This girl, Ksenya Simonova, won the “Ukrania’s got talent” contest and for her final presentation drew on sand, with her hands, an animation of the German occupation of Ukraine during WW2.
Easy Video Player Review - Part 1
January 18th, 2010Easy Video Player is a new program that makes lots of claims:
Supposedly, it allows you to upload a video to Amazon S3 or elsewhere at the touch of a button, it lets you embed links, images, opt-in pages, and, crucially, the publishers claim that it is very easy to use.
I decided to test these claims and do a live review of a first time use of Easy Video Player. Not only that, but the first time user is defnitely not a technical wizzard, quite the opposite. Here is Part 1 of the review:
If you want to go directly to Part 2 of this review, click here.
The World According To Google
January 7th, 2010In the not too distant future, in a galaxy close to home…
“The 7 Keys To Realise Your Dreams That Neither Napoleon Hill Nor ‘The Secret’ Revealed”
December 29th, 2009Haven’t we heard it all before? “Realise Your Dreams!” – “Fulfil Your Potential” – “Get What You Want!” Starting with Napoleon Hill right up to “The Secret” and beyond, Self-Help books, records, tapes, CDs, DVDs, MP3s, MP4s, charts, cards and whatever media format you can think of have flooded our lives. With what result, though? Hands up all those who actually thought themselves rich!
“Think And Grow Rich” goes a long way towards dispelling the myths about success, wealth creation and achieving your dreams and goals. The problem with Mr Hill is that he wasn’t a practitioner of the art, or science, if you wish, that he propagated. He only reportered on it and stopped frustratingly short of revealing the final step all aspiring practitioners have to take. He told us what to do but not how to do it effectively. The same holds for most of his successors.
He’s on the right track but, sadly, he, too, told us only what it was but not how we, habitual left-brainers, who don’t even know what “Right Brain” means, would activate our Right Brain in order to get started down this route today.
As we’re all online, let’s talk computers. What we need to know to get this ‘Right Brain’ thing is how to crack the code, or algorithm, of success. What is the key to that will help us decipher, decrypt, unlock this secret?
Rather than just say “Think Right Brain,” let’s break the problem down into manageable bits. What precisely do really successful men and women do not only to be successful but to stay successful after they reached their goal?
- How did they crack the code that propelled them to success?
- What programs, if any, are they running, day in, day out to stay on track?
- What are the data that they have to feed into the algorithm to obtain the results they want?
- How do they generate the output that allows them to achieve their results?
- Is this the same for everyone, or does it vary from one person to another? If it varies, how can it be adapted to be of use to you and me?
- Is there a secret, a master key that will unlock the gate to the hall of champions for us? How do we activate this master key?
- Finally, what we’d really like is a detailed guide with plenty of examples taking us by the hand and guiding us step by step and, of course, at an affordable price.
Wishful thinking? The search for the holy grail of success? Quite on the contrary.
The answers to these questions give us the 7 keys to realise our dreams that neither Napoleon Hill nor ‘The Secret’ revealed. And these answers are here: “The Eureka! Enigma” by Ron G Holland is the guide that takes us beyond the point where all others stopped short.
The Eureka! Enigma
“The Eureka! Enigma” has been 30 years in the making. It builds on Ron’s first two books, “Talk & Grow Rich – How to Create Wealth Without Capital” and “Turbo Success.” What’s more, Ron writes as a practitioner, not a reporter. He uses these keys daily to help himself, his friends, colleagues and clients to unlock the passage to achieve goals and dreams.
In the “The Eureka! Enigma” Ron shows us how to activate our Right Brain, how to visualise, and why others have fallen short of their promises. It is a powerful user manual helping us to unlock parts of our brain others simply don’t reach. I must attach one warning, though. It is a USER manual, and that means you must USE it. It is not enough just to read this book. You must do what it tells you to do. Only action will achieve results.
You may well be sceptical. I was, too. Like me, you probably read lots of books full of promises and regrettably short of producing results. You probably would like to check it out first. Here is what I did: I took his earlier book, “Talk & Grow Rich - How to Create Wealth Without Capital,” for a free test drive (you can download it in MP3 or pdf format here). After that, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on “The Eureka! Enigma.” I hope that like me you’ll invest in his latest, state-of-the-art book in the knowledge that you’re doing the best you can for yourself.
