In this issue:

1) Tip of the Week

2) FEATURE ARTICLE: Need Information Quick? Try Associations by Robert G. Steffel

3) CLASSIFIEDS Traffic Builders Business Opportunities

4) FREE Resources Recommended Reading

5) TIME SAVING TIP

6) MARKETING MINUTE: Avoiding Common Info-Marketing Mistakes That Can Cause You To Lose Money by Marty Foley

If you'd like to read previously ran tips and features, go to http://netcheckspayroll.com/newsletter.html

Today's feature writer give us a few tips of making the most of our time and resources. Here is another idea for accessing information quickly:

Getting The Most Out Of Your Ezines" by Michael Southon

Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file them away in special folders and then never read them?

I used to be like that.

When I first started subscribing to ezines I was amazed at the quantity of valuable information that was available for free.

But I soon became complacent about it. If anything, the 60-odd newsletters I was receiving each month became a burden. I was suffering from 'information overload'.

Ezines contain a wealth of information. Every week, in hundreds of newsletters across the Web, experts share with their readers the latest tips, techniques and resources they're using to succeed in the world of online business.

But if you don't have a system for processing and organizing that information, you'll quickly become overwhelmed by it.

Here's the system I use:

1. Open a Word document. At the top of this Word document, type in 15 to 20 'Information Categories', one per line. These are the categories I use:

Affiliate Programs Auto-Responders Banner Advertising e-Commerce e-Book Promotion e-Book Publishing Email Marketing Ezine Advertizing Ezine Articles, Writing & Publishing Ezine Promotion Ezine Publishing Free Software Internet Marketing ISPs Link Exchange PC Tips Search Engine Positioning Traffic Building Web Hosts Website Design

2. Using the 'Style Box' at the far left of your Tool Bar, make each Information Category a 'Heading 1'.

3. When you see an ezine article that contains valuable information, highlight it, copy it, and paste it under the appropriate 'Information Category'.

4. Highlight the title of the ezine article and using the 'Style Box', make it a 'Heading 2'.

5. Now go to INSERT | INDEX AND TABLES and insert a 'Table of Contents'.

6. You'll find that your 'Information Categories' appear as Chapter Headings and the title of the ezine article appears as a Section within a Chapter.

Notice that the page numbers at the far right of your Table of Contents are hyperlinked; you can go to any ezine article with the click of a mouse.

This Word document will become your personal 'Web Marketing Encyclopedia'. It will contain everything important that you've ever read in an ezine. Isn't that better than having that information scattered amongst 20 or 30 ezines?

When you have in place a well organized system like this, it changes the way you view new information. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by new information, you'll simply place it under the appropriate Information Category.

And when you need that information, instead of searching through dozens of folders in your email client, you'll know exactly where it is. This system has saved me an enormous amount of time.

Eventually you'll end up with a large document that contains as much valuable information as any web marketing book. And it'll be much more up to date!

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Michael Southon is the publisher of 'The Free Directory of Ezines' http://www.netmastersolutions.com/

He is also the Editor of 'FreeZine Express', a twice-monthly newsletter that brings you details of new Ezines added to the TFDE as well as Articles and Tips on Ezine Advertising and Ezine Publishing. To subscribe, send a blank email to: mailto:FreeZineExpress-subscribe@topica.com

Need Information Quick? Try Associations

(c)2000 by Robert G. Steffel

Home business entrepreneurs: Do you know where to turn to get information fast when you're facing a deadline or you need specialized facts in a hurry? You could waste a lot of your time looking in the wrong places.

Try a trade association.

Associations are the best sources of specialized information on a wide variety of topics. Almost every industry and occupation has a trade association. Seven out of ten Americans belong to at least one of them.

Key functions of associations are educating and informing their members and the public. They also develop and distribute tons of information. Major organizations like federal government departments depend on associations for the statistical information they gather and use.

How do you find associations? The best printed source, available in libraries, is the three volume Gale's Encyclopedia of Associations, National Organizations of the U.S.

