IPS - Freedom Internet Marketing Application Help

IPS - Freedom Desktop > Brief Overview

In this section the IPS Freedom Desktop applications are broken down into their main functional areas. Internet Marketing has many different components and understanding each area and the differences between the various applications is key in planning your activity and how you decide to use them.

Groups and Support Blogging Social Networking Bookmarking Media & Hosting
Affiliates & Advertising Getting Traffic Internet Marketing Tools Web Sites Payment Carts List Building & Email Marketing Communications Membership Platforms Domains & Hosting e-Books & Tools Copywriting Picture Libraries Payment Processing Resources Area

GROUPS AND SUPPORT SERVICES [back to top of page]

Without doubt when starting out with your Internet Marketing project one of the most important factors is to get involved with a network of individuals who can provide support. Not only does this provide a great experienced resource for you to tap into, but valuable mental support when things don't go according to plan.

There are three tools on the IPS Freedom Desktop to help with this detailed below. Also within the resources section we are building a list of forums for both Business and Internet Marketing which can provide additional FREE Support.

	IPS-HUB is our Membership site for all the users of IPS Products. This includes the IPS-Freedom Internet Marketing group as well as our other clients who have implemented the i-Tr@der business platform. The site contains many useful Forums and is a place to connect and network with like minded people.

	KISS Training is a close business partner of the IPS and the IPS-Freedom network. KISS Training provides Online Training and downloadable training in nice easy to consume bite size chunks, in a diverse range of topics including Internet Marketing, Social Networking and the i-Tr@der Business Platform.

	The Money Gym Club is a close business partner of the IPS and the IPS-Freedom network. The Money Gym will help you to evaluate how well you are performing on the 4 main wealth highways of Business, Internet, Property and Stocks & Shares.

	Wealth Dynamics is a form of Psychometric testing for entrepreneurs that presents you with a clear and definitive path of least resistance to your success. Build a winning team by identifying the right people and the right activity!

	Google Groups is a free service provided by Google. If you do not have an account with Google then be sure to visit and get one set up. Once you have a login you can join existing Groups and also start your own! Many Internet Marketing organisations use iGroups for communicating between themselves.

BLOGGING [back to top of page]

One of the most important aspects of Internet Marketing is to be able to readily post new content for your audience and to have that content indexed by the search engines. A Blogging platform enables non technical people to easily set up and create a prefessional looking Blog (sometimes these even replace websites) and to keep it updated themselves. By regularly updating the Blog and by using your preferred keywords, the search engines visit often and improve your rankings. This is a huge area so please click on the images below to find out more.

There are various blogging platforms on which to build your Blog, and different ways to get them updated. There are even directories of Blogs where you can post your blog to promote it! Blogging has become an industry in itself in todays Internet world, click on some of the links below to get further details and start blogging today.

	Typepad is a really user friendly Blogging platform. Simple to set up and publish a favourite among less technical bloggers and well liked by search engines.

	Wordpress is probably the market leader in the Blogging sector. More technical than some, the Wordpress platform offers unrivalled flexibility and the capability to produce sophisticated sites within a blogging enviroment!

	Hub Pages is a free website service that allows you to create pages about your passion! These pages are well liked by Search engines and can be shared by other Hub Page users. Power up your traffic by using Hub pages AND Blogs !!

	MyBlogLog is a free website service where you can build a community around your Blog. MyBlogLog provide a friendly module you can place on your Blog to view recent visitors, and other bloggers in your community. A merging of blogging with social networking.

	Squidoo is a free website service that allows you to create pages (called a Lens) on anything and link to them from wherever you wish! These Pages or Lenses are your view of a particular subject. They are quick and easy to create and you can link them into your blogs and websites.

	Twitter is a free communication service that enables the posting of 140 characters to answer the simple question : What am I doing now? Twitter has fast become known as Micro-Blogging as the posts can be auto inserted into Blogs and Social Networking sites. You NEED to understand Twitter, use the link or image to find out more..

	FirstGov is a rich treasure of electronic information. Reports, Articles, News and much much more. All of the information on this site is Public Domain so you can just lift it and use it! If you're having trouble writing Blog posts, visit this site for some great content or inspiration!

SOCIAL NETWORKING [back to top of page]

Online Social Networking is an extremely important element in your Internet Marketing strategy. Not only does Social networking provide an opportunity for potential customers or business partners to learn more about you and build your credibility, but you have ample opportunity to connect with new people and publicise what you do. Certainly in the early stages it is probably best to focus on two or three social networks to participate in and do them well rather than register with so many that it is a struggle to manage them.

There are now many Online Business Networks which specialise in helping companies / people connect with each other. These networks very often host offline networking events such as Breakfast meetings which is great for developing your contacts. A good many of the Business networks are also search engine friendly and can help to promote you and your brands on the Internet.

It is now also possible to link Blog posts, Tweets (from Twitter) and update Social Networking sites automatically. This significantly reduces the number of physical posts and the time required to update each site you are registered with. Importantly this changes your sites and gets you reindexed again improving your search engine rankings.

	Ecademy Started in 1998 in the UK, has evolved into one of the foremost Business Networking Sites. Free to join and only a modest monthly amount to become a PowerNetworker for more serious networking.

	Linked-In probably has the largest number of subscribers in the Business network marketplace. Recently revamped Linked-in is serious about Business Networking and one which should definately be considered. A United States led site.