Talk & Grow Rich
How To Succeed With Your New Year’s Resolution
December 28th, 2009How is your list of New Year’s resolution coming along? Growing? Planning to keep them all at once?
Here is a word from the wise: DON’T! When you’re overambitious, you’re planning to fail. Rather copy the methods of those who were successful:
“People who kept their resolutions tended to have broken their goal into smaller steps and rewarded themselves when they achieved one of these. They also told their friends about their goals, focused on the benefits of success and kept a diary of their progress.
“People who planned a series of smaller goals had an average success rate of 35%, while those who followed all five of the above strategies had a 50% chance of success.”
Read the full article here.
Good-bye To Google
December 18th, 2009Search engines are an Internet Marketer’s best friend and worst nightmare. Google, Bing and Yahoo allow us to find all the information we need right now. Yes, they may swamp us with “stuff” and make us occasionally scream at them for all the dross we have to put up with before we find what we were looking for. But some diligent searching usually gets us there pretty fast.
How about posting information on the Internet? This seems to be another game altogether. A game, where the search engines set the rules. And then change them.
What is a legitimate method of posting information one day may well be regarded as undesirable the next by those who set the rules. As a result your website disappears from page 1 of Google (or Bing or Yahoo) and simply cannot be found. Or at least not on the first few pages beyond which most search engine users don’t venture. Which, for the struggling Internet Marketer, amounts to the same as not being online.
Is there a way out? Can we set up our Internet business on more solid foundations than the caprices of the search engines?
This is immensely important, especially for those who are new to this game, who want to earn some money online and don’t ooze cash. Paying for the privilege to be on page 1 of Google can cost you dearly if you are not savvy around this whole Adwords thing. Of course, you can pay to have your website optimised for the search engines. Until they change the rules. Then you pay again.
Catch-22? More like building on shifting sand. If you play by their rules, that is.
How about saying Good-bye to Google, Bing and Yahoo? What about spreading the word yourself? Make your message go viral and for free!
What? I hear you ask. By-pass all that web wizardry and huge bills and D-I-Y? For free? Yes, You Can! You can even get the information on how to do it for free. You only have to know where to look. Or click here.
That’s right. Download your free, straight forward, easy to read guide and all will be revealed. It’s a simple, ingenious Internet marketing idea that leaves the search engines behind and spreads your message like wildfire.
Cliffsnotes for Online Marketers To Avoid FTC Liability From Affiliates and Resellers
November 15th, 2009Author: Chip Cooper
Copyright © 2009 Chip Cooper
There’s been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about the 81-page Guides for the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Most of the debate and discussion has centered on the rules (and potential liability) facing bloggers who write testimonials and endorsements.
But what about the advertisers that recruit bloggers and other intermediaries to write testimonials and endorsements (think online marketers that recruit affiliates or resellers)? What are the rules affecting these advertisers, and what’s their liability if they don’t comply?
When Are Online Marketers Regulated By The Guides?
The threshold question for online marketers is “when do the Guides apply to my marketing practices”?
If all you do is market directly from your website with no involvement by intermediaries, the Guides do not apply.
However, if you recruit intermediaries - such as affiliates or resellers - to pitch your products or services, then the Guides apply, and with them, potential liability. Intermediaries would also include viral marketing programs with incentives and network marketing programs where endorsers periodically review your products or services and they receive a free product or service about which they write a review.
If the Guides do apply, you’re classified as an “advertiser”, and your intermediaries are classified as “endorsers”. As an advertiser, you’re required to:
* provide guidance and training to your endorsers to help them understand their legal obligations regarding advertising statements about your products or services; primarily, that their claims are truthful, not misleading, and substantiated, and
* monitor your endorsers and take steps to remedy advertising statements, practices, or procedures that are unlawful.
If the Guides do apply, and you fail regarding the two obligations listed above, you may be held liable for the actions of your endorser. This is the way the FTC put it: “It is foreseeable that an endorser may exaggerate the benefits of a free product or fail to disclose a material relationship where one exists. In employing this means of marketing, the advertiser has assumed the risk that an endorser may fail to disclose a material connection or misrepresent a product, and the potential liability that accompanies that risk”.
