World's top 10 billionaires, Buffet is the richest

Warren Buffett, the famed US investor who heads Berkshire Hathaway Inc, replaced his friend and Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

The magazine estimated Buffett's worth at $62 billion in its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people.
Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim came in second with an estimated worth of $60 billion, pushing Gates to third place after 13 years of holding the No 1 spot.



The magazine estimated Gates' worth at $58 billion.
Buffett's rise to No 1 was particularly noteworthy, Forbes said, as it came at a time of great financial turmoil and as Buffett has begun to siphon off part of his fortune to charity.
"Even though he is giving away a piece of his fortune each year, the stock of Berkshire Hathaway, the source of Warren Buffet's wealth, has been rising very rapidly," Chief Executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes said, noting Buffett's fortune climbed $10 billion in the last calendar year.
Buffett in June 2006 announced plans to give 85 percent of his fortune away, granting it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities. Bill Gates serves on the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway and is a long-time bridge buddy of Buffett's. Gates has also given a substantial amount of his fortune to the foundation.
Buffett, often called the Sage of Omaha, has been lauded among investors for his preference for investing in larger companies with easy-to-understand businesses, large or dominant market shares, consistent earnings, and strong management.
In the early 1960s, Buffett started to invest in Berkshire, then a struggling textile maker, and took it over in 1965. Since then, he has transformed it into a holding company for more than 50 companies, ranging from Benjamin Moore paint and Dairy Queen ice cream to Fruit of the Loom underwear and Ginsu knives.
Gates has held the No. 1 spot since 1995, when he unseated Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a Japanese real estate tycoon. Tsutsumi fell off the billionaire's list last year after receiving a suspended prison sentence for falsifying financial statements and insider trading in 2005.
Slim, a former stock market trader, is known for buying up struggling, cheap firms and turning them into profitable cash cows. He built his fortune by privatizing former Mexican state telephone monopoly Telmex. America Movil, a Telmex spin-off, is is now Slim's flagship business and Latin America's biggest mobile phone company.
Keeping up with the Russians?
The collective net worth of the world's 1,125 billionaires soared to $4.4 trillion, the magazine said.
The list of billionaires has almost doubled in the past four years, Forbes said. There were 469 US billionaires, worth a combined $1.6 trillion, while the 656 billionaires who live outside the United States are worth $2.8 trillion.
Russia came in second place as home to 87 billionaires and Moscow is now the world's billionaire center, the magazine said. The Russian capital is now home to more billionaires than New York City.
India, China and Turkey also saw large gains in numbers of billionaires.
The world's youngest billionaire is 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, founder of social networking Web site Facebook. The magazine estimated his worth at $1.5 billion and said he is the youngest self-made billionaire to ever appear in the Forbes billionaire rankings.
Recent turmoil in the financial markets has taken its toll on the list.
James Cayne, Chairman of investment bank Bear Stearns Cos; William Pulte, who founded US home builder Pulte Homes Inc; and Howard Schultz, founder of coffee chain Starbucks all fell off the billionaire's list amid declines in their companies' stock prices.
The decline in the dollar, a trend that Buffett himself has been betting on since 2002, provided a boost to billionaires outside the United States, particularly because the Forbes list is tabulated in US dollars.

The top ten list of billionaires:

Herewith the 10 richest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires.

Name Net Worth Source of Wealth (in billion USD)

Warren Buffett (US): 62 Berkshire Hathaway

Carlos Slim (Mexico): 60 Telecoms

Bill Gates (US): 58 Microsoft

Lakshmi Mittal (India): 45 Steel

Mukesh Ambani (India): 43 Petrochemicals

Anil Ambani (India): 42 Diversified

Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden): 31 Ikea

KP Singh (India): 30 Real estate

Oleg Deripaska (Russia) 28 Russian Aluminum

Karl Albrecht (Germany): 27 Aldi

Top 10-step Goal Setting process for you

Many people generally know what goals are. But only 5% write down their goals, and a plan to make them happen. That’s the art of goal setting.

Discover now what goals are; what goal setting is; why most people don’t set goals; and why goal setting turns your life from running endlessly in a wheel, toward consistent life achievements.