	Facebook is a Free Social Networking site. Facebook started as a way of connecting friends but has now evolved into a powerful networking tool although still with a more social bias. One of the most popular social sites and well worth using, Facebook brings a bit of fun to work also !

	MySpace is a Free social networking site (the most popular in the US). MySpace initially was popular with music people and still today has features which make it very attractive to that sector.

	Bebo is a Free social networking site. Bebo has been very popular with the younger audience so far, but as they enter the adult population Bebo's importance as a serious networking site must surely begin to rise.

	Naymz is a social network tool that enables you to build your credibility on the Internet. In todays world things are not always as they seem. Naymz enables you to build your reputation by endorsement and referral thus increasing your rating.

BOOKMARKING [back to top of page]

Bookmarking in its most simple form is a way of recording a URL (website location) and storing it somewhere. One of the reasons for Bookmarking is to record an interesting website to view later on when there is more time, another to keep useful favourite websites handily on-tap. Web based bookmarks are good because they follow you around, you can access them from any computer with an Internet connection.

Now however there is a new breed of Bookmarking site. These allow you to create folders and organise your bookmarks, share them with other people, and even vote on what other people have considered good ! With powerful searching facilities it is now easy to find good sites that others have recommended, which means that it is now becoming important to get listed with these sites.

With a relatively small investment in time, working on Bookmarking sites such as Digg and Stumbleupon can increase the traffic to your Blog and / or website significantly.

	Delicious is a social Bookmarking website. You can easily store and manage all your favourite sites, share them with others and see what is hot and what is not! By storing your bookmarks here you will always have them wherever you are!

	Digg allows you or any Internet user to submit a site to be evaluated by the Digg community. Once submitted Digg users can Vote that they Digg-it (like it) or not. The more Diggs, the higher the visibility and traffic to the site.

	Stumble Upon is a site that provides bookmarks to websites that have been filtered and approved by others. The Websites that are presented are based on your search criteria, and often yield high quality sites vetted by friends and other users that might not ordinarily appear in general search engine results.

	Furl provides a quick and easy way to Bookmark, file, index and search on pages that you find interesting on the Web. If you read lots of interesting articles on the web and want to be able to file them easily to read again or share with others, then Furl them!

MEDIA & HOSTING [back to top of page]

The Internet has evolved significantly over the past few years and none more so than in the area of Media and Hosting. We are now able to easily link to pictures, videos and audio and show them all on our websites and Blogs.

There are many FREE websites where your media can now be hosted and simple steps to follow with the necessary code to pop these onto your Blogs and sites. People take in information in different ways and providing a media rich environment including Audio and Visual techniques immediately transforms your content.

Below is further information on Media hosting sites as well as Software applications you can install on your computer to help you take advantage of the Media rich world of the Internet.

	UStream.tv is a FREE service that allows you to broadcast your recordings from your PC at a set time under the banner of your own TV Show. An exciting concept of having your own TV channel for your business. Add the TV channel to your Blog, Website, share with your Social Networking and Twitter community!

	YouTube provides Free hosting for your short videos. With Mobile phones anyone can easily record a short video and post it on YouTube to share with others. It is now simple to link Blogs straight to YouTube bringing a fresh Video element to Blogs and Websites.

	Viddler is a Video Hosting site with some innovative features. Almost unlimited space, customisable colours to suit your website and absolutely 100% FREE Viddler really is a powerful tool for your business.

	Bizview is an innovative company bringing TV quality Video production to the Web. Bizview combines excellent value, professionalism and an experienced production team to create the best video image for your enterprise.

	Flickr is a photo hosting and sharing web site. This is a convenient place to locate images and they can be accessed from Blogs and web sites. Flickr also provides tools for displaying, editing and working with your images.

	Hipcast gives you the ability to host your audio (often called Podcasting) and then offer playback facilities with a user friendly widget on your Blog or website. You can also record directly over the web using Hipcast.

	Blog Talk Radio is an online service that allows you to host your own Radio show. Listeners can tune in using a player hosted on your web or blogsite. Listeners can call in, shows can be recorded and downloaded to play on MP3 devices.

	PodCastPickle is a hosting site for your Podcasts. More than that though PodCastPickle combines Podcasts with Social networking with Blogging. PodcastPickle is to Podcasts what myBlogLog is to Blogging.

	VoiceOvers can provide you with a wide range ofaudio related services and Products. From Telephone IVR and Hold messages through to Voiceovers to accompany training materials such as videos.

	Voice123 is the largest and most technologically advanced network of Voice over specialists globally. Every language, every dialect, every accent from every country. Whatever your voice over requirements Voice123 has a budget and a voice for you.

	TalkingSpeaker is a FREE easy to use MP3 Audio flash player. Register, pick your player take the code and host this on your wesite, blogsite, sales pages. There is no limit to how often the Player is clicked on or used!

	Audacity is a FREE software tool to record and manipulate Audio files. With Audacity you can easily edit your audio and convert into a range of formats including MP3. An absolute must and incredibly useful tool for anyone wishing to use Audio on their Blog or website.

	Camtasia is an intuitive Video recording, screen capture and editing software program. Camtasia produces professional looking training videos, lectures and powerpoint presentations easily and effectively. This is not a FREE program.

	WebCamMax is a downloadable software program that enables you to do much much more with your WebCam. Add special effects, share your screen with others, record video and post on to YouTube or Viddler. Make your WebCam come to life with WebCamMax!

