Volume 1 Issue 12 6-30-06

For those who would like to read this in HTML format, this issue of Boomer eZine is posted on the Boomer eZine website at http://www.boomer-ezine.com/V1I12_063006.htm and on the Boomer eZine Blog at http://boomer-ezine.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents for this issue.....
1. Author's comments
2. Publish your own eZine without a website
3. How to create an eZine
4. Free - How to Book on eZines
5. Site Build It #6
6. Voice Recognition Status Report

Author's Comments

Hello again. It is amazing how fast the weekend rolls around and it is time to publish the Boomer eZine again. I am so fortunate that there is so much happening on the Internet. This makes my job much easier. If I were writing about some fairly static, boring industry, I could not pump out these issues every week.

The high point of our week was a visit from our daughter, Susanna. She is a "road warrior" with a territory from Amarillo in the High Plains of Texas to Pharr in southern Texas , near the Mexican border. She lives in Austin and she visits us when she is passing through to her southern territory.

The main theme of this issue is about publishing (what else) eZines. I have come across some great ideas that I am using, and I will share them with you.

Publish your own eZine without a website

Publishing an eZine without a website is certainly possible since you really only need to be able to send your newsletter to your readers using email. However, most publishers like to post the past issues of the newsletters and this is usually done on a website. Also, in text email you cannot embed AdSense ads and other revenue generating items. In the HTML format of the website you are able to do this and develop some potential for revenue.

Also, the website gives you a location where you can post a form for new subscribers to complete that enters them into your database. So having a web site is definitely an advantage in publishing an eZine, but it is not absolutely necessary.

The new concept that I have developed is to use a blog to post past issues of the newsletters so people can read them in HTML format if they desire. I have started testing this project and it appears to be working well.

Let’s talk about blogging

Blog is short for web log. It is an online journal or newsletter that is published by someone on the Internet for public reading.

The largest blog site on the Internet is www.blogger.com. This site started in 1999 and was purchased by Google in 2002. The site on the Internet that keeps statistics on the traffic for every site on the Internet is called www.alexa.com. I just checked the stats for www.blogger.com on Alexa and it is rated 12th in the US and 18th in the world so you can see it is very popular.

Traffic to your site is the major factor for the success or failure of your site. Your site’s position on Google or Yahoo search engines for your key words will make or break you. Having your newsletter on Blogger helps since the Google spiders check the blogs when new information is posted. This will give you much quicker exposure to the search engines than posting your newsletters on a website.
I made a decision to continue to post copies of the Boomer eZine on the Boomer eZine web site and also post to the Boomer eZine blog on www.blogger.com.

The blog that I have set up is Boomer-eZine (luckily the name was available). The URL for it is http://boomer-ezine.blogspot.com.

I am in the process of transferring the old issues of Boomer eZine so when you check it may not be complete, but it will be before too long.

There are some great advantages of using a blog for the archives of your eZine.

1. It is free.
2. You do not have to worry about setting up a website.
3. Publishing on a blog is very quick and easy.
4. You can include AdSense or affiliate advertising on your blog to generate revenue.
5. Setting up AdSense ads on Blogger is much easier than setting them up on your own website.
6. Readers can leave comments about your issues and interact with you.
7. Search engines see your new content faster than on your own website.

Since AdSense is such an important part of this program, I recommend that you join it first and then set up your blog.

AdSense is a Google program that you set up on your web pages. It reads the content of the page and automatically places ads on the page that match the page’s theme or content. When a reader clicks on an AdSense ad on your page and makes a purchase, you receive a commission on the sale. All you have to do is allow the AdSense program on your pages and Google does the rest. Is an ingenious system and one that has revolutionized advertising on the Internet. If you are not already a member of AdSense, click the link below to go to the AdSense web site and register.

https://www.google.com/adsense/

Now that you have joined AdSense, let’s set up a blog. This is very easy. Go to www.blogger.com and follow the three easy steps on the page. Once you open an account, you will name your blog, and then choose a template. There are several templates to choose from which is the hardest part of the set up. Don’t get too concerned about the template since you can change it whenever you want to.

Once you have established your account, you can set up the blog for your eZine. (You can have multiple blogs in your account). However, I would recommend that you create a blog about your thoughts and experiences while you are planning your eZine launch and make daily entries in that blog. This will give you experience on how to maintain a blog and I think you will have fun doing it. Just remember that the world sees your information in the blog so don’t give away any confidential information about your new eZine.

How to create an eZine – a Free How to Book

Creating an eZine is a challenge, but if you have a message to give to other people, you will find it fun and rewarding. I could write volumes about this topic, but I think that you will learn more by reading an eBook that I will give you free. It is called “Ezines 101” or “How to get Started as an Ezine Publisher”. It is a collection of articles by several well known eZine publishers or eZine experts.

I read this book several times before I launched Boomer eZine and I still use it as a reference. Some of the links in it are broken, but the links to the important, better known sites are still good.

You can read this from the Boomer-eZine website or you can download it to your own computer and read it when you want to. It is an Adobe PDF file so your will need to have Adobe Reader on your computer.

To read it from the website, left click this link. http://www.boomer-ezine.com/Downloads/eBook-on-eZines.pdf

To download it to your computer, right click the above link and select “Save Target As”.You will then be able to write it to your hard drive and read or print it later. Just remember the folder where you told the download to write it. TIP: I have a folder named “Downloads” and I always download into that folder so I always know where the download is. Many downloads are temporary and you can then come back and easily delete the unneeded files later.

I think you will really enjoy this book if you have any inclination to publish an eZine. Good reading!

For more great eZine reference information, go to Ezine Articles and look for information about eZines at http://www.ezinearticles.com/?cat=Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Ezine-Publishing. There is an entire category on eZines in the index.

Good luck!

Site Build It #6

Last week, I told you that was going to experiment with using Front Page to create web pages for our Site Build It site. I tried this and it was very successful.
When you want to create your own web pages to Site Build It, there is a defined procedure for doing so. You download a template of your Site Build It page from Site Build It into your HTML editor, in this case Front Page, and then you build your web pages using that template.

When you have built your page the way that you want it, you go to Site Build It and use the section about uploading your own web pages. In this section you browse your hard disk to find the web page that you want to upload. You then enter that into Site Build It and then click the upload button. Site Build It will then load your page and tells you if the upload was successful. You then perform the Site Build It functions such as checking the page to make certain that you have conformed to all of the proper rules for creation of title, key words, description, and heading on the page to make it very search engine friendly.

Once you have satisfied yourself and Site Build It, you then tell Site Build It to build your page and it becomes active on the Internet.

If you go and check out www.retirement-jobs online.com you will see the new pages that we created using the Front Page editor. You can access them by the navigation bar that says “Internet Basics”. There are three pages that we added using this method. If you read them, you will notice that the font size is slightly larger than the font of the pages that were built using Site Build It. I’ll go back and correct this sometime next week since this is not a real problem. But I want the look and feel of the site to be the same for all pages.

I want all readers to understand that is not necessary to use an HTML editor to build a website using Site Build It. I will probably not use an HTML editor again unless I need to build a page with some very special effects that will be easier to create in Front Page than in Site Build It.

I have said in the past every time I work with Site Build It I continue to be impressed with it. It is more expensive than just a hosting on a web host, but it has so much more to offer, especially for the beginner on the Net.
I will report more on Site Build It in future articles.

Voice Recognition

Back in Volume 1, Issues 2 and 4, I discussed the use of voice recognition for data entry into the computer. I am using voice recognition for entering this issue of Boomer eZine. I am still not pleased with the accuracy level of the dictation, but I can put words on the screen much faster with this method than I can by typing. I have to do a lot of editing but overall it is much faster for me to dictate the article into the computer, and then edit it than to type it.