What are Goals?
Goals are very specific life outcomes we want, that give us direction and personal aims.

What is Goal Setting?
What separates Goals from ordinary Dreams is writing them down – because this begins pre-programming your mind to find ways to make the goals happen. Goal setting means planning specific action steps to take, to achieve your goals.

Why don’t more people set Goals?
Most people don’t know how, or don’t know the value of goal setting for achieving their life ambitions. They fear failure. They think they have goals, when instead these are just ordinary dreams.

Why Goal Setting changes your life.
Goals give shape and focus to your life, the compelling “reason why”, the momentum to take action, the “How to…” make them happen. Goal setting – the art of writing down specific desired outcomes, with the planned steps you must take – “forces” your mind to look for ways to make the desired goal a success.

Here is the easiest, most powerful 10-step Goal Setting process for you.

1. Think about what you want and write it down

2. Decide EXACTLY what you want and write it down.

3. Make sure your goal is measurable.

4. Identify the specific reasons that you want to achieve this goal and write them down.

5. Establish a definite date for accomplishment of your goal and write it down.

6. Create a list of action steps that you need to take to accomplish your goal and write it down.

7. Create an action plan from your list of action steps and write it down.

8. Take Action.

9. Do something every day

10. View your goals as often as possible.

Now grab a pen and some paper, and spend 30 minutes setting the goals for your life!

Top ten FAQ in marketing and sales

In marketing sector, you will have to have vast knowledge about sales and marketing as well as product knowledge. You can earn experiences by learning the following FAQ.

Why do we need to market when we can barely staff the work we have?

What is the difference between “marketing” and “selling?”

Can I expect a marketer to generate new business leads?

How should sales and marketing functions be aligned?

What does a marketing person do?

How can I tell if our firm needs an in-house marketing person?

What level of marketer does my firm need?

To whom should the marketer report?

When can we expect to see marketing results?

How might marketing’s cultural changes affect my firm?

Top ten learning about web hosting

We are providing web hosting worldwide by Qsoftbd.com.
you can learn about web hosting by following tips below-
Web Hosting Instructions
Web domains. Hosting. Content. These are the three top priorities for any webmaster, regardless of how experienced they are. Unfortunately, these three essentials often leave people in the dark, as there are dozens of companies offering the “same” packages for different prices.

Web Hosting Guide
Trying to identify a web host can be a very daunting task especially when there are so many available nowadays and all of them promise one thing or another because looking for and buying a reliable web hosting solution is an imperative decision.

Finding The Best Web Hosting Service
Finding the best hosting service for your website can be complicated. The best way to select a quality web host is to take the selection process one step at a time.

Dedicated Servers
If you are currently engaged in any facet of ecommerce, even service sectors, a website makes up a great deal of your business. Therefore, it is a safe assumption that you pay for hosting your website in some fashion.

Hosting Overseas
All top hosting contenders do meet standard requirements for standard hosting services, and overseas companies often will meet these needs for a lower price than US or Europe based competitors, but should hosting be outsourced overseas?

How to Choose the Best Web Hosting Service
Choosing the right kind of web hosting service can be a very daunting task at times as there are some very important features that you need to make sure of. Here you can find what exactly to look for when choosing the best web hosting service.

A Soundry of Options for Web Hosting
Web hosting, one of the most important functions in the website process, allows website owners to put up their creative masterpieces. Although people assume that there is only one type of package, this article clearly shows how wrong the myth can be.

How to Make Money with Web Hosting
Dying to make extra cash? Surprisingly, web hosting can actually help with your bills. In a few simple steps, you will be on your way to a richer lifestyle.

Which Web Hosting is Right for You
Websites are one of the most popular forms of entertainment. While making a website is essential, the majority of beginners do not realize that web hosting is even more important.

Why Reliable Web Hosting
In today's competitive world reliable web hosting is very critical especially for the success of online businesses. You need to seek a web hosting company that can provide you with these critical components and much more.