AFFILIATES & ADVERTISING [back to top of page]

Whilst familiarising yourself with Internet Marketing and working out how to apply this to your project in general the 'newbie' to Internet Marketing has relatively little to sell. In this period people either start to create their own products such as an e-book or membership site, or if it is a company with physical products begin building the foundations from which to launch an Internet Marketing sales approach.

In either case described above (and it is good experience anyway) you can start Internet Marketing straight away and earn affiliate commissions by promoting other people's products and services. Below there are web sites with a whole range of registered products where you can earn from 5% through to 70-80% commissions by promoting existing products produced by others.

Of course the Internet provides a place not only promote other peoples products but as soon as your Marketing platform is ready you can start to work the internet to your advantage. Google Adwords and Adsense, two of the reasons why the Internet is the massive growth industry it is today, can be very effective ways of reaching your target audience quickly!

	Clickbank has a library of Affiliate products that you can sell and earn commissions from. It also allows you to offer your products for sale. Clickbank handles the processing of the order, payment authorisation and bank crediting.

	PayDotCom has a library of affiliate products you can sell and earn commissions. PayDotCom also allows you to offer your products for sale, these can be physical products and memberships also. PayDotCom is less expensive than ClickBank and to many an excellent alternative.

	Commission Junction is a leading service for both Advertisers (sellers) and Publishers (Affiliates). Commission Junction permits Internet Marketers to choose from a range of large companies such as Airlines, Hotels, retail stores etc. and earn a commission on leads or sales generated!

	eBay of course is the worlds most popular auction site, but you can sell anything on eBay, and specify the rules, which can be just straight sales. It's all very easy when using a PayPal account. Don't miss out on the opportunity to get your product or service in front of Millions of potential clients using eBay!

	Amazon is a huge online sales service with '000's of products not just Books (where it all started). Not only can Amazon sell your book, but you can set up mini shops using Amazon and host them on your Blogs and Website earning commissions when people buy from you. Now you can choose related products that compliment your own, providing a more complete service for your visitors and earning you money too!

	Google Adsense provides context sensitive advertisements onto your Blog and Website pages. The insertion of Google code into your pages automatically produces Adverts earning you revenue when visitors click through to them.

	Google Adwords is Keyword advertising for your business. Design your ad, work out which keywords you want this displayed with, set your financial commitment (maximum per month) and when your keyword is searched on, your ad is displayed.

GETTING TRAFFIC [back to top of page]

Once we have developed our Internet Marketing idea and put the infrastructure in place (Blogs / Websites) we must now set about driving good quality traffic to our content. The next step is to promote yourself and your brand. Internet Marketing is the same as any form of marketing you have to tell the world about what you are doing.

Remember you are an expert! You know a great deal about your chosen subject! Two of the best ways of 'getting your message out there' are to write press releases and to create articles. Article submission is one of the best methods of driving traffic to your Blogs and websites. If you are a prolific writer then the creation and submission of 10 or so articles will do wonders for your popularity and the traffic visiting your site.

Don't worry if you are not the best with words, there are plenty of resources available to ensure that you can get great articles written and distributed as an outsourced service. The most important point is that you submit articles and take advantage of the huge potential !

	PRWeb helps to Turbocharge your Blog or Website. Get your news out to PRWeb and cause an instant Buzz. PRWeb gets your news onto all the latest news sites, driving up traffic to your Blogs and Sites improving your search engine profile.

	Pressbox has been helping freelancers, reporters and journalists since its inception in 1999. PR Professionals can post unlimited press releases and then opt in journalist can browse the articles and make contact regarding interesting stories.

	Article Marketer is a quick and easy tool to get your articles and links published to a huge distribution list. With clever features such as One-Touch submission, Article Marketer removes much of the drudgery of article submitting.

	Submit your Article was the first site to automatically publish Articles. Constantly evolving their technology SubmitYourArticle combines distribution with effective software to leverage the most from each of your articles.

	Ezine Articles is a great FREE Article submission site, send in 10 articles and see priceless link building happen before your eyes. Get rated as a Platinum article author and enjoy unlimited articles and a priority review service !

	Article Sender is a FREE Article Publishing service. Article Sender will publish your article to over 30,000 article directories with just one form submission. Articles get your content in front of thoursands of people, Article Sender makes that easy.

	GoArticles is a little different from other 'Article' sites. GoArticles allows you to submit your article which can then be discovered by visitors or other publishers. You may then receive a request from a 3rd party for your permission for them to use your article, unedited and with your bio-profile attached as the author.

	FirstGov is a rich treasure of electronic information. Reports, Articles, News and much much more. Better still all of the information on this site is Public Domain which means you can use it for content in whichever way you choose!

	The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was set up to protect consumers and also stamp out unfair business competition. The FTC is a US government site and so all the content is Public Domain. This is a mine of information that can be taken and used as a basis for Blogging, Articles or Web content.

Internet Marketing Tools [back to top of page]

There are hundreds of tools on the Internet that can assist the Internet Marketer to 'get the job done'. These range from Web sites that will collect useful information for you, service providers that you can outsource to, even Free software that you can download to make your life easier!

We have pulled some of the most useful tools together and these are listed below. These tools have been selected to improve your effectiveness whilst keeping the costs to an absolute minimum. New tools become available all the time and we will keep this list up to date as we are notified of them.

Please take the time to check out these tools, their purpose and what they can do for you. Although you may not need the tools immediately it is well worth familiarising yourself with what is possible so that you can position them in your Internet Marketing programme.