Another factor which helps me with this is my wonderful wife, Linda, who is a great proofreader, grammarian, and has a great grasp of the English language. With her looking out for what comes out of my productions, I can lay down text quickly and know that she will catch most errors that I miss.

If you are a fast and accurate typist, then voice recognition using Windows XP may not be for you. I have not purchased the Dragon Naturally Speaking software, but I might in near future.

I can probably improve the accuracy of the dictation if I spend more time reading the training exercises to the voice recognition software so that they will increase the accuracy of the dictation. I must put that on my long “to do” list.

Well, that’s it for this issue. I hope that you will seriously consider working on creating a blog and publishing an eZine. A blog is something that you should consider whether you plan to publish an eZine or not. You can have fun and make money at the same time when you’re publishing a blog. Happy blogging!

Until next week, stay tuned.

John V. W. Howe
http://www.boomer-ezine.com/
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com

www.retirement-jobs-online.com

www.boomer-marketplace.com

Volume 1 Issue 11 06-23-06

For those who would like to read this in HTML format, this issue of Boomer eZine is posted at http://www.boomer-ezine.com/V1I11_062306.htm.

By the fact that Linda and I are publishing this issue of the eZine, we did survive the kayak instructions that we took last weekend. We both enjoyed it, and we will try kayaking again.

I stand just under 6’ 4’’ and weigh 225. The boat that the instructor assigned me was a bit small for me and thus was unstable (at least that what I blamed for giving me a dunk in the lake). If I chewed my gum in the center of my mouth, I could stay up straight, but if I chewed it on the side, I had to be very careful of tipping over.

We have attached a picture of me in a kayak so you can get a good laugh. http://www.boomer-ezine.com/John_Kayak_Page.htm.

We babysat for Allison on Friday evening, and I changed my first diaper in 22 ½ years. It was like riding a bicycle, it comes back quickly. These new style diapers have Velcro type fasteners and do not require the peeling of a covering tape on the side tabs. What will they think of next? If you want to see the cutest granddaughter in the world, go to http://www.boomer-ezine.com/Allison_Bonnet_Page.htm.

Enough personal rambling. The main theme of this issue covers affiliates. This is one of the most interesting business models on the Net. If you understand affiliate programs and use them wisely, you can make reasonable income without having to pay constant attention to your programs.

Affiliate Programs

Editor’s Note: This article about affiliates is long and detailed, but it contains important detailed information about how to become an affiliate and how to sign up for Commission Junction. If you do not read this completely now, save it for a time when you can sit down and follow the instructions and join Commission Junction.

The affiliate program is probably the best return for your effort with the least demand on your tim e. This has an appeal to the Boomer Entrepreneur since we want to run the business and not have it run us. We want to have tim e to “kick back and smell the roses”.

The attraction to this model is that it is virtually risk free except for your time. It costs you nothing to sign up as an affiliate. You recommend the product and send your visitors to the website where the product is sold and if the customer purchases the product, you are paid a commission. Amazon.com is credited with being the first businesses on the Net to fully develop the affiliate concept and now all the major companies have affiliate programs.

How does it work?

When you sign up as an affiliate, you will be given an affiliate number, and a special link to use for linking to the affiliate website. This link will send your visitor to the business site and at the same tim e tell the business that you sent the visitor so you will receive the commission in the case of a sale.

As an example, hover your cursor over this link (www.ebay.com ) and look at the URL in the bottom left corner of the browser screen (Using Internet Explorer). The link has a bunch of numbers in it and does not even reference eBay. This link is called a “hop link” since it goes to an intermediate website that does the accounting for the affiliate program. It records the affiliate ID which is one of the numbers in the link and then passes the visitor on to the proper eBay page. It takes place so fast that the visitor is not aware that the intermediate step has taken place. Pretty slick, don’t you think?

Who does all this accounting?

There are companies that do the accounting and act as the coordinator between affiliates and the companies they represent. These are called affiliate program providers (APP’s). One of the major sites for handling affiliate accounting is called Commission Junction. It handles eBay and others. The major site for electronic products is ClickBank. Other sites are BeFree, Linkshare, and Performics. A German APP is Affili.net.

How do I get paid?

The reason that we are working to be entrepreneurs is to ul tim ately have money flowing into our bank account, Right? When you set up your account with your chosen APP site, you specify your business bank account. On the designated payment dates, an electronic funds transfer will occur and the funds will be deposited in your account. When you set this up properly, it is almost on autopilot.

How do I find affiliate programs?

When you join Commission Junction (“CJ”), you will be able to view the thousands of companies that are in its affiliate program. I suggest that you sign up at CJ and look for affiliates there. You will be able to see who the companies are and the commission structure of each. You can then join the program right in CJ without having to go to each company and apply.

Some of the approvals in CJ are immediate and some will notify you later if you have been accepted.

I suggest that you join CJ and study the many companies that are represented. Take note of a few that you feel might be ones that you would like to represent. Don’t join the affiliate program yet, but go to Google and research the company website. See if they sell themselves well and will support the sales effort that you are going to expend to sell their products or services. Also, from CJ, you can link to the landing page in the company website. Go there and check it out to see if it sells well. We had a funny experience on one site. While we were writing sales copy for the program that we had joined, I clicked on the link to the landing page and it was not the same company name as the ad copy. I found that it was a subsidiary. It is important to know what your customer will see when they first meet your affiliate company at its website.

You almost don’t have to find affiliate programs, they will find you. That statement may be a little far fetched, but if you go to Google and type in “affiliate programs” you will be inundated with selections of every possible affiliate under the sun.

Step by Step Start

When you are operating in the Commission Junction site, you are referred to as “Publisher” and the company you are representing is referred to as “Advertiser”.

Click to https://signup.cj.com/member/publisherSignUp.do and you will land at the page where you can join Commission Junction (www.cj.com). Select your language, country, and currency. Click to the next page. After swearing to abide by the rules and regs, you will be asked for information about your newsletter or website (URL). If you have a website, you can enter it. If not, make up a name for the eZine that you may plan to publish. For this application, you must make up a newsletter name if you do not have a website (URL). Be creative!

You will then be asked about your promotional methods. Enter Website/Content and Search Engine Marketing. Next click “NO” on the radio button that asks if you donate any proceeds to charity.

Next you will be asked to enter all the information needed for setting up your account. You may have to attempt this page a couple of tim es since you might not have all the info you might need the first tim e. Some key items you will need are social security number or tax ID if you are registering as a business. If you want to have your payments direct deposited, get a blank check so you will have the info to set up the banking information. This is a secure, safe site so you can divulge this information without concern.

When you finish giving CJ your entire pedigree, click “Accept” and you are on your way. Check your Inbox for an email from CJ with your acceptance message and password.

Sign In

Log in to www.cj.com and use your password to enter. Some tim es when the log in page comes up, it appears that there is no place to enter your email address and password. On the right side of the page under “Client Login”, click on “CJ Account Manager” and the form will be presented.

When you are logged in, you will be on your CJ Home Page. Look around on it. It shows your account status and basic accounting info. It also shows the new advertisers. You might see if any of these look appealing since you can jump right on them and get a head start.

Near the top of the page next to Home, click on “Account”. This is where you can update the information that you entered on your application. At the top right in small letters is “CJU Online”. This is the link to Commission Junction University and is full of good info about how to use CJ.

Now down to business. Click on the “Get Links” tab near the top and you will be presented the page where you can find advertisers. There are several ways to view it: By category, by advertiser name, by Smart Zone, and by relationship which will list all the accounts with which you have an established relationship.

As an example, to find a company with which you are familiar, select the “General Category” tab and in the left column under “Commerce”, click “Auctions”. The page that is presented will contain various auction sites, but you will recognize most of them as the various eBay sites for the USA and other countries.