Top ten tips to start a business

Business means profit and loss of a project. But I always focus on profit of my business. If you start a new business, you will remember some important issue. Here is some tips for you to start a new business.
1. Do your homework. You may think your idea is fantastic and your friends and family have probably told you it is great too, but what do other people think? Test out your idea on your potential customers before you start.

2. Work out your costs. You must be able to have enough money coming into the business to cover what your product or service costs you to make. If you don’t, you’re in danger of not making any money out of your business.

3. Think of free ways to promote your business. Let’s face it you’ve got enough to spend your money on without spending it on marketing. Think about where your potential customers go (i.e. if your customers are mums, they’ll go to schools, post office, doctor’s surgeries etc) and go where they go.

4. Don’t spend a fortune on a website. Believe me you’ll want to change your website after a few months when you get to know what you’re doing. Spend the money on your website then and get it done cheaply at first.

5. Write a business plan. Too many businesses don’t write a plan and 90% of them will fail during the first 18 months. If you write a business plan, 90% of businesses are still going after the same period. What would you prefer?

6. Be passionate. Your business idea should be something you would happily get out bed in a morning for without being paid. Your passion will come across to customers and everyone you meet and will help you get started.

7. Don’t worry about getting a ‘niche’. Listen, all of us would like to find the perfect idea that no-one else has thought of, but then you’ll need to work hard at telling people what it is because they won’t have heard about it. Competition is good! Your ‘niche’ is all about you – it’s what you’re passionate about that makes you stand out.

8. Forget about other people. Countless new businesses are worried about telling people in case their idea is stolen. But remember 60% of people are sat in businesses right now wanting to start their own business – but, only 3% actually do it. So, even if people think it’s a great idea, chances are they won’t actually set up. Bite the bullet and tell people!

9. Go for it! We’re all a nation of “what ifs” and “it won’t work”. If you’ve done your homework and believe in your idea, go for it! Also, remember that everyone is an expert, even if they’ve never run a business before. Trust your instinct – not theirs.

10. Go on a start-up course (well I would say that wouldn’t I?). But, a start-up course is run by experts who will give you the real answers – not rumours that your friends and family have heard. Our next 3-day start-up course, costing just £99 will be held on the 18th, 19th and 20th February and then every 3rd Monday to Wednesday of each month in Cheltenham. Have a look in our profile to book on.

Top 10 Marketing Podcasts

This is a great list for marketing podcasts. You can improve your online business by learning and sharing knowledge from them.
Here’s a collection of podcasts about marketing from Marketing Voices, a weekly podcast that discusses how social media is affecting marketing strategy and practices, by my buddy Jennifer Jones. There’s lots of great information for entrepreneurs and small-business owners in these podcasts.
1.
Seth Godin, marketing expert, author. States that small is the new big. People need to target audiences of 4 not 400. Told marketers he feels they have the biggest opportunity in at least thirty years to make an impact given social media.
2.
Robert Scoble, blogger and vice president of media development for PodTech. Talks about how blogging has evolved and why it is important for corporations to blog today.
3.
Peter Rojas, co-founder and editor of Engadget, one of the most popular blogs on technology today. Discusses the publication, its strategy and how to best contact editors for the publication.
4.
Phillip Bodzenta, director of global communications for Coke. Describes how Coke used bloggers to build audience during the World Cup. Shows pictures of bloggers at the World Cup.
5.
Sharon Wienbar, managing director, Scale Venture Partners (formerly BA Venture Partners) on what is hot/ not in social media venture investing.
6.
Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer of Nielsen Buzzmetrics, talks about how to measure social media.
7.
Steve Rubel, senior vice president of Edelman Public Relations. Speaks to how social media is impacting the practice of public relations.
8.
Dick Costello, chief executive officer of Feedburner. He speaks about how to get blogging and podcasting content is found and distributed.
9.
Bill Kircos, head of consumer and enterprise media for Intel. Describes how Intel implements social media programs, most specifically, podcasting.
10.
Kelly Wagman, head of customer relationship marketing for Juniper Networks. Talks about how Juniper used social media to build a community.

Top ten tips for network business

Network business means multi level marketing. It is a another version of marketing. If anyone wants to earn more $$$ from network business, he must follow some rules of business.

