How many years has it taken for our society to create a way for anyone to make money from home? I remember all of the classified ads that I would read a kid while surfing my comic books in the 1970’s looking for a way to make an extra buck so I could buy my own toys when I was 14. It always seemed that I would stumble across classifieds that would direct me to stuffing envelopes and to send away for the information. I must have sent away for dozens of offers only to find out that I couldn’t implement all the things necessary to make it work because it required even more money and I simply didn’t have it!

Well today is a new day with new opportunity and new ways to connect and produce results that’s for sure. Because of computers and the internet it is now possible to create and income online from the comfort of your home, office, or even for starving students in college. Literally anyone can create income online with a click of a mouse strong intentions and a product, a digital product to be specific.
So the question becomes, “How do I begin to make money online and with what tool?” Well, I will say to you that about 1.5 years ago I stumbled across a link a friend forwarded to me about a gentleman by the name of Armando Montelongo (He and his wife are the stars of A&E’s Flip This house). I viewed the link and watched the video 5 or 6 times, but even more importantly I clicked on a link on the bottom of the page that most webmasters post as a link to their site and this is where I found the company of an incredible entrepreneur, Joel Therien. Joel is a guy with a vision who has created one of the most influential internet businesses on the web today because he give back to his subscribers, customers and people in general.

Beginning in March, Joel will be introducing a product that allows anyone to build a MASSIVE contact list using a virtual product with high perceived value for all people. How many times have you visited a web page where you download a trial product and then have to upgrade within 7-30 days and soon after that you’re not using the product at all because you didn’t upgrade to the paid version?

Mr. Therien’s product is given away for FREE and allows all of its users the ability to create an online income payable via a PayPal account. Software of this caliber can cost $250 - $600 easily, but now all interested takers have the ability to post their own videos on the internet for free with a few clicks of a mouse. How easy can it be to get more for less?

Why would Therien give this software away for F.REE? You know, I asked the same question. I came to the conclusion that this not only allows for me to get more exposure and build my marketing list to sell virtual products and more, it give my joint venture partner, Joel the ability to exponentially increase his marketing list and grow his company to the mark of $100 million this year. And I’m committed to helping him because he’s helping me create my $5 Million. That is truly a WIN-WIN for all parties involved and certainly a joint venture partner I want to engage with.

Joel Therien and Global Virtual Opportunities business model are in the process of changing the internet and pushing the online envelope by sharing knowledge, virtual opportunities and customer service to create more choices in the global marketplace. Being connected with Joel Therein has taught me trade secrets that I would have not received anywhere else on the planet and coupled with his network of Internet Gurus, like Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, Mike Koenigs, Stephen Pierce you not only have a chance to meet these people, but you have a chance to learn more trade secrets and make more revenue online.

Easy Video Producer started its public launch on March 2, 2009 and to take advantage of the buzz on the front side and to build your marketing list quickly, you need to sign up quickly. Again the software is F.REE and if you find value to the product upgrade to the next level if it makes since for upgrade. It’s that easy. The secret to making money online is to build a contact list of people that see value in what you offer and Easy Video Producer provides extreme value.
Take a couple of minutes to sign up for Easy Video Producer and begin building your new marketing list today!

To Your Success,
Written by Mark Coble

You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/dn25p5

Easy Video Producer Take a look around the internet today and one thing you’ll see more of is videos.More and more, even the ‘gurus’ are making use of this medium to advertise their products and services.

Do you doubt me on that?

If so, think about the last big launch?

Who was the guru and what did he say?

No, I don’t mean what did he write, I mean what did he ‘say’.
Because, invariably, every single launch that’s happened over the past few months not only had an element of video in its sales letter……in most cases, the video IS the sales letter.Yes, you may see a page with writing on it, but count the number of words.

Chances are, you could actually count the words in a matter of seconds.Before video I couldn’t imagine anyone would want to even attempt to count the words –the sales letters for big launches are way too long.And let’s face it, when it comes to high ticket, expensive products, the sales pitch has got be substantial as most people want to know as much as possible about a product before they splash out that amount of money.

The good thing with video is now you can write a sales pitch as long as you want, and people will most likely site there and watch it… especially if the delivery is entertaining.Now tell me, when was the last time you found a written sales letter entertaining?
I mean, yes, sometimes they are but, for the most part, you can’t afford to use humour in the written sales letter.