	Feedburner is a tool that helps you to promote and share your content with others. If you publish a blog, you are producing a Feed. Feedburner allows people to subscribe to your Feed and be notified when it changes. It also provides statistics on who is visiting your Blog, what they are looking at and from where.

	Google Analytics provides you with comprehensive reports (80) on how people found your site, what they looked at and how you can improve the visitors experience. This helps you develop your site, increase conversions and make more sales.

	Google Alerts is an extremely handy tool for finding out what is being posted on the web. Set up the words or phrases you want to monitor and then Google Alerts will email you when something new about it appears on the Internet!

	Google FeedReader is your inbox for Blogs or Feeds that you have subscribed to. Once you have registered to be updated when a Blog is changed whether it is once a month or 5 times a week, Google Feedreader will have all the latest news.

	Wordtracker is a premium tool for evaluating your keywords. Wordtracker will also suggest related keywords that could produce better results. Wordtracker analyses how many times your Keywords are searched on, and additionally, how many web pages use those Keywords i.e your competition!

	Shortening your URL is very important when internet marketing. When typing space is restricted in places such as Blog Sidebars or in applications like Twitter these making a long URL short is essential.

	PicResize is an Online FREE Picture resize service. Simply upload your image, use the toolbox to manipulate and then resave locally on your computer again. Perfect when away from your own computer or in an Internet Café

	NameBoy helps you to establish a Domain name. Type in the purpose of your Blog or Website in a couple of words and Nameboy will come up with some suggested Domains and indicate which ones are available to register, great Fun !

	Social Twist is a FREE widget that you can insert at the end of Blog and Web pages. Social Twist allows visitors to share content using a variety of Social networking methods in a customisable popup without redirecting them away from your pages. Customisable page to share is a HOT feature!

	ShareThis is a FREE widget that is inserted at the bottom of Blog & web pages to share content over social and networking sites. Share This avoids the need for multiple buttons e.g. Digg, Facebook, all can be delivered with one button. Share This supports the most places to share content on for its Genre!

	Alexa is a toolbar that gives you amazing statistics about the web sites you are visiting. The Toolbar can also be used to check how your own site is doing and check out your competition!

	Compete is a tool which enables you to see who is visiting which pages. Competes services are based on the activity of 2 million members and growing. This information is analysed daily and valuable site statistics and reports can be produced.

	OneMinutePoll is a 'best-in-class' online Survey creation service. Create a professional looking Poll, run it online, collect results and view in realtime using our powerful analysis tools.

	askDatabase uses age old marketing techniques to help you identify profitable Niches. Use AskDatabase to find out what your customers want so you can create compelling sales copy and successful marketing materials.

	SurveyMonkey is an online Survey / Questionnaire application. Template driven, build up feedback on new ideas / marketing concepts before you launch. In the professional paid for version, unlimited responses, reports and management tools make this a powerful marketing tool.

	MailBigFile is a handy FREE tool for when you want to send someone a large file! If you have had trouble sending large attachments that just don't arrive, then you'll find MailBigFile incredibly useful.

	Pamela is a free bolt on for Skype. With millions of downloads already, Pamela transforms Skype into a call and video recording tool as well as having many other features. Use Pamela to record one-on-one interviews and host on Blogs or websites.

	Skylook is a downloadable add on for those using Outlook. Extend Outlook functions and features to integrate with telephony. Record calls, set up voicemail, instant messaging and SMS. Skylook will even send you a text SMS if you miss an alert!

	Zeitgeist is a Google service that allows you to view internet searching trends. We make millions of queries every day, the aggregation of these searches allows us to gain insight into Global, Regional, Past and present trends.

	iPad is an IPS-Freedom desktop program, which provides a simple folder structure for filing such things as Affiliate code, widget code, and even autoresponder email series. i-Pad brings order to all those bits and pieces of information that always get lost!

	Exit Grabber detects when a visitor is about to leave your blog or website and displays a customisable pop-up window with your message. It is well known that a visitor will stay only for 10 seconds, exit grabber can help to re-emphasise some offer or promotion increasing sales significantly.

	Roboform helps Internet Marketers by remembering all your application logins. Conservatively, 60 login accounts is normal and Roboform will automatically supply these and log you in. Roboform also has a USB stick version so you can use a different computer but still get Roboform to do its job !

	CastingWords is a service that transcribes your audio files into Words, perhaps to sell alongside your audios as an Additional Product. The work is not undertaken by computers it is allocated by machine but transcribed by people.

	BigPixie enables non-technical regular people to build a professional designer web-site quickly and easily. Take control, create and maintain your website containing web pages, pictures, audio, email and lots lots more.......

	OPenOffice is a full function Microsoft compatible suite of Office applications which is FREE!! Download and install to use. One of the great features of the wordprocessor is saving to a .PDF (portable document format) great for e-books and not available as a standard feature with MS -Word!

	NVU is a FREE downloadable HTML page editor. NVU is really handy for creating and editing Sales and Squeeze pages. Armed with just only Word Processing skills you will soon be producing professional HTML for yourself!

	FileZilla is a FREE downloadable FTP (file transfer program). If you are uploading Web pages or managing pages on a Web server, you will need to be able to upload and download files from your space. Filezilla is simple and easy to use.

	NoteTabLight is a FREE downloadable plain text editor. If you think of the Notepad facility in Windows then NoteTabLight is the next generation. Nice features such as restricting the column width and the auto insertion of line feeds make this popular when creating Autoresponder email series.

