Internet Marketing offers many benefits that traditional employment does not including the ability to set your own hours, an unlimited stream of income, the flexibility of choosing a niche that you are passionate about, and the opportunity to help others.

By virtue of the fact that a large portion of Internet Marketing revolves around the sale of information products, the opportunity to help others is by far the strongest draw that online ventures provide. Not only is the marketing professional able to make hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by pursuing their passion, in the process they are contributing to the education or training of others at the same time.

There are very few careers that afford the instant gratification this arrangement provides. Many traditional jobs provide an education or service, but the end result or the consumer that acquires the benefit is so far removed from the supply chain, that the employee never gets to see first hand the difference they are making in someone else’s life.

On the other hand, an Internet Marketing professional many times will not only see first hand the difference they are making, they are directly involved in the process while it is evolving. This is a very strong draw for those who seek and gain their gratification from helping others.

Because the claims of making an overnight fortune are so plentiful, it is often believed that it is the financial gain that drives online entrepreneurs. And while that is certainly one of the overwhelming benefits to online opportunities, more often than not you will see the people making the most money are the ones that are the most passionate about what they are doing.

This passion is what will stand the test of time. There are plenty of online marketing opportunities that fade into the background as fast as they originally appeared, but someone who puts their heart and soul into every aspect of their product or service almost always backs the ones that have the greatest longevity.

This model is one that does not get a lot of exposure, because too often the headlines we see are designed for shock value and the easiest way to capture the attention of an audience is through the income potential. But looking beyond that, if you see someone with passion, you will most likely see someone who is going to be around for quite a while or has already been around for a long time. It is a common denominator that is shared by many of the top Internet Marketing Gurus today and will remain so for a long while to come.

New entrepreneurs who aspire to reach great heights in the Internet Marketing community will do well to recognize and emulate this business model. There is no limit to the amount of ways that someone can make a living online, but if care is taken to choose a topic that is also part of your passion, then the odds of a long and successful career in this business greatly increase.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Most people don’t particularly like the idea that they are merely products of their environment. But whether the suggestion in the title appeals to you or not, it describes the situation for most people pretty accurately. Most of our thoughts, emotions, actions, behaviors and habits are dictated directly or indirectly by our environment.

There may be a few exceptional individuals for whom this doesn’t seem to be the case. People with such a strong character that they appear to be impervious to influences of the circumstances around them. However even these people are under the influence of their environment Their past environment has shaped them in such a way that they have gotten stronger and are more able today to withstand certain influences. But even though they may have developed an unshakable character they are still not untouchable. They can however be highly selective as to by what and whom they allow themselves to be influenced. They have learned to stand guard at the door of their minds, and that is a major reason for their success.

We would all like to think of ourselves as such a person and we all have the ability to be just that. But hanging around people who are just about the opposite, in other words: most people, won’t do much good. It’s not that much a question of whether or not you are a product of your environment. The question is : Do you like what your environment has made of you?” Or even better, and certainly more accurate: “Do you like what you have allowed your environment to make of you?” If you do. Great! If not. You basically have two options; change how and when you allow your environment to influence you or change your environment. The former might seem easier, since it allows you to stay within your comfort zone, but it is in fact a lot harder than you might think. After all, if it were that easy you would already have done it.

Changing your environment can be easy enough, but it does take a conscious decision on your part. Your ‘environment’ or your ‘peer group’ usually consists of about five people. These are the people that you spend the majority of your time with and these are also the people that influence you the most. Like it or not. So if you’re not satisfied with your results and you would like to change where you are in life, a change in your environment may be the smartest first step to take. The expectations put on you by your peers have a huge impact on you, whether you are aware of it or not. If you hang around people who hold themselves to high standards you will do your best to meet those standards. Even if this means you will have to put a higher demand on yourself. Conversely, if the people around you have a lower standard you will inevitably either lower your standards to remain comfortable around them or you will leave them. Unfortunately for many people the former, which is obviously the path of least resistance, is often the alternative of choice.

You could make achieving your goals and reaching success in life so much easier if you would just be a bit more choosy when it comes to the people in your environment. Take an active role in determining who is and who is not allowed into your peer group. Instead of just letting other people claim you for theirs. To some this may seem like a chore; consciously selecting who they spend their time with or posing as somebody else and pretending to be something they’re not in order to fit in. A lot of people also consider it to be unethical or opportunistic to apply this kind of selectiveness to determine who they spend their time with. Many people also mistake being selective in who you spend your time with for being insincere. As if you were taking advantage of someone else by spending time with them. Of course if you actually try to take advantage of someone, he or she will notice this sooner or later and when that happens, that person will no longer be a part of your peer group. However, if you sincerely want to get ahead in life there is nothing wrong with looking for people that can increase you chances of success.