Video opens up avenues which were never available before to any business.Or, for that matter, any individual just wanting to get his or her diary online in video form.Sure, you could upload a video to YouTube or one of the multitudes of video sites, but not
everyone wants to stick their videos on a public forum that size.There may be certain types of videos available only to your clients – would you want everyone to see them.

Heck, I know of one martial artist who sticks videos on YouTube which are only supposed to be for his paid members.You can’t get to them through his site, but all you have to do is go to YouTube and type in his name and, hey presto, there they are.

Now, if you’re one of those people who want to keep their videos on individual sites, what happens if you’re not a techie.Well, if you’re anything like me, you’ll go through a whole load of trial and error.Sure, you’ll probably get the video onto your site, as I did, but it could take a whole day… as it did me.

Now, what if you had a facility to put your videos only on your site?And, what if that facility was so easy to use, it literally takes a few minutes to record, edit and upload?

Well, that facility is here, and I’ve used it. If only I had this a couple of years ago - it would have made my life a whole lot easier.
What is this new facility?
Easy Video Producer.
I’m not going to tell you how amazing it is or how much easier it has made my life or anything like that.
However, if I did, it would be true.

The good thing is, it’s available for nothing.Yup, absolutely free.
What more can you ask for?Try it out by clicking the link below… and…

Written by Ghulam Nabi Rezbi

You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/dn25p5

EVP is an awesome product. After many years as a commissioned salesman, I know that the personal,face to face sit down is key. I also found it hard to transfer my offline success online. Until, I started using WEB 2.0 tools to my advantage.

However, those only work once you have captured the right details, and built up trust through, written communications. For most of us this is hard to accomplish. We wind up having to learn to communicate in a medium that is not comfortable to the majority of us, and hard to instill confidence in your customer or potential partner.

Easy Video Producer has broken that barrier for the average person. We simply hit record and leave a message for a friend. All those important facial expressions and tones are conveyed immediately to the visitor and does increase sign ups to your list.
Every person that depends on customer relations to earn an income should be using this medium to share and brand themselves as the person you want to build a relationship and/or do business with.

Imagine showcasing your products with a live pic right from you home office.

Written by Jim Allen

You can visit the site at EVP is an awesome product. After many years as a commissioned salesman, I know that the personal,face to face sit down is key. I also found it hard to transfer my offline success online. Until, I started using WEB 2.0 tools to my advantage.

However, those only work once you have captured the right details, and built up trust through, written communications. For most of us this is hard to accomplish. We wind up having to learn to communicate in a medium that is not comfortable to the majority of us, and hard to instill confidence in your customer or potential partner.

Easy Video Producer has broken that barrier for the average person. We simply hit record and leave a message for a friend. All those important facial expressions and tones are conveyed immediately to the visitor and does increase sign ups to your list.
Every person that depends on customer relations to earn an income should be using this medium to share and brand themselves as the person you want to build a relationship and/or do business with.

Imagine showcasing your products with a live pic right from you home office.

Written by Jim Allen

You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/dn25p5

All experience marketers know the old adage that “the money is in the list “.Network marketers have developed contact lists in many different ways over the years. Generally a sign up form is offered with a free giveaway. Someone simply fills out the form with a name and e-mail address to “opt in” to the autoresponder and the free giveaway is provided to them. In return for that, they generally understand that they have granted permission for whoever made the offer to follow up with other e-mails with other offers.

Several years ago the singular e-mail opt-in was taken a step further when software was developed that asked the first recipient to forward the offer to 4-5 of there friends in order to qualify for the free giveaway, or perhaps even a very low priced offering. Hence, list building became viral, meaning that a single e-mail to a single individual could be multiplied in a near exponential manner as each level of opt-ins continued to forward the offer to even more people.

The Web 2.0 World

Of course the latest to trend in the network and internet marketing community is the Web 2.0 world of blogs, YouTube, Twitter and the like. The use of videos in various social networks in order to communicate and establish a following with the subscribers has become ubiquitous. The net result of all this is that seemingly the most effective way to communicate with potential subscribers, or even to acquire subscribers and customers these days is probably through the use of videos.

Videos have a number of advantages, including the ability to present yourself as a sincere and a knowledgeable person in a face-to-face way. A potential subscriber or customer is more likely to buy from someone they they feel like they know. So
consequently, it’s almost imperative these days that you use the video medium in order to communicate with potential prospects to turn them into eventual customers.

