Google AdWords Excel Worksheet

I noticed some traffic to my site searching for information on using Microsoft's Excel Spreadsheet program to track Google AdWords success. I have an old example of a Google AdWords Campaign that I ran until last year. I was an agent selling toll free number for Telcan.com. I have the results of the AdWords campaign tracked on the spreadsheet below.

I ran the campaign, got some customers, and then stopped the campaign for a few months. Then I started the campaign again. That is why you will see the gap in new customers. Because I also get residual profits on customers who signed up for a toll free number, the campaign is now profitable. But I am not tracking it anymore.

I think the most interesting row on the spreadsheet is the Cost to Convert row. It made from the Clicks per Client (or how many clicks it took to convert a client) times the Cost per Click. In the following example, it took just over 11 clicks to get a client sign-up with a cost of 66 cents per click on average and a cost of $7.47 to get one client to sign-up. Because of the value of the residual income, this campaign would be profitable in the end. Why am I not doing it anymore? Well, I signed up pretty early with TelCan, but now there are too many other affiliate driving up the average cost per click.

http://www.TollFreeForCheap.com

Download AdWords.xls

Business Blogs Driven by High Paying Keywords

I read an interesting post on Slashdot about someone using a content oriented blog to drive traffic through his blog. Of course, this traffic to his blog can make money for him through affiliate links.

He generates content for his blog, Asbestos News, by using Google Alerts. Google Alerts will e-mail text message alerts based on daily search results from keywords. Michael Buffington, the site owner, automated the posts these text messages on his blog. Most blogs can receive posts via e-mail. People searching Google the keyword will see his blog listing highly. If they click through his blog and on one of his affiliate links, then he earns income (passive income).

Michael chose the keyword, asbestos because lawyers are paying up to $100 per thousand clicks on Google AdWords. I will be trying something similar later today to see what happens.

[I find DXGold related keywords pay from $20 to $60 per one thousand clicks. So if I get 111 impressions and 7 clicks that is a 6.3% click-through-rate and the ad group pays $30.18 per thousand clicks, then I get $3.35 in my Google AdSense account.]

Success from Home Magazine Review

The following post is "recycled" from a recent e-mail to a friend in Network Marketing. I thought that there were some good ideas enclosed and that this would be good as a review for the magazine because it shows some of the ideas that were sparked from reading it.

Maybe you have seen the first issue of a new magazine, Success From Home. It is a very nice looking glossy magazine that promotes network marketing business. The premiere issue has a photo David Bach on the cover and a nice article by him with excerpts from his new book, Start Late, Finish Rich. I have not seen the book, but I gather from the article that much of it is about network marketing.

There is also an article by Robert Kiyoski and economist Paul Zane Pilzer, both promoting network marketing. The nice thing about the magazine is that there are no ads promoting any specific network marketing companies. In fact, the ads are from companies like FedEx, CompUSA, the Post Office, and Dell. There are several profiles of people and families involved in network marketing and their success stories. But the article do not lists their specific companies. I have taken it upon myself to use Google to look up some of the companies and
post them elsewhere in my blog. If I were involved with a Network Marketing company, I think that I would order a bunch of copies and share them with my downline.

So, is 2005 through 2010 going to be the start of a new age in Network Marketing? Will people's attitudes about Network Marketing change, as they realize that corporations like Citicorp and people like Warren Buffet are invested in Network Marketing?

I think that we may be dawning on a new exciting time for Network Marketing. As an example I will talk about Apple Computers. I really enjoy using and even reading about Apple Computers. Have you ever watched one of the webcasts of the MacWorld Keynote Address where Steve Jobs introduces new products? The energy and excitement (the buzz) is amazing. The web is still buzzing with stores on the Mac Mini and iPod Shuffle. I wonder if there is a way to capture that sort of buzz and excitement in Network Marketing. There was a time with people would not touch Apple Computers, and now owning one is sort of a status symbol or a badge of membership in a fresh community.

I knew that something was different in the world the day that my dad bought his first foreign made car (he had said he would never have one), and now the same man who thought my red Apple iMac a toy is looking at iPods. Will he look at Network Marketing differently in this new age?