The good thing about being around like-minded individuals is that you enjoy each others company because you think alike on at least a number of subjects that you both consider to be important. These people won’t feel exploited by you at all. They’ll probably enjoy your company as much as you do theirs. And you will have a lot less trouble filtering all sorts of negative influences from these people. Simply because they won’t give you a lot of it. They may give you a lot of constructive criticism or hold you to higher standards than you are used to, but they aren’t likely to crush your hopes and dreams and try to de-motivate you. If you have a carefully selected peer group it’s as if you have a whole team of security guards protecting the door to your mind instead of just one.

Of course this doesn’t mean that you can’t still spend time with the people you currently hang around. These people may still be very important to you. They may be close friends and family and by no means should you completely erase them from your life. Although in some cases that might not be a bad suggestions. It is important to realize that continuing to devote most of your time, attention and energy to them can seriously hurt you and your future. As the expression goes: “Love your family, Choose your peers”. If you really want to get ahead in life you better take that phrase to heart. After all, time is a very precious commodity of which all of us are only given a certain amount. We might as well spend it in an environment that is supportive to our goals and dreams.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Most people starting out looking to make money from their own home based internet marketing business are drawn towards the affiliate marketing arena with claims of easy money.

But is it really as easy as just sending prospects to your affiliate link? In a word, no. Nothing’s that easy. There is work involved. There’s no such thing as a free ride.

And most people that fail at affiliate marketing are the ones that enter it with that mindset. You, as an aspiring affiliate, need to realize that it is still marketing and as such you will need to hone your skill set to achieve any level of success.

As with any product or service you must advertise to make prospects aware of what you have to offer. You can’t just join a program and hope that your link will be clicked.

A successful affiliate applies many different strategies. Most of these can be used in any niche with a little altering to fit that particular niche’s parameters.

Here are a few tips on how to grow your affiliate earnings.

*You’re the expert

Get to know the product you’re promoting. Research it as thoroughly as possible. If it’s feasible, buy the product and use it. This gives you the advantage of working from a position of superior knowledge. Write your own testimonial or review. This instills confidence in the buyer because you’ve already purchased it yourself.

*Your own website

You have to have your own website. This is imperative to your affiliate success. Why? Because every other affiliate will be using the exact same sales pages as you. You must stand out from the crowd. Differentiate yourself.

With your own site you can create custom landing pages to pre-sell the product. You can also write a special report and set up an autoresponder to capture the name and email address of curious individuals and follow up with them.

Always check with the affiliate agreement before creating your own ads and landing pages as this may be against the rules for that particular program.

*Forums and discussion boards

Participating in online forums and discussion boards gives you two advantages. It not only allows you to drum up business for your products but it also gives you input from a customer’s point of view.

By asking and answering questions you’ll get a better feel for what exactly your prospects are looking for. What problems do they have? What do they feel would be the best way to solve these problems? Which do they think is the most pressing problem that needs to be addressed?

*Your own newsletter or ezine

There are a tremendous amount of free newsletters and ezines on the web today, and for good reason. People who are passionate about a certain subject will always welcome more information on it as long as it’s well written and presented.

By building a relationship with your readers you build their trust too. This is when you can start recommending products and services and when your affiliate profits will soar.

Simply send out an email every other week with an article written by either yourself or another expert along with some tips and possibly a famous quote and you’ve got a winning formula for a newsletter.

Capturing someone’s email can also be applied to giving away a special report or product review so long as you let the person know that you will be sending additional emails.

All in all, these tips should help you greatly increase your earnings in any affiliate program in any niche.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Creating multiple streams of income is an important factor when considering any type of business. Affiliate marketing is no exception. By creating multiple streams of income it ensures your survival should one source fail for any reason.

Having multiple streams of income can be equated to McDonalds serving chicken sandwiches even though they’re a burger joint. If you put all your eggs in one basket you’re just looking for trouble. Also, as an affiliate it’s fairly easy to setup multiple streams of income because there is usually an abundance of different programs with decent products available.

Within most niches you’ll probably even be able to find products that complement each other instead of competing with each other. This is an excellent way to bolster your affiliate earnings.