The New Viral Video World

Interestingly, a new video software system to build a contact list and potentialcustomer list virally has been introduced. Internet guru Joel Therien, CEO ofKiosk.ws, is in the process of launching very easy to use video building software called Easy Video Producer that has the potential to be a very effective way of generating contacts in a viral manner. This system is unique because the software itself is being offered as the free giveaway for this video “tell-a-friend” system. Essentially, the system will offer you free and extraordinarily easy to use video generating software that builds and posts your personally produced video and information capture form on a website or blog. A contact management system is included with the free offer as well.

The viral concept is that you would then attract traffic to introduce yourself to the prospect in a more personal way, offering them the opportunity to opt in and use the same free software that you used to prepare the video. The prospect and new contact would in turn use his free new system to attract even more potential contacts for his list and yours as well.

As in the earlier e-mail systems, the originator of the viral distribution of the free software would have access to every subscriber in the levels below him. So, what is offered is a system that provides a free and very simple (even a cave man could
do it) method of posting videos to the internet that have a specific purpose of giving away additional software in a viral manner to capture a fast growing network of contacts with whom you can continue to build a relationship.

The Issues I See

The problems with this system are not dissimilar from those in other earlier systems of using free giveaways to build a list. . You first must be able to get your video in front of an audience and in order for them to subscribe, and they in turn must have an audience to subscribe in order for the system to work effectively. It can probably be most effectively used by someone who already has a subscriber list and wants to expand it rapidly.
Another potential negative is that the the new contacts you generate with this list, both directly and indirectly, are not yet buyers and it’s likely that many of them will have no interest in your particular marketing niche. Proper strategy of course is to build credibility over time through a series of value adding free offers that are designed to help categorize their interests. Only then should you move on to the stage of offering them the opportunity to buy your stuff.

This new easy video producer software system appears to offer a simple and easy, no cost way for the experienced, and particularly the relatively inexperienced non-technical networker to make effective use of videos for viral list building, and business promotion.

Written by Rich Keesling
You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/dn25p5

As an internet marketer I am interested in keeping up with new ideas and trends in internet marketing. Since I have been on the internet for a long time doing things like creating my own internet city, website promotion, making money on the internet, I have seen the internet change by leaps and bounds.

Today, in order to be relevant in internet marketing your website or blog has to do more than just be a static webpage, now you have to have content and different methods to share that content such as having your own blog, perhaps forums, and now the biggie, video. With increasing access to broadband, video is now possible for virtually everyone to use. Video has

become the new must have have, not only for internet marketers but for everyone who has a website.

Local Biz Owners who have a website can especially benefit from video. With video, there are new opportunities to get out your message, advertise your business, make video postcards, send
video e-mails create how-to the ideas are endless.

We website owners however, are thinking gee we want to get in on the video thing, but it is something else we have to learn how to do, another learning curve, and for many of us the idea
just sort of fizzles.

I am excited because I don’t have to miss out this time, because I lack the expertise to create and broadcast videos or perhaps I just don’t have the time.

I found a unique new software I thought I would check out, to see if I could use it. I was hoping it would be easy to use, to create video and then put it on my website. I also wanted the video to look good, something I wouldn’t mind people watching and/or downloading to pass it around.

Well I couldn’t believe it. This software made it drop dead easy to make videos and to put them on my website. I actually was able to make a quality, professional looking video in less than 5 min. This sounds crazy I know, but I did it.

If video is something you have been wanting to do but felt really intimidated by it up to this point, you might want to try this software for yourself, because the best part is you can use the software and it doesn’t cost you anything. That was important to me because I didn’t know if I would be able to use the software, and I didn’t want to pay for something I wasn’t sure I could even use.

Written by Debbie

You can visit the site at http://tinyurl.com/dn25p5

by George Fourie

Do you know what's tarnishing social networking etiquette and giving internet and network marketers an appalling reputation? Social networking is perfect for MLM lead generation, but not like this.

How many times have people visited your internet network marketing website purely for the purpose of collecting your email address to 'counter-pitch' their home business opportunity?

Or, you get spammed the second you accept a friend request?

Even worse, you get MLM Business Opportunities and affiliate links posted on your wall on first contact (Facebook, etc)?