Joining as an Affiliate of a Company

To join an affiliate, click on the “View Links” in the box with the affiliate name. You will be presented with the various banner ads and links for the affiliate. Pick one and click on it. If you are not a member of the affiliate program, you will be presented a page describing the program and at the bottom of the page is a button “Join Program”. Click this and wait to see the response. Some tim es you will be accepted immediately and some tim es you will get a message that you will be notified after your application has been reviewed. My longest review took two weeks.

The sequence of “Get Links” and “Join Program” is how you sign up for the affiliate programs that you want to join. It is all in CJ and it makes it very easy for you. Linda and I hope you pick good, lucrative ones.

Get Links

We recommend that you use text links rather than banner ads. Most of the research says that text links embedded in your copy convert better than the banner ads. People smell a sales pitch when they see a banner ad and tend not to click on it. A subtle text link to the advertiser’s site is more appealing to most readers.

If you keep searching the various links for the advertiser, you will find one that says “Text Link”. Click on it and if you are a member, you will see a page that gives you information about your program and the link. A key item on this page is “View Destination Page”. Click here to see where your viewer will land when they click your link. This will help you with the presale copy that you will write to encourage your reader to click your link to the advertiser.

If you are satisfied that the text link is the one you want, click on the “Get HTML” button at the bottom of the page and a new page will open with information about the link. I am not going to go through the entire explanation about this. Read about it in the CJ help. At the bottom of the page is a box with the HTML code in it for your link that contains your identification information. Click the button “Highlight Code/Copy Code”. The HTML will be highlighted. Place your cursor over it, right click your mouse, click “Copy”, and you have your code on the clipboard ready to copy into your sales copy in your newsletter, your blog, or your website.

It is fitting that you are reading this information about CJ today. CJ is changing its policy on the links that it provides for you to use. Since you start today, you will not have to worry about the old links that you might already have in content on the Net. Starting today all links will be Java based. This does not really concern you since all you do is copy the link that CJ gives you for a given advertiser and paste it into you web copy or into your ad for the advertiser’s site. Read the notice on the CJ home page about this topic.

Site Build It #5

Our development of our Site Build It site www.retirement-jobs-online.com continues as we have time to devote to it. We added a Resource Page and an About Us Page.

We are planning to add some information this weekend that covers the basic business models on the Internet. Linda has edited my creation and is proofing it for upload.

I am also going to use Front Page editor coupled with the Site Build It web structure and see how it works. You really do not need to use an HTML editor with Site Build It, but since I am experimenting with this to be able to report back to you, I am trying all of the features.

The more I work with Site Build It the more impressed I am with it.

Boomer-MarketPlace.com

Our new site, www.Boomer-MarketPlace.com, is up and live. It is a site that has the entire ClickBank online catalog on it. ClickBank is where most of the digital products on the Internet are sold. If you know of an eBook or script about which you want more information, go to www.Boomer-MarketPlace.com and search for it. There is also a wealth on knowledge about eBay. Look for the links on the left side of the page. I especially like the information on the eBay Resources link http://www.boomer-marketplace.com/resources.php. This site is full of helpful information about “The World’s Online Market Place ®”. Also, check out the eBay articles. The link is on the left side of the page also.

Well, that wraps it up for this issue. I encourage you to join Commission Junction and learn more about it and the affiliate programs that it handles. There is a good living to be made on the Net as an affiliate.

Until next week, stay tuned.


John V.W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com
www.retirement-jobs-online.com
www.boomer-marketplace.com

Volume 1 Issue 10 6-16-06

For those who would like to read this in HTML format, this issue of Boomer–eZine is posted at http://www.boomer-ezine.com/V1I10_061606.htm.

Linda and I are off for the weekend to go to San Antonio to baby sit for Allison, our granddaughter, on Friday night. We then go to Austin where we are taking beginning kayak lessons.

The property that we purchased where we are planning to build our retirement house has a community park on the Guadalupe River. With easy river access, we plan to kayak on the river and on Canyon Lake which is about ten miles from us.

This promises to be a full weekend, but after an intense week of research, development and engineering on a new product on my day job, I am ready to get away.

Except for the first item, this will be an eBay issue. I read a recent quote that over 2 million shoppers spend over $86 million every day on eBay. With that kind of volume, you only need a small piece of it to be successful.

John Publishes New Article

For those of you who remember the article from Boomer eZine Volume 1, Issue 4, that discussed fear and greed on the Net, I rewrote the article slightly and submitted to www.ezinearticles.com for publication. It was accepted and published at http://www.ezinearticles.com/?id=214124. Please go there and read the new version and leave some feedback on it. Thanks.

Where do I find things to sell on eBay?

I am using an article from Tim Knox's newsletter for the following. Tim is a well known Internet entrepreneur and is a mentor of mine. This is a great article that answers the most asked question about eBay.

Tim Knox
Copyright © 2006

I was part of an eBay Roundtable discussion recently with six other experts and we all agreed that the number one question most new (and even old) eBay sellers ask is:

"Where do I find things to sell on eBay??"

To help answer that question I have compiled 11 ways that anyone can use to find products to sell on eBay. This is by no means a definitive list and depending on your situation, some of the ways may not apply to you. However, if you're a beginner and don't know where to start, this list should help you get on track.

1. Look Around The House:

We all have items lying around the house that we no longer use or need. Have you grown or shrunk in size? If so, you have clothes you can no longer wear and can sell. Did you get a gift for Christmas or your birthday that you will never use? If so, slap it on eBay (just don't let the person who gave you the gift find out). Do your kids have toys they no longer play with? Just looking around your house and garage should give you plenty of things to get your eBay ball rolling.

2. Garage Sales and Flea Markets:

When it comes to eBay, remember this old adage: One man's junk is another man's treasure. Now this is not to say that you should sell junk on eBay. You should only sell products in good condition. The point is you can find items in good condition at garage sales and flea markets that you can pick up cheap and resell for a profit. Remember, nobody wants to buy your old Beanie Babies that no longer have eyes and noses, but they may buy "gently used" items if they're in good shape and offered at a good price.

3. Talk To Your Friends and Relatives:

After you've gone through your own in-house inventory, contact your friends and relatives and tell them you have started an eBay business and will sell their items for a piece of the sales price. Chances are they have as much excess stuff lying around their house as you did. Offer to list the items for them and if they sell, take half the profits. You will probably have to pay the eBay fees out of your pocket up front, but you can then deduct the eBay fees from the sales price before slicing up the pie.

4. Consignment Sales:

Consignment sales are a great way to find a wide range of products to sell on eBay. Consignment selling means that you offer to sell an item that belongs to a company. In exchange for your trouble you get a percentage of the sales price. You can charge up to 50% plus fees for smaller items like clothing, lamps, jewelry, etc. and around 15% for larger items like cars, boats, and bulldozers (yes, I said bulldozers).

Contact every business in town and offer to list their excess goods on eBay for a piece of the action. Most businesses have returned items, liquidated products, used equipment, etc. that they would love to get rid of, but don't have the time to do so. Many will see you as their hero if you can help them get rid of this merchandise and you'll make a pretty profit for your efforts. For business customers you should have them pay the eBay fees on the front end, not you.

5. Thrift Stores:

Thrift stores are an excellent place to look for things to sell online. Stores maintained by the Salvation Army and non-profit organizations are best. Many church thrift stores price their goods at almost retail level, so you may not find too many bargains there.

Much of the merchandise you will find at thrift stores has been donated by middle to upper income families, so many times you can find high quality merchandise in excellent condition. And don't be afraid to make them an offer, especially if you are buying in bulk. Nobody pays sticker price at thrift stores.

6. Mini Storage Unit Sales:

Mini storage companies are everywhere and most of them are filled with stuff that people no longer want, but have no other place to store. Did you know that if someone who is renting a mini storage unit fails to pay the rent the owner can confiscate their stuff and sell it? This is bad news for the renter, but great news for you. Call every mini storage company in your area and ask that they notify you if they ever have items to sell. Many will put you on a notification list for their upcoming sales. Some may even say, "Sure, come on over!"