	Gimp is a FREE downloadable Image editor. Perhaps not the most user friendly image manipulation software but with persistance can perform the majority of tasks required when Internet Marketing.

WEB SITES [back to top of page]

The granddaddy of the Internet is the traditional Web-Site. Web Sites in their basic form are a presence on the Internet, a way of being found using the search engines and an online Brochure for your business. Micro businesses and Solopreneurs now often use Blogs as their websites as these are fairly easy to amend and keep up to date. Many businesses however want the ability to get a Website up and going quickly, which they can manage themselves and requires no special knowledge at all.

Content Management Systems, the ability to edit and change your website content made their first appearance around 2000. Historically these were aimed at large companies with deep pockets and were written by programmers to enable technical people to keep complex websites up to date quickly and easily.

The next generation of Content Management Systems were aimed at Small Businesses based on standardised templates, these however still didn't really solve the basic problem and the end result was very often dependent on the company supplying the system rather than directly under the Business owners control.

Finally we now have emerging products that enable absolutely non technical people to build on the fly their website as if they were editing a document. Clear, uncluttered, easy to use and inexpensive these are designed by business people not programmers and solve problems not create them!

Find out more about Primate Designs click here

Primate Designs have developed an easy to use evironment for anyone to be able to create their own website. Using a range of well thought out templates and combined with robust software development, Primate Designs give you the power to control your website 24/7 from anywhere in the world!

PAYMENT CARTS [back to top of page]

Standalone Payment Carts have grown into comprehensive systems today. There are a number of factors that are very closely linked when customers and prospects are evaluating your products or proposition. List building, Email marketing, Product Offers, Order Processing and Payment authorisation are all important elements of 'making the sale'.

Todays Payment Carts enable you to build a product portfolio, set up Free and chargeable products and collect names / email addresses into a database through 'squeeze pages'. Double Opt-In features can be enabled to ensure that those registering interest on your Blog or Site really did want to. Emailing your list is a simple process made almost automatic with the availability of Auto Responders.

More sophisticated Payment Carts will now permit Affiliate schemes allowing others to participate in reselling your products and earning in the process.

There is a large overlap today with Payment Carts able to perform many of the functions previously found in seperate systems and it is worthwhile evaluating what you intend to sell and mapping out what you will need prior to spending money. It is very often a good idea to canvass the opinion of more experienced Internet Marketing people at this stage who will be able to guide you through this area and advise on the best strategy for you.

	Total Business Cart is probably the leading product in the Internet marketing sector. Not only a flexible payment cart, TotalBusinessCart offers Autoresponder email marketing, Affiliate tracking and Digital product download services.

	Wahm Cart is a recent addition to the Shopping Cart market. WahmCart offers all the modern payment cart functions, such as wide choice of payment gateways, Autoresponders, Affiliate performance monitoring and Digital product download services. Wahm cart is exceptional value and is lower priced than most others.

LIST BUILDING & EMAIL MARKETING [back to top of page]

There is a simple truth in business which is that you are as good as your contacts. The truth applies even more so in the Internet Marketing industry where your business can be measured (and valued) by the number of people in your database of contacts. It is therefore absolutely essential that you are able to collect names and email addresses effectively from your Blogs and websites through squeeze pages. A squeeze page is simply a registration page that a visitor will complete with their name and email address normally in return for something FREE. This could be a report, e-book, some tips on your specialist subject.

One of the highest priorities for us therefore must be to build a List. Fortunately there are some great products out there which help us to build and manage our List. Once we have a list we want to build a relationship with those people on our list. Autoresponders enable us to create a series of emails that are automatically sent to our list at predetermined intervals. This is often called our Funnel. Our contacts once registered are emailed on a fairly regular basis, offered tips, free stuff and even products that they might like to buy that we have used and would recommend. Sometimes our contacts will buy something and become customers.

Below are some great products that will breath life into your Internet Marketing business and help you to generate increased sales using secure and stable database technology.

	aWeber is the largest and most powerful List building, management and e-mail marketing engine. aWeber integrates with your website to provide automatic collection and de-duping of email addresses into your lists. Once in your Lists aWeber's comprehensive marketing tools allow you to build your relationships with your potential and existing clients.

	My Viral Spiral brings a new dimension to List Building and Sales Automation. My Viral Spiral provides all the tools for getting names into your database but adds a completely new dimension! My Viral Spiral enables those in your list to resell your listed products, add their own products and create their own lists too! This creates a self building List which will happen with or without you !

	iContact allows you to e-mail market to multiple lists and is a recent winner of the Web2.0 best marketing product award. With a wide range of templates and incorporating powerful features such as autoresponders, surveys and RSS Feeds iContact is a powerful marketing tool.

	Constant Contact is a simple to use online service that allows you to email to your list held within the system. Flexible importing tools allows you to get email addresses into the system easily. Simple to use tools allow you to create professional ezines and newsletters to keep in touch with your list and promote your products and services.

	Total Business Cart has built-in Autoresponder email marketing and list building features. Rather than pay out for seperate services dedicated to one function, it is sometimes more cost effective to go for a multi-function service such as TotalBusinessCart.

	Wahm Cart has full featured autoresponder email marketing services built in and the ability to collect names and email addresses for List building. For the majority of Internet Marketers an integrated payment platform provides all the functionality required in this area, simply and at low cost.