What do you do? Jump out of your skin with joy, get all excited, rush over to their opportunity and hand over your credit card?

Or, do you reach for the delete button, build up a wall of resistance and make a mental note to ignore all future messages?

If you haven't earned the right to talk business, you have just shot yourself in the foot.

Stephen R Covey from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People says it best: "Seek first to Understand, then to be Understood."

No one cares about your opportunity until they know how much you care. (not sure who to give credit for that last statement!:)

Here are 6 important Social Networking Etiquette tips that will help you become a respected internet and network marketing professional, boost your MLM lead generation and build quality online relationships with ease:

1) Relationships first. Social networking sites are all about establishing quality relationships on a more professional level. Nine times out of ten people will do business with those they know, like, and trust. Learn about that person, check out their website, take time to really see if they are the kind of person you want to connect with anyway.

Building trust comes before giving a sales spiel, and the quality of relationships you build are superior to the quantity of friends you make.

2) Expand your thinking beyond yourself. Make the change from thinking that you can work your business successfully on your own, and shift toward the mentality that you can accomplish greater things when you work effectively with others.

Don't limit your outreach and effectiveness as a network marketer.

You are a valued source of resources and contacts.

You have a unique store of connections and life experiences that provide an unlimited wealth of knowledge and opportunities.

Share those with others and draw from the experiences of others as well. Everyone brings unique value to the table.

3) Practice the power of praise. Praising others brings people to a higher level of energy and awareness. We all thrive on positive reinforcement. Focusing on the strengths of others develops winners and leaders.

Send notes frequently that say:

Thanks for the support. Thanks for your friendship. Thanks for the referral. For the words of encouragement. For the opportunity to learn about your business. For the opportunity to do business with you. For taking the time to...."

Specifically tell people how they influence your life in a positive way. There is much power in praise!

Don't forget to Wish your friends happy birthday. Facebook makes this real easy with the newsfeed.

4) Give your full attention. Listening is the heart of communication; don't view this important tool as simply a matter of not talking. Listening is all about being mentally engaged in what the other person is saying, giving your full attention to create a connection that goes beyond the words being spoken. Listening is where people develop rapport and trust.

Even when there is nothing in it for you, listening and responding accordingly to people will help strengthen those relationships and will reap rewards that will come in the future.

5) Develop a complete profile. Give people something to establish common ground with; consider putting a summary of your resume or bio on your profile, or list professional associations you're involved in. Bottom line: make sure you have at least one picture and some common sense background information. It's important that others see your profile as valuable.

6) Follow them across many social platforms. Make your friend invites personal by complimenting them on their profile or work found on their sites. When you start building rapport and following them across various social networks, it shows that you are interested in their work.

If you find quality in their published blog posts for example, Stumble, or Digg their content and share them with your network. You begin promoting them and they will likely do the same for you.

by Jennifer Horowitz
With so much talk about social media these days, everyone is jumping on board and trying it out. We are seeing some common mistakes out there and I thought it was important to address these mistakes to help eradicate them in the future.

Don't get me wrong, there will be a learning curve - we all went through it (and I met some great people that helped me, and that I helped along the way) but the key is to learn up front to minimize errors!

So, here we go...

Mistake One: Completely Ignoring Social Media

Believe it or not there are still some people out there that are ignoring social media. They may be unsure of how to participate or maybe they just don't have time to get involved. No matter what the reason, this is a big mistake. Social media continues to grow in popularity and in importance to internet users - the exact users you are trying to reach.

Mistake Two: Bare Profiles

If you don't bother completing your profile people won't be able to get to know you. It is also a sign to other users that you aren't serious about participating on that site. Many spammers don't bother to complete their profile and a blank profile has become a red flag.

Your profile should include a custom background when possible, a photo, contact information, and a list of interests to help people get to know you better.

Don't be afraid to show some personality and let people really get to know you and your company and what you stand for.

Mistake Three: Faking It

We've all seen companies being ripped apart for trying to fake it in the social media world. They either hire someone to pretend to be them (it's OK if staff, colleagues or team members participate, but to hire an unknown to play you, not cool!), or they make up personas or even fake customers posting positive feedback.

The truth is if you can't invest the time to create an authentic social media profile, you shouldn't bother creating one at all.