The first order of business is to get your own web site. Something basic will do as you won’t need too much web space. There are very inexpensive hosting plans available today, some as cheap as $3.95 a month.

Next you’ll need a domain name. These are also very inexpensive and can be purchased for under $10 for a whole year.

Your domain name is very important. You’ll want to try to include the name of the niche you’re targeting in the domain name itself if you can and if it’s not too long. If you’re looking at the dog grooming niche for example you may want a name like “doggroomingtips.com” or “doggroomingsecrets.com” or something similar.

The next project on your agenda when attempting to achieve multiple streams of affiliate income should be to create your email capture page.

Your capture page should be your top priority. Consider this your sales page even though you won’t be selling anything in the true sense of the word. By capturing the name and email address of your prospects before sending them to the merchants site you’ll build a list that you can send other offers to whether they purchase from the original merchant or not.

It’s been said many times by the internet’s top marketers, “The money’s in the list”! This rings true for affiliate marketers as well as product creators. You can build a list by writing a special report pertaining to the niche you’re targeting. Perhaps you can write a review of the product you’re promoting or a “top ten” list of reasons to use the product. Offer the report for free so long as your visitor leaves their name and email address. Use a double opt-in autoresponder to protect yourself from unethical folks.

After the prospect has confirmed their address send them to the download page of your special report. And a word of advice - Don’t just send a download link. By sending them to an HTML web page you can sprinkle in links to different affiliate products.

Also, write up 7-10 emails to go out at 2-3 day intervals, each highlighting a different aspect of the main product you’re promoting. Then you can add more emails to go out at 7-10 day intervals exposing your readers to different products in the same niche. Explain how these products complement your main product and why your reader would benefit from the purchase.

By setting up a few of these simple sites offering an array of special reports in one niche you’ll be promoting several different affiliate products within that niche.

Find a variety of other profitable niches to target, repeat the above process and soon you’ll have a whole network of sites funneling prospects into your sales process. The result -You’ll soon have multiple streams of affiliate income in several different niches producing substantial income.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Have you ever been around someone that was inclined to take action immediately and always? It can be a great experience, but at the same time an embarrassing one.

It’s a great thing because these people have an energy about them. They have an air of making things happen, simply because that’s exactly what they are doing. They don’t necessarily take action without giving things sufficient thought, but they certainly don’t waste time by postponing the action any longer than they should.

It’s as if these action-oriented individuals have no procrastination filter in place. As if it doesn’t even dawn on them that they could postpone taking action. They just go ahead as if it were the only logical thing to do. Of course in many cases that’s exactly what moving into action is: the only logical thing to do. Yet how many times have you found yourself in a situation where, for some strange reason, you didn’t shift into gear immediately? Instead you thought about it for a while and then you decided to make a mental note and pick it up somewhere later in the day or perhaps later in the week. Only to find that whatever it was you intended to do, you never came around to doing it.

Being around an individual that’s action oriented can also be quite embarrassing because it often confronts us with our own habits of procrastinating. Most of us put off many things for a variety of reasons. Actually the word ‘reason’ isn’t really correct in this context. The word ‘excuse’ comes much closer to the truth. Sometimes the excuses are obvious. Making a phone call to someone can be painful if you have to deliver bad news or, perhaps worse, if you expect to be on the receiving end of bad news. However many times people tend to put off little things that really aren’t worth fussing over. Things like setting an appointment with the local car repair shop to get your windshield fixed or cleaning out a desk drawer; actions that would be over and done with in a couple of minutes that we sometimes put off for weeks for no apparent reason.

Without getting into any specific actions it can be said that the tendency to take action leads to better results in business and in life in general. Samuel Golden, a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer stated, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. Early in the twentieth century he was at the cradle of the company that later evolved into Paramount Pictures. A decade later he joined forces with two other Broadway producers to found the Golden Pictures Corporation. This company was eventually purchased by Metro Pictures Corporation forming the well-known Metro-Golden-Mayer.

Samuels statement on the correlation between taking action and good fortune sure rang true for him and it still does to this day for many other people. It just seems that successful people are more inclined to take action. And of course this is no coincidence. Empirical evidence supports the theory that lady luck really does favor the action-oriented man. The more actions you will undertake the more successes you can expect to encounter. Of course you will also encounter your share of so-called failures, but failures are part and parcel of becoming a success.