COMMUNICATIONS [back to top of page]

In todays connected Internet world the methods with which we can communicate are changing too! The telephone once the sole means of communicating is now one of many we have to choose from. The internet has opened up a huge variety of ways to engage with your contacts with new telephone concepts such as VoiP (Voice over Internet) through to Instant Messaging, Social Networks and even running virtual tele-seminars or training sessions all via the web.

Today we must be ready to engage with potential clients and contacts with whatever communication technique they choose to use. By being open to all input channels we widen our scope for attracting new contacts and opportunities.

Most of the tools below are free to download or use. We have also incuded some Discount telephone numbers to enable traditional communications but at a fraction of the regular costs, these are especially useful when joining tele-seminars operated via the United States.

	UStream.tv is a FREE service that allows you to broadcast your recordings from your PC at a set time under the banner of your own TV Show. An exciting concept of having your own TV channel for your business. Add the TV channel to your Blog, Website, share with your Social Networking and Twitter community!

	Skype is a FREE downloadable Internet Telephone and messaging program. Now it is simple to speak, chat and send files from one person to another with Skype. If your computer has a Webcam you can also view the other person when speaking. Calls via Skype to other Skype users globally are completely free!

	MSN messaging provides a rich environment for Voice calls, Instant messaging, chat, sending files and much much more. MSN Messaging is now part of the Microsoft Live platform and is very popular with the young audience although social networking sites are impacting popularity.

	Yahoo Messenger Very similar to the MSN platform from the Yahoo stable. Integrates with their email and other online services to provide a comprehensive and easy to use messenging and communication centre.

	Web Appointments is a low cost online time booking service. Completely free for your customers, once you have loaded your availability schedule, clients can book time slots over the web. You receive instant notification and can manage your appointments all within the application. An absolute must for businesses providing coaching and other chargeable services over the telephone.

	Twitter is a free communication service that enables the posting of 140 characters to answer the simple question : What am I doing now? Twitter has fast become known as Micro-Blogging as the posts can be auto inserted into Blogs and Social Networking sites. You NEED to understand Twitter, use the link or image to find out more..

	BasementVentures is a completely FREE teleconferencing (and recording) service. Easy to set up, use and manage, Basement Ventures provides FREE teleconferencing for up to 250 participants and up to 6 hours in duration. Connect through low cost telephone services or with VOIP completely free.

	Instant Teleseminar enables you to run a seminar using telephony over the Web. Involve invited particpants to take part in your seminar, it is recorded automatically and up to 2000 can listen in. Most important of all the seminar recording is available as an MP3 or WAV file to be used in your ongoing marketing via Blogs, Websites or email !

	AudioAcrobat is a production centre for Web based Audio, Video, teleseminars, teleclasses and online conferences. Turn your business upside down and make it worldwide. AudioAcrobat is a one stop shop for producing and hosting the complete range of Audio and Video services you need via the Web.

	Blog Talk Radio is an online service that allows you to host your own Radio show. Listeners can tune in using a player hosted on your web or blogsite. Listeners can call in, shows can be recorded and downloaded to play on MP3 devices.

	GoToMeeting is a low cost flat fee online conference product. GoToMeeting uses state of the art pioneering technology to enable you organise or attend online meetings. You can share your screen and any application of your computer in real time with attendees.

	GoToWebinar is a fully functional online Web Conferencing product. Whether your Webinar is planned in advance or spontaneous Webinar lets you set up, deliver and access webinar results from any PC or MAC. Present to audiences of 1,000 at a time with Webinar.

	JigsawBox is an online platform for coaches allowing them to easily project manage and deliver coaching / training programmes to clients. Upload Video, Audio, Text and Notes along with questions to help clients get the most from the course. Full online interaction available between client and instructor.

	No Cost Conference is a FREE telephone conferencing service. No Computers, No Internet, No scheduling, available 24/7 over regular telephone lines. An 0800 number is provided for your convenience.

	Discounted Telephony has become the norm for many of us. Participating in International teleclasses used to cost the earth, now with low cost telephone operators you can call cheaply to a wide range of international destinations, even mobile calls can be much cheaper than with conventional operators.

MEMBERSHIP PLATFORMS [back to top of page]

The Internet has opened up the world as a global marketplace and a global community. It is now possible for people who share a passion or a common interest to become members of websites that connect people across continents.

Membership platforms provide all the features of Social Networking, Forums, Blogs, Shopping, Newsletters, email marketing and much much more under one login. These platforms provide a rich environment to provide enormous benefits to members. Flexibility exists to provide Limited access for non-paying registrations as well as Full Access rights to paid-up members.

Membership Platforms provide an excellent business model which is based upon the concept of 'a small contribution from a large number of people'. Enthusiastic participants represent a captive audience for related product sales, excellent upsell opportunities and a self help group that shares knowledge and experience which works with or without your direct involvement on a day to day basis.

	iGroops is a customisable platform on which you can build a highly functional Membership site. iGroops includes all the features described above and represents the next generation in providing an all encompassing environment to develop your community. Great tools to encourage membership, promote products and up-sell ! iGroops is so comprehensive you may need to cancel subscriptions to other services you have previously been using.

	SubHub vision is to provide to Content producers a range of services that will enable them to publish content, Sell products (electronic and physical), build members-only areas, forums, affiliate marketing, surveys, plus anything they haven't thought of yet. Sub-hub are encouraging people to work with them to provide the ultimate platform for online Business operators.

DOMAINS & HOSTING [back to top of page]

As you develop your Internet Presence you will require Blogs, Websites, Mini Sites and possibly member sites. To access these you will need Domain names. A Domain name is the location of your web pages (in whatever format they are) it is how they are known and how they are found on the Internet.