Suggestions For Advertisers
Your first priority should be to get a legal review of your affiliate and/or reseller agreements. Modify your agreements to comply with the Guides. Although the following list of suggested clauses is not exhaustive, it would be a good start:
* No-Spam Policy - at the least, strict compliance with the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 should be required; and you should consider prohibiting any and all bulk, unsolicited email, even though it is permitted under the CAN-SPAM Act subject to certain requirements; also consider requiring your endorser to indemnify you against claims based on their violation of the no-spam policy;
* Recruitment of Sub Affiliates - if sub affiliates are permitted, they should be subject to prior review and acceptance by you and be required to enter into your agreement;
* FTC Rules Regarding Endorsements and Testimonials - this clause addresses the guidance and training requirement discussed above; it focuses on the endorser’s requirements regarding endorsements and testimonials;
* FTC Rules Regarding Truthful and Non-Deceptive Advertising - this clause also addresses the guidance and training requirement discussed above; it focuses on the endorser’s requirements regarding truthful and non-deceptive advertising;
* Monitoring Rights - this clause addresses the monitoring requirement discussed above; it provides that you may require the endorser to modify or cease any marketing methods, procedures, or communications for purposes of compliance with applicable laws and regulations; and
* Consent to Release Information - this clause provides that you have the right to release information regarding the endorser to any governmental or regulatory agency, or to any private party or organization which you believe has a good faith claim based on the endorser’s marketing methods, procedures, or communications.
In addition to reviewing and revising your affiliate and/or reseller agreements, what actions should you take? Although the following list of suggested actions is not exhaustive, it would be a good start:
* familiarize yourself with the applicable rules and regulations; you won’t be able to perform your guidance, training, and monitoring obligations if you don’t;
* find a quick and easy way to continue to stay on top of all the latest legal developments in this area such as a frequent newsletter; again, you won’t be able to perform your guidance, training, and monitoring obligations if you don’t;
* exercise your monitoring rights and obligations, and document that you have done so; be careful to actually enforce your policies, and again, document, document, document. If the FTC ever comes calling, you’ll need to be able to document your compliance; and
* do a thorough job of screening your potential endorsers before you approve them; remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Conclusion
You need to be aware that legal scholars are currently debating whether the FTC may impose liability on advertisers for advertising claims made by their endorsers. A well-established federal statute (47 USC 230(c)(1)) may provide a defense to this liability. This will have to be resolved by judicial interpretation in the future. At present, advertisers can’t count on this defense to get them off the hook.
Time is growing short for advertisers that are covered by the Guides to begin a compliance program. The Guides go into effect on December 1, 2009.
Leading Internet, IP and software lawyer Chip Cooper has automated the process of drafting website documents for small websites with his MyLegalFirewall website documents drafting service. Discover how quick, easy, and cost-effective it is to determine which legal documents you need, draft sample contract agreements online, and claim your FREE Special Report, Determine Which Legal Documents Your Website Really Needs.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Cliffsnotes for Online Marketers To Avoid FTC Liability From Affiliates and Resellers
Updates To The “Really Useful Twitter Tool Box”
November 11th, 2009The “Really Useful Twitter Tool Box“ has been updated:
- SocialToo has discontinued automated DMs to new followers
- A new mobile client for the Blackberry family is available - ÜberTwitter
- TweetGlide has been released - a PC/Mac desktop and mobile client for the iphone with a twist: it goes viral and makes its users money.
Read the full text of these updates here.
“The Really useful Twitter Tool Box” – Updates
November 8th, 2009If you already have “The Really Useful Twitter Tool Box” then you’ll be delighted to learn that Updates will now be regularly published at TwitterMastermindGuru.com . If you don’t have a copy yet, mosey over to “The Really Useful Twitter Tool Box,” grab a copy and while you’re at it, sign up for free notification of updates.
You’ll find a video introduction to “The Really Useful Twitter Tool Box” here. You’ll learn “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Twitter – On One Pag:” All the Twitter Tools and Twitter Apps, the Twitter How-To’s and Why’s helping you to make the most of Twitter for yoeurself and for your business.
Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe - Berlin, Germany
October 29th, 2009When I visited Berlin recently, I walked through this memorial with my daughter and simply had to video it. There are 2711 stelae on an area covering 19,000 square meters. The numbers have no significance whatsoever. The memorial is right in the centre of Berlin, next to the Brandenburg Gate and parliament.
