Article marketing continues to be a proven method for generating traffic to our websites and developing good search placement, even after all of these years. I have been reading articles online since 1995, and I continue to read a few dozen articles per week on subjects that are dear to my heart.

Some Claim That Article Marketing Does Not Work

Now and again, I will read a thread in a forum somewhere where somebody claims that article marketing does not work.

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There are many reasons why, each day, thousands of people are drawn to the idea of starting an online business:

* Existing business owners can increase their potential customers to include millions of internet users,

* Home-based entrepreneurs can cost-effectively advertise their products and services and build huge prospect lists, and

* All business owners can take advantage of online services that not only help to automate the sales process, but also develop lasting customer relations.

The complexity of starting an online business depends, to a large extent, on the degree to which off-the-shelf solutions are used to implement the sales process.

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A few years ago, I met one of the best known ’sales experts’ in the UK. He had authored several books, and provided motivational training for blue-chip companies in a career spanning decades. If you’ve worked in the sales world for any time, you have almost certainly heard of him. Now in the ‘golden years’ of his career, he could sit back and let the opportunities come to him, couldn’t he? Actually no. “We never kept a database, Bernadette” he privately confessed to me.

So at great expense he had to hire and manage a sales team to set appointments for him. If he had cultivated a list over the years, he would have had prospective clients knocking on his door.

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It seems like such an easy fix: “25% off!” “Buy now and I’ll reduce the price by $100!” Discounting as a selling tactic seems as natural and easy as all get-out.

Which is why you should never, ever discount.

Discounting is a cancer in business, that eats at your heart, and at the heart of your customers. It is smoke and mirrors.

“Good ol’ Wal-Mart. That multi-billion dollar global company, which is the discounter of all discounters. They started with good in their heart. Sam Walton looked around him and saw lots of great things he thought ‘the little guy’ should have. Why should only the rich have luxuries, now that our great industrial society can produce so much so easily?”

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How green is your office? Do you regularly practice the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle? Listed below are ten strategies for reducing your office’s environmental footprint. How many of these do you do on a regular basis?

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Before discussing the use of social bookmarking as a business tool, we should first have a quick look at the phenomenon and discuss why it has become so popular. By understanding that, then it will become easier to understand potential business uses. The uses outlined here are just that: outlines, since the particular applications to which these sites can be put will be specific to your type of online business.

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The operation of any company will usually entail many decisions that will determine the success or failure of your business. Choosing how you set up your company’s communication system will no doubt be one of those crucial decisions you will have to make.

How your company communicates with its clients, employees, business partners, suppliers, shipping agents… are all vital to the running of an efficient business. Your communication system should be integrated, seamless and available everywhere.

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I bought a pair of sandals some time ago. They looked very cute but the straps on the top of the foot were very uncomfortable.

I decided to return them and within a minute or two, had retrieved the receipt from FOUR months ago.

I could find the receipt easily because I do 5 specific things to keep my receipts organised and in order.

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While there are a great many types of home based businesses there also are numerous reasons why people choose to start a home based business.

Some of those reasons include:

1. Dissatisfied with their present employment situation.

2. Out of work due to being laid off or downsizing by their employer.

3. A need to be home more with young children, an infirm family member, or aging parents.

4. A yearning to be their own boss.

Whatever your particular reason for exploring a home-based business, there are a few common steps you need to take in order to launch your business.

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Administrative Professionals’™ Day, formerly known as Secretary’™s Day, is always on the Wednesday of the last full week in April.

This last week in April, Administrative Professionals’™ Week, is set aside to recognize the work of clerical employees, such as administrative assistants, receptionists, paralegals, etc. It celebrates the work and growing and diverse contributions these people make in the workplace.

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