I have been working for Internet companies since 1994. First at America Online and now in my own marketing and design business. The only online marketing rule I adhere to is that things are constantly changing. That could make marketing difficult. To keep moving forward, I use the following five principles:
1. Ask the right questions
Unless you ask the right marketing questions, you will waste a lot of your valuable time on things that don’t matter. Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.” Gather the people you trust to work on business problems and ask them to make a list of the three main problems your customers have identified for you. Then analyze those problems to see what marketing questions you should be asking. Instead of asking how to increase revenue, perhaps you should be asking how to make it easier for your customers to check out using your shopping cart. Continue to drill down and simplify until you have a list of very specific questions and set about to answer those.
2. ‘Think Big; Act Small’
This principle captures what I think is imperative for anyone marketing online today. Jason Jennings’ book ‘Think Big Act Small’ details how companies succeed by maintaining a small business attitude. Embrace the qualities that ‘smallness’ provides- quick improvements, employees that are close to the problem and the ability to connect with your customers. I’ve worked with companies that assume their competitors are better because they have deeper pockets. The notion that more marketing dollars ensure success is misguided at best. Look at your product or service and continue to improve it. Online buyers want quality and service. That part never changes.
3. Search for what’s different and strive to understand it
The popularity of online marketing tactics go up and down like the stock market. Pop-ups, podcasts, ezines and blogs are all effective if applied to the right audience at the right time. The key is to continually ask yourself, “what’s different today?” Are customers suddenly responding to something you don’t highlight? Are they bored with your current promotion? Read everything you can about new ideas and cultural trends. You don’t have to try to apply every one of them, but you do need to know what your customer knows. Keying into changes on a weekly basis ensures that you won’t suddenly find yourself with an outdated marketing strategy and no customers.
4. If you’re not the customer, ask her!
Don’t spend your time debating with other staffers about what you ‘think’ your customer wants. Unless you ARE the target customer, you don’t really know. I have listened to endless debates about customer needs based on no actual customer data. Ask your customers. They will be happy to tell you what they think. If you don’t want to hear what they think, you’ve got a different problem.
5. Do what’s difficult
I find that this principle separates the wannabes from the real innovators. If you know what tactics need to be applied to make a difference, but you are too lazy or disinterested to try them then stop reading now. Nothing you do will make a difference until you tackle the hard work necessary to grow. If you need a better designed website, a new database or an easier shopping cart, you need to do that, NOW.
A stock trading newsletter is the latest and the best tool that would help you stay in tune with the stock market whether you are an individual or a business person. It is a potential tool that provides information whether a particular company is doing well or not so well in the stock market. Based on the information provided by the newsletter you can decide whether you still need to keep the company or drop it from your portfolio.
The rules in the stock markets are not always the same. They change from time to time and if you are not aware of these changes chances are that you can go bankrupt or lose in your investments. To get to know about these timely changes one should definitely acquire the best trading newsletter. With the necessary information provided by the newsletter you will be kept updated on the policies that will keep you in operating your trades.
When choosing a newsletter you don’t have to choose a general one that would cover all information that you have not invested in. You can get a specialized newsletter that provides information only on what you have traded in or want to trade in, rather than getting totally confused with unwanted stock market quotes.
A potential stock newsletter will offer good tips and secrets shared by experts in the stock trade. It will also provide you with success stories of various stock trading businessmen which would be helpful in the growth of your own business. If you feel that you are still not aware and find it difficult to carry out the stock trade business you can always register yourself online for courses that provide you the best assistance and information. You can get very valuable information from the members of the group before you are on your own into the world of stock trading.
The prospect of serious wealth generation is surreptitiously foiled by inflation, which can be defined as a sort of malicious tax levied stealthily by the government. Fiat money is generated out of thin air and the amount of money increases in circulation. As the money supply grows, the dollars bid and compete for the goods and services even more resulting in the spiraling of the general prices. This relentless monetary inflation does hit the poor but the investors with sizable capital at their disposal are not effectually shattered.
For an investor, the investment capital is generated from savings. He needs to consume less than his earnings. But recurrent inflation does manage to pose a dire threat to this hard earned investment capital. As it fiercely erodes the purchasing power, it radically alters the ultimate return too. He has to keep an eye on the net gain of his purchasing power and it must always be positive.
It makes sense for the investor to place his money in the stock market where the company deals with commodities. They should concentrate more on the real returns, which means, inflation adjusted returns, instead of the usual nominal ones. The commodity investors know exactly the market curve of the key commodities like gold or oil which is traded in real terms. It secures their investment portfolio. But in a situation where the investor earns say 100% when there is a rise in the price level by 50%, the investor’s perceived 50% gain is but an illusion. The nominal numbers gathered over years are meaningless. The true gains are calculated on the raw purchasing power are considered relevant.
Inflation has a monumental effect on the stock investors who are desperate to multiply their scant and valued capital. When the market runs in the bear phase, inflation accelerates real losses and it also retards real gains during the bull phase. Since stock investment is not immune from the bane of inflation, only long term return, regardless of the market origin, in real terms, should be the only concern of the investor. He can beat the inflation by riding on the perpetual bull. A bull market is always existent somewhere. It has been observed that when the stocks happen to be in the bearish phase of their long cycle, the commodities are found to be in their bullish phase, and vice versa. The commodity markets actually tend to move totally out of phase with stocks.