How To Make A Million Without Any Work … Internet Marketing
October 20th, 2009Who hasn’t bought into this sort of hype when they first went into internet marketing? Get rich without any effort, follow the yellow brick road, retire to a millionaire lifestyle without breaking sweat.
“To live of earnings from investments is one thing. But to make a consistent living while working very little is another. Few exemplify this better than Markus Frind, the founder of PlentyofFish.com, one the world’s biggest dating websites.
Frind reckons he spends around 10 minutes a day working, to make £3 million a year from his service.”
Reported in the Evening Standard on the 19th of October 2009.
Here is what Markis Frind said in his blog post “How I started A Dating Empire” (2006):
“My short description leaves a lot out, but basically I spent every waking minute when I wasn’t at my day job reading, studying, and learning. I picked out “enemies” and did everything I could to defeat them which meant being bigger than them. I refused to accept defeat of any kind, and I constantly forced myself to test new things. I never tried to perfect anything it didn’t matter if things didn’t work 100% as long as it was good enough I would move onto the next thing. In 2003 the dating market was growing 80% a year unlike the -10% in 2006 so growth was a LOT easier. When 2004 rolled around and word of mouth REALLY kicked in and as they say the rest is history.
“I look back now at how ill prepared I was, I didn’t know anything about SEO, Advertising, community and I didn’t even know what Venture Capital was. Just goes to show you anyone can do anything.”
Tempted to give it a go? Download your free report on how to start an Internet Marketing business here.
Googling Is Good For Grandparents
October 18th, 2009Internet use can boost the brain activity of the elderly, potentially slowing or even reversing the age-related declines that can end in dementia. Using brain scans, researchers found the internet stimulated the mind more strongly than reading, and the effects continued long after an internet session had ended.
“We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function,” said Gary Small, professor of neuroscience and human behaviour at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Small and his colleagues found the impacts began immediately, with the first scan demonstrating brain activity in regions controlling language, reading, memory and vision.
The researchers suggest internet searching stimulates brain cells and pathways more than reading, making them more active, because people need to perform several tasks at once.
Read the full article at http://bit.ly/o2P5h
The Really Useful Twitter Tool Box
October 15th, 2009You’ve set up your Twitter account. Now you want a brilliant background, lots of Twitter followers and the most effective tweets for business, hobby or just for fun. And you want to get it all done fast and easy. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an app for that?
Yes, there is an app or tool for everything. In fact, there are well over 2,000 Twitter tools, apps and services. Too many to plough through and select the right ones from.
WAIT!!! There is an app for that, too. Click on the image to download now…
The Really Useful Twitter Tool Box
… your selection of Twitter apps, tools and services that will help make Twitter bigger, better and faster for you.
…or click here for Twitter tools, apps and more, in fact:
Everything you always wanted to know about Twitter – on one page (just read it carefully).
Do not use Wikipedia as your primary research tool [RANT]
October 2nd, 2009This is a guest contribution by PCMech
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that many rely on for information. I do reference this site myself in PCMech articles from time to time. However, I do know full well that Wikipedia oftentimes has mistakes in their articles. In fact it’s commonplace. What I do before linking any Wikipedia article for reference is that I purposely read through the entire article just to make sure what’s said is accurate to the best of my knowledge before linking it.
If you are researching anything that requires you to look up reference material,do not use Wikipedia as your primary source. Whether it’s for work, school, instructional documentation you’re writing or whatever it is, do not trust Wikipedia as 100% factual, because the vast majority of the time it isn’t.
Know your alternatives, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, Bartleby.com Reference and Smithsonian Research to name a few. These resources are factual, not “maybe” factual like Wikipedia is.
The next time you read any Wikipedia article, get a second source to ensure it’s accurate. If you don’t and use Wikipedia solely as your source for reference material, the information you use could literally be absolutely wrong.
This blog post appeared originally in PCMech #313. You can subscribe to PCMech’s Newsletter here.
TweetDeck v Seesmic
September 22nd, 2009I am currently using two Twitter Desktop applications: TweetDeck and Seesmic. Both have their advantages and drawbacks.
For instance, I like the TweetDeck interface but prefer Seesmic’s ability to show you all or several of my Twitter accounts on the Desktop.
Which one do you prefer - TweetDeck or Seesmic?