Individual entries show helpful information like the name of the group, address, contact data including email and website, membership numbers, staff, budget, a description of services, publications available, and convention dates.

If you don't live near a good library or don't have time to visit one, go online. The Gale directory is not online, but here are free association databases to check out. Their entries are not as detailed as Gale's. They do give you the basic info you need.

1.The most comprehensive association resource is located at http://www.businessresourcectr.com/tassoc.html It includes a searchable database of over 10,000 associations plus Yahoo's list of trade associations plus a third list.

2.The most complete United Kingdom Trade Association Directory is found at http://www.brainstorm.co.uk/TANC/Welcome.html

3.See the Directory of Worldwide Trade Associations, listed by country from Argentina to Vietnam at http://www.firstworldwide.com/ta/

4.The associations' association is the American Society of Association Executives in Washington, D.C. They can direct you to the best associations for you. http://www.asaenet.org/main/

Once you've located the organization most likely to help you, simply call them and ask to speak to someone who can answer your questions. Association staff are knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to reach.

Their job is to provide industry information to people who want it. And they are accustomed to dealing with the non-specialist inquirer.

In larger associations, certain departments are the best information sources. When you know exactly what you want, ask for

*the reference librarian, if the association has an in-house library, or

*someone in the education department who has a good grasp of association resources, or

*publications department staff. They have lists of free association publications.

Not all association reports and studies are free. Some may be quite expensive. If you need just a few facts from an expensive report, try the association librarian or the magazine editor. They might supply the information you seek without charging you.

Association staff are also the source of invaluable contacts. They can refer you to experts in their field if they can't answer your questions.

Realize that association employees are human too. The information they give you may be biased to show their industry in the best light. Exercise your normal good judgment and common sense when accepting what appear to be facts.

In summary, when you're pinched for time and need immediate access to industry information, try a trade association. Thousands are listed in print and online directories. Choose one and get what you want super-fast.

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Robert Steffel is publisher of INFO INSIGHTS POWERZINE. Original articles on creating and marketing information products, finding information fast, managing information overload. Subscribe today at http://www.serveubest.com Get a sample at mailto:powerzine@autobots.net?subject=BC

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THE TIME MANAGEMENT MYTH

by: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Having made more than 2,000 presentations on Time Management and Personal Productivity during the last twenty years, I have had the good fortune of counseling with thousands in their quest for increased results in their daily business and personal lives.

I frequently ask two questions during my presentations and they are posed to you now.

1. "How many would like to say that each and every night, when they are going home from work, that they "got it all done"?"

2. "How many can actually say that each and every night, when they are going home from work, that they "got it all done"?"

Typically, the answer to question #1 is unanimous. The silence to question #2 is most often deafening. Almost everyone says they "want to get it all done", but when pressed, all but a handful reply that, in truth, they "don't get it all done".

Stress is caused in large part by differences between our expectations on the one level and reality at a lower level. This incongruity causes a disappointment and that disappointment breeds stress.

As a simple example, you have parked your car in the company lot at 8:00 a.m. You probably have an expectation that the car will still be there when the workday ends at 5:00 p.m. What if, at 5:00 p.m., you discover that your car has been "permanently borrowed" (stolen)? Might you be stressed at finding that your car missing? I should think so, because you had an expectation that the car would be there at 5:00 p.m., and reality fell short (it was not there) of that expectation and created a "mega-disappointment".

Now, if at 5:00 p.m. you journey to the parking lot and locate your car exactly where you left it at 9:00 a.m., put the key in the ignition, and depart, you experience no stress over the event because expectation and reality are in line with one another, there is no disappointment.

Accordingly, most of us have an expectation that we are going to "get it all done" and a reality that we "don't get it all done". The result? "Industrial-strength" stress over these two competing assumptions. And it is a serious and pervasive condition. People everywhere are stressed out because they want to "get it all done", when the truth is, they "don't get it all done".