Those are the though left with me after digesting Success from Home magazine. I would recommend it to anyone in or out of the Network Marketing business.

Technorati Blog Search

Because posts to blogs are happening faster than traditional search engine technology can keep track, there are new technologies being developed to feed on information being distributed in blogs. One of these technologies comes from Technorati. They offer tools to search the web in real time (search engines may only update once a week or so).

Check out the cool page from Technorati that lists the hot tag words from blogs. This list is alphabetical with the words in the largest fonts getting the most hits.

The Shyest Networker

Seeing the new Success from Home magazine has sparked some interest in getting back into network marketing. I believe that people's ideas about network marketing are changing and that the distribution of information about products will be the business in the near future.

With that said, I wonder at times whether my personality lends itself to network marketing. Like so many others, I tend to be a shy person who will opens up to others. But I think one of my biggest fears may be calling someone up to talk about myself or my business. Even if it is not a "cold call", just the idea brings nervous shivers to me.

I guess there are two way to tackle the problem. One of those methods is to overcome my fears and transform myself into a more confident and outgoing person. The other method is to use technology and the relationships (networks) that can be made online to drive my business forward.

The idea, Shyest Networker, came to me from thinking about how I could apply my personality to network marketing after visiting the Greatest Network's online community. The GreatestNetworker.comUnity is lead by John Milton Fogg, author of the highly recommended network marketing book, The Greatest Networker.

Recommend Your Network Marketing Business

I am thinking more and more about getting into a network marketing business. I see it an one part of my multiple streams of income.

I want to use this post to get comments or recommendations from readers. I want you to comment and provide a link to your network (or direct) marketing business. Tell me a bit about your business and provide a link, so that I can check it out.

Look at this as an opportunity to 'network' and get the word out about your business. Plus, adding links to your site may boost your search engine ratings.

I will say that I was involved with EverydayWealth before. I think that it is a good company, but they were going through some transitions with their website and fees. And I got out of the business to devote more time to my young family. I recently noticed an EverydayWealth online radio show on the same network that hosts eBay Radio.

When I was involved with EverydayWealth, I found this great site for Network Marketing resources--GreatestNetworkers.comUnity. It is an online community lead by John Milton Fogg, author of the great book, The Greatest Networker in the World.

People in Success from Home Magazine

I like the way that the stories profiling successful direct marketing people and families did not list their network marketing companies. I like that the magazine, Success from Home, does not seem like one big ad. But maybe you are like me and wondering exactly what the businesses are. Well, here is a list of the people and the businesses information that I have been able to find so far. Check back for updates. (Working on updating links.)

Darnell Self Pre-Paid Legal Services
David & Debbie Reeder with Ken & Sandi Burgess
Keith McEachern Goji Juice
Debbie Ratliff with son, Brain Ratliff Maximum Success
Dave Johnson
Collette Larsen USANA Health Services
Hector Lamarque Primerica Financial Services
Spencer Hunn ACN Inc (Telecommunication Services)
Kevin & Amy Lemmers
Dayle Maloney Tahitian Noni Juice
Janie Jones
Sue Mazza Avon
Jeff Robert NSA International Inc. (Health & Nutrition Products)
Tom Alkazin New Vision (Health & Nutrition Products)

I do not endorse, nor do I receive any compensation from companies listed in the links above. This information is a work in progress and was compiled entirely from Google searches. Please let me know if there are any mistakes.

Using eBay to Finance your New Business

* Update January 10, 2006. DXInOne has seen a very slow period of eCurrency Exchange system activity. eBay may very well be the best bet.

* Update July 12, 2005. I think this technique could be used effectively to earn money for your first investment in DXInOne. In the long run, you will make enough from DXInOne that you will not need to look around for any other business. But starting with money you ‘earned’ from getting rid of some household items could be a great start toward your financial success.
I recommend using eBay to finance your new small business. Before looking to your checking or savings account and way before you even think about using your credit cards, think about selling unused or unneeded items on eBay to finance your new business. Whether you are starting a eBay business, an Internet retail business, or entering the network or direct marketing business, selling items on eBay can generate money so that you do not have to raid your family assets.