7. Local Auctions And Estate Sales:

I'm a live auction nut. I'm not talking about the hooty snooty art auctions. I'm talking about the good old fashioned auctions with hard benches and hot dogs and cheap, good stuff. I love going to auctions and digging through boxes and bidding on things. My problem is I don't know when to quit buying. It's just so dang much fun holding up that little paddle and winning a sale, even if it's something you don't really need.

Check your area for auctions and sales you can attend. Just make sure you don't pay more for something than you should. Your goal is to buy low and sell high. Don't get so caught up in the bidding that you pay more than a product is worth (voice of experience here).

8. Closeout Stores:

You can find some great bargains at the big warehouse closeout stores. Look for liquidated items or items you can buy in bulk. And don't be afraid to make them an offer. I never pay sticker price at closeout stores and neither should you. Call the manager over and ask him what he'll take for the entire box of something you're interested in. You may be surprised to find him more than willing to deal.

9. eBay And Other Online Auctions:

Did you know that you can find great deals on products you can buy and resell on eBay and other online auctions? If a seller does a lousy job on his ad chances are he will get very few bids and you can snap up the item at a deal, then create a great ad and sell it for a profit.

You can also find wholesale bulk lots on eBay that you can buy and piece out for sale one at a time. This requires the cash to buy the inventory and a place to store it, but this is the best way to get the lowest price on most wholesale goods.

You should also visit the other online auction like Yahoo and Ubid.com to look for bargains. These sites do not have the traffic and customer base that eBay has, which means auctions there get fewer visitors and lower bids. Do a Google search for "online auctions" to hunt for treasure there.

10. Wholesalers and Dropshippers:

Once your eBay business is rolling you can move it up a notch by establishing relationships with wholesalers and dropshippers who can provide you with merchandise to sell. You will get the lowest price by buying in bulk from wholesalers, but that is a level you should build up to. Don't buy a truckload of liquidated products until you are sure you can sell them.

11. Contact The Manufacturer:

If you find a product that you think would be a good seller just pick up the phone can call the company that manufactures. Tell them you are interested in the product and were wondering if they had a distributor in your area. If they do, contact the distributor and inquire about buying the product wholesale. If the company does not have a distributor in your area simply say, "How do I go about becoming your distributor."

There may be costs involved that make it prohibitive for you to become a distributor, but you never know until you try. Again, research the market thoroughly to make sure there are customers who will buy the product and if you do have to invest money to get started, only invest the minimum allowed and consult an attorney if there are legal forms you're asked to sign.

You can visit Tim's site at http://www4034.dropshipwholesale.net

eBay Affiliate Program

Did you know that eBay has an affiliate program? This is sometimes overshadowed by the sheer size of eBay, but you can make affiliate income from eBay.

This is how it works. You go to the http://affiliates.ebay.com and sign up. This will direct you to Commission Junction (www.cj.com) which handles the commissions for eBay. You should spend time on Commission Junction after you join to see all the other affiliate programs that you can join as well as eBay. You will be amazed, but a full article on affiliates is for another BeZ issue.

You will notice that you can become an affiliate of eBay in several countries. If you speak the language of another country, you can become an affiliate of that country if you desire. I am an affiliate of eBay USA, Italy, France, UK, Canada, and India. I am not active except in the US and Italy. Italy you say! No, I do not speak Italian, but I found an Italian translator through www.elance.com who helps me with my Google Adwords ads that drive traffic to eBay Italy. When they join and buy, I receive my commissions in US dollars through Commission Junction.

If you refer a person to eBay who is not a member and they join and purchase an item, you get referral fees and a commission on the sale. eBay recently announced that they were increasing their fees. These fees are to help the smaller affiliates make more money at lower transaction volumes.

Currently, the initial fee for causing someone to join eBay is $12.00. Under the old structure, this covered the first 499 people. Then the fee rose to $16.00 each over 499.

The new structure still pays $12.00 for the first tier, but the tier is for 1 - 49. At 50 - 499 the fee is $16.00. This structure is much more favorable for the little guy.

To understand how this all works, go to eBay and study it. The old structure is at http://affiliates.ebay.com/program-details/compensation. The new structure that will start on July 1 is located at http://affiliates.ebay.com/revshare.

Learn about the eBay affiliate program and other affiliate programs on the Net. Affiliate programs when used correctly can make you money without having to monitor them constantly.

Site Build It

I have reported on Site Build It for a few weeks, and I am taking a break in this issue. I have added a few pages to it last week so check it out at www.retirement-jobs-online.com. I am still very impressed with what Site Build It can do. It is especially good for the beginner Internet Entrepreneur.

Linda and I will report on the kayak lessons. This should be a hoot. I wish I had a cameraman along to shoot a video. We would probably win "America's Funniest Home Videos".

Till then, Stay tuned.

John V. W. Howe
http://www.boomer-ezine.com/
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com
www.retirement-jobs-online.com

Volume 1 Issue 9 6-9-06

For those who would like to read this in HTML format, this issue of Boomer–eZine is posted at http://www.boomer-ezine.com/V1I9_060906.htm.

TGIF! This week has been packed with intense work and tight deadlines. Writing the eZine by the light of the “ midnight oil” has been difficult. We have some great material for you in this issue so read and enjoy.

Boomer Entrepreneur Forum

Last week, I announced the creation of the Boomer eZine Forum, but after I thought about it during the weekend, I can to the realization that I was duplicating another forum that I created on another Boomer website. It did not make sense to manage two forums which covered the same topics. I decided to make the Boomer Entrepreneur Forum serve for both sites.

I encourage you to go to the Boomer Entrepreneur Forum http://www.boomer-entrepreneur.com/boomer_forum and post any comments or questions that you might have about the topics. Weekly, I try to post several helpful hints or post information about some subject that is of interest to Boomer Entrepreneurs. I look forward to communicating with you on the forum.

Site Build It (SBI) #4

This week I continued to build the website on www.retirement-jobs-online.com. Even though the basic template that I started with was adequate, it looked dull and was not what I wanted for the long term. So I went back to the Site Central where all website building and changing takes place. I investigated other options for website themes. At the “Look and Feel Selector”, I selected the option for additional themes. These are free but require a little additional work to install. I followed the instructions to change the theme. I invite you to go to the site and take a look. It is an upbeat cloud theme, light and cheery, just as one should feel at retirement. I invite you to take a look at www.retirement-jobs-online.com.

I am impressed how SBI assists you in building web pages. It is a point and click system and you do not have to know HTML. Even though I do fairly well with building web pages using Microsoft Front Page, I am strictly following the SBI system to simulate a novice user. Anyone can use this to build web pages. It leads you through the process. When you have finished the page, you click the “Preview It” button and a new page will open that show the web page exactly like it will appear on your website when it is published. If you like the looks of it, click the “Analyze It” button. This calls a program that completely analyzes the page to make it conform to what the search engines will look for on the page.

“Analyze It” checks your Page File Name, Page Title, Keywords, Page Description, Page Title, and makes certain that your key words appear in the first 90 words of the text in the body of the page. Once you have been through ‘Analyze It” several times, your site will be perfect for the search engine to analyze. This will raise your site in the search engine rankings and that will bring free traffic to your site.

Before Site Build It, I have built several websites and I have tried to remember to do all the things that are supposed to increase search engine ranking. However, I am not a professional web designer and it is difficult for me to remember all the rules. With SBI, I build the site and it tells me what I need to change to make the page more search engine friendly.

I continue to be impressed with SBI. I will have more to tell you about my SBI experiences next week.

Article about Working after Retirement

I recently read an article by Sharon O’Brien, Senior Living Editor in About.com. In it she discussed how the old way to retire was to work till 65, get the gold watch, and head for the rocking chair.