Mistake Four: Trying to Sell Users Instead of Listening

Social media isn't about you selling, selling, selling. You are here to network, build trust, listen to what customers and prospects have to say. You want to hear customer concerns, to learn about them, to find out what gets them excited, what they like about your product, what they still want, etc.

Remember to be a good social media participant, which means listen before you speak. If you don't, you risk being written off as yet another company that doesn't know how to use social media and who is only interested in promoting themselves. Remember, you always have to add value to the communities you're participating in - just remember its value for your customers, not yourself.

Mistake Five: Recycling

Don't recycle old content and marketing materials on social media sites. Start new conversations, create new information to share. Granted, you'll have some content that falls in the "oldie but goodie" category and that's OK to share. Just try to keep things fresh.

Mistake Six: Launching, then Ignoring

Social media is similar to search engine optimization in that you can't just set it and forget it. You need to participate and remain active, otherwise you have wasted your time initially setting things up.

by Robert Hanna
You ultimately realize that you need a good quality opt-in list. After reading numerous articles and sought expert counsel and have read various success stories of people generating a small fortune with opt-in list you finally make a decision to have one of your own. Then it occurs to you that you think you have understood everything there is to know about opt-in list and have followed their advices to the letter and you still weren't able to make a profit.

Actually, you may be losing money. You may be engaging writers to help you out, or there are some expenses incurred, even if you have a huge list, but only a very little percentage in reality buys from you, your still losing income. You will grasp that, after a few months, when you see your statistics and sales figures.

So what has gone wrong? Why have others thrived where you have failed? The most general blunder is that you dived straight in. You selected a topic where you thought it might be quite all the rage and would bring in money. This is just not the case. Just because you e-mailed people from your list doesn't mean they are ready to buy immediately.

Here I will present more advise, for those who have begun an opt-in list and have failed, you can revive your failed project. For those who are starting, here are three swift and simple ways to build a lucrative opt-in list.

1. Get your customers to trust you and your products foremost.

Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a credible seller. Put numerous articles out first prior to you starting an opt-in list. Write about the subject matter you know and have and utilized for your site. Test forums first to acquire knowledge about your customers and their desires and needs and target those desires and needs.

Join forums from other sites also. Provide professional advise and recommendations when you sense that people trust you , only then you will be competent to start your own opt-in list. You can assemble a base as well with other forum users. You can ask them to sign up on your list. Friends are always good clientele. Create a link to your website so that they will be able to see what your business is all about.

The definite truth is, the money will only come in when the subscribers and customers believe and trust in you. They would like a product or service that might be a decent exchange for their money. People are not going to purchase something out of your suggestion if they don't know you.

2. Find a service or product that people want and require.

Even though it may not be your specialty, if you provide a product or service that you have examined and learned about well, you can carry it on further. Devote your time, effort and money into something that you could sell, plus the buyers or subscribers of your opt-in list could possibly use.

While it is true that its best to sell something that you have fascination in, there are not many people who have the same fascination as you if you choose to sell something that is not completely popular or lucrative. Do your research properly and you will see the earnings roll in. Also supply your subscribers with promotional material that they could essentially use and distribute around.

3. You should make friends with other opt-in list users.

This is fundamentally useful especially if it is someone who has previously launched a winning opt-in list. These are people that have the familiarity in this endeavor and experience is still the greatest teacher. While there are countless articles accessible for you on the Internet to use, there is nothing like receiving a first hand account from someone you trust.

by Glenn Dietzel
How would you like to be able to increase each and every sale by a factor of 10 times to 100 times? As a leader in the field of creating high end programs, an important key is to strategically position yourself among your ideal clients as their only option.

The Q.S.E. Process is an important method to ensure that you are drawing your ideal clients to you. First know, that there are only two ways to compete in the market place: price or value. A friend and client of mine found out the hard way that not competing on price requires some strategic thinking.

Thom who is a personal trainer found it difficult to book clients in the new gym he was training at. He would go around and help potential clients, showing them how to use the equipment properly. In his free time he spent time educating them on a program they should be following after chatting with them on their goals.

Potential clients were very excited to be receiving this attention, especially for free, and were very interested in working with Thom as their trainer. Thom would have his appointment book on him, and would open it up to a blank calendar and tell his clients to choose a time that would be ideal for them. What Thom found is that the excitement that clients had to work with him quickly faded and they began to 'hum and ha' when it came to making a commitment. Those who did sign up seldom showed up for their appointments to train with Thom.

