Mark your calendars because February 5, 2008 has officially become the biggest primary in the history of American politics. With 24 states and less than 24 hours, the 2008 presidential candidates are in for one long day today. The Democrats have 1,681 delegates at stake and the Republicans aren't far behind with 1,020. With a few more hours left before the polls begin to close, do you think that the results today will lead to a decisive political party front runner?
Who's going to be the next President? Talk to us...
We're also looking for Campus Reporters to submit reports over the next 11 months.
If you're interested in being a Collegepreneur reporter for College Vote 2008, be sure to visit the site on January 21, 2008 for applications.
Until then, who's going to be the next prez and why?
Making Money Through Affiliate Marketing
by Obinna Heche
One
of the easiest ways to bring in additional money is through affiliate
marketing income. Essentially, you can add links from your site to
others and when one of your visitors clicks on the link and makes a
purchase, you get credit for the sale and receive a commission on the
amount. How much commission is agreed upon by you and the store ahead
of time. There are different types of affiliate pay scales, including
pay per click, pay per lead and pay per sale but the bottom line is
that your visitors have to click through your website in order for the
commission structure to kick in.
Generally, pay per click is a
set amount for every time one of your visitors clicks through to
another site and has a sustained visit. Many require a minimum number
of seconds on the page to qualify. While pay per impression counts the
number of times a stores link is displayed and pays a few cents per
thousand. The generally accepted and preferred method of payment is
through pay per sale or registration. When one of your visitors signs
up for service or makes a purchase you receive a percentage of the
amount spent.
If the offering is just for registering, then a
set amount per sign up is paid to you. Many times there is a minimum
amount that is due before payment is made, which can vary from $10 to
$50. When a person becomes an affiliate for another website, they are
assigned a tracking number that is used in every link from their site
to their affiliate. When a person clicks on that link, a cookie is
dropped on the visitors computer to track their future visits.
Each
time that visitor visits the online store, the cookie lets the company
know to give you credit for any activity, regardless of whether the
visitor arrives through your site on a direct location. However, if the
person frequently deletes cookies from their computer and accesses the
website directly, then you will not receive credit for the sale. If you
have an active website that receives a lot of traffic, you can add to
your income by adding affiliates to your site.
It is recommended
that you offer sites that are related to your site, as visitors to you
will be more likely to look at other sites the links are recommending,
if they are related to the subject focused on by your site. They
already have an interest in what you are offering and the links are
simply expanding on that interest. On most business related sites, it
is advised to steer away from gambling or adult oriented sites that may
be considered inappropriate by many other businesses. Although these
sites usually generate a higher commission level, if your visitors are
offended by this type of site, they may stop visiting your site all
together.
Obinna Heche delivers the best home based business
ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully..
http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365
Collegepreneur Staff Writer
Social
entrepreneurs are individuals who have creative, sometimes non-traditional answers to society’s
most pressing social problems. Their reach is vast, tackling a wide array of issues.
Rather than relying on "systems" to make the world better, social entrepreneurs take matters into their own hands, underscoring the often-used axiom, "If it is to be, it's up to me."
So, how do you make your mark as a social entrepreneur? Here are some tips.
#1: Identify your "passion" buttons.
Are you activated by certain topics or issues? Does it bother you to see the way we sometimes treat the planet? Or do you get upset with how teachers are treated in this country? Figure out what makes you tick.
#2: Join an existing cause
There are literally hundreds of thousands of causes that need volunteers. A quick search on the Net will result in many possibilities. Remember, it's not about how large your contribution, social entrepreneurship is more about "getting in the game".
#3: Map out a plan
Maybe you'll volunteer this year; but start your own 501 c-3 next year. The sky's truly the beginning. As a college student, there's no better way to get a sense for how people feel about an issue than to set up a table a high traffic area on campus (with permission, of course).
Each hard copy edition of Collegepreneur features a Social Entrepreneur. The premier issue highlighted a woman who's encouraging women to Feel Your Boobies.
Subscribe and read about it!
by Nicole Braddock
Jonathan Cobb was just an average, run-of-the-mill college student with aspirations of something greater. From his humble beginnings as a radio disc jockey at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, he went on to publish an online platform for his radio station 90.3 FM, allowing it to reach audiences he never thought
possible. Right at the beginning of the dot com boom, Cobb knew he had
what it took to become somebody in this ever-advancing age of
technology.
By late 2004, Kiptronics was born. Kiptronics
gives online publishers the ability to put audio and video online in a
format they can sell. Anybody can put a video or an MP3 up on the web,
but Kiptronics has given publishers and regular companies alike the
ability to utilize a common platform for their media. “I started
Kiptronics with the goal of providing an efficient and effective way of
helping publishers make money off audio and video they’re distributing
online,” says Cobb regarding the original vision of his online
publishing business, Kiptronics.