We all know that retirement has changed and many seniors and boomers are retiring at all different ages and consider retirement jobs as part of their retirement.

The National Council on Aging reports that one in three Americans age 65 and older has a retirement job, working at least part- time.

The retirement jobs trend is likely to increase as more baby boomers get closer to retirement. According to a 2003 AARP/Roper survey:

1. 80 percent of baby boomers expect to keep working in a retirement job.
2. Only 7 percent of baby boomers said they expected to be in a full- time retirement job.
3. 55 percent of baby boomers said they would work part- tim e either for income or enjoyment.
4. 15 percent said they'd like to start their own business for their retirement job.

Sharon goes on to cover why Seniors and Baby Boomers want retirement jobs.

MONEY—The chance to earn supplemental income is one of the main reasons people want retirement jobs. By earning extra money at a part- tim e retirement job or business, retirees can stretch their pensions, afford a few luxuries they might otherwise be forced to forgo, and in some cases lower their health care costs by receiving employer-sponsored medical coverage.

LOVE—Some people want retirement jobs because they just love to work. This is especially true for people whose work is creative and offers a lot of autonomy. (Examples – writers, artists, entrepreneurs, consultants) Their work is often so much a part of their lives and a source of so much personal satisfaction that being without a retirement job holds little or no appeal.

FRIENDS—For people who are outgoing and love to interact with other people every day, retirement jobs may provide a vibrant social life and a built-in network of professional colleagues and potential friends.

FEAR—Some people have devoted themselves so completely to work before retirement that they prefer to keep working at retirement jobs as long as possible to delay any need to adjust to a different lifestyle. Without a well-developed support network of friends and family, or a plan for retirement activities they want to pursue, retirement jobs may feel like the safest alternative.

I found the article interesting and informative, and I thank Sharon for the work that she did on it.

This newsletter is for those who want to continue to work and use the Internet to generate the supplemental income.

Tip on eBay Accounts

Consider opening two accounts on eBay. Use one for selling and one for buying. eBay allows you to have multiple accounts.If you become a seller on eBay, you stand a chance to get negative feedback from a vindictive buyer even though you try your best to please the buyer. Also, you might inadvertently do something that would cause eBay to close your account.

It is best to keep the selling and buying separate so you can develop and maintain good feedback on your buying site.

For more eBay tips go to http://www.boomer-entrepreneur.com/boomer_forum
Well, that's all for this week. We look forward to seeing you again in the next issue so "stay tuned".

John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com
www.retirement-jobs-online.com

Volume 1 Issue 8 6-3-06

I hope this weekend finds you and your family well. We are celebrating the breaking of a record drought in South Texas . Our average annual rainfall of twenty four inches came halfway to being realized in one long storm Wednesday night. The sound of thunder and flash of lightning was almost forgotten.

Site Build It (SBI)

Editors Note: This is a part of a series of articles about Site Build It and our experiences with it. This series started in Volume 1, Issue 6.

After following the structured SBI method for days 1 - 5, I have registered our new site as www.retirement-jobs-online.com. SBI provided a tool that helped me develop the domain name. Go to www.domainsbot.com and put in a couple of words for a domain name and click “Search”. It will generate possible domain names, tell you if they are available, and give you an evaluation of how good they are compared to the key words you entered in the search. SBI leads you to this site when you are in the phase of naming your domain. This is just another SBI service that is included in the annual fee.

The web page design for www.retirement-jobs-online.com will not win any design awards, but it is one of the basic templates that are provided by SBI. Creating this page was a very simple process. All I had to do was select the template and fill in the blanks. I entered the page title, page keywords, description, headline, and the body copy. When this was complete, SBI ran “Analyze It”. This program evaluated the page and showed me the necessary changes to make the page rank high with the search engines. Remember that we are trying to build content and pages that will rank high with the search engines so we will get free traffic at our site.

There are other SBI site templates available, but for this project, I am sticking with the basics since I am trying to play the part of an inexperienced Internet user. I plan to “juice up” the site later.

Notice that the phrase “retirement jobs online” seems to be overused in the page. This is due to the recommendation of “Analyze It” since this will improve the search engine ranking.

I am going to work on the first tier-two page during this weekend and it should be up by Monday. Check back for it next week. It will be about using eBay as a retirement job.

Boomer eZine Discussion Forum

Editors Note: Plans changed and this forum was established at www.boomer-entrepreneur.com/boomer_forum. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Boomer eZine now has a discussion forum. This has just been set up today so it is not full of gems of wisdom (yet), but it will be if we all participate in discussing our ideas and issues. You can get there from a link at the bottom of the home page at www.boomer-ezine.com or directly at www.boomer-ezine.com/ezine_forum (Note underline between ezine and forum. It is hard to see with the link underline). Please go to the forum and register as a user.

Tip - How to Find the Number of Links to a Website

The search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.) count the number of links that it sees to a website as one of the metrics that it uses to rank a website. The more links to a site, the higher the ranking. A quick way to find the links to a site can be found using the Alta Vista search engine at http://www.altavista.com/. To find the links to a site, enter “link: site name” in the search box (Example - link:www.boomer-ezine.com). This will list all the links to the entered site. This is helpful in evaluating your own site’s popularity or to see the popularity of your competing sites. I used this when I was researching the site I am creating in Site Build It (next article). There is a site named www.retirementjobs.com and it deals with traditional employment. It is a very impressive site, but when I ran the check on the links, it only had 10 inbound links. This is not a large number and a well designed link building program can soon generate that many links to our new site.

Well, that wraps it up. I hope you got some gem of wisdom from this newsletter. If you have a question or a topic that you want included in a future issue, email linda@boomer-ezine.com.

Stay Tuned.


John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com

Volume 1 Issue 7 5-27-06

Yahoo Search Class

I (John) attended a class in Houston this last week covering Yahoo Search. Google search was also included in the class discussion.

The class was taught by Mark Evans who was the General Manager of the US search business of Overture Services, with profit and loss responsibility at the largest pay for performance search provider on the Internet. Overture was purchased by Yahoo. He and some of his associates created Telic Media to help companies utilize search engine advertising. Mark knows search engine operations and provided some great insight to search engines.

A quick primer on search engines. When you enter your search term in the input box of Yahoo or Google, this is considered the "keyword" to the search engine. It will search its database for the information that most closely matches the keyword and display it on the left side of the results page. This information is supplied by the search engine at no charge to an advertiser and is from information that the search engine gathers from the Internet. These results are called the natural or organic results. On the right side of the page, the search engine will display what Google calls "Sponsored Links" and Yahoo calls "Sponsor Results". These are paid ads that are set to be displayed for the specific keyword that the searcher enters. The ad has a link in it that will take the searcher to the advertiser's website. The advertiser only pays if the searcher clicks on the ad.

Now back to the information on the class. The morning was a basic presentation titled "Getting the Most Out of Your Search Advertising". It started by teaching how to generate keywords. The most important lesson was to always think like your customer and to imagine the keywords that the customer will use to search for your product. The customer goes through three phases in the buying process. First, she becomes interested. Second, she shops. Third, she purchases. The keywords for the first step are very broad like "television". The words begin to become more specific with the next step and the keyword might be the brand name. In the final step, the keyword might be the actual model number for the brand name.

Next we learned how to generate keywords. The best tool (and it is free) is the Yahoo Search keyword tool. You can access this at http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/. When you finish reading the newsletter (I don't want to lose you in the middle) go to that site and click the Keyword Selector Tool under Tools. This will present a form for you to enter your base keyword. Click the blue circle with the white triangle. It some tim es takes 30 seconds to get the results, but you will see your keyword and the number of searches that were made on it in the prior month. The tool will also generate related keywords that have the base keyword in it and the number of searches for each additional keyword.