I found that I had a notebook computer that I was not using much, a XM satellite radio that I could live without for the immediate future, a dress watch that I did not wear much anymore, nice sweaters and jackets that would not fit anymore, and other things around the house that I really did not need. I was surprised at how much money I got for some of the items, and it was nice to get rid of some of the clutter. Getting rid of clutter can also help you to find a nice place for your home office. One thing to note: when you purchase an item try to save the original box and packing items if you have the room, having these things can really increase the final price of anything you sell on eBay.

I made an Excel spreadsheet to track the items that I wanted to sell and how much money I got for them. One nice note about taxes, because these are household items that you are selling for less than your purchase price, you do not have to pay state or federal taxes. Of course you should consult a tax profession with any tax questions, and the above is not meant to be tax advice, but you can sell these unwanted items and then turn them into tax deductions when you use the money to purchase things that you need for your business.

As an added bonus, if you plan to do business on eBay these sales will increase your feedback and build your seller's reputation.

Network Marketing on the Brain

So I guess that I have network marketing on the brain today. It is because I saw a nice new magazine in the bookstore today. It is called Success from Home. It is a magazine exclusively devoted to home direct marketing business. But the nice thing about it is the lack of ads for network marketing businesses.

If you check out the business section of the magazine racks at any bookstore, you will see several magazines targeted at home-based business owners. The thing I most notice about them is the high number of dubious, a.k.a shady, advertisements for businesses. Success from Home is nice because it takes time to profile successful families in their home business oriented lifestyle without directly promoting their network marketing company.

Success from Home is published by Video Plus of Lake Dallas, Texas. I do not see too much information provided about the publishing company. I always like to do a bit of research and find who owns businesses whose products I find interesting.

The magazine has full page ads by Fed-Ex, USPS, CompUSA, Nextel, and Dell. There is a nice story by Robert Kiyosaki titled, Is There a Perfect Business Out There for You? and another long section highlighting David Bach, author of Smart Couples Finish Rich. I recommend the magazine and will give a detailed review in a following post once I have had more time to digest the content.

Start Your Business Blog

Start your business blog, now. It only takes a few minutes. Even if you do not have your business established, then start a personal blog. It will be good practice for when you do get your business going.

Step 1: Go to Blogger.com.
Step 2: Create a Blogger.com account (it's free).
Step 3: Name your blog.
Step 4: Choose a template for your blog.
Step 5: Create your first post. Give it a title and type a paragraph or two.
Step 6: Customize your About Me page.
Step 7: Publicize you blog. If you use Blogger, your blog's URL will be http://yourname.blogspot.com.

Congratulations you just started your blog. Blogger.com was recently purchased by Google. It is a free service and will probably remain free for the foreseeable future. If you would like more control of the look and feel of your blog then you can try a service like TypePad.com. I use TypePad.com and find that it is easier to manage images and affiliate links.

Here is the blog that I created in minutes: eBusinessQuickStart.blogger.com

Blogs to Revolutionize Network Marketing Business

(A December 22, 2005 Update -- I believe that podcasting may be even more important to online business than blogs. More information in my own podcasts.)

I believe that Weblogs (Blogs) will revolutionize network (direct) marketing. Blogs are changing the landscape of the web in general and will allow home business / network marketing business professionals to communicate with and build relationships with their customers and down-line representatives.

The web has been built on the page paradigm. It is modeled on printed pages, which is a document-centric mindset. Once a web 'page' is published, someone visits, and reads the site. If they are interested in the site they may bookmark the page and return. If after they return, you have added new information, then they may need to actively seek that new information.

Early weblogs started as link pages. Remember when everyone's personal webpage had a separate page that was filled with nothing but links (many were unfortunately not up to date). There were some of the most popular pages. People would regularly check back to look for new interesting links.

Weblogs are based on the post paradigm. They are not about new pages, but about new posts. They are filled with small chunks of information within the larger framework. This micro-content allows for multiple options for display. Posts can be organized by date, by title, or by subject or category.

Maybe you are asking, "So, what does this mean for my business?" Well, it means that your weblog is a tool for bringing new customers to your site and for bringing them back to your site looking for new content.

It can be a site that links to your networking marketing business link website where new affiliates can sign up. And it is also a place where affiliates in your down-line can come to find resources to be successful in their business. Their success equals your success.

