In the US, the traditional holiday shopping season starts on "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving. The online shopping season, however, is said to start on "Cyber Monday," the day everyone gets back to work, and presumably back to their computers to shop. Today!
ComScore Networks said Sunday that it expects Cyber Monday sales to surpass $700 million, making it the heaviest online spending day on record. Last year, total online purchases on Cyber Monday reached a record $608 million (ComScore Networks).
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Podcasting For Business
If you publish or plan to publish any type of audio file for your customers whether audio newsletters, teleconference calls, interviews, lectures, etc., podcasting simplifies everything for both you and your customers. Once customers subscribe to your podcast, you won't have to worry about sending them an email to download a new MP3. Instead, your message will land directly on your customers desktops or MP3 device every time you create a new podcast. Read this introduction to business podcasting to learn more.
Last Minute Holiday Tips
It's mid-November and the start of the Holiday rush. You've presumably planned for the season and have your site optimized for sales. Is there anything more to be done? Probably. And what if sales aren't meeting expectations? Here are some last minute items for your Holiday to do list.
Some Drop Shipping Details
Drop shipping is a great solution for many small online businesses. But even if you think you've found the perfect dropship supplier, there are a few details to work out in practice.
How long will it take the dropshipper to fulfill your order?
What is the ordering process? Online, via e-mail, or some other method?
Do they confirm orders and shipping promptly via e-mail?
Will they include your letterhead invoice with the shipment?
How are returns handled?
How will you stay current with the dropshipper's inventory?A good practice is to order a few items as if you were the final customer. What was the experience like for you as the middleman and as the consumer?
Affordable eMail Marketing
For those of you that don't like monthly subscription services, Template Zone offers two email marketing software programs that look pretty nice. High Impact eMail Basic ($69.95) and High Impact eMail Professional ($99.95). Both have lots of HTML email templates, a built-in photo editor, email editor, and Web storage space. The Pro version adds another 600 templates, an eMail scheduler, and inSync technology. It also imports lists from Access, QuickBooks or ACT! Database, and personalizes email with your contacts' information.