Youngsters today are adventurous and seek to be millionaires overnight. This hurry and easy accessibility to stock market has got the numbers increasing on investors in stock trading. Most inexperienced people think that stock trading is a form of gambling that can make them millionaires in seconds. But, for those who are in this business for a long time, understand that it is not a child’s play or magic that can produce money overnight. Like any other business dealings, stock trading also needs time, money and brain to get good returns.
Most of the investors investing in stocks make a decision in subjective instincts but trading stocks is a lot more than that. It needs proper care and attention to get decent returns. For those who are inexperienced and do not have much of the risk taking capability accompanied with sound calculations, stock trading is not meant for them.
To get into stock trading, first thing that is needed is the assistance of a broker. A broker gets a commission on each transaction for the services provided by him. He not only advises for the buying and selling of stocks but also maintains the portfolio of the trader and keeps a check on the prospective profit options. Once a broker is finalized, the combination of investments is decided.
A combination of investments? Will that be working if we only invest in one company? The answer is no. That’s true. The resolution for stock market to avoid huge losses is to posses a combination of the investments. The diversification in investments integrates the risks. Therefore if a company suffers a loss; the trader will not suffer the loss as much as the company. Other stocks from other companies may cover the losses of the previous one. Hence, segregating the investments is important to trade in stocks.
Another feature of trade stock lies in the trading technique. For all the online traders it is important to sign up for reviews and testimonial from various sites. These sites provide an inside of the reputation of a particular company through demand a fee. Frauds and other risks can be avoided through these reviews. Also, the user experience and tips in the reviews are nice when it comes to making a decision regarding buying and selling of stocks.
Trading stocks also involves few tools like automated investments and stop order limit. These tools help us to overcome subjective decisions of any stock trader. The automated investments help us to maintain a combination of different investments hence, maintaining a balanced portfolio. Stop order limit on the other hand, automatically sells the stocks on the particular limit of falling prices of stocks. If the price of the stock is falling and the trader retains it for long seeking for sudden growth, this situation may lead to a huge loss for the investor. To avoid this condition stop order limit proves to be important because it sells the stock automatically on the pre-decided price.
penny stocks are stocks that normally hold a face value of less than $5. Many small companies offer these low-priced stocks to be traded on the Over-The-Counter-Bulletin-Board (OTCBB) and the Pink Sheets. This is mainly because neither the OTCBB nor the Pink Sheets require the same minimum requirements as the NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), set by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Businesses that are new or close to bankruptcy may issue penny stocks as a quick and easy way for these businesses to create quick capital and try to save the business from having to file bankruptcy in a court.
As you can imagine all of the aforementioned factors- low price, lack of stability and lack of standards- make penny stocks one of the most risky investments for anyone that is interested in playing or trading on the stock market. The fact is most penny stocks do actually end up in bankruptcy, but the lure of the great payoff if a company does succeed, is enough for many people to pursue the buying and selling of penny stocks. There are many other reasons why penny stocks are risky and it includes:
Low or poor liquidity: Since penny stocks are not traded very frequently, there may be difficulty finding a buyer. To interest someone in buying these stocks, the price may have to be priced substantially lowered.
Little or incomplete information about the company: Most of the companies that issue penny stocks do not have enough reportable history to learn a significant amount about them for those investors interested in doing research prior to investing their money. This is also due to the fact that the OTCBB and the Pink Sheets do not have to issue financial statements.
Potential for fraud: Penny stocks are often sold through spam email or off-shore brokers by con artists due in large part to the lack of regulation that penny stocks are not forced to abide by or suffer from.
Although some penny stocks are fraudulent and others are companies facing bankruptcies, this is not true in every case. Quite possibly some of the businesses will one day be listed on the NASDAQ or NYSE, but are currently struggling to meet the requirements. The opportunity to start with these companies from the very beginning can pay off in the end, given the growth potential. If you are able to get in on the ground floor with a company that does find success, you could ride all the way to the top.
It can be difficult determining which of these stocks has the potential for growth. The easiest way to become a victim of fraud is to do little, or even worse, no research. Obtaining this information can be time consuming and difficult, unless you have a very good knowledge of what it is that you are seeking. There are some companies that claim to have “inside information” about companies that issue penny stocks, but there is the possibility that this is a front in order to push a particular stock on an unsuspecting investor.
As an investor, you can either do research or take your chances. The fact that the stocks are very low in price means that if you do buy them, the chance that you lose a lot of money is small. If you are willing to take a loss and understand that the company could go under, they can be a fun and very interesting addition to your portfolio. It is important to remember that your odds are not very good. Most penny stocks will end up in a total loss.
It can be difficult to find a broker that will buy penny stocks. This is due in part to the difficulties in tracking them. There are some online brokers that specialize in penny stocks. Brokers are required by regulations to obtain written confirmation from the client regarding the transaction. In addition, the broker is required to give the client a document that outlines risks when it comes to speculating with penny stocks. Lastly, the broker must inform the buyer the amount of compensation that the firm will receive for the trade and the current market price of the stock. The client will receive monthly statements, which detail the market value of each penny stock that has been purchased.
As you can see penny stock s are an extremely risky investment but there are some instances where the rewards actually outweigh the risk associated with investing in an unknown company. The key is to actually find the right one.