Voting has now closed. Here is the result. You are welcome to leave a comment:
Making Money Online - Adsense Autopilot
July 13th, 2009Do you have valuable real estate that could earn you a passive income but isn’t?
As you are reading this post, chances are that you do. Perhaps not ‘real’ real estate but virtual real estate: a website or two or three… My website used to be such a sink. Clicks sunk without a trace. A while ago, I watched a video, a minicourse on generating income without any repeat action required.
OK, I won’t beat around the bush - it’s about Adsense. I watched the free video, followed the advice, especially what kind of ads to insert where and how, and behold: where there was none, money appeared :-))) (yes, a very big grin)
You want more? Here is a link to an interview with the man who made the video (not to worry, it isn’t a long video, just a brief article): Click here to read it. If you want to go NOW to the video I watched, click here.
Twitter Traffic Explosion Sucks
July 2nd, 2009No, the link isn’t on the right, it’s right here. Enjoy! And while you’re at it, follow me on Twitter.
“Three Key Reasons Why The Right Time To Start An Online Business Is Now”
June 8th, 2009For anyone who wants to escape ___________ (fill in whatever fits your situation: “the rat race, your boss, your JOB, the threat of unemployment, having too much month at the end of your money, no way out, not having enough money for your kids’ education / a family holiday / a new car / …”) looking at the Internet for a way out should be a no-brainer.
“The Internet offers, beyond any doubt, the best opportunity to achieve financial freedom, especially during these times of economic crisis.”
Here is reason no. 1:
The Internet Is Everywhere And It Is A Gigantic Marketplace That Is Open 24/7.
Today, everyone with access to the Internet has access to a potential market of about 1.6 billion customers. This customer base is growing rapidly and even better, this customer base is happy to buy online.
How many customers do you need to earn some extra money, or even a lot of money? Not 1.6 billion, that’s for sure. But even closer to home, the market is still gigantic.
Here in the UK, about 70% of the population already have access to the Internet. In the next four years this will grow to 100%! It is government policy to provide EVERY household in the UK with at least a 2MB online connection by 2012.
When and where in history has it ever been possible to gain access to such a huge potential market from your kitchen table? …
Read more about reason no.1 and the other two reasons here…
Or download the full 5-part report here with even more details and tips than in the article.
“MasterMind Groups – The Fundamental Principles of Success and Achievement”
June 1st, 2009Why are some people successful and others struggle without ever finding the reward they deserve? The key answer is Support. Whatever the field of human endeavour, successful people don’t go it alone. They have support teams, and that means not just staff ministering to their needs. It means, above all, a team of peers and mentors who bring their knowledge and expertise to the table. These teams are called MasterMind Groups.
Let’s cut to the chase:
- All successful people have MasterMind support surrounding them.
- All of them use this support massively and deliberately.
In a newly published article, I provide a bullet-point summary of the concept of MasterMind Group as developed by Napoleon Hill and subsequently expanded by various other contributors. In the article, you’ll find concise answers to these questions:
- What is MasterMinding?
- What is the Objective of a MasterMind Group?
- What is the Value of a MasterMind Group?
- What are the Benefits of MasterMind Groups?
- Why Don’t More People Use MasterMind Groups?
- Why Do Mastermind Groups Succeed?
- What are the Critical Success Factors for a Mastermind Group?
- Do You Belong in a MasterMind Group?
- How to Run a MasterMind Group
In case you’re wondering why I use “MasterMind” rather than “Mastermind,” here is the answer: I use “MasterMind” to distinguish it from the popular quiz game where people know all sorts of obscure things about often weird and wonderful subjects. “MasterMinding” is a route to success and achievement not to the retention of frequently useless facts.
To be specific, MasterMinding is a strategy and skill for:
- Reaching Your Goals
- Achieving Success
- Finding Solutions/Remedies
- Massive Innovation
- Optimisation of Business or Any Other Enterprise.
Use my summary as a brief introduction and checklist. You’ll find a resource box at the end of the article if you want to pursue this further. You can also download the article as a pdf file.
Click here to read the article. Best of luck on your way to success.
10 Steps to Google Heaven
May 21st, 2009Every website owner wants to appear on the front page of Google, so here’s a handy ten step guide to achieving Listing Nirvana:
1) Be Owner of your Domain - none of this freebie rubbish. …
2) Redirection? Indirection - not only do redirects and splash pages annoy your visitors, but they annoy the search engines too. …
3) Text, Text, Text. Yes, your fully Flashed up site, or your fantastic front page graphic looks great. Really great. Just a shame no-one is going to see it, don’t you think? …
4) Great navigation - …
Read the full article by Nikki Pilkington on how to get to Google page 1 here.