The whole topic of what name to choose for your Domain(s) won't be covered here, however, what is important is that you know how to find out whether a domain name is in use or available and then how to Register the Domain and point it to your Blog / Web site. It is also important to consider that if your market is global you should use a 'dot com' but if it is specific to a country like the UK, the you would be better off using '.co.uk'. This is because when searching using the UK filter the results returned will be those registered and hosted in the uk.

The resources below will enable you to register and manage your domains, cost effectively and also to check whether the Domain name you would like to use is available or already taken. Nameboy is a great tool for suggesting some Domain Names for your project and is good fun also !

	123-Reg provides a complete service for Domain names. Find out whether your domain is available, register, and manage the domain all via their comprehensive online tools. 123-Reg unlike other domain sites does not charge you for changing the characteristics of your domain. Based in the UK this is an excellent choice for hosting .co.uk domains.

	GoDaddy is US based and one of the most successful domain related service providers globally. GoDaddy also has a very advanced Affiliate programme offering different levels of involvement and commissions. For International registrations such as .com domains there are few better!

	NameBoy helps you to establish a Domain name. Type in the purpose of your Blog or Website in a couple of words and Nameboy will come up with some suggested Domains and indicate which ones are available to register, great Fun !

	Steve Watson Online is a fully automated way of getting yourself into the Domain Registration and Hosting business. As your Internet Business grows and the number of domains you interact with grows, why not make some money too!

E-BOOKS & TOOLS [back to top of page]

The internet like never before has spawned a new generation of Authors. The Internet has enabled all of us with a passion to easily create Audio, Video or to write a book. Writing a book used to be the domain of a select few, now anyone who want to put finger to keyboard and has expertise on a subject can find a worldwide audience interested in what we have to say.

In actual fact it is a well known point that writing a book substantiates you as an expert on your subject, an e-book is no different. New entrants into the Internet Marketing arena who bring with them an expertise already have their first product to sell ! a book with their take on their specialist subject. Writing and promoting an e-book is one of the surest ways to bring about success with your Internet Business.

OpenOffice the free wordprocessor can produce a .PDF (portable document format) directly from the program which is great for your e-book. e-Books can be sold as electronic products from Clickbank, PayDotCom, and via your own shopping carts, however if you wish to use other professional web-site services to create, sell and print your e-book then take a look at the two links below :-

	Café Press has an emormous number of members, and is a site where you can customise products of all types and offer them for sale. There is also a service to produce in physical form your e-book bound in one of three methods for a fixed fee. Café Press is for many a place where you can create a custom product and offer for sale without investing lots of money upfront.

	Lulu is a community website where you can create your e-book, then offer it for sale in a variety of ways. Lulu will help you to create a physical book and you get to keep 80% of the sale price. When an order is received Lulu will print, publish, bind and ship your book to the customer.

	ABE Books is a book finding service. ABE Books have over 13,000 book resellers offering books via their service. You can find books by Author, Original Published date, Title and ISBN numbers. These services are invaluable when searching for Public Domain books.

	Alibris stock millions of books but also link 000's of independent resellers around the world. Comprehensive tools enable you to locate the books you are searching for. These services are invaluable when searching for Public Domain books. Alibris also sell CD's and DVD's.

	ebook covers are incredibly important. The cover of your book WILL influence its success. Finding reliable, professionals to design your Book cover and then provide the Blog/Website image, the Sales page image and the image for the book itself is hugely important!

	Bookshaker is a community website where authors can collaborate, a kind of myspace for authors. Set up a profile, explain what you do, publish blog posts, get comments from other authors about your next project!

	Bowker is a professional publishing information business providing Title and ownership data on Books. Bowker is also the ISBN number issuing authority for the US and Australia amongst others. Bowker employers 250 people worldwide.

	Hynak is a professional company that will establish whether a Book is in copyright or not. Although there are methods available to establish this for yourself via the web. For those who don't have the time, or need additional legal services try Hynak.

	Thomson-Thomson will assist you in finding out valuable Trademark information and Trademark watching. Thomson-Thomson are a global company.

	The Library of Congress (LOC) is vast source of articles, newpaper scans and much much more all in the Public domain. Looking for interesting articles? or some inspiration? find it here on this site.

	Million Dollar Publisher is a Website put together by Peter Woodhead. Peter has developed techniques for breathing new life into Old books, many of them better than those written today. Peter teaches you how to become a successful publisher in your spare time!

	Preview Services are the UK's leading document scanning and archiving services. Whether you require a book to be scanned or bulk document archiving, Preview services have a range of product offerings.

	PDF Document will scan an entire published book, format it and deliver it to you electronically in PDF, Word and even other formats. Highly recommended, PDF Document enable you to get from a physical document to an electronic one, painlessly and at a reasonable cost.

COPYWRITING [back to top of page]

Copywriting is an art, let no one try and persuade you otherwise. Getting your message across effectively and convincingly is not something we can all do naturally. The written word still makes up the majority of what grabs people's attention, holds their attention and ultimately leads to a sale. Small but effective changes to Sales Copy have revolutionised the sales of products on and off the Internet underlining the importance of getting this part right. If you are not good at Sales Copy either get good or enlist the help of someone who is !

Copywriting applies to more areas of your marketing than you might first think. Blog posts, Website Content, Email marketing (including Autoresponder series), Articles, Press releases, Sales Pages, Squeeze pages...... the list is endless. Couple all of this with ensuring that your keywords are strategically placed throughout your copy it is a skilled area and a huge business in its own right.