Kiptronics allows publishers to do
effective targeting, reporting, analytics, ad placement, tracking, and
management across advertisements that are running on media they’re
distributing out to all of these different devices. With such large
names as CondeNet, CBS and even FOX in their repertoire, Cobb’s company
has gone from small potatoes to the big cheese in just a matter of
years.
There are some essential components to any successful
enterprise. Once Cobb settled on the company vision, the future of his
enterprise was left up to everybody else. A business needs a dedicated
CEO, which Kiptronics had in Cobb, but it also requires a clientele
base, mentorship, and willing investors in order to really get off the
ground.
Luckily, Cobb had what it took to get those essentials as well.
“If
you’re an interesting person and you’re doing interesting things you’re
going to meet other interesting people who do other interesting
things,” says Cobb regarding business networking for his Kiptronics
endeavor. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for all of the
VPs of engineering and super software developers and other crazy
entrepreneurs that I’d run into over the years that I could then lean
on and say, ‘How can I do this?’”
These days, Kiptronics is
doing big things. Stationed in San Francisco and employing 14 full-time
employees, the enterprise is taking advantage of the needs of online
publishers. The market continues to stretch their needs and desires for
multi-media utilization methods. Kiptronics plans to stretch right
along with them. Cobb has one piece of advice for aspiring
“collegepreneurs” like himself: “Be humble and receptive to input and
seek it out. I think you’ll find that when people hear about something
exciting, that they are more than happy to help.”
The ABCs of Getting Started
by Amy Goldsmith
As a student evaluating your options for life and work
now and after graduation, you may be thinking about going into business
for yourself. Even though you’ll be your own boss, establishing your
own successful business is not as straightforward as it might appear,
and it’s important to consider how to protect your business name, brand
and unique inventions. An entrepreneur who considers the following
checklist will be in good shape to capitalize on a new business idea.
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual
property–the name, logo, designs and ideas of the entrepreneur–is often
the single most important asset of a new business, especially in
today’s competitive environment. Taking steps to apply for such
protection as copyright registrations or artistic creations; trademark
registrations of names, logos or slogans; design patents for protecting
the ornamental design of a product; or utility patents to protect the
actual workings or mechanism of a product or a business method, is an
integral part of start-up planning.
If documentations for ownership or
intellectual property rights are in place, they can be offered as
serious collateral for fi nancial assessment and backing of a newly
formed business entity.
Trademarks
After a company or trade
name has been selected for a new business venture, and that name has
been deemed “available” through the appropriate state offi ce, the
entrepreneur will often assume that it is proper to go forward with
doing business under this name. Incorporation takes place, stationery
and cards are printed, advertising and signs are designed or
commissioned, and goods may be advertised on the Internet. This
presumption, that the path ahead has been opened for doing business, is
one of the most common mistakes made by the fl edgling entrepreneur,
and it can be very costly–even disastrous. The type of “clearance”
offered by the Secretaries of State of the various states secures
virtually no rights to the name, should the name conflict with a
previously, properly established name. It’s important to take steps to
assure that no major pitfalls arise from the establishment of a
business name.
What should be done to make certain that the name which
is proposed for a new business venture does not conflict with the established trademark, trade name or corporate name rights of another party?
The answer is clear.
First,
choose a name which itself can be protected as a trademark. Select from
imaginative, fanciful, and arbitrary choices as opposed to common,
descriptive, or geographical names. Selecting a name such as “Superb
Lighting” or “New York Dinnerware” will only lead to difficulties with
respect to both prior rights of others and rights against subsequent
users. Also, remember that many states have statutes which require the
use of such additions as Inc., Corp. or Ltd. to a name, and restrict
certain inapplicable
terms.
Next, a pre-corporation search
should be conducted to determine the existence of similar trademarks on
record in various states, or commercial names listed in telephone
directories or on the Internet. The search should also include
trademarks and trade names listed in various trade publications,
advertised in newspapers or magazines, or which are registered in (or
are the subject of pending applications in) the United States Patent
and Trademark Offi ce. If the proposed name is likely to confl ict with
the rights of others, it should be dropped and the entire procedure of
choosing another name--searching it and obtaining a written
opinion—must be undertaken again.
However, compared to the possibility
of a legal claim by a third party and to the price of advancing funds
for start-up operations under the wrong name, precaution and prevention of unintentional confl ict more than pays for itself.