Advertisers spend millions of dollars trying to determine the right keywords to use to reach their customers. There is an entire industry that has developed in the last few years that focuses on this pay per click advertising (PPC). The advertiser bids for position on a particular keyword and if the ad is clicked, the advertiser is charged for the click.

Just for fun, go to http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/ and select the View Bids Tool. Enter your keyword and the tool will tell you the price a company is bidding for the word. If there are multiple companies bidding, it will tell you the bid and the company in each position.

There are many more topics that were covered, but if I continued, I would teach the class in this newsletter and that is not the intent.

The afternoon was very advanced and assumed that all the students were very familiar with search marketing. The title of the session was "Advanced Search Expertise: Take Your Campaign to the Next Level". It went deeper into keyword generation and taught how to manage search advertising campaigns. I found it very interesting and exciting. I learned some great information that I am implementing in some of my Google and Yahoo campaigns.

These classes are taught in various locations around the country.
If you have the opportunity to attend one and you want to make a living on the Internet using search engine advertising, I highly recommend that you attend.

Report on Site Build It

I said in the previous issue of Boomer eZine I had made the decision to purchase Site Build It (SBI) and evaluate it. I went on the site, gave them my credit card, and plunged forward. I was emailed my user name and password and I logged on the site.

It has been a great ride since then. At this time I will say that Site Build It is a well kept secret on the Net. Creating a website under SBI is a very structured, organized procedure. The process is broken into ten days. Each day is not necessarily a true calendar day, but it takes you through the process the way you should really do it. I am experienced in building websites, registering domain names, and other facets of the Net so I am forcing myself to follow every step and not take any shortcuts so I can truly evaluate the process from the perspective of an inexperienced person starting on the Net.

SBI makes you go through the first five days before you are even allowed to register your domain name.

The first five days are broken down as follows:

1. Mastering the basics

This teaches you about the Internet and outlines the process for the next 10 days. There are videos for each day to accompany the very detailed instruction manual.

2. Develop Best Site Concept

You pick three site concepts and then brainstorm for the keywords for that site. You also evaluate the profitability of the concept. SBI has a tool called BrainStormer to help you with this process. There is also a tool to help you with managing your keyword list during this research process.

3. Fully Brainstorm Profitable Topics for Your Best Site Concept

On this day you take the keywords that you have gathered and create a site blueprint from the various good keywords that you have developed. You evaluate the number of searches (demand) and available sites for the searches (supply).

4. Investigate and Plan Monetization Options

Unless you are going to develop your site to strictly be an information site (a true infopreneur), you need to have a plan on how the site will make money for you. This day teaches you the options that you have available to you for making money with your site.

5. Refine Site Concept and Register Domain Name

Only after the market research, the evaluation of the competition, and the evaluation of the profit potential for the site are you allowed to name your domain. SBI helps you create the domain name out of the research that you did during the previous days. Only after all this can you name and register your domain. SBI takes care of registering the domain name and the registration fee is part of the annual fee.

I am just about to name my domain, and it is not the name that I had in mind when I started this project.

I will have more info for you in the next issue. If this continues to go as I expect it will, the SBI method will be a great way for Boomers to get into business on the Internet.

Well, I just checked and one of the ads that I set up on Yahoo Search early this morning is already active. This is a record, and I will attribute it to what I learned at the Yahoo Search class.

That's all for this week. To my new subscribers, if you would like to do so, please read the past issues at www.Boomer-eZine.com.

Stay tuned.

John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com

Volume 1 Issue 6 5-20-06

I apologize for not publishing the Boomer eZine last weekend, but Linda and I enjoyed ourselves in San Antonio with Justin, our second son, Mary, his wife, and Allison, our five month old grand daughter. I am the proverbial proud grandfather. Since this is a text newsletter, and I cannot embed pictures, I have posted a picture of me holding Allison for the world to see at http://www.boomer-ezine.com/Picture_Page1.htm. Visit us there and see the most beautiful grandchild in the world!

During this week, our manufacturing plant has been starting a new model of shipping container. I have not had anytime of my own to devote to writing the eZine. I want everyone to understand that being a Boomer Entrepreneur by my definition allows for the schedules to be slipped and deadlines to be missed occasionally. The idea is to make money without being a slave to your business.

Another Answer to the Question, “What do I sell on eBay?”

Jim Cockrum, author of the best selling eBook, The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay just released another video which he makes available to people who have bought his best selling book. This video discusses creating videos and selling them on eBay. The first video is about a man who sells plans for making a chicken coop. That’s right, chicken house plans on eBay. He sells a lot of them at $25 each. The next video is by a lady who makes hair ribbons. She has created the video to teach people how to make hair ribbons. The last video is on how to bar-b-que great ribs. This one also sells well.

I cannot do the video justice with the written word so I recommend that you purchase Jim’s book to get all the great advice that it contains and also receive the continuing eBay information that he adds to his support page. Also, if you do not subscribe to his weekly newsletter, “Creative eBay Selling Newsletter”, you are missing the best information about eBay that is available. The link to subscribe to the newsletter and to buy Jim’s book is http://www.silentsalesmachine.com. Jim has a 100% no questions asked return policy so you can get the book and later get your money back if it is not what you expected to receive.

I have personally attended a class taught by Jim, and I can personally vouch for his sincerity in trying to help others succeed on the Internet. He is also a fine family man and a quality person. He and his wife have adopted two of their three children. They run a free advisory service for people wanting to adopt children from foreign countries.

Using eLance for Projects on the Internet

During the last couple of weeks, I have moved the site for www.boomer-entrepreneur.com to a more reliable web host service. All of the transfer went fine except the Boomer_Forum which has had all kinds of problems. I am using phpBB open source software for hosting this site, and I do not understand enough about it to manage the move myself. I also inflicted additional problems on myself my choosing to upgrade the software to the newest version during the move. I finally decided that I needed help and posted a job on eLance as follows:

Experience in maintaining a phpBB site is a prerequisite to bidding on this project.

I am moving a phpBB site from one web host to another host. The original phpBB site is version 2.17 and I want to move to the most current version 2.20. I also want to change the look of the site slightly to personalize it. This will include new colors and insertion of an existing logo. I am also looking for a continuing consulting relationship to help maintain the phpBB site in case of future problems. Please bid your hourly consulting rate on this project since we do not have the entire scope of the project defined.

I received four bids in 24 hours. The bids were from Russia, China, Pakistan, and the USA . The hourly rates ranged from $8 - $15. All the bidders were highly qualified. Surprisingly, one of the $10 per hour bids came from the US. I checked the feedback on this contractor and it was outstanding so I chose him for the job. We are underway with fixing the forum and moving forward.

This is the fourth project that I have posted on eLance. The first one was for translation in Italian. This connected me with a charming university graduate student who has helped me with translation and the understanding of Italian customs and culture. The second was a project to develop a logo for the Boomer sites. The logo is complete and on the Boomer-eZine site now. The third project is in progress. It is to build a website for reviewing eBooks. The fourth is the project to move the forum.

My feeling about eLance is that it is an invaluable resource for working on the Internet. If you do not use it to help solve your problems, you will not progress well in being a Boomer Entrepreneur. My recommendation is to go to eLance now and sign up as a user at http://www.elance.com. It does not cost anything to register and you can learn about eLance at the site. When you get there, click on the Outsource Your Project Today – “Learn More” button. This will give you all the information that you need on using eLance.

Site Build It

For sometime I have been studying the website called Site Build It (SBI). This is a fully integrated service that helps you decide on a niche market, helps you research the keywords for the market, helps you decide on an effective domain name, registers the domain name, has on-line tools to help build your website, hosts the site, manages the submission to search engines, and on and on and on. My hesitation on signing up with it is the price tag of $299 per year.

The more I have researched this, the more I am convinced that it is false economics to not use this site. SBI adverting states that there are 56.1 million website on the Net and 35% of the SBI sites are in the top one percent, 53% are in the top two percent and 62 percent are in the top three percent. These are impressive statistics.