The Secret of Success
May 8th, 2009Here is the Secret of Success: 2 short videos. Watch them. Live them. And enjoy the journey.
I dedicate them to my daughter.
Believe In Yourself
Are You Going To Finish Strong?
What Niche?
May 1st, 2009You know that achieving financial freedom basically means starting your own business. You’ve heard that the Internet is the place to be. So you want to start an Internet business. Incidentally, if you are not sure what all this talk about the Internet being THE Recession Busting Business Opportunity is, click here to get the full picture.
Now you want to give it a whirl but don’t know what kind of business you should start. Like most of us, you probably don’t have a product that everyone wants or an idea for the next big ‘thing’.
People keep telling you to pick a niche. What niche? Where? Here is an idea: pick the next big wave. In the 1980s, the big wave was the PC. It generated a trillion dollar industry. In the 1990s it was the Internet. What is it now? No, it isn’t the Internet. The Internet is just THE best platform for your business for those who feel encouraged to choose it. Not everyone will dare to jump in. Not to worry, there are other huge opportunities, too. But they are all in the same industry. Which industry?
Watch this video by the man who defined this industry, who told us seven years ago how to make a fortune in the next trillion dollar industry and who recently updated his forecast because this wave is now fully on its way to exceed expectations.
Here are a few options for you:
I invite you to take a look at a real life business opportunity in the Wellness industry: click here to check it out.
Still not sure about Wellness? Read my article on “Wellness – Hoax, Hype Or Real?”
For full details on the How to Make a Fortune in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry, here are the books mentioned by Paul Zane Pilzer:
The New Wellness Revolution: How to Make a Fortune in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry
The Next Millionaires
Online Fax –Why, How And How Much?
April 29th, 2009Online businesses can automate pretty much everything. At times, though, it can be worth enhancing your customer service offer by adding a manual component. Depending on your niche, merchandise or delivery options you may want to give your clients the opportunity to order by fax. In my previous post, I wrote about MOTO – mail order / telephone order. Add fax order to it.
Of course, a prerequisite for extending your service to fax ordering, you have to be able to receive faxes. There wouldn’t be any point in offering this service, otherwise, I guess. Business start-ups may baulk at the cost involved when you don’t evn know what return to expect.
There is nothing to worry about. Like anything else, you can automate and digitise everything. There is no need for a separate telephone line or a fax terminal. Quite a number of services offer a facility to receive and send faxes vial email. Some of these services are even free. But free may not be suitable for your business. I’ll get back to this in a moment.
Sending Faxes Online
When you offer to receive your clients’ orders by fax you don’t necessarily have to send a fax in reply. But if you wanted to, there is no need for a separate fax terminal.
One solution is your word processor. Word processing programmes offer Fax as a printer option. Just plug your desktop or laptop into your telephone line, select fax as your printer and print. That’s all. If you can’t get to a telephone line, you need a service that helps you send your fax via email.
You can receive faxes in the same way: The totally free solution is via the integrated fax terminal in your PC’s or laptop’s operating system. But that would occupy your telephone line unnecessarily and tie you to your office.
Receiving Faxes Online
It’s much easier to use one of the many fax service providers. Sign up, choose a fax number, and the rest is done by the service provider. You receive the fax by email wherever you are. The only drawback is that the fax doesn’t arrive immediately. You have to wait for it to arrive by email before you can read it.
Service rates vary quite a bit. Efax.com is the biggest and at the same time the cheapest and most expensive service provider. It’s the cheapest for you because you can get a free fax number from them. Typically, they allocate a premium rate number – a 0870 number in the UK – which means the person who sends the fax pays more than the standard call charge. The service is useful to you if you want to be able to receive the occasional fax but it isn’t suitable for business. Would you like to pay a premium for placing an order? The free fax number also limits the number of inbound faxes per month to about 20 or so as well as the number of pages per fax. A 50 page fax will cancel your fax number pretty much instantly.
Efax.com forward your faxes in a proprietary format. To read them you have to download and install a small (300KB) program on your computer. Fax quality is excellent.