Even
start-up businesses need to think globally. If the product is to be
manufactured or sold abroad, it would be wise to obtain searches for
the name in those countries that are deemed most essential to the
success of the new venture. If a conflict arises from the search, the
name may have to be changed once again, but at least it would be done
in time to prevent further financial outlays.
See Amy's full article in the hard copy of the premier issue of CP
Click here to subscribe
Off course you will. And this article will help. BIG time. '3 BIG' times even...
There's a critical 3-tier approach to any successful marketing plan that unfortunately, most people will never know.
Having a clear understanding of 'The BIG 3' will make or break your marketing campaign so pay very close attention.
Here they are:
1. Message
This
is what you say about yourself, your products, your services, and/or
your company that is designed to be compelling and attractive to the
people that you want to reach.
Most home business owners and
entrepreneurs have no message at all and if they do it is no more than
an expanded business card. It looks like everything else. Just open the
yellow pages and you'll see what I mean, same boring old messages.
Most messages are based on what the business owners want and NOT on what the market wants. Read that again.
They tend to be company focused or product focused rather than buyer focused. BIG difference.
The
opportunity with a well crafted message is huge. It gives you a
"competition less" advantage and allows you to stand out from the
crowd. A really good marketing message allows you to attract more
customers at a lower cost, virtually eliminating the prospecting
process all together.
How would you like to never have to prospect for customers ever again? Sound too good to be true? Not really.
Your
message is called your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). If you've
never heard of a "USP" before, well now you have and you must have one
or frankly, you're not in business. Emphasis is on the word "unique".
What makes you unique? You need to know this.
Here's a great example:
"Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. Guaranteed."
Sound familiar?
Yep, Dominos Pizza. A struggling company prior to this "unique" message.
It doesn't say it's the best. But it's fresh, hot and quick. Get it? THAT is their message. THAT is their "USP."
And
THAT message allowed Dominos Pizza to become a multi, multi-million
dollar publicly traded powerhouse. They simply had a message and
delivered on it.
2) Market
This is who you deliver your message to and equally important, who you choose NOT to deliver it to.
So what do you do with your message now that you have one?
Target your market.
Target
marketing is "Direct Response Marketing," focusing on the who, knowing
who it is you want as a customer or prospect, and then setting out to
find them and delivering your message directly to them and ONLY to them.
With me? Good.
Many
home business owners and entrepreneurs make the mistake of
communicating with people who do not fit the profile of their target
market or think everyone is their target market. BIG mistake.
If
you were managing a baseball team and needed a pitcher you wouldn't run
an ad in the local newspaper saying "Baseball Pitcher For Hire." You
would seek a pitcher within the game of baseball. You would go to the
minor leagues, or other professional baseball teams to locate your
pitcher.
So you have two choices:
1) Advertise to lists
that are already established within your target market: think Ezines or
Newsletter subscribers and Direct Mail.
2) Lead generation: generating your own specific, targeted leads.
If you know your customer or prospect it is much simpler to find them. Right? Right on!
As the famous millionaire-maker Dan Kennedy says:
"Its
all about 'message to market match' - specific message to specific
market. These are the money skills. This is where the income hierarchy
comes in. You move higher and higher up that ladder when you can bring
the customer in the door - the money skill."
3) Media
This
is when you take your message and get it to your chosen market in the
best ways possible; in ways that are efficient, effective and
affordable...
Such as: Internet, direct mail, JV's, Ezines, newspapers, radio, tv, etc.
Dan Kennedy also goes on to say:
"There
is no inherently good or bad media anymore than a hammer is inherently
a good or a bad tool. If you want to drive a nail and hang a picture it
is a great tool. If you want to do heart surgery it is a pretty poor
tool."
Most home business owners and entrepreneurs use too few
media. "Diversity is stability." The more you can use effectively, the
less vulnerable you are too changes.
So there you have it:
Message / Market / Media
Do not neglect either of "The BIG 3." Ever.
You are only as strong as you're weakest link. If one leg is weak, they are all weak.
Andrew
J. Cass is a Home Business Development Expert and Professional
Marketing Consultant. He is in the top 1% of income earners in the Home
Business industry. To learn insider secrets and powerful marketing
strategies from the pros to help you explode your home business empire,
sign up for Andrew's FREE cutting edge Ezine at:
http://www.TheHomeBusinessInsider.net
The Sales Person's Kryptonite
by Lee Salz
Superman,
as strong he is, is paralyzed by kryptonite. It brings him to his knees
despite his superhuman strength. Sales people have their own kryptonite
called RFPs, the dreaded Request for Proposal. An RFP process doesn't
have to be kryptonite. Superman has no choice but to fight this nemesis
to survive. Sales people have choices.