Thom wondered why. He had the most personal training education in his gym and work-out enthusiasts were excited about working with him after talking with him for a few minutes and realizing his vast amount of knowledge. However, as soon as he opened his training book their excitement turned to hesitation.

Within some strategic thinking, Thom was able to fill his calendar full within 30 days. What he did is follow the Q.S.E. Process.

First of all, he quickly filled his calendar to provide only a few times that he would be available in the coming week. This appearance of a full calendar NOW had potential clients clamoring for his time and honoring their commitments to showing up. Soon he was not only the busiest trainer in his city, but he began to win awards for bringing in the most business to his gym.

Here is what you need to know about translating the 'full work out' appointment book principle into your business. Follow the Q.S.E. Process. It will work for you no matter what, whether you are a struggling entrepreneur or a new entrepreneur. If your desire is to create and sell the most expensive programs in your niche, here is what you must know right now:

You must set up a qualification (Q) process. We are conditioned that anything worth having or accomplishing is intertwined with an application process. Position your value in light of a qualification process that showcases to potential clients that they are selected to work with you. They should see having access to you as a privilege. In this way, you can eliminate all the potential clients who want you to compete on price.

By the way, an interesting fact that I have seen coming from over 1,800 video case studies, is this: the biggest successes with clients have come with those who have invested the most. Why is this? Subconsciously there is a greater buy-in when someone makes a significant investment. It is interesting to note too that most people who want to invest in your highest end programs will consider you not good enough if you are too cheap. They will think that you really do NOT bring good value to the market place if there is not a significant investment?

Secondly, you must be seen as the standard (S) of your market place. In every discipline today there exists a set of standards that allow for people to speak and communicate properly. For example, when you fill up your car you expect that a gallon of gasoline is the same as a gallon of gasoline in every other state or country. All fields have standards including the fields of Mathematics, Science and Medicine for example. In each of these disciplines a set of standards exist or that discipline cannot exist.

As someone interested in creating and selling high priced programs, there is a strategic way of creating this standardization. This begins with your ability to control the conversation that your would-be clients are having. You must become the person that influences their silent Q&A Session. How do you do this?

This begins by knowing the critical questions that your target market should be asking in order to solve their problems properly. These are not the questions that they think they should be asking, but the ones that they should be asking. The key to being the standard, and to increase your value instantly, is have the fortitude of character to tell your potential clients that before they go with anyone in your industry, here are the critical questions that they should be asking of them. By appearing objective, you in effect position yourself as the standard of your niche market.

By using the Socratic Method of questioning, you provide your target market powerful 'Ah Ha' moments. When you are able to begin to influence how clients should be seeing their problems you position yourself strategically as the standard of you industry. Would-be clients will think, "If I have already been educated more profoundly than I have ever been before by merely the questions that I should be asking "imagine what this person is able to do for me!"

Finally, you must be the source of education (E) for your target market. What does this look like? Here are three guidelines. First, you must position your company to out- educate your competitors. This begins by controlling the conversation that they should be having as I have just stated. Your education should involve 'moving the free line' so that you can showcase in case study format what you do to solve problems.

Secondly, case studies provide you powerful leverage in building the correct context for delivering your content. It is one thing to teach content. It is quite another to do it in the context of real people who represent your ideal clients.

Thirdly, the most powerful way to educate your target market is to customize your education. As there is currently not another system that I know about that does this, I recommend the use of the Expert Positioner Software to ensure a perfect market-to-message match. Think of the power of delivering education that is perfectly fitted to the problems of your target market.

by Susan Friedmann
A virtual trade show is a cross between a webcast meeting and a video game. And it's the next big trend in trade shows. Although a mere 1% of all trade shows are now held online, industry experts expect that by 2015, more than 25% of trade shows will be conducted in virtual environments. That's a market you can't afford to ignore.

Like online meetings, a virtual trade show can be simple or breathtakingly realistic. The simplest assemble a series of pages, each one a virtual booth for an exhibitor, plus instant messaging so exhibitors and attendees can talk in real time. The more complex are complete environments like high-level video games or such online worlds as Second Life. In these, each participant controls an avatar. VOIP (voice over internet protocol) can allow you to talk to attendees, and you can easily email brochures or allow attendees to download them.