I have decided to take the money back guarantee and set up a site on SBI to see if it is as good as advertised. If it is, this will be a great site for Boomers to use to set up websites since it does so much of the work automatically. I will keep you posted on my impressions of Site Build It. If you want to check it for yourself, go to http://www.sitebuildit.com.

That is all for this issue. Linda and I have been invited by our good friends to spend the weekend with them at their beach home at Rockport , Texas so we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend of good companionship, great food (the hostess is a GREAT cook) and walking in the water along the beach. Linda is on a crusade to get me to walk each evening since I spend so much time at the office or in front of the computer. I am looking forward to walking the beach since it is much more exciting than walking in our neighborhood.

Until next time, stay tuned.

John V. W. Howe
http://www.boomer-ezine.com/
http://www.boomer-entrepreneur.com/

Volume 1 Issue 5 5-7-06

Remotely Accessing Your Home Computer

Many on us have to travel on our jobs or we may have to do so in the future. Being able to access your home computer is very important if you are going to be gone for any time since working on the Internet is our life blood. If your primary computer is a laptop, you do not have to worry about this, but I am a desktop/tower person, and I use a laptop only when I go on the road. There are several software packages on the market that will enable you to access your computer as though you were sitting in front of it at home. Some of the better known ones are www.GoToMyPC.com and LogMeIn.com. These have a price tag. GoToMyPC.com costs $49.95 for the initial setup and between $18.95 and $24.95 per month depending on the plan you choose. LogMeIn.com has a limited feature free version which you might investigate. The full version costs $12.95 per month for a single PC.

The great news is that Microsoft has created a package that is included in the XP Windows operating system. It can also be downloaded from the XP System CD onto other operating systems. This will allow the computer to access the remote computer. This software uses the Terminal Server package which only transmits mouse, keyboard, and display information so it is fairly effective over a slow bandwidth connection. I am running this on my home computer and the laptop that I use for going on the road. The road laptop is running Windows 2000 Professional so I loaded the software on it from my Windows XP system disk and it works very well. When you are traveling, you will be able to use any computer running Windows XP if the Remote Desktop software is installed on it. Most of the hotel business centers and Internet cafes have this set up. All you will need is the IP address of your home computer.

If you want to set this up, click the Start button and select Help and Support. Search on "remote desktop". You will get the information that you need to set up the connection. One note on this, you need to have a fixed IP address to which to connect. Some Internet Service Providers (ISP) do not assign a fixed IP, but rather give you a variable IP address. My ISP fixed my IP address for a one time fee of $25 so I can always connect to that address when the connection is configured. Check with yours to see what your situation is.

If you have a firewall/router on your system and have a home network, you will also need to make your own computer IP address fixed within your network. This is done by clicking Start/Control Panel/Network Connections. Right click on the icon of the connection that takes you to the Internet and select Properties. In the scroll down window, highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the properties button below the scroll down window. Click the radio button. "Use the Following IP Address". Enter the IP address to be assigned to the computer. Most computers are in the 192.168.1.??? number range. Usually, the lower numbers are assigned first by the software so skip to 101 for the rightmost address in the IP string (192.168.1.101). The subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. The default gateway is usually 192.168.1.1. Leave the DNS server information alone. Click OK twice. Now try to access the Internet to make certain that nothing has been changed that will prevent you from operating your computer. If you cannot access the Internet, go back through the process above and turn on the radio button that says "Obtain an IP Address Automatically" and it will reset back to your old processes. At that point, I suggest you use your software support guru to help you do the job.

If you have a router, you will need to direct the input from port 3389 to your fixed IP address (192.168.1.101). This is done by logging onto your router and setting up the port routing settings. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Read the router instructions and you can do it. As a precaution, write down the router settings before you change them so you can reset to the original values if something does not work properly.

To log on, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/Communications/Remote Desktop Connection. Enter your Internet IP in the box and click Connect. If all is well, you should see the logon box for your user and password. Caution: If you have someone sharing your computer at home, warn them that the display may suddenly show the login screen. When you are on the remote connection, no one can use the home computer until you finish. Sometimes we are careless about passwords on our home computers. Since you will be accessing your computer over the network, create a strong password for your login. Make it at least eight characters long and make it a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters.

Try it and see how it works. Good computing.

John is now a Published Author

In Boomer-eZine, Volume 1, Issue 3 4-26-06, John wrote an article "Learning About Business Opportunities on the Internet". In the article, he used the expression "drinking from the fire hose" to describe trying to learn all the information about the Internet as fast as you can. He modified that article and submitted it to www.ezinearticles.com for acceptance. For three days, he checked his email and lo and behold, it was accepted and published at http://EzineArticles.com/?id=186258. We can now display the Expert Author logo from EzineArticles.com on the website.

Google Adwords Experiment

When I was checking through a list of some of the top searches for March, I noticed that Britney Spears was one of the top searches (1,570,756). I did a search and there were only three Adword ads on the page. I thought that this was odd so I did a keyword search to see what information I could find. Unfortunately, most of the associated keywords had to do with various parts of her anatomy. I decided to try an experiment, and I set up an ad for Britney's CD's on eBay. I set the limit on the budget to about $20 so I would not wake up in the morning owing Google a gazillion dollars. The keyword cost me $.05 per click, and I turned the ad on.

When I checked back in about 12 hours, the ad had received 169,720 impressions and only 45 clicks. The click through rate was so bad that Google inactivated the key word and raised the click rate for Britney Spears to $5.00 per click. The whole experiment cost me $16.25.

The lesson learned is some of the extremely high volume keywords for celebrities are not good because you cannot offer on the Internet what many people are seeking (porn). As I finished this article, I check on Google for Britney Spears and there were zero Adword ads on the page.

Remember Mother's Day

For those men who are absorbed by learning the Internet, remember to take a break and celebrate Mother's Day with your Mother, your wife, or someone who had made a real difference in your life. Linda and I are going to San Antonio, TX to spend the weekend and have a Mother's Day brunch with Justin, our second son, and Mary, his beautiful and talented wife, and with our exquisite grand daughter, Allison. Linda and I wish all of you the very best for Mother's Day.

Well, that's it. The old brain won't produce any thing else worthy of putting on this page at this time. Stay tuned!

John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com

Volume 1 Issue 4 4-30-06

MANAGING PASSWORDS

As you work on the Internet, you will need many user names and passwords. I have tried to find the universal user name, which is a password that has a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Some websites will not allow special characters, some require a password over four characters, some require six or more and some require eight or more. I have given up on a universal password and here is how I organize my passwords. I have an Excel spreadsheet that has the following columns – Web Site, User Name, Password, Account, Secondary Account (not used much) and Comments. I have a link in my system tray at the bottom of the screen (near the Start button on the left side) so I can click it to quickly open the Excel sheet and look up any password that I need. I just counted the entries in My Passwords and there are 152. (They are sorted in alpha order which Excel will do for you). I am sure that many of you have more. The message here – organize early so you do not have to come back and do “damage control” later.

I told Linda about this and she said that one needs to be careful if you let others use your computer. If the passwords are easily accessible, you might have a security problem. Excel does have the capability to require a password to open a workbook. Go the Excel help and you can find the steps to secure the workbook. We both laughed at the fact that this will require a password to access your passwords. DO NOT FORGET THE PASSWORD TO OPEN THE EXCEL WORKBOOK!

FEAR AND GREED AS MOTIVATORS

A colleague of mine once made the comment that two of the strongest motivators of people are fear and greed. I have pondered this, and I believe that it is a very basic behavioral pattern in the human being. When I told Linda (my wife) this, she said that sex and money are the strongest motivators. The sex part does not work over the Internet, but the money does and that is the greed to which I referred. If we have money, we always want more.