Below are some links to some respected and professional Copywriter organisations. Here you will find help and assistance in developing your own skills as well as the potential to enlist their help if time constraints and speed are your priorities.

	KickStart is actually the name of the ezine/newsletter produced 3 times per week by Martin Avis, a well known and respected Internet Marketer and professional Copywriter. Martin has an international reputation and has been providing enormous support and advice via his ezine for years!

	OrangeBeetle is the Website for Alan Forrest-Smith, Salon owner, turned international presenter and Copywriter extraordinaire! Alan has the capacity to 'get the message across' and is renowned as one of the best in the business! Down to earth, always hilarious, Alan's presentations are well worth a visit !

	Writing Engine has produced thousands of pages of content for Major corporations as well as individuals. Mark Westbrook the founder specialises in writing articles which are optimised to improve your Google rankings and attract links to your Blogs and websites.

	Elance Online is a network of professionals providing a wide range of services. No time to write articles or content? outsource here! Send a description of your project and receive proposals from prospective suppliers.

	Get A Freelancer is designed to 'get your job done' Get A Freelancer aim to get your work completed by the most appropriate outsource resource for the best possible price. Money does not change hands until you are completely satisfied with the work.

	Proof Reading is a skill which most of us do not possess. Reading your own copy is difficult at the best of times and our mistakes appear hidden as if by magic. Employing a professional proofreader can ensure your website gets a clean bill of health.

PICTURE LIBRARIES [back to top of page]

Imagery is crucial to getting our message across. A 'picture says a thousand words' is a timeless statement, yet absolute truth. When putting together our content (in whatever form that is) having the right supporting images to help convey our message is essential. Pictures and Images found on the Internet are not however free to use (unless it is explicitly stated). The use of images as we all know from Newspapers and Magazines is big business and permission to use photographs must be granted by the legal owners of the image.

The Internet has provided the medium for amateur and professional photographers alike to make available their work via libraries to a huge audience and to earn income from those images by licencing their use (giving permission) to content providers. This is typically a small fee but varies depending on the image and the picture library being used.

Below are some well known Picture Libraries where you can browse images covering almost every imaginable topic and then acquire a licence to use those images in your Blogs, Websites and other online content.

	iStockPhoto was the first Member generated Image stock site. Members can Sell and Buy images, Video and other types of media. With easy to understand Payment plans and over 3 million images available you can't fail to find something suitable for your requirements.

	Dreams Time has an amazing track record of providing high quality images from contributing members. Quality checked by our own team thousands of new images are uploaded daily, and with over 2 million to choose from there is something for everyone. Over 4 Million visitors per month and Fortune 500 companies included amongst customers using the service.

PAYMENT PROCESSING [back to top of page]

As you develop your Internet Marketing platform and the products that you would like to sell you will need a Payment Processor who will take payments and add the money into your account. Even if in the early stages you decide to find and sell products from Clickbank or PayDotCom (who will process the Sale into your account) you will need to provide them with a place to put your money.

Most people new to Internet Marketing want to keep things as simple as possible to start with. Almost all the different ways to earn money interact with PayPal which is why this is so convenient. OK, they take a reasonably high percentage as far as online transactions are concerned but you can 'set and forget' which is the big attraction. Most Payment Processors provide the ability to Buy and Sell through the same account and to Credit your account should you wish too.

There are 100's of payment processors in the market we have listed a few below. You can use different Payment Processors for different Web sites or projects, just because you elect to use one now, doesn't mean you are tied into them in the future. When you are first starting out though remember to keep it simple, look for value for money and work with those that are reputable and well known in the market.

	PayPal has been around one of the longest in the market. Simple to set up and use, PayPal are the interface (and control) between the customer and you. PayPal is not directly connected to the Banking system which removes much of the red tape, operating a simple account where money is paid following a sale, and money comes out when it is transferred to your bank account or you purchase something with your account online.

	Protx have made great inroads into the independent payment processor marketplace over recent years. Offering very competitive rates they have become one of the leaders in the industry lowering the costs of online trading for 000's of customers.

	Sage Payments is a comprehensive offering that provides a full range of services to a business. Payment authorisation for all the major credit cards, plus the provision of card readers for point of sale use.

RESOURCES AREA [back to top of page]

When first starting with Internet Marketing we are bombarded with information. There is nothing wrong with that, however organising this endless stream of web sites, names, software, web sites, e-books and trying to make sense of it is an enormous task. This is why we have put the Resources area together. As we are stumble upon new resources (mostly free) instead of sending out emails which may (or may not) arrive, or leaving it up to you to file so that you can find it again, we just put these new resources into their appropriate folders and then advise by email that we've uploaded new stuff.

The Resources folder contains anything from e-books, software, useful links and articles right through to practical documents such as example templates for marketing e.g. Sales and Squeeze pages, and tips on creating an Auto Responder series etc.

Additionally users of the IPS-Freedom Desktop can also advise us of items that they have found useful and providing they are freely available on the Internet or made available by the owners then they can also be uploaded into the Resources area and shared with everyone.

Find out more about our Resources area click here

Resources is an ever building library of useful items for your journey to success. Free e-Books, Free Software to download such as OpenOffice. You no longer need to struggle to remember where things are.

To contribute useful items just send them to us and we'll make them available to other user of the IPS-Freedom desktop !


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