The myth? It is the notion that we are going to "get it all done". We never "get it all done" and even if somehow we could, there are 10,000 other things we could take on. You and I will leave undone far more than we ever do get done. We will only accomplish only a tiny fraction of what we "could have" done.

Our productive lives are like a sandy beach. Take one grain of sand and place it in the palm of your hand. Let that represent all that you accomplish in this life and let all the other billions of grains of sand represent what you "could have done". You "could have" read a chapter in that book last night, you "could have" made those additional phone calls earlier this morning, you "could have" had pizza for lunch today, etc.

Our productivity is never measured by what we have left undone. We will always leave undone far more than we ever accomplish. Our productivity is measured only by what we do accomplish. But when the goal is to "get it all done", we have a tendency to focus on the "quantity" to the loss of the "quality" and our productivity suffers.

It is instructive that when we go to the funeral home to pay our respects to a dear departed friend, the focus is always on what that person did in their lives, not what they did not do. We celebrate one another's achievements and do not bemoan what they did not do. Yet, in our own lives many task themselves over what they are not doing, what they have not accomplished.

Shatter the myth. Stop focusing on what is not getting done. Direct your time each day to what is truly the most valuable use of your time to you in light of your commitments and responsibilities and life goals. Delight in and savor what you do accomplish, not what is left undone. The measurement of the success in your life depends on it.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of "Beat the Clock". If you would like to receive a free copy of his companion article, "THE TIME MANAGEMENT REALITY", email your request for "reality" to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive more Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity? Sign up now for our free "TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST". Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select "subscribe". We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker Productivity Institute Time Management Seminars 60 Huntington St. P.O. Box 2126 Shelton, CT 06484 (800) 969-3773 (203) 929-9902 fax: (203) 929-8151 e-mail: ctsem@msn.com Visit our Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Avoiding Common Info-Marketing Mistakes That Can Cause You To Lose Money

by Marty Foley

Many a literal gold miner has been disappointed when they discovered that what they toiled so hard to acquire wasn't real gold, but only iron pyrite, better known as fool's gold. Similarly, while extracting 'gold' from information can be quite profitable, there are hazards involved in planning, creating, producing and marketing information products that result in wasted time and money, leading to disappointment. If you want to avoid such mistakes, pay close attention.

Mistake #1: Expecting To Make Real Money With One Product

Many novice information entrepreneurs expect to make sufficient profit with one product, or only a few, but unfortunately, in the real world, there are relatively few products that will make significant profit by themselves. Unless you stumble across one of those rare products, you will need to offer a line of related products and/or services to really extract gold from information.

Building a line of related products/services may seem harder than it really is. Of course, you don't have to be the creator of everything you sell. You can complement and expand your line by also selling products created by others. (If you have orders for other people's products filled by the drop ship method, you don't even have to invest in inventory.)

Mistake #2: Failing To Sell Related Products/Services

Some information entrepreneurs smart enough to recognize the value of offering several products/services make the mistake of selling a disconnected mixture of unrelated offers, appealing to different types of prospects, in various scattered markets. This spreads their limited resources too thin, and they fail to reap the full benefits of offering more than one product/service, namely, turning more prospects into buyers, increasing the average size of each order, and converting more customers into repeat buyers.

Mistake #3: Failing To Give Marketing Top Priority

Frequently entrepreneurs put marketing on the back burner, but it's importance cannot be over-stressed. Marketing (or the lack of it) can make or break a business. Or as the saying goes: "Marketing is everything." Therefore give it a high priority and work on it accordingly.

Mistake #4: Ineffective Marketing

A large percentage of marketing communications don't stress the benefits that the products or services bring to their audiences, but stress product/service features instead. The unfortunate outcome is that sales are adversely affected.

Mistake #5: Failing To Use Persistence In Marketing Efforts

Many fail to realize that marketing is most effective when the marketing message is repeatedly brought to the attention of the target audience. A sizable number of prospects won't respond to marketing communications the first time, for various reasons. But presenting the message repeatedly - perhaps a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more - will eventually convince a percentage of them (as long as they are legitimate prospects) to act on the offer. The key is using marketing methods you can afford to use repeatedly without breaking the bank.