For one, there is no law
that says you have to respond to every RFP that crosses your desk. You
have the right to say no. Some of you are now thinking that I'm insane,
but it's true. Let me turn the tables on you for a moment. The
definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again
and expecting a different result. If you aren't the low price provider
and you have no relationship with the prospect, how can you possibly
win the business? You can't and won't. Therefore, sending in countless
RFP responses under these conditions will yield nothing but losses. So,
who's crazy now?
Sure, when the pipeline isn't as full as it
should be, it is a natural reflex to want to pursue every RFP you can
get your hands on. Yet, filling out an RFP is work. It also has a cost
to both you and your company. While you are working on an RFP which you
have little chance of winning, you aren't prospecting for business that
has a much higher chance of award. Look, we all get the same number of
hours in our day. What you elect to do with yours determines whether or
not you are successful in sales.
A couple of things you should
know about RFPs. First is that there is a disconnect between
Procurement and their customers (called users). Often times,
Procurement authors the RFP and establishes the measurement criteria
for evaluating the submissions. However, when you speak to the actual
user, they say that the criteria developed by Procurement is
inconsistent with their needs. Thus, a supplier is selected for a user
based on flawed criteria.
Another thing you should know is that
an RFP is not necessarily a commitment to make a change in provider.
Some companies require that they source the business every x amount of
time. Ever wonder how that RFP got in your inbox? Procurement will surf
the web and pick a handful of providers to whom they will send the RFP
and off it goes. It helps to know that Procurement folks are measured
on their ability to reduce cost to the company. Just like a sales
person's scorecard is based on achievement of their sales quota,
Procurement's quota is based on cost reduction. The RFP that arrived in
your inbox could very well be their attempt to put the squeeze on the
current provider so they can show a 10% savings. Don't kid yourself.
This happens a lot!
One final thing you should know about RFPs
is that they are sometimes used as a manager tactic. For example, some
people are too nice to tell you “no,” so they hide behind the statement
that their company only buys through the RFP process. Don't buy that
for a second. No company exclusively buys this way. Even the Federal
Government, who is the most formal buyer, does not limit their
purchasing to this means. Sales people, present company included, sell
products and services to the Feds without an RFP being issued. It can
be done!
There is also a safety net for managers when they buy
through RFPs as multiple people are involved in the selection process.
If the supplier fails to perform, the finger can't just be pointed at
one person. During your needs analysis discussions, you can often get a
feel for who really wants the RFP, the company or the person with whom
you are meeting. Don't underestimate the fear of blame. Many managers
try to stay off the radar screen so they don't want to create risk for
themselves.
Dealing with an RFP where you have a relationship
with the prospect is the subject of a future article. Keeping us
focused on the blind ones, as I said before, you have choices. You
could just respond to every RFP. Or, you could just chuck it in the
trash. Care for a third option? What if you called the Procurement
person and had a conversation that sounded like this,
“Hi, I'm
Lee Salz with XYZ Services. I just received your RFP in the mail and
wanted to ask you a few questions so I can determine if it makes sense
for us to respond. As you can imagine, we receive many RFPs and are
very selective when determining to which we will respond.”
With
that said, one of a few things can happen. She could give you
permission to ask your questions. Or she could say, “Fill out the RFP,
or not. It's up to you.” My vote is to decline any RFP where the
Procurement person won't allow you to ask questions of them. How can
you have a fighting chance to win if they won't speak with you?
With
permission granted to ask questions, what is it you need to know to
decide if it makes sense to participate in this process?
1. How did they get your name for inclusion in this process?
2. Why is this RFP out now?
3. Have they definitively decided to change providers?
4. What criteria will be used to score the RFPs?
5. What are the steps of the process after the RFP is submitted?
Sure,
there are a ton of other questions you could ask, but this information
will best help you to determine if you have a chance at winning this
account. The rule of thumb is that the less information Procurement
shares, the lower the chance you have of winning.
Yes, walking
away from the mega-deal is hard and painful. But is this deal real or
simply a mirage? Watch any Superman movie and you will see that he
overcomes his kryptonite peril. Will you overcome yours? By the way, if
you are a finalist resulting from an RFP submission, send me an email
and ask for my Finalist preparation tip sheet.
Lee B. Salz
is President of Sales Dodo, LLC and author of “Soar Despite Your Dodo
Sales Manager.” He specializes in helping companies and their sales
organizations adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world of business.
Lee is available for keynote speaking, business consulting, and sales
training. He can be reached via email at lsalz@salesdodo.com, his
website at www.salesdodo.com or by phone at 763.416.4321.
www.salesDodo.com.
Listen to a snippet of CP Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Fran Harris' interview with cover story Dr. Randal Pinkett, author of Campus CEO