You weblog gives you a place to list your affiliate links to marketing programs through businesses like Google, eBay, and Amazon to name a few. It can also provide a landing spot for your Google AdWords campaign. Your blog can be your one and only web presence for your business, or it can be an important link from your business website.

Network Marketing

I have a love/hate relationship with Network (or Direct) Marketing. Like most other people, I have been exposed to network marketing for many years. I have many memories of my mom and dad being solicited by Friends representing many different direct marketing companies. Then I had two experiences which started to change my mind about the business.

In about 1999, I was mailing a package for eBay at Mail Boxes Etc. (not The UPS Store). I was visiting my parents and my mom with running errands with me. She ran into someone that she knew who was checking his mailbox at the store. She asked if he was still with his company. He said that he was now in business for himself making twice as much as his old job. He seemed sincere about his new found success. The business was a network marketing business selling health/diet/energy products. He gave us some samples and a brochure. The marketing in the brochure seems appealing. I especially liked the way that the company promoted its success in helping its dealers get out of debt.

A couple of years later, I was enjoying reading the Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad books. I was surprised to find that he not only endorsed network marketing businesses, but he recommended them for people looking to enter the business market. He recommends direct marketing businesses because they usually require very little start-up costs, and because they come with a framework of tools to get you started in business. I think that is a good thing. I will write more about my own experiences with a network marketing company. I am not with any company at this time, but I am will definitely consider being a part of a network marketing organization again if they opportunity seems right.

First Steps in Branding Your Business

I have just written about the importance of registering your domain
names. That is really the first step in branding your business name.
This is an important step, even for small businesses. Branding is about
reputation and respect. The more of a presence your business
represents, the greater your reputation and respect.

Steps:

1) Register your .com, .net, and .org names.

2) Register close spellings of your domain name.

3) Set up e-mail forwarding, i.e. orders@, customerservice@, retailsales@, returns@yourcompany.com.

4) Register your business name as an eBay user's name.

5) Register your business name on AOL's IM Service.

6) Register your business name on Yahoo.

7) Design a logo for you business ($99 at LogoYes.com, it is easy to do).

8) Incorporate or register your business name with your state and get a Tax ID Number.

9) Make sure you have a good bricks-and-mortar street address (not a PO Box and not an address like Poppy Court Apt #12).

10) Think about getting a toll-free phone number and business Internet answering service. Have someone with a nice voice record your voice greeting.

11) Get you business website, even if it just a very simple page with your business name, logo, and mission statement.

12) All along the way, develop your business mission statement, business values, and business policies. Post these on your web site.

Steps 5 and 6, the IM screen name and Yahoo name, are not necessarily for you to use, but it is free to register at these popular web services. You are trying to mark your presence on the web.

Register Your Domain Name

I have said it before and will say it again, Register Your Domain Name for Yourself and Your Business. It is not very expensive and so important. If you are starting a new business, make sure that you .com domain name is available. Register your name (www.firstnamelastname.com). Register your kid's names. They will appreciate it so in the future. Register these domain names even if you do not plan on having a website right away.

How much does it cost? Well, the service that I use cost less than ten bucks to start and less than ten bucks a year to maintain the name. With that you not only get to register the name, but have access to a simple web interface to forward the domain. Here is how it works. Say that you register www.yourcompany.com, but you actually website where you are posting the site is www.homepage.earthlink.net/yourcompany/. Well that last URL is not so professional, not exactly something that you want to put on you business. You essentially point the browser from the first URL, which is easy for your customer to remember, to the second URL where you get cheap or free web hosting.

Obviously, as your business grows you may need to find a more formal web host. But this will get you started. By the way, the company I use is called www.975Register.com (I am not getting paid to send you to their site.). You can see if the domain name is available on their website and register it for $9.75 per year. They also allow e-mail forwarding. You can have an e-mail address like customerservice@yourcompany.com and forward it to you personal e-mail account. You can have up to 50 separate e-mail addresses with this particular company.