Anyone that is considered a successful person can tell you that they have undertaken more actions than the average person, probably many more. But somehow they don’t think of it as a chore. Many of them just do it and as a result of that doing they get all the rewards.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

You can’t go far these days without seeing a Payday Loan offer. Some come in the form of an actual store (often times found in strip malls or in the parking lot of regular malls) while other offers are presented exclusively on the Internet. But what exactly is a payday loan?

A payday loan is normally a very small loan (under $1,000). Unlike regular loans, payday loans rarely require a credit check. The terms on payday loans are much shorter than other loans and the borrower is usually required to pay back the loan in full within anywhere from two weeks to two months. Payday loans are marketed as a way to get fast cash to hold the borrower over until their next paycheck.

When a borrower applies for a payday loan they are required to present the lender with either a post-dated check or permission to debit their bank account on an agreed upon future date. The finance charge is almost always very high and often comes in the form of a fixed dollar amount as opposed to an interest rate percentage that is found with a standard loan. Many payday loan companies are not licensed or regulated by consumer laws and will charge the borrower the maximum amount that they think they can get. Payday loans are generally very costly for borrowers and should be avoided if possible.

If you do find yourself in an emergency situation where you need to use the services of a payday loan company, then it is absolutely imperative that you repay your payday loan as soon as possible. If you’re unable to repay your loan at the end of the agreed upon term, you’ll be charged hefty fees in addition to the initial finance charge. Payday loans are much more expensive than other borrowing options. The average APR (annual percentage rate) on a payday loan is somewhere around 400%, however, it’s often as high as 5000%! If you have a credit card with available credit, you are almost always better off taking a cash advance from your card, as opposed to getting a payday loan. Even the highest credit card APR out there isn’t nearly as high as most payday loan rates.

Now that you’re aware of the potential pitfalls of payday loans, you can decide whether or not it is the type of loan product that fits your needs. Payday loans can be beneficial if you’re in need of fast cash in a pinch; however, be prepared to pay the price!

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Read and implement these seven very effective ways to build your opt-in list for all your Internet marketing.

1. Offer a free newsletter: This is very common and very effective. It is used by virtually everyone who builds an opt-in list of potential buyers of an Internet marketer’s product. The reason everyone uses it is because it is effective. Have your free newsletter prominently seen on your web page.

2. Make your free newsletter easy to get: You must have a “you’d be a fool not to get this newsletter” sentence telling people why and how your newsletter will help them. Make subscribing to it quick and easy.

3. Quality content in your web site: The better the content, the better your ranking in the search engines and therefore the more visitors will come to your website. There is a good chance that many of the visitors of your web page will sign up for your free newsletter.

4. Join forums: Search for and join any forum that is related to your business. Most of these forums allow you to add a signature line directly under your post where you can put a link that goes to your newsletter subscription information.

5. Write articles: You need to establish yourself as an expert in your particular field. And how do you do that? write articles. Your articles will contain useful information and the byline will contain a link to your newsletter subscription.

6. Write an eBook: This will establish you as an expert similar to writing articles. An additional bonus to this technique is many Internet marketers are often looking for freebies they can give to visitors of their website. Your eBook can be one of those freebies. Inside you will have various links back to your site and your free newsletter. Your eBook does not need to win any prizes for literary content nor does it need to be long; just write solid, useful information.

7. Use Co-registration. I saved the best for last. The top marketing experts on the Internet use this secret today. This will build your list rapidly in a short amount of time. What is co-registration you ask? It refers to the practice of referring subscriptions or leads for memberships with another registration process. There are several ways of doing this.

When a visitor signs up for a free subscription or other service, give them the chance on the “thank-you” page to opt-in to another offer. Another way is give the visitors to a website the opportunity to sign up for another opt-in list. These do not need to be your “thank-you” pages or websites. You need to partner up with another web marketer.

The goal here is to find other website owners who you can joint venture with to offer your newsletter along with theirs. Do a search via your favorite search engine and directories for similar offers and contact the people to set up your joint venture.

Here are two additional secrets to this co-registration process. First, make sure you offer more value than the other party involved in your joint venture. Second, offer your leads you get from this process more value than you usually offer by giving them a huge giveaway only available to them.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

If speaking in front of an audience scares you more than death itself it’s time to get up and do it! When we confront fears that aren’t dangerous to our lives we grow and learn beyond any book. The fact is, no matter what field you’re in, if you can confidently speak in front of large groups of people, you will be an invaluable resource for your company. You will be paid more and have greater job security.

