuesday, April 22.

Please mark your calendar and RSVP to tele@scottfox.com if you'd like info on how to attend. 

(You're welcome to send along questions, too.)

Amazon.com Free Download Report Offer Expiring!

My Amazon.com special offer for a FR-EE download of my report "5 Instant Internet Businesses" is expiring soon!

You can only get this exclusive new report f-ree if you purchase the new paperback edition of Internet Riches before April 30. 

The report details 5 ways that you can quickly and inexpensively start an e-business of your own - it's a great way to get started - even before your new paperback copy of my book arrives.

If this special offer from Amazon.com interests you, please visit Amazon.com and act today.

Ask Scott Fox: When To Upgrade Your Web Site

Dear Scott:

We have had our web site up for almost two years.  It works fine but with all the changes in the online world, should we spend the money to redesign it already?

Thanks,
Bill O. 

SCOTT FOX'S ANSWER:

Dear Bill,

There are three good reasons to redesign or upgrade your web site.  Here they are, along with inexpensive ways to test your web site for each of them.

You should upgrade your web site when...

1)  When your web site looks dated compared to your competitors' web sites. This is primarily a graphic redesign – like repainting your house. Having an outdated looking web site gives the wrong impression about your business. Just as in the real world, you need to present a professional, up-to-date image if you want to attract business. 

How to Test:  To identify meaningful changes, simply surf the web. Look closely at competitor sites and ask your colleagues to do so, too.  Then broaden your search to other industries to find alternative looks that may be instructive.  Be sure to write down the URLs of what you react to. 

It can be very helpful to identify web sites that you don’t like, those that you do, and those that you would like your site to be more like. Both graphic design and feature sets are relevant here. Showing examples like this to your designers can save a lot of misunderstandings.

2) When your web site's functionality lags your competitors. This is more fundamental work that will require an IT department or outsourced web design contractors. Depending on your business, this may include introduction of front-end modifications, too, such as audience interactivity, a blog, or online video, too.

How to Test:  Surfing the web is again the easiest solution here.  I know that you're busy, but it's important to make time to wander the web.  Examining other sites can help you keep up with what customers are expecting online from your industry. 

3) When your web site is underperforming its potential for helping you attract leads or make sales.

How to Test:  This can be difficult to judge.  Four quick measurements are:
a) How well does your site rank in search engines like Google or Yahoo for the search keywords relevant to your products?
b) How many new leads or email subscribers are you attracting each day?
c) How many unique visitors are you getting and, even more importantly, how many of them are converting to sales?
d) What does your spouse think? Ask someone like your spouse who knows what you do (but is not too close to it) to try using the site. Getting feedback from a quick and inexpensive usability test like this can be eye-opening.

How to Launch a Redesign Effort

To successfully undertake any redesign, you’ll want to lay out a project plan that details your desired feature set, budget, human and equipment resources, input needs, dependencies and proposed time line. Get everyone who is involved or impacted or contributing to this plan to sign off on their obligations.

Depending on the complexity of the redesign, this can be an easy meeting or two, or a whole project in and of itself. A contractor that specializes in web site design and maintenance for small businesses can help you through this process, too.

Since your whole business is likely depending on your web site, it can easily be worth the investment to engage a qualified and dedicated Project Manager to keep the process on track, too.

Video: Pros And Cons Of eBay for Your Startup

Have you bought things on eBay?  Probably.

Have you considered using eBay as the platform for your e-business?  Less likely.

Here's a One Minute U video outlining reasons that eBay is a great platform for e-business entrepreneurs.

"Scott Fox, best-selling author of Internet Riches, shares tips and tricks on determining if eBay is right for your e-business."

If the video above won't play for you, trying clicking here:
http://www.oneminuteu.com/default.taf?page=content&id=1113

This is only a one minute clip so there's plenty more to discuss here.  Leave me some Comments below if you'd like to hear more of the "pros and cons" of working on eBay.

Bill O'Reilly in Los Angeles for KABC

Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly was in town recently. 

I joined him backstage before a special lecture appearance he made in Westwood on behalf of KABC Radio, the local affiliate for his nationally syndicated "Radio Factor" program.

Since my work with him setting up BillOReilly.com a few years ago, he has been very supportive of my latest career as an Author.  In fact, Bill gave a blurb for the jacket of Internet Riches.  It says: 

"Want to do more than surf the net?  Scott Fox helped set up BillOReilly.com and make it into a profit center.  His book, Internet Riches, is a must-read for entrepreneurs."

Bill's latest book is Kids Are Americans Too.  Like his previous books, it's a best-seller full of good advice.  Check it out on Amazon.com or wherever books are sold.

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