(Update 12/23/05: www.GoDaddy.com is now cheaper than 975Register.com. www.GoDaddy.com is now only $8.99 with more features than others.) If you have several domain names to register you might want to look at www.GoDaddy.com . They are just a bit more expensive than 975Register.com at $9.20 per year, but they will try to sell you many, many other products and services. Some of these might be interesting to you if you are looking for some help with submitting your website to search engines. But you have to pay extra for e-mail (now free) from www.GoDaddy.com . And I think that going to Google and submitting your website for free is good enough for most domain names.

One more important item. Because it is so cheap you may want to register the .org and .net addresses for you company. I would not worry about it for my name, but in business it is important. Also you may want to register a common misspellings of your business name too. You can again point it to your real e-mail address. For example, say that you have a country club called MillionairesPardise.com, you might also want to register MillionaireParadise.com (without the s in millionaire). There are companies that look for and exploit these common mistakes in URL formatting for popular websites.

Tips for Sourcing Wholesale Goods for eBay

Ever notice that much of the items for sale on eBay from online stores is not the greatest quality. I find that sellers who have "real" bricks-and-mortar stores have an easier time sourcing name brand products. Well, I recently found a company whose product I recently wanted to sell. There was only one company (person) selling their products on eBay. And doing a little bit of research showed that I should do well with their products. I went to their website and found their customer service e-mail address. I sent a short, but polite e-mail inquiring about being a reseller.

I got a nice response back. It was all as I expected, except that they only wanted to deal with retailers who have bricks-and-mortar stores. You will find this often because companies just don't want to deal with small online businesses.

Luckily, I have already set up a couple of things so that I can appear to be an "real" store. First, I set my company up as a corporation. Setting up an LLC is very simple. This gets me a Tax ID Number. Then I set up an 800 number that rings to my sell phone. My wife has a nice voice and I got her to record a business greeting on my cell phone's voice mailbox.

Because my home address has sort of a suburban sounding name (you know like Flowering Lane). I got a business mail box down at the local UPS Store. It costs $14 per month and provides me with that bricks-and-mortar address.

In the end, I was able to deal with the company and get their wholesalers catalog without any phone calls. It is a good deal. They will ship the wholesale merchandise to the UPS Store. They will even call me to tell me I have a large package. I pick it up on the way home from my day job, list the items on eBay, and I am in business with a quality product that many other eBay stores would have problems acquiring.

What to Look for in a Drop Shipper

Be very cautious about how you find products for you online store or auctions. Be very skeptical of wholesalers or drop shippers that you find through Google searches and especially from the Google ads that are found at the right of web searches. And one of the absolute worst resources I have seen for wholesaler and drop shipper information is being sold on eBay for a few dollars. The information is worthless--made of Google searches that you could have done yourself.

Here is an example (Kate Aspen) of a drop shipper that will drop ship very nice wedding favors. Notice that you need to provide a Tax ID Number to register with them. Asking for a Tax ID is a good sign when looking for legitimate wholesalers and retailers.

Here is a legimate website that publishes good wholesalers and drop shippers.

Escrow.com or Escrovv.com

The difference in the spelling of the two words may seem obvious in this format. But it might not be so obvious in the URL in your web browser or in an e-mail. If you do not pay close attentions you might be enticed to follow a link to Escrovw.com. This and other fraudulent escrow service websites have been taking money from unsuspecting eBay buyers. The only authorized escrow service that eBay endorses is Escrow.com (spelled no other way).

I have done lots of transactions over $1000 on eBay and honestly, I have never used an escrow service. I have used PayPal and everything has worked out well. But I have noticed a disturbing number of postings from buyers and selling who have lost either money or products by using fraudulent escrow services.

I would recommend Firefox 1.5 with Google's Safe Browsing Extension. The extension will warn when you may be on a fake website.

Shipping Matters

I have been using and recommend United States Post Office Priority mail for shipping my smaller eBay packages. My local post office has an automated machine so that I can pay for and print labels without standing in line. I think most people are afraid of using the machine. They don't want to take the few minutes required to learn how to use it. But it beats standing in line.

I have recently been printing my own shipping labels at home. You do this from PayPal or at the Post Office's Click-N-Ship website. I would recommend using a laser printer to print your labels because the ink from a laser printer is waterproof. Most inks from ink jet printers will run or smudge when wet. Use labels where the entire sheet is one big label or sheets with two labels per 8.5 by 11 inch page. A good quality home business laser printer now costs less than $200.