The speed networking ones (my favourite type of networking) are usually held over a buffet lunch. You’ll be seated opposite another business person and each of you will have 1-2 minutes to tell each other what you do.

Once your time is up, you’ll move to the next business person and so on. Some speed networking events allow you to meet everyone in the room; others don’t, but all in all they’re great fun.

The evening ones I won’t go into that much detail about these ones, suffice to say they are very similar to the lunchtime networking events, apart from they’re held in the evening.

How to make the most of your networking experience o First, make sure you bring the following items to every networking event you go to:
1) Plenty of business cards (more than you think you’ll need) – the amount of times I’ve been to an event where people have run out of cards. Nothing is more unprofessional than writing your contact details on a slip of paper.
2) A diary – if you have a diary with you and the person you’ve met wants to meet up afterwards, you can arrange a date there and then. It’s far harder (trust me on this) to make the call after the event.
3) A pen – how else are you going to jot down what people do on the back of their cards.

Later on, as you get more experience of networking, it’s well worth getting hold of a plastic name badge holder for yourself. If they don’t provide name badges at the event, put your business card in one of these so that people can easily find out who you are.

1.Try to arrive early at the event and this is especially important if you’re nervous about going. Why? Well, when you arrive, chances are that they’ll be very few other people there. All of them will be hanging around on their own waiting for the event to start. It’s much easier to go up and talk to someone on their own rather than to go up to people in groups. Later on, I’ll give you a few more tips on finding people who are standing on their own too.

2. Make sure (at all costs) you grab a copy of the attendee list. It’s going to be very difficult to follow-up with people after the event if you don’t.

3. Wear your name badge on your right lapel and not your left. Why? Since most people are right handed, when they shake your hand to meet you, their eye will naturally travel to your right lapel, making it far easier to see who you are.

4. If there are two or more of you from the same company, split up at the event. I know it’s hard if you’re nervous and you haven’t been to many events before, but if you split up you can meet twice as many people. Similarly, if it’s a sit-down event, don’t sit at the same table.

5. When you’re talking to other people, you will be asked the question “So, what do you do?” Keep your answers as short as possible. Nothing is worse than hearing another person ramble on and believe me they’ll quickly be making an excuse to get away from you as quickly as possible. Try to get onto natural conversation as soon as possible and find out more about that person instead of talking about your business.

6. Also, when you’re explaining what you do, try to keep to one thing even if you do lots of different activities. If you start explaining that you’re a life coach, do a bit of PR, interviewing skills and are a training company in your spare time, people will not know what you do and will get confused. How can they refer people to you, if they are not sure what you do? You can always give them a different message next time they see you.

7. Act confident, even if you don’t feel it. The more you act confident, the more you’ll be confident. Go up to people on their own – you can find them around the edges of the room or by the buffet table – and have a chat. Or, interrupt groups of two. Stay away from groups of three or four because they’ll be enough people in the group, but nine times out of 10, the group of two will have had enough of chatting to each other anyway and be looking for an excuse to move on and they’ll welcome the relief.

8. What to do with your business cards? Wear a jacket with pockets. Most networking events are a business dress code anyway and ladies if you don’t think you have any pockets in your jacket think again. Most of the time, they’ve been sewn up by the manufacturer and if you look in the pocket, you’ll find a small hole where you can unpick the stitching. Put your business cards in your left hand pocket and any business cards you collect in your right hand pocket. That way, they’ll be easy to find and you won’t get them mixed up.

9. Oh and my excuses for getting away from people when you’ve had enough of talking to them – try “Oh I was just going to grab a drink”; “Do you know where the loos are around here?” or “Oh I must just speak to…”. Don’t be offended if people make these excuses to you. The whole point of networking is that you should be looking to get around as many people as possible.

10. Remember to follow-up afterwards. It’s been said time and time again that very little business happens at the actual event; it’s what you do afterwards that counts, but how many people actually follow-up? Make sure you do and you’re chances of getting business will increase significantly.

All in all though, remember that networking is not about having fun. It’s about getting you known out there and getting business. And if you’re not achieving that objective from networking events, you should be looking at doing different activities to increase your marketing. Set targets at the events for how many people you’d like to meet and how many potential contacts you’d like to get out of the event and try to achieve that at each event you go to. That is the way to make sure networking works for you.

