Today's Tip of the Day - Would you like to make more money?

Make the most out of the traffic that you get to your website by trying out new business opportunities. Think of products or services that compliment your current offering and add them to your product line. There are many ideas out there that don't even require a lot of additional work on your part. Affiliate programs require no additional work after setup. Place an attractive banner and a catchy piece of ad copy to attract attention, and then the affiliate business takes care of all of the work while you get credit for the business that you send their way.

Click-through ads such as those offered through the Google AdSense program are another way to maximize the profits from your website traffic. You place ads in free space on your site, and you get a commission per click through - usually between .05 and .25, but could be more if the advertiser has a higher bid with Google.

The final suggestion is drop shipping. Even if your time is maxed out processing the orders that you currently offer, you can still increase your product line by offering products through a drop ship wholesaler. Another company will stock and ship products for you, and you just do a little work per order, while you get to enjoy the profits of these sales.

These are just a few suggestions. Use a little imagination and see if you can think of any other opportunities that would compliment your current product offering.

March 2, 2005 - Does your site get to the point?
Remember the little things about your web pages really count. For instance, a clear and poignant message is the most important thing that you can offer. The title of your site needs to be in clear view and the opening message of your site needs to get to the point very quickly so that people know right away what your site is all about. If people can't quickly figure out what you're selling, they'll just leave and go elsewhere. Traffic is expensive. We must maximize all that we receive to its fullest potential.

March 2, 2005 - Do you like to save money?
So do your customers. Use this desire to your advantage by ending your ad copy with a discounted price. You don't necessarily have to discount the item from your normal price. Set the regular price at the MSRP, and then discount from there. Just list the 'regular' price and then offer a discounted price if they order ‘right now'. You could also offer a rebate that takes effect instantly. For example, you could say, "Regularly $99, but order now and receive a $20 instant rebate. You only pay $79!" You'll be amazed at how effective a discount can be, especially one that is only available for a limited time. When urgency is perceived, more customers WILL act to purchase an item before a discount is unavailable.

March 1, 2005 - Would you like a free meal?
Sell a few back-end products that are not related to your main product but are needed by all humans. Everyone eats, right? Try offering free coupons with every order over a certain dollar amount. For example, Restaurant.com offers great deals on 1000's of restaurants all over the country. Buy some and use them as promotions. "Free Bonus - A $30 Dollar Coupon to one of a hundred different restaurants with a purchase of $100 or more!" There are many promotional advertisers out there who offer everything from magazines, to food, to airline tickets. Your just have to look for them!

February 28, 2005 - Is your time worth more than $1.00 an hour?
Take on as many of your business' chores as you can handle; outsource what you can't. Only you can determine how your business operates. You don't want too many people making all your decisions, but you don't want to take on so much responsibility that you become a workaholic. There are numerous business tasks that business owners try to handle themselves that could efficiently and inexspensively outsourced. How much is your time worth? If you choose to outsource overseas, many of your simple business tasks can be handled for much less than it currently costs you in your own time. Can you say $1.00 an hour? I know I can't when it comes to putting a price on my time. Search the Internet for <Insert Business Task Here> India or China - Customer Service India, for instance. You'll find many companies at the top of search results, and you'll be amazed at how much you can save in time and money by outsourcing.