You will also need a scale, but the post office sells two very nice ones for less than $40 on their site. I would recommend a scale that can weight up to 10 pounds. The 5 pound scales will not help with larger packages.

Unfortunately, you can only print Priority mail postage from the Post Office's website and PayPal's shipping center will only ship through UPS and USPS Priority Mail. One nice thing about each of these sites is that you can choose not to display the postage amount on the label. This is important for sellers who choose to offset some of their handling charges in the shipping & handling charges. Charging $19.95 to ship a small eBay item is unethical, but adding a dollar or two to actual shipping to pay for packing materials is certainly fair.

It is not possible to pay for and print shipping labels for USPS first class mail or media mail from either of these sites. You will have to go to a third-party mailing service such as Stamps.com. I really can not recommend these unless you ships more than 20 first class or medial mail packages a month because the third-party online mail providers charge at least $15.99 per month just to use their service. And lastly, whatever you do, do not have The UPS Store package your items for you. They do a good job, but charge way too much for putting your package in a box and adding packing peanuts that you could buy yourself in the same store.

eBusiness Data Mining

Regardless of the business you are in, you will generate data about sales, expenses, and profits. Before Google changed some important AdWords policies, I ran a successful AdWord affiliate program with a company that provides toll free numbers to individuals and businesses.

Google AdWords is a program where you can purchase ads that appear highlighted and to the right of the results from a Google search. I registered with the toll free phone company's affiliate program. Then careful wrote the Google ad text and had the ad up in less than 30 minutes.

Google provides all sorts of statistics about how many clicks you are getting, you cost per click, click through rate, and cost of the ad campaign. I was getting some results, but it was difficult to get quantitative feedback to learn if the ad campaign was successful.

I created a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and used the results of the AdWords campaign. I was able to keep up with the amount of money I was spending on the ads and track the results of the residual income from the telephone company. It took about six months to get over the hump and become profitable. Because the telephone company gave you a percentage of the incoming calls placed to the toll free numbers registered to you affiliate account, it took a few months to have enough customers to balance my expenses.

It was beautiful. I had balanced ad text, the maximum cost I would pay for an ad, and the income created to generate a 20 to 30 percent return on my ad costs. But all good things......

Since that time, Google has changed its policy regarding the AdWords target URLs. Google is not allowing multiple ad campaigns to use the same target URLs. To successfully run a Google AdWords campaign you must use your own website as the target of the campaign and then link to your affiliate program's website. I am still working on a new formula for success and will post the results in the future.

eBay Radio

I have been enjoying listening to weekly shows from eBay radio over the past couple of months. If you do business on eBay, then you should check it out. Multi-task and listen to it while you are doing other things online or download archived MP3 files to your iPod to listen while away from your computer. The host Jim "Griff" Griffth works for eBay and is the author of the The Official eBay Bible.

eBay "Profits"

Here is a good little store about doing "business" on eBay:

Wife goes to the mall for the day and buys 50 widgets at $10 average($500). Spends 20 hours over the next week taking pictures, making cute graphics and writing descriptions. Lists them all on eBay, sells 40% at $12 average($240). Relists the rest at .99 and sells 40% of them at $8 average($96). Wife calls friend to go for lunch(-$40) to celebrate having grossed $336 on items sold that cost $320. Doesn't occur to her that 15% fees (-$45) have been taken off. Final tally is $500 spent to end up with $251 cash and 18 more dust collecting pieces of junk. Wife tells hubby if she spends $1000 next month she'll do even better. Hubby says, "Yes dear, I'll start going into work on the weekends now too".

The moral of the story. Look at doing business on eBay as a business. Keep track of how much you pay for an item, subtract eBay listing and final value fees, PayPal fees, packing supplies, and postage from the price to find the net profit. Better yet , keep track of all of this in a simple Excel Spreadsheet.

Affiliate Links

You will notice some web links (the actual name is hyper-text links) in my blog. I want to disclose that some are affiliate links and some are just regular links. They are all web links to outside web sites. And with some of the link I may be paid some small compensation if you click on the link and then use the service.