The following are 7 guidelines for Powerful Presentations:

1: 80-20 Rule

Realize that 80% of your material must be information your audience already knows. Sound strange? Think of it this way. When we advanced through school each year’s lessons grew from the material from the previous year. For instance we learned the alphabet, then words, then we were able to put sentences together, and then we studied structure, punctuation, grammar, paragraphs…

80% of school is remedial of the previous year. This is how we learn. To make the 80% of the material interesting you need to simply add your own unique personality. Then connect the 80% with the 20% for new material and your audience will be sitting on the edge of their seats. Learning is about seeing known material in new ways and making connections to new material. If these percentages are reversed you will lose you audience in a thick fog of confusion.

2: Know Your Audience

Research your audience. What do they know? What do they want to know more about? When you can answer these two questions you are well on your way to putting together a powerful presentation that leaves them enlightened and feeling good.

Proper Attire and Grooming:

A suit and tie may not be advisable if you are speaking to a “Youth Without Shelter” group. They will likely feel like you are preaching from an “Ivory Tower” perspective. Conversely, ripped jeans and a T-shirt may not be advisable in a business setting.

3: Have a Plan

After you choose a topic decide on how you want to present it. Will you use visual aids? What is your purpose? Maybe you want to inspire some sort of action from your audience like buying your products. Prepare, prepare, prepare… Know your material. There should be no doubt in the mind of your audience that you have earned the right to talk about this subject.

Briefly tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. This will reinforce your message.

4: Practice

The success of becoming good at anything, including public speaking, is practice. Give your presentation in front of the mirror, notice your posture; practice on your family and friends; imagine giving your presentation to a thousand people as you practice.

Does your voice project? Could a person sitting in the back row hear you? Are you using vocal variety including volume, pitch, and tone? How is the pace; too fast, slow, or just right?

5: Over the Top Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm originally meant possessed by the Gods. Ignite passion about your subject into the audience; light their minds and move their bodies with your words and gestures! They should be sitting on the edge of their seats ready to take action at your beckon call. It is difficult to stay tuned-in to a boring, monotone speaker; it is impossible to turn away from somebody possessed with enthusiasm.

6: Make Your Audience Feel Good

Give lots of praise and be personal. Thank them for being there and let them know that you are honored to be addressing them. Tell them a funny story about yourself. Maybe it was when you were on stage one time and flubbed your lines. If you flub your lines any time while speaking, make a quick joke about it and keep going. Remember most of the people in your audience are scared to death of public speaking. After all your preparation and practice it’s time to be natural, human.

7: It’s Not About You

Realize that your presentation is not about you. It’s not even about the presentation. It’s about how the audience responds to the presentation. When you can direct your attention away from your fear and your self-image you will have taken the biggest step toward getting intimate with your audience and delivering the messages in the way that best suits them.

You have to feel into your audience. You have to know when they are drifting, what puts them on the edge of their seats, what they disagree with. This type of connection can only happen if your step out of your own fears and anxieties and into the hopes and dreams of your audience.

Ask a lot of questions. Even rhetorical questions are great. This engages the mind. Understand that when you ask a question, the people in your audience cannot not answer. That’s the way the mind works. Whether they use a physical gesture, answer out loud, or silently the mind will answer. Does that make sense?

To sum up: The most effective speakers jump at any opportunity to speak publicly, they move out of their own insecurities, focus on the audience, and get personally involved with their messages. Practice, practice, practice until you can speak naturally from your heart, then allow your presentation to flow in the direction of their wants, needs, and interests.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

If you’re thinking about getting outside or equity capital to help fund your business, there are some things you need to do first, that can make your business more attractive to investors. Follow these simple ideas, and you’ll be well on your way to raising the money you need.

First, always talk to a qualified business attorney (not your family lawyer). There are a lot of laws pertaining to how equity capital can be raised from the public, and the laws change often. You need someone who understands not only these laws, but also how to make sure that any business contracts are written to protect you and your business, especially the fine print.

1. Getting money from relatives. Yes, it can seem like begging, and it’s a difficult thing to have to swallow your pride. Surprisingly, in a recent survey, almost 30% of entrepreneurs said that they raised all or part of the capital they needed through family members. If this is your choice, make sure that you have your attorney draw up a regular business contract. When approaching family members, talk to them about their investment the same way you would any other outside investor. Tell them about how much money they can make, not about how much you need their help. And make sure that you keep to your end of the agreement.