Top 10 Questions That Will Help You in marketing

If you create a marketing plan for yourself, you will follow the following post. I think this will help you to learn the proper things in marketing industry.
One of the greatest challenges many new businesses face when they start up is creating a viable marketing plan that works for their unique talents. One-person micro companies, often called "solo-preneurs," usually understand their business own models, yet may not have the traditional marketing background to distill that knowledge into a cohesive marketing plan or communicate it effectively to others. If you're in that position, these questions will help you develop a very basic understanding of what it will take to create a marketing plan that works for your business.

1. Who is the person (my ideal customer) who wants what I have for sale?
Identifying your ideal customer is the first step toward understanding what you need to do to market your business. What you are looking to do is to define the key characteristics of the person who would most want what you have to offer. Hint: Not everybody will want what you've got to offer. Unless you've got an exclusive on oxygen or water, if you think the whole world would want your product or service, you're making a rookie mistake.

2. What does my ideal customer really want when purchasing my product, information or service?
No matter what you're selling, be it your time, expertise, or the greatest mousetrap ever invented, people buy for wants rather than needs, and those wants are not always immediately obvious. Take me, for example: As a marketing coach, I help people develop systems and tools for marketing themselves with integrity and ease. But guess what? People don't care about the process or tools I offer, they care about the results of our work, which is why when people ask me what I do, I tell them that I help small businesses attract more clients. My clients need help marketing because what they want are more clients. Very subtle distinction, yet it speaks to my target audience because it focuses on the results (what they get), rather than the process.

3. What else do I know about my ideal customer?
You want to get inside the mind of the customer to really understand what's driving the buying decision, as well as where and how to find your customer. What behaviors distinguish your ideal customer? Is the need for your product or service seasonal (sparked by weather or events at a certain time of year), or constant? The more you know about your ideal customer, the better chance you have of speaking directly to their wants in a way that is compelling.

4. Where can I find my ideal customer to communicate my message?
Does your ideal customer get information from magazines, newspapers, web sites or friends? Is your ideal client thinking about purchasing your product or service in a store or at home? Unless your ideal customer is a treasure hunter, you'll have to find a means to communicate with him or her that is within his or her daily communication threads. For example, if you were selling ultra-premium ice cream, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to advertise in a magazine for diabetics.

5. What do I have to say to capture my ideal customers' attention and interest?
This is the tricky part for so many entrepreneurs. Just like question number two, think wants (benefits) not needs (features). If your ideal customer identifies with being part of an exclusive group, perhaps your message would include something about your product not being for everyone, only for people who are ready for or up to the challenge of what your product offers. Many products and services effectively appeal to what people want to be, rather than what they want to have. That's why models get so much work in commercials; they represent the fantasy existence that people want when purchasing that product, be it a car, underpants, or a burrito.

6. If money were no object, what means would I use to get my ideal customers' attention?
Think BIG! Let the ideas just flow. The purpose of this question is not to frustrate you, but to surface possibilities that can be turned into opportunities. For example, if money were no object, maybe you'd like to advertise in a national magazine for people who fit your ideal customer profile. But since money is an issue, advertising may not be an option. But perhaps renting that magazine's subscriber list is within your means, if a direct mail campaign is the way you'd like to go. Or perhaps a product review or article about you/your service or product would be of interest to that magazine. If you don't censor yourself, you may find lots of related and relatively inexpensive opportunities that you wouldn't have allowed yourself to consider because of cost.

7. Since money is an issue, what can I do to get my ideal customers' attention?
Here's the place to be very practical. If you only have a limited budget, how do you get the most bang for your buck? Most people find that a combination of several low-cost tactics works far better than blowing the entire budget on a one-shot ad, because people generally don't respond to just one message received about a new product or service.