I do not place links on my site to companies with products or services that I do not use or that I would not recommend any friend to use. I think that using affiliate links is a fair way to receive some small compensation for posting useful information on the web.

This blog is not simply a forum for affiliate links, but a way to share my experiences and promote ethical, but profitable online business practices.

eBay Store Closings

Many eBay stores are being closed. Businesses are not abandoning eBay, they are still using the action format. But recent fee changes are finally driving people away from opening stores. I have tried using an eBay store, but like many other closed it in the past few weeks. My main concern in using the store was in the unfriendly search function within eBay. But I feel the store was a valuable way to cross-promote my items for sale between the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping frenzy.

I will probably open a store again before Thanksgiving this year. Even with the increased fee.

eBay Store Inventory format listing insertion fees will remainunchanged. The Final Value Fee for Store Inventory items will change as follows:

Closing Price Old Price New Price $0.01 - $25 5.25% of the closing value 8% of the closing price

$25.01 - $1,000 5.25% of the initial $25, plus 2.75% of the remaining closing value balance. 8% of the initial $25, plus 5% of the remaining closing value balance ($25.01 - $1000)

Over $1,000 5.25% of the initial $25, plus 2.75% of the next $25.01 - $1000, plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01 - closing value). 8% of the initial $25, plus 5% of the next $25.01 - $1000, plus 3% of the remaining closing value balance ($1,000.01 - closing value).

Google Buys Keyhole

Google has purchased a Mountain View, Calif. company Keyhole. Keyhole has an amazing technology that you have to see to believe.

Keyhole produces a 3D digital model of the entire earth. You can type in any address and 'fly' to it. It is fun to play with. They offer a free 7 day trial on their site.

They also produce enterprise level software for managing very large geographic databases. The company was founded in 2001. They received start-up money from Sony Broadband and are just one of many recent acquisitions by Google. Google is a company to watch. They are much more than just a search engine. And if I were currently purchasing stock, I would buy and hold some Google.

Click here to see some of Google's lesser known products.

Brainy Nation LLC

I took the time yesterday to setup my Limited Liability Company. I decided to just go ahead and setup my business up as an LLC vs a standard sole proprietorship. I used the online legal service company LegalZoom.com. The total cost was $366, which includes the Maryland filing fees and the paperwork for a Federal Tax ID number.

Because I am the sole member of the LLC, I can operate it like a sole proprietorship for tax purposes. I believe that I still need a State Tax ID number and need to check with the state and my county to see if I need to file for any other licenses. I am sure that I will make a mistake or two, but just decided to jump into it.

Anti-Virus Software Is Not Enough

If you only use anti-virus software and you work on a Windows PC, then you are not doing enough to protect yourself. You should also be using Anti-Spyware software. Spyware is unwanted software that is placed on your machine without your permission, and most of the time, without your knowledge.

SpyWare can make your Internet connection slow, spawn pop-up advertisements, reduced your computer's performance, and result in identity theft and the loss of private information. Microsoft has introduced a beta version of their new free AntiSpyware Software.

I consider myself to be a very careful web surfer. I run anti-virus software on my PC, but I ran the AntiSpyware program and found one piece of Spyware on my machine. I plan to regularly run the software and check my PC. It took less than 8 minutes run the first check, and finding a piece of Spyware certainly made it worth the time.

Any website that hijacks your web browser's default homepage is suspect for viruses and Spyware. You have to be very careful when browsing the web with Internet Exploder (uh, I mean Internet Explorer) because it is very suspecitable to being taken over by unscruptilious websites. I would recommend using another browser for surfing the web.

I have been using Firefox 1.0 and am very happy with it. So far, I have not had any problems viewing any pages with it. My Internet banking site even works with it. One of the best features of Firefox is tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing allows you to view multiple websites in the same window. Ever had five or six Internet Explorer windows opened? In Foxfire I can have Google in a tab, my blog in another tab, Amazon.com in another, an online spell checker in another, along with eBay, PayPal and MapQuest all in other tabs. Check out Firefox and download, here.

Good eCommerce Link

I wanted to share a good eCommerce link. I heard this guy, Chris Malta, on eBay radio. He was talking about sourcing retail products for your eBay store. He has a good (and free) eBook on starting an online business, and he also has a great list of wholesalers and drop shippers on his site, World Wide Brands, Inc.