Their Efax Plus service allows you to receive 130 inbound faxes per month for £7.50 (in the UK) and also send 30 faxes by email yourself. Although this doesn’t sound like much, compared to the competition it is actually quite expensive.
Myfax.com charge $10 or £5 per month for 200 inbound and 100 outbound faxes. In addition, they offer the option of a toll-free (US) or freephone (UK) number at no extra charge. This is certainly extremely attractive as you can offer your clients a free fax ordering service that costs you next to nothing.
While efax.com and myfax.com are international service providers, Soho66.co.uk is based in the UK. For £2 (plus VAT) per month your clients can send as many orders by fax as they wish. You receive your faxes as pdf attachments by email via your local fax number. You can even choose your fax number yourself. There are no further charges for incoming faxes. Outgoing faxes – also sent as attachments to your email – are charged at 10.5p per page. Set up is fast. They claim 15 minutes. This service was the cheapest way I found that can help you offer clients the option to order by fax while preserving your perfect professional image.
Claim your Free Instant Access to the 5-part report “7 Recession Busting Reasons Why The Internet Is Your Fastest And Easiest Way To Financial Freedom Now” when you visit http://tinyurl.com/c8eztz
Get Your MOTO Working – Adding Offline To Online Payment Facilities
April 24th, 2009Some Internet businesses may want to widen their appeal by offering offline payment options to their customers. This is less important for those who deliver digital products online but it can make a difference for more traditional types of merchandise or delivery.
What you want to add is known in the financial services world as MOTO – a Mail Order / Telephone Order facility. You may want to give your customers the opportunity to print out an order form and mail or fax it to you or give you their details by telephone. To be able to take their money offline you need a “virtual terminal,” a facility made available by your service provider where you enter your customer’s payment and address details online to have their money transferred from their credit card to your merchant account.
You’ll find that not all merchant service providers offer this facility. For instance, Nochex and Google Checkout don’t do it while Paypal offers it. So does Worldpay, at a hefty price. But once you ask your favourite search engine to look for “virtual terminal” you’ll soon find Worldpay resellers offering WorldAccess. It’s the same service but at a much reduced price. It won’t take you long to find all you require – by the time I had arrived at page 5 on Google I had all the information I needed.
You have to carry out the same checks for MOTO as for online payment facilities:
- Set-up costs for opening the service
- Monthly fees
- Commission per transaction (usually somewhere between 2% and 4.5%) plus a fixed transaction fee (in the UK generally 20p)
- Remittance charges (which can vary a lot)
- Remittance period (the delay between money into your merchant account and transfer to your bank account)
- Percentage of funds retained in your merchant account to allow for refunds.
Beware of a couple of pitfalls. Some providers offer a very cheap virtual terminal service. The catch here is usually that you have to have your own merchant ID and merchant account before you can use their service. Being able to take money online via financial intermediaries such as Paypal does not count because with Paypal you are using Paypal’s Merchant ID, not your own.
A particular killer can be remittance charges. You need to look carefully at both, the charges and the turnover you expect your business to generate offline. When I started offering an offline payment option to my customers, I found a service provider offering daily remittance seven days in arrears. This sounded fantastic especially as others transfer your money fortnightly or monthly with four weeks delay. But when I looked at their remittance charges, £15 ($23) a pop, their great service started to lose its attraction at Warp Speed. The main reason was that I didn’t expect huge offline turnover. An additional £15 ($23) cost for each transfer simply wasn’t worth it.
In the end, I went with the provider whom I had originally classified as expensive. Here is why:
- They charge a monthly fee but without tying you to an annual contract. This would allow me to stop the service at a moment’s notice should the offline payment option not generate enough revenue.
- They have a sliding commission structure for their virtual terminal service depending on turnover.
The scale starts at 4.4%, which is very high compared to some of the competition. The charges then reduce in stages to 1.9% (or even 1.4% for monthly turnover in excess of £55,000). This is very competitive. They also offer the option to switch to their more advantageous merchant rates.
By contrast, other providers have a fixed rate of between 3.5% and 2% that are tied to annual contracts. - Finally, the one I went for didn’t charge any set-up fees.
Given that I was already familiar with their service as a customer, my initial assessment as ‘expensive’ turned after investigation of the competition into ‘most suitable package for my purposes.’
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