8. When am I going to do what I have to do to get my ideal customers' attention?
The hardest thing for many entrepreneurs to face is that in order to make the sale, they have to actually do something. And usually they are going to have to do it not just once, but over and over and over again. Entrepreneurs are often creative people, and the thought of repetition makes them shudder. Having a calendar of specific tactics for three months at a time is one way to schedule the tasks so that they don't seem endless. At the three-month mark, a review of what's worked and what hasn't will help you determine what needs to be done in the next quarter, and so on, until you're a millionaire.

9. How will I get my product, service or information into my ideal customers' hands?
If you have a product, chances are you will need some sort of distribution system. That means setting up relationships with retailers or distributors if you're selling into a channel such as retail stores, or a fulfillment process if you're selling direct to your customers. If you're selling a service or information, you'll need to consider whether you need an office, or if you can deliver the service to your customers' home or work locations, or even if you can provide your service electronically via the web or by phone.

10. How will I know when I've reached my goals?
Working without specific goals is the best way to ensure burnout and frustration that I know of. Set your goals, be they in number of units sold, or hours of service delivered, and keep an eye on how you're doing on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Having specific goals to work toward will help keep you motivated and on track, and will also provide you with valuable information about what's working for you, as well as what needs to be adjusted.

OK, so you've answered all these questions honestly and completely but you still need help, so now what? Call me for a free chat about what it will take to get you where you want to be. You can reach me at 360-882-1298. And pat yourself on the back; if you've answered all these questions, you are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the crowd of entrepreneurs, and well on your way to success!

Top 10 marketing resolutions for 2008

Marketing is a game which has no ground but in reality the whole world is marketing ground. If you want to earn more and more money, you have to have some marketing concept which will help to improve personality.

As you’ve probably got ideas of things you want to achieve in your business in 2008, I thought that some top 10 marketing resolutions would be of benefit, so here goes…

1. Listen. If you’re not committed to doing some marketing and doing marketing constantly in 2008, it’s never going to happen. You need to decide whether you’re going to spend at least half a day a week, each and every week to achieve your goals or not. If so, great…carry on reading the rest of my tips. If not, that’s fine too – give me a call (or using another marketing person) and we’ll do it for you. At least then, it will get done and you won’t have to worry about it.

2. If you are committed to doing some marketing, decide what your goal is for each activity you do. In other words, if you’re attending a networking, decide that you want to meet at least 2 people who are interested in discussing your product or service in more detail after the event. Then measure how well you did against your targets. If you’re meeting or exceeding your targets, carry on with that marketing activity. If not, drop that activity and try something else.

3. Team up with a friend or colleague and have a challenge of who can get the most amount of business by the end of June. Meet on a regular basis to see how you’re getting on and help each other.

4. Make it your priority to keep your eyes open for new marketing opportunities. Opportunities are all around us and sometimes we just need to pay attention. For instance, just before Christmas, the local radio station ran an auction allowing you to donate an item and receive 1 hour’s free publicity on the radio during the day. Try to find 1 new marketing opportunity a month and get involved with it.

5. Your current customer database is the easiest place to go if you want quick marketing hits. Why not call or email all your past contacts to see how things are going for them. You never know what might turn up.

6. Look back at where you got your previous customers from to see what marketing activities have worked for you in the past. Be specific – if the customer came from a referral, who sent it over to you? If they came from a networking event – which one? Once you know which marketing activities are working, go and do them again.

7. 2008 should be the year of building relationships. If you want your contacts to send you referrals or the press to publish your stories, don’t expect to meet with that person once and have done with it. You wouldn’t refer to someone you didn’t know, so you can’t expect them to. Think of ways to build your relationships with people i.e. swapping website links; doing some marketing together; referring someone over to them – if you do something for them, you’re likely to get it back ten-fold.

8. Have a strategy to follow-up with each and every single person you come into contact with. You don’t know how interested they are in your product or service until you ask them. Having an effective follow-up strategy improved my marketing significantly and it can do the same for you if you spend some time putting one in place.

9. Why not come up with one new marketing activity per week? Get a bit creative and have some fun with it. The inspiration of two heads is often better than one, so get together with contacts you know and see how many different activities you can come up with.