Chris has been on eBay radio and also hosts a radio show for Entrepreneur Magazine.

I think that the best advice from Chris's free eBook is to get your tax ID number when you are starting a home or Internet based business. Legitimate wholesalers and/or drop shippers will not deal with you unless you have a tad ID number.

Franchise Business -- i Sold It
I have thought some about opening a franchise store. If I were interested in opening a bricks and mortar store, I think it would be a franchise. Because of the great expense of opening a 'real' store, I think being a part of a franchise would supply not only the best opportunity for success, but it would also help in getting a business loan.

I have been hearing radio ads recently in my area for a new store. It is called i Sold It. Their website i-SOLDit.com has information about the business (by the way, I think that i-soldit.com is a terrible website name. I hate dashes in names. Just something to think about when registering domain names. I bet that if you go to find the business online in the future you will forget the dash. I did.).

The basic idea is that a person takes an item of value to one of their stores. I Sold It takes photos of the item, does market research, and lists the item on eBay. Then when the items sells, they pack and ship the package to the winning bidder. The person who brought the item into the store gets a check mailed after the successful transaction.

The fees break down like this:

Commission is 30% of the first $500 and 20% of the remaining amount
(over $500). iSold It charges a $5.00 minimum commission per item.

Then, eBay Fees are:
Listing/Gallery photo fee of $0.60 (assumes $9.99
starting bid) plus 5.25% of the first $25, 2.75% of the next $975, and
1.5% of any amount over $1,000.

And finally, Payment Processing Fee

$.30 plus 2.5% of the final selling price.

They show that for:

$100.00 you get $66.23 or 63% of the final value
$1000.00 you get $695.98 or 70% of the final value
$5000.00 you get $3,735.98 or 75% of the final value.

I think that is a fair fee schedule, especially for someone who does not have a computer, Internet connection, digital camera, and/or the time to list and follow through with an eBay transaction.

I wonder how long it will take for someone to turn this into a home/Internet based business. It is not a bad idea....more to come.
Is anyone earning money as an Amazon Associate?
Is anyone actually earning money as an Amazon Associate? I signed up today because I thought it was cool that this weblog can be linked to the Amazon Associate affiliate program. But I wonder if anyone is actually earning money.

I have seen this program for years. I think it must be one of the first affiliate programs on the web, but I wonder how much people are earning? Probably not much by just passively linking items to a weblog? Anyone with experience? How much are you earning?

eCommerce Ethics

So, maybe I am not cut out for business since I seem to have this ingrain sense of ethics. I see websites all over the place that want to sell unscrupulous methods of "Stomping" search engines and so called opt-in e-mail lists for marketing. I just do not believe in such practices, even if it means turning away profit. Actually, I sense that people selling such information are actually selling junk information. Their sites stink of get rich quick and easy money.

I wonder if it is possible to make an honest living on eBay and with an eCommerce sites...selling products you like and treating people fairly. Can someone make an honest living? It seems that there are some good Power Sellers on eBay. I think that eBay’s feedback system may help to keep it more honest.

Day One

Well, I am just getting started and thought it might be interesting to log my progress. I have been playing around with the idea of a home/internet small business for a few years now. Playing around...but want to get more serious.

I have looking online for too long for business ideas. I have tried a business or two. Basically the most successful idea has been on eBay. Selling household items on eBay has financed holiday spending, paying bills, and everyday spending. I appreciate having money in my Paypal.com account for a cappuccino at Starbucks.

But now it is time to get serious. I have only been imagining, or daydreaming, about a business. And I have tried a couple of businesses--a network marketing and Google Ad Words based affiliate business. Needless to say, I did not make any money. But I didn't loose much either.

Getting serious means filling official State and Federal paperwork, getting a tax ID number and maybe forming an LLC for my business.

I have found some good resources at the Small Business Administration. Because I am a veteran I can contact their Veteran Affairs person and plan to do business as a Veteran Owned Business.

Well, I have my work cut out for me. But I think it will be fun.

[Update 1/11/06: Check out my http://coffeenewsinfo.blogspot.com to see me doing this for my 'real' business.]