Fear and greed are the major motivators used in some of the advertising that I have witnessed on the Internet. Most of the “high pressure” ads that you see start by promising to make you $1000+ per day (pick your own number). This offer appeals to greed. As you read through the ad, you come to the part where you are told that today is your lucky day since if you order RIGHT NOW, you will get a ???? % (pick your own percentage) discount off the list purchase price AND you will receive many FREE bonus gifts to go with the deal. This is the fear and greed combination since you immediately think that unless you take advantage of this offer you will miss this once in a life time opportunity. What you may not know is there is a built in script (small computer program) on many web pages that changes the date of expiration daily so it always remains the same number of days till the offer expires).

Search the Internet and check out a few of the ads that promise to make you rich without your having to work at it, and you will probably see this pattern. Many of the eBook ads on the Internet today use this pattern.

Remember FEAR and GREED. Do not let these emotions cause you to make poor decisions on the Internet, because you will certainly be offered the opportunity.

If you are writing sales pages for yourself, remember fear and greed since they can enable you to create some “killer” sales pages.

VOICE RECOGNITION - CONTINUED

Back in V1, I2 of “Boomer-eZine”, I talked about using voice recognition (VR) for transferring information from my brain to the computer using voice rather than pounding the keyboard. This is a continuation of that topic.

I received the high quality microphone that I ordered and plugged it in and started the VR software. The software with which I am experimenting is included in the Windows XP operating system at no additional cost.

When you first start, the system requires that you read from text that it displays so that you train the system to understand your voice. This takes approximately 10 minutes. When I finished, I dictated a short document. It is very interesting to startup MS Word and speak into the mic and watch the words appear on the screen. However, I was not pleased with the initial results, and after reading additional instructions, I found that the more I train the software, the better the accuracy.

When you click the Tools option on the VR Toolbar, Training is one of the options. When you click on Training, you will be given a list of 8 selections from which to read. These include Aesop’s Fables, Bill Gates The Road Ahead, excerpts from The War of the Worlds, The Wizard of Oz, The Fall of the House of Usher, among others. The text is displayed and as you read and the software understands what you read, the background behind the text read turns blue so you know where you are. Allow 10 minutes per training session.

After reading about three more training sessions, I read the same document as I did previously, and I was amazed at the increase in the accuracy of the recognition. I am going to continue to work on this, and I will report on it in a future issue. If this works well and is FREE with Windows XP, it will be a great tool.

BUILDING A FORUM ON YOUR WEBSITE

One of the recommendations made by John Reese in his “Reese Report” was to establish your website so that your readers would help it grow by supplying input to the site.

One way to do this is to create a forum on the site to allow your readers to leave opinions, have discussions, ask questions, etc. John Reese recommended phpBB which is a bulletin board software package. I checked and my web host provided phpBB as part of the basic package so at no additional cost, I clicked on the Install button and in about five minutes, I had installed phpBB on the Boomer-Entrepreneur.com site. Visit the forum at www.boomer-entrepreneur.com/boomer-forum/. Remember that it was just started so the content is small.

phpBB is an open source piece of software which means that it is free. It has a very good website www.phpBB.com where you can download it. It also has all kinds of information and support. There are additional discussion forums on using the software and downloading custom styles for the board. I started with the basic style and plan to go to www.eLance.com and hire someone to make it fancy.

In summary, I am impressed with the software and the price is great.

Well, folks that is it for this issue. See you down the road. Stay tuned.

John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com

Volume 1 Issue 3 4-24-06

Tim Knox and Jim Cockrum Internet Seminar (“Boot Camp”)


I am winging along at 34,000 feet on my way back home from the “Tim & Jim Internet Boot Camp". This weekend was one of those life changing events for most of the attendees.

To be taught by the two of the most respected men in the Internet business was a tremendous experience. To be able to have many question and answer sessions with them to tap into their pool of knowledge was a rare gift.

I felt that we had some of the most ambitious and dedicated individuals on the Internet as students. As Tim and Jim pointed out, the invitation was sent to their combined lists (Jim over 100K and Tim over 50K) so we represented 0.033% of the combined lists. My fellow classmates were from all levels of experience (Newbie to eBay Power Seller). We had two men from Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, who traveled the farthest. We also were privileged to have Jason James of Auction Resources Network (www.auctionresourcesnetwork.com). He has been selling on eBay for several years and has switched over to info products from hard goods. He was a speaker on one of the Q & A panels and had a significant amount to contribute.

Jim Cockrum gave two presentations, “Tapping into the True Power of eBay” and “The Simple Essentials of Massive Wealth on the Internet”. During this time he told us how he evolved his business from selling an Indiana Pacers ticket on eBay to where he is today.

Tim Knox gave presentations on “How to Create Multiple Streams of Online Income” and “How to Create Your Own Info Product Empire”. His story is remarkable, but it is too long for this article.

There were several Q & A sessions with Tim, Jim, and Jason which were very informative and very valuable to all of us.

In several group sessions, we shared our ideas for our future plans with each other and offered suggestions for improvement. The creative atmosphere that developed is difficult to describe on the printed page.

Also, the networking with others of like goals was a major benefit. I told my groups about my Boomer sites, and I found several contacts with whom I could work on cross selling. There was Hans Milberger of The Games People Play, Inc. (www.thegamespeoplepinc.com) who refurbishes pinball machines. He told me that most of his customers were Boomers. When you think about it, the leading edge Boomers were of the mechanical pinball generation and the latter Boomers were of the video game generation. If you want a mechanical pinball machine for your game room, go to his eBay auctions and buy one. His auctions are of the same name as his company. There was Clyde Butt who arranges bicycle tours anywhere in the world. He is working on getting his website online. He has some tours that would cater to our Boomer crowd.

The bottom line was that even though I felt well qualified to offer advice to my fellow Boomers, I am that much better qualified now that I have graduated from the Boot Camp. Email me at john@boomer-entrepreneur.com if you have any questions about the sessions. I highly recommend that you attend the next one if you are REALLY serious about working on the Internet as a Boomer Entrepreneur.

I have posted some pictures from the event on the Boomer-eZine site. Click the following links to see the pictures.

Group picture of Survivors of Boot Camp

Selection of Photos

Learning About Business Opportunities on the Internet

This evening, Linda and I were kicking back on our back porch watching my bird dogs exercise in their exercise yard, and I was telling her about two sayings that I heard or read in the last couple of days. The first one was spoken by Jim Cockrum at the Tim and Jim Boot Camp. He said, “learning about the Internet is like trying to drink from a fire hose”. Linda totally agreed with that since she had watch me research the Internet for a couple of years and that is exactly what was happening to me.

As is with most things I hear, I searched Google for more info and for the person who coined that saying. I could not find any credit given for it. On Google, it was used quite often by graduate students at MIT to describe their experience in the graduate program.

The saying is so fitting for those of us who have undertaken the quest to learn all we can about what business opportunities are available on the Internet. Before the Internet, most of the research was done in the stacks of the library. There it was easy to keep focused since we were usually working on a single train of thought. With the Internet, one search generates another search and soon we do not know which one to follow in detail. I am speaking from experience, and I know that I am not alone when I say that I “have been drinking from the fire hose”.

The other saying I ran across today described the situation when you have been “drinking from the fire hose” too long and you have gathered a voluminous data base of all that you have found on the Net. You start to analyze the data to chart your course to your Internet career and you cannot do so because of “Analysis Paralysis”. You just keep on researching rather than decide that you have enough information and take action. I can claim to have suffered from this too for a few weeks when it all just would not fit together.

Just remember “drinking from a fire hose” and “analysis paralysis” are common problems that we all face when we start researching the Internet. Just drink as fast as you can, and when you think you have drunk deeply enough of Internet wisdom, don’t forget that the reason for all that research was to take action.

TAKE IT NOW!

John V. W. Howe
www.boomer-eZine.com
www.boomer-entrepreneur.com