2. Using your savings or credit cards. This is the most common way for entrepreneurs to raise needed business capital. Before choosing this method however, talk with your financial advisor. You want to look at the long-term consequences of using your savings, life insurance or credit cards, especially in the event that your business venture fails, or does not bring in the projected return on investment (ROI). If you do end up financing your project using credit cards, make sure that you shop around first, and find the card that will offer you the best rate and gives you the most “bang” for your buck.

3. Venture Capital and Angel Investors. Before even looking for venture capital, look at your company from an outsider’s point of view. Ask yourself these questions: Does your company have a solid track record? (Most venture capitalists don’t invest in start up companies). Does your company have the potential of becoming very large in the next five to seven years? (People don’t invest in your company out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re looking for a return on their investment — the larger the better.) Does your company own a good percentage of its market, or does it stand to gain a large percentage in the next 12 to 18 months? (Contrary to popular belief, your company doesn’t have to be involved in high tech to attract venture capital). If you can answer yes to the above questions, your next step is to find a venture capital firm whose ideals and goals are in line with yours. Your next step should be to look at your “circle of influence” and see if you know someone who can give you a personal introduction to someone at the venture capital firm. (People invest in people, not just companies.)

4. Potential or Current Employees. Surprisingly, one of the most common ways (especially for new companies) to raise equity capital, is by inviting your potential or current employees the opportunity to become investors. With this method, not only do you get a really committed workforce, but many equity employees are also willing to accept a below-market wage in the beginning (especially if you do the same). There are other benefits, but this choice is not without its pitfalls as well. Again, before going this route, talk to your business attorney, and put policies into place that plan for potential problems. For example, what do you do if an employee’s work becomes substandard? Or an employee quits and goes into competition with you after learning all of the company secrets? Putting a risk management plan into place and considering all contingencies is your best bet for this option.

5. Taking your company public. Although security laws in the U.S. have made it easier for companies to go public, and offer stock as a way to raise needed funds, this is still probably the most risky choice. It is usually not a recommended option for very new or very small companies. Because of the number of legal issues involved, consulting with a knowledgeable attorney beforehand is vital. There is also a lot of stress involved in running a public company, and a considerable loss of autonomy and control. Before making this choice, be absolutely sure that this is the wisest course of action for your business.

No matter which choice you make in looking for equity capital, by planning ahead, doing your homework and following the advice of your attorney, you’ll increase the probability of raising the money you need and making the relationship between you and your investors a profitable one.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!

Has your blog begun to stall or are you trying to figure out what to do to get it going again? Have you been trying to get your blog started but do not know how to get started? Then this article will provide you with ways to blast off your blog to grow your business.

Basic steps
The first area that you should make sure that you have in place is the foundation for a successful blog (back to the basics). Here are few things that you should keep in mind:

(1) Make sure your blog has a niche topic so you can make a concerted effort to reach specific blog visitors. For example, if you have a hobby such as collecting rare books, then your main topic should be concentrated on reaching web visitors who need a rare book.

(2) Use categories/tags that are sub-topics of your main topic. Going with the previous niche topic, then good sub-topics would be: authors, genre, illustrated, modern, historic, etc.

(3) Content is key to building traffic to your website. Make sure that your content includes the keywords that you want associated to your niche blog.

Next Steps
Once you have the basics in place, then you need to create a “community” within your blog. Building a “community” means that you want to create a reason for repeat visits by your blog visitors. This will help you in the long run to one day setup a membership website. What does it take to build a “community”? Glad you asked. Below is a short list of things you can do.

(1) Create a way for your web visitors to contribute to your blog. This can be done by allowing them to comment on your blog posts or by allowing them to submit content to be considered for posting to your blog.

(2) Ask your web visitors to submit a link for consideration to be added to your “blogroll” in exchange for them putting a link back to your blog from theirs.

(3) Visit article websites such as www.EzineArticles.com and find articles that are in your niche. You would have to give credit to the author of the article but it is a great way to add content to your website.

Final step
Give your blog visitors a reason to come back by rewarding them for continuously visiting your blog.

(1) Give-away freebies to your blog visitors.

(2) Create a way for them to tell-a-friend about your blog.

(3) Have a contest for guest authors in your niche topic to be guest authors on your blog and ask them to share a link to the article on your blog from theirs.

Around the world Steven E is known as a highly successful publisher, entrepreneur, speaker, coach, mentor, and best-selling author. The Team Publishers program, that he helped to develop, is the publisher of the Wake Up…Live the Life You Love best-selling book series with over 12 million stories in print. Steven E is also featured in the movie Pass it On!