Online Marketing Success Cycle

In my previous post, we touch on rules to how to win the business war.

Today, let’s delve deeper on actions we can take on the journey to online marketing success.

Again, we want to keep on the premise that success can come in simple and actionable steps.

Nothing complicated. Just a cycle that we have to keep doing…keep optimizing and…keep going.

This online marketing success cycle I’m going to show you today will lay out the path clearly for you. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Just do it.

By the way, this cycle is not devised by me. Been used with great effect by many successful online businesses. So you know it works. And it was first pointed out to me by one of the best marketers I know – Paul Myers of TalkBizNews.

So here goes:

1. Sell Products

Most obvious start. You don’t make money by selling air. So you create on product that has a demand and meets a need or is a solution to a problem – and sell it. Then money will flow in.

Random Finance Tip #3

If you have noticed, I’ve been neglecting the financial portion of my blog.

I guess this is partially because I’ve also started my editorial consultancy duties for a finance company, and I am a bit less keen on writing more financial articles. Can be quite taxing doing the same things again and again.

That aside, let’s go straight to the point. This is actually a continuation of where I left off from Random Finance Tip #2

So today’s Random Finance Tip and third of this series is……………….

You won’t want to scare her away with your fart and body odour, or start acting like a irritating punk, don’t you?

Same thing with financial institutions. They show you the most beautiful side of the deal and make it very prominent, but usually it is just 1 portion of the big picture.

Random Finance Tip #2

This post is sort of inspired by the Blue Chip stock entry by my friend Robin, of FortuneWatch.com.

I left a comment on it, and I thought I reproduce it here.

Without further ado, the second tip of this series is

“In times of sudden crisis, buy blue chip stocks”

Just in case you are wondering what the heck are blue chip stocks, let me first clarify. Nope they are not potato chips that are blue in color (Sounds yucky to me).

Blue chip companies are generally defined as big, safe, fundamentally strong companies with a market capitalization in excess of billions.

Blue chip stocks are good if you want to add some balance and diversification into your portfolio, but don’t expect any extraordinary gains. They are as safe (some people say boring which is a good thing actually) as can be. If you are looking for wild fluctuations, gyrations and excitement, you gotta look elsewhere.

So why buy in times of sudden crisis?

By sudden crisis, I mean a terrorist attack like 9/11, tsunami or hurricane devastation, death of a leading political figure or outbreak of disease like bird flu or SARS.

Random Finance Quotes #1

Okay, I didn’t blog for the last 2 days, and here I am coming out with an unprecedented number of 3 posts in one day! What’s going on with me? Am I over-compensating or what? Well, who cares! If you guys continue coming to my blog, I will continue sussing out good information, resources, tips and tricks for your benefit!

Anyway I came across this finance-related quote today and I just can’t stop sniggering. Suddenly I thought, why not have a ‘Random Finance Quotes’ to complement the ‘Random Finance Tips’ section that I came up with not long ago? I thought that will be cool, so here it is – the birth of ‘Random Finance Quotes’.

Today’s Random Finance Quote is

“A Bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and asks for it back when it begins to rain.”

by Robert Frost

Fair or harsh comment?

You be the judge.

A mind-boggling array of Financial calculators for your benefit

Let me ask you a question. Do you like math and finance? If you do, you will love what I am going to introduce to you. If you don’t, you should still check this out anyway. Cos’ it’s good stuff! Plus it will come in handy for you in future. That, I’m pretty sure.

To me, a calculator is always a must have tool, not because my maths sux (I got an ‘A’ for my maths back in college! Don’t be fooled by my ramblings!), but because I’m simply not adept at mental calculation.

When it comes to finance, calculators can save you loads of time and help you look at the big picture. A picture that may be hazy and uncertain upon first sight, but is abundantly clear when everything is laid out bare on the table.

What exactly am I talking about?

Let me paint a scenario for you.

You have a wad of cash. You are contemplating whether to invest this sum of money or to pay off a loan. However there are many factors involved. To come to an informed decision, you need to consider factors such as the monthly loan payment, annual loan interest rate, loan balance, investment type, investment rate of return, loan interest deductibility and the tax rate, after which you will then have to weigh the odds, and determine which action will tip the scale towards your advantage.

Educational Blogs That Are Worth My (And Most Probably Your) Time

Image Credit: research.soe.purdue.edu

There are billions of blogs out there, and to differentiate from the crowd, we have to really provide good useful educational content that readers are seeking.

Yep, sometimes all readers want are just some plain good O fashioned blogs with no fluff solid content. I like to think I’m moving towards that direction. At least that is my aim, which is to offer some value back to the readers here who take the time to drop by (THANK YOU!).

I’ve looked around and found some blogs that are definitely worth taking a peek. As usual, since this site is mainly about Business, Finance and Internet Marketing, I shall keep my recommendations confined to within these few areas. They may not be the best known blogs out there for now but the quality that is present in all of them merits a mention.

Finance and Investment

• FortuneWatch

A nice place to read and learn about financial literacy, from debt management to investment. Very honest take on finance with a touch of humour. I like it. My kind of site.