10. If you achieve your targets, make sure that you reward yourself. Too often, small business owners are excellent at celebrating failure – why not turn it around and write down 10 things that have gone right each day. It can really help keep you motivated.I hope you’ve found these ideas useful. Here’s to a prosperous 2008

Top ten marketing tips

Marketing is summation of some techniques. It is a practical game in our life. So everyone needs to know some marketing knowledge if he wants success in life. Anyone can succeed in marketing sector if he is confident himself and practise day by day in consistent way.

1. Become a student of your business. Study your customer, competitors and the industry trends. Make it one of your goals to become an ‘expert’ in your business, so much so that you know how your customers think. The more you know, the easier you will find it to get customers and give them compelling messages that convince them to buy your product or service.

2. Sit down with a friend or business contact and get them to put themselves in your customer’s shoes. Try to come up with ten new ways to market and promote your business. It’s really difficult to come up with these ideas yourself as sometimes you can get too close to your business, but someone else can often give you fresh ideas.

3. Remember that not everything you do to market your business will get you clients. Some things you do will be better for building your reputation or getting awareness of your business (PR for instance is very good at getting people to recognise your business is out there) than getting you clients. You need to have a good mixture of marketing activities designed to build your reputation, get awareness of your business and actually get your customers in order to market your business. Check out my 50 ideas for promoting your business by clicking www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk

4. If you hate a particular aspect of marketing your business, don’t do it! For instance, if you hate cold calling, why push yourself to do it? There are loads of methods that you might like doing more AND don’t cost a great deal to do. Click www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk to get my 50 ideas for promoting your business.

5. Do marketing!! Most small business owners don’t like marketing. It’s another activity that eats into their time. And on top of that, it’s not much fun. Ideally though, you should be spending 2 half days a week on marketing (at the very least), so choose something from my list of 50 ideas and do it!!

6. Decide what is a marketing activity for you – marketing for me is any activity where I spend time getting new or looking after existing customers (bar working on their projects). So, marketing could be emailing 5 customers a week to see how they’re getting on; writing a proposal; going to a networking event; seeing a potential new customer etc. Why is defining what marketing is important? Well, once you start doing this, you will realise that you are doing some marketing…then it becomes easier to do more.

7. Stretch your comfort zone – write down what activities you’re comfortable with and also write down which ones you’re not comfortable with. Then choose one activity you don’t really like doing every month and get on with it!!

8. Most of us are very good at following up if we need to. For example, if I said to you “Here is a potential customer” you would probably contact them. But, how many of us follow up without a real reason? Try this exercise – next time you go to a networking event, get the list of attendees (usually available when you sign in) and then contact all those you haven’t met by email asking if they would mind spending 15 minutes on the phone with you so you can find out a bit more about each other. This is excellent for building relationships and may even get you clients too!!

9. Remember marketing is like riding a bike. Most people start off by peddling really hard (doing lots of marketing) and when they get busy and don’t market their business, they can coast for a while. But, if they don’t start to market their business again soon, their bike will stop and believe me, it’s hard work to start peddling again. So, you need to keep marketing all the time.

10. We’ve created a new e-course called “Survive your first year in business”, where you’ll receive a workbook every month direct to your PC that helps you address issues such as getting more customers, keeping motivated, managing your finances and making the most of your time. As well as this, you’ll receive 12 months of unlimited e-mail support and coaching whenever you need it, all for just £25+VAT per month.

Top ten Internet marketing Strategies for your website

This is an important issue now a days in internet how to promote a website. You will have to learn some marketing stratagies in internet to make popular your site. So I think this post will help you a lot.
Internet marketing can attract more people to your website, increase customers for your business, and enhance branding of your company and products. If you are just beginning your online marketing strategy the top 10 list below will get you started on a plan that has worked for many.

1. Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy.

2. Get ranked at the top in major search engines, and practice good Search Optimization Techniques.

3. Learn to use Email Marketing Effectively.

4. Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs.

5. Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or Internet marketing consultant.

6. Build a responsive opt-in email list.

7. Publish articles or get listed in news stories.

8. Write and publish online press releases.

9. Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site.

10. Blog and interact with your visitors.

By following the above tips you'll be on your way to creating a concrete internet marketing strategy that could boost your business substantially.