But why bother when face-to-face meetings are so much more satisfying and real? Because virtual trade shows offer some solid advantages.

1. Triumph Over Tighter Budgets

Imagine a trade show with no costs for transportation, shipping, hotels, hospitality, or booths, and just a minimal cost for exhibit space. That's a virtual trade show.

With travel costs rising and travel budgets falling, more industries are turning to virtual trade shows as a less expensive way to showcase their wares. Electronics and high tech companies are naturally comfortable with the online format, but they're not alone. Plenty of other industries, from plumbing to candy-wrapper design, have held successful virtual shows.

2. Spread Your Wings

All too often, the sheer size of trade show investment keeps the marketing department stuck in a traditional rut of "what worked last year." The new medium will free you to experiment with innovative exhibit ideas—and rapidly change the ones that don't work. At a virtual trade show, you don't need to worry about the flow of foot traffic or many other design constraints.

Moreover, you'll have help designing your display. Set-up on virtual trade show sites takes less than an hour, and the software is supplied. Depending on the site, you will have an exciting array of multimedia tools at your service. Some offer VOIP (voice over internet protocol), so you can chat by voice with attendees. Most offer instant messaging capabilities, so you can chat in real time with attendees—and keep several conversations going at once.

3. Open a Stall in a New Market

Not only will you be able to test fresh approaches, you will also have the freedom to explore new markets without fear of blowing the annual budget. Because of the low overhead, you can dare to attend non-traditional trade shows you might not otherwise attempt.

4. The Future Is Green

Compared to traditional trade shows, virtual trade shows are "greener." Lowering environmental impact is an increasingly important goal for many companies. Tax incentives for cutting fuel costs are also likely to increase, making virtual exhibits an even more attractive proposition.

5. Follow That Lead!

Traditional trade shows often generate exciting leads. Unfortunately, 80% of those leads are never followed up - a statistic bound to discourage the most enthusiastic marketing professional. The reasons are myriad: disconnects between marketing and sales departments, the difficulties of reading hand-scribbled names and addresses, the tedium of entering contact information by hand into databases.

However, virtual trade shows collect the data for you - and most include built-in lead management software. Suddenly tracking those leads becomes simple. In addition, many systems offer tags so you can make notes on attendees or companies, making it easy to follow up. You can also keep tabs on both staff and attendee activities.

Virtual trade show systems generally allow you to run analytics as soon as the show is over. Instead of entering all the data separately, the virtual trade show tracks and analyzes it for you. You'll be able to start following up leads immediately, which can greatly improve your return on investment.

6. Market to the Twenty-First Century Customer

Most important of all, virtual trade shows will help you reach out to the digital generation. Over time, more and more corporate decision makers will be at least as comfortable with the virtual world as they are with text on a page.

Already members of the digital generation are taking over key positions in government and business. President Obama's transition team was co-chaired by a Wharton professor distinguished not only for his scholarship but for his skill at World of Warcraft, a virtual raiding game. Plenty of people now in their thirties could use a mouse before they could clutch a pencil, and they spend their spare time on Second Life and other virtual realms. A virtual trade show will seem as natural to them as the telephone does to older people.

This demographic trend is bound to continue. Gaining experience now in the virtual world will give you an edge in marketing to this vast demographic.

by Joanne Black
We've been told that getting more sales is all about your "activity," but is it?

Our job as salespeople is to move as many qualified prospects through the sales funnel as quickly as possible—leading to more sales, better clients, and more income.

The traditional sales funnel to attract new business has maintained the same structure for years. There's a wide opening at the top and a skinny tube at the bottom. The traditional prospecting method crams as many prospects into the top of the funnel as possible, hoping that new clients will magically pop out of the other end. The only thing that mattered was sheer activity.

Today, I'm going to debunk the myth that sheer activity is the ONLY thing that matters along with two other myths that are holding you back from getting more clients now.

3 Sales Lead Generation Myths That Will Hold You Back From Closing More Sales

Myth #1 Sheer Activity is the Only Thing That Matters in Sales

Wrong! Of course, activity is still important, but what really matters is that you feed the right people into the funnel in the first place and nurture those prospects who have been referred to you. Then hasten their passage through the sales funnel. This will decrease the amount of time it takes to you close your sale.