Mistake #6: Trying To Create And/Or Sell Information Products With No Substantial, Growing Market(s)

Inexperienced info-marketers are often too optimistic about making money from information products. In their haste, they rashly jump headlong into investing too much time, effort and expense to produce and/or market them without first considering whether any sizable (and hopefully expanding) markets exist. They often discover to their disappointment that they've wasted their time and money, which may have been avoided had they determined if any viable markets existed for the products in advance.

Mistake #7: Not Revising/Updating Products

Updating can inject new life into a product, and it's newness can be used as a 'hook' to gain valuable free publicity. Unfortunately, many products are pulled from the market after just a few years. As long as worthwhile markets exist, it's smarter (and very possible) to keep profiting from an information product for years (or for as long as money is the accepted medium of exchange, and you are in a position to collect it)!

Mistake #8: Failing To Reuse Material From Products You've Created To Develop Other Ones

Developing a line of related products, as I've explained, is more or less essential to real info-marketing success. The best products to add to your line are those you create or otherwise control. This doesn't mean you always have to create entirely new material starting from scratch. Fortunately, some information from one product you've created can be reused to create related, but distinct, new products.

Mistake #9: Pricing Information Products Too Low

The value of an information product is often underestimated by it's creator/seller, as reflected in a selling price that is too low. Underpriced products don't profit their sellers much, if at all! In addition, some marketing avenues are more expensive, and so require a higher profit margin in order to make money. By pricing your products sufficiently high so you can afford to market them through both expensive and inexpensive marketing channels, your potential for profit is greater.

Mistake #10: Not Developing Information Products That Offer Solid Value

A notable percentage of information product creators fail to develop products that offer true, solid value for the money. Instead of creating products with detailed, step-by-step guidelines which help their audiences achieve what they want, all too many products deliver vague, unspecific information that leaves their audiences disappointed. This may result in returns for refunds, and discourages future sales to the same customers.

For your own good, and the good of your audience, your objective should not just be to profit from writing, publishing and selling information - although that is a good incentive! It should also be to deliver solid, useful information that brings real value to your audience, even when you create a simple product like a report or booklet. Giving your customers more than their money's worth isn't just the right thing to do, but it builds good will and encourages customers to come back for more of the solid value you've built a reputation for delivering.

Mistake #11: Investing Too Much Time And Money In A Product Before It's A Tested And Proven Seller

Even if you're fairly certain a sizable market exists for a product before you create it, I recommend you develop your initial version in as simple a form as possible, or as simple a form as you are willing to risk losing your entire investment in. This is especially important when you have less experience and capital during the start-up phase of your business.

As you test market a product and gather feedback on it from others, you will find mistakes and areas for improvement. Improvements and corrections can be made more easily and inexpensively while the product is in a simple form. Additionally, it's not wise to tie up substantial amounts of money in a product until it's a proven seller. A major product like a book, for example, can cost up to thousands of dollars to print, and printers generally want to be paid in full upon completion of the job. You could have big money invested in an untested, unproven product before a single copy has been sold. This can wipe you out financially so that you have nothing left for marketing/promotion. People have learned the hard way from such situations, so beware.

Mistake #12: Spending Too Much Time, Money And Effort On Expensive Marketing Methods, Overlooking Low-Cost Ones

Especially if you're new to information marketing, you need to be extra cautious with the way you use your limited capital. You can lose a lot of money quickly, if not careful. A full page print ad in a large circulation magazine, for example, can run several thousand dollars for just one issue, but may not pay for itself in sales. On the other hand, free publicity and other forms of low-cost promotion cost next to nothing, yet can be valuable marketing tools.

While there are no foolproof formulas that absolutely guarantee you will strike information gold, now that you're equipped with knowledge of common mistakes made in planning, creating, producing and marketing information products, you have a much better chance of striking the mother lode, not fool's gold.

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