Picture the funnel from the traditional "olden" days. If you just stuff as much as you can into the top of the funnel, it's more likely that weeds, rocks, sand, and other debris will clog the opening and prevent the steady entry and flow of good business. Try pouring water in a funnel that is filled with debris. The water backs up and nothing moves through. Not a pleasing picture, and not functional business model. It's certainly not one that fosters an environment for attracting new business.

Myth #2 Sales 2.0 Leads are Qualified

There's so much that's wrong about the traditional sales funnel, and it's gotten worse in the Sales 2.0 world. It's not a referral-marketing funnel. In the past, we were schooled to throw as many prospects in the funnel as we could find. For example, we were taught to get so-called leads from mailings, trade shows, advertising, networking, newsletters, and speaking. Now in the 2.0 world, we are taught to get so-called leads from blogging, videos, eBooks, free reports, press releases, eZines, affiliate traffic, RSS feeds, and email lists. We can now choose to waste our time by following up on these so-called leads.

I call the leads above "So-called leads" because these aren't really leads.

They're inquiries, possibly names—or people just interested in free stuff. Everyone likes free stuff. If we take the time to weed through all this trash, we might actually find a prospect. These people are just prospects. They're not business referrals. And, they're still not leads.

Myth #3 It's Important to Sort "Leads"

We have to change how we talk about leads. Inquiries are not leads. People wanting free stuff are not leads. Neither are those "coveted" lists or files of names. Calling these "leads" borders on insulting.

Leads are people who:

- Are truly interested in talking directly to you about your products and services to see how you can help them

- Match the profile of your ideal client

- Have a budget

- Have a need that you can fulfill

- Are open to pursuing how you can help them attract new business.

Now that's a qualified business referral.

The best leads are those you have received through a referral. When you receive a qualified referral, you are pre-sold. You have credibility and trust. Your sales time shortens. And, you ace out the competition. When you've been referred, you get a new client more than 50 percent of the time. Get more referrals and get these results.

So stop calling everyone and everything a lead. It's is a waste of your valuable sales time. I'm not just splitting hairs over terminology. It is downright misrepresentation when companies position themselves as lead-generation experts. It sounds so good (so easy), so we jump. And that's when we get our sales funnel clogged with trash instead of getting more referrals

by Jeremy Gislason

Anybody involved in the internet marketing industry or your specific niche can be a joint venture partner. One of the most common joint ventures occurs when one partner has a new product to sell and another partner has an existing mailing list to promote that product to.

Although this is the most common setup, joint ventures can be arranged between any of the following partners:

> Membership sites

> Promoters

> Customer mailing list owners

> Trainers

> Copywriters

> AdSense marketers

> Subject matter experts

> Consultants

So how do you find good JV partners?

Step 1. Decide what you need from your joint venture partner. What expertise or resources do they need to posses to contribute to your project?

If you are looking for someone to promote your membership site it may be tempting to approach the internet marketers that own the largest mailing lists. However, it may be more productive to look for individuals that are experts in your niche subject, whose customer lists will be more targeted to your project even if they are not as extensive.

Step 2. Networking is the key to finding a great joint venture partnership.

If you identify someone you would like to partner with, be careful about how you approach them. If you think they would make a good JV partner, the chances are many other internet marketers will have the same idea and they will get asked on a regular basis.

The following tips may help you when contacting your prospective JV partner:

> Find out everything about what they do beforehand. Read any reports or e-books they have written.

> If they have a membership site, sign up for it and get to know their subscribers. Is the project you want to involve this person in, or the product you want to sell really appropriate for their customers?

> Marketing Seminars offer a multitude of networking possibilities. Many great joint ventures have been conceived over a drink in the hotel bar, or over dinner at one of these seminars.

Step 3. Contacting a potential partner with your proposal.

> Try to get hold of their telephone number if possible rather than sending an e-mail.

> If you must send an e-mail, make it a personal one and not a standard request, or the chances are they will simply delete it.

> You need to try to build a relationship with this person. If they are going to enter a project with you, and potentially promote your product to their customers, they will want to know something about you and the way you work.

> Don't give them a sales pitch. A more straightforward approach will be appreciated.

> Don't assume they are only interested in the amount of money they can make from your project. They may be more concerned about the quality of your membership site and their credibility with their existing customer list.