Get More Clients Online

The Embarrassing Truth

I got my desktop back early this week (hooray!) and there was nothing wrong with it.  Well, nothing that a thorough cleaning wouldn't cure.  Turns out that my desktop had a great deal of dust built up in it, which was causing it to overheat and turn itself off frequently.  I thought there was some problem with the power supply or the motherboard. The real answer just wasn't that complicated..LOL

The trip to the computer repair shop wasn't entirely wasted, as I had 2 GB of additional RAM installed, which was sorely needed, and they completely blew all of the dust out of the machine.

When I asked about how I could maintain my machine myself, (I'd always heard that you shouldn't open your computer case if you don't have a clue about what you're doing because you could accidentally fry your chips or motherboard from static electricity), I learned that it's not that difficult. All you have to do is to ground yourself by touching a metal piece on the computer (for me that's the case) after you power down the machine and before you open it.  That should discharge all the static electricity.

Once you open the case, put a pencil in the fan so it doesn't move (can create another static charge if it blows from the force of the can of air) and then get a can of air (which is also good to freeze locks to break them if you spray it upside down, as seen a recent episode of one of my fav shows, Burn Notice <g>) and spray it inside the machine to blow out all of the dust.  You need to do this about once a year.

Simple solution.  Painful lesson.  Live and learn.

Computer Snafu, Part2

An incredibly ironic thing happened over the weekend.  My computer backup of my email was restored, completely overwriting all of the new email I received last week.  I had tried in vain to get it restored most of the week, and I finally gave up, assuming that it just wasn't going to happen.

I turned on my computer Saturday morning and starting seeing various messages that certain mailboxes no longer existed.  "Uh oh," was first thing that went through my mind.  "This doesn't look good."

Most of what I lost isn't important, fortunately, but I'll certainly be glad to get my desktop PC back..;0

And, now, this morning, almost all of my websites are down.  Is there nothing I can do to appease the technology gods?? LOL

How to Automate My Business

Q:  Where do I start in the process of automating my business?
Jacqueline Jones

Hi Jacqueline--

The place I would start is with your website.  If you don't currently have a website, you should think about starting a blog.  I use and highly recommend Typepad, and you can have a blog up and running in minutes for as little as $4.95/month. The feature that makes a blog easier to manage than a website is that you don't have to learn an HTML editing program to get it up and running.  You can simply choose a template and a layout, and you're ready to begin posting.

The second piece of your business you need to automate is you online list/database management.  You'll need an autoresponder or shopping cart type program to do that.  I have 2 recommendations for that service:

1.  GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com --  This service, provided by aWeber, enables you to place list signup boxes on your website so that you can begin to grow a marketing list.  Once you've developed the list, you can then begin to send out an ezine to that list on a regular basis.

2.  GetMoreClientsCart.com --  This service, provided by Kickstart Cart, is a full-featured shopping cart that also includes autoresponder and list management, affiliate program management, and ad tracking.  If you will be selling info products from your site, this may be the one you want to use for all of your business automation needs.  You can purchase this service as its most basic level, which includes the shopping cart features, and upgrade to higher levels as your needs change.

Other tools I use to automate my business can be found here on one of my sites:

Top 10 Tools to Turbocharge Your Productivity

Top 10 Tools to Turbocharge Your Marketing

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Choosing a shopping cart

Q:  How do you find the best "starter" (no or low cost) shopping cart?
Shannon Lee

A:  Hi Shannon--

The answer to that question depends on a number of factors:

1.  How much time do you have to learn a shopping cart system?  If you have lots of time (or have vast computer programming skills), then you can pick up a shopping cart for free (open source software cart) like OS Commerce, http://www.oscommerce.com/ or ZenCart, http://www.zen-cart.com/.  As open source software, they come with no tech support and a steep learning curve.

2.  How much functionality do you want? You can use either Paypal or Clickbank (electronic downloadable items only) to collect funds for your, but they're not really a full-fledged shopping cart.  However, they will get the job done.

3.  How much money do you have to spend? There are some lower priced shopping carts like e-junkie, which charge a monthly fee based on the number of products you have for sale.  I believe Google Checkout http://checkout.google.com/sell/ and Yahoo Small Business http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/ecommerce/plans.php offer similar options.

4. If you want to run a serious online biz, I suggest you check out www.GetMoreClientsCart.com.  This is the most expensive option of the ones I've mentioned, but it has enough bells and whistles for you to grow into as your biz grows.  You'll need to set up a merchant account, however, to use this system, and I recommend www.GetMoreClientsMerchant.com.

For additional info, you can download Tom Antion's free book, "How to Pick a Shopping Cart System That Makes You Money" here.  It's a PDF file, so you'll Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Tuning Up the Computer

Lately, I've had some issues with my computer running so slowly that it's taken 10-15 minutes to move from one task to another.  I realized over the weekend that I hadn't done a registry clean or a defrag ever, since I purchased this computer in Jan. 2007.  I was long overdue..LOL

I used a couple of tools to tune up my PC.  Two were fr*ee and one was purchased, and I'll list those in the coming weeks so you can check them out.

I'm taking part of this week off as a long holiday weekend.  Instead of frying myself at the beach, I think I'll relax in my cool, comfy AC and catch up on some reading...;->

BTW, Happy belated Canada Day for our northern cousins, and Happy Independence Day for those in the US!

Overwhelmed by Technology

Q:  I really don't 'get it' when it comes to all the technology and terminology involved yet I still feel enthusiastic about sharing the information and expertise I have. Is it necessary to understand all the complicated techno stuff and will I be able to succeed without it?

Angie
www.spaceorganising.com

A:  Hi Angie--

You do need some degree of technological proficiency to operate. i.e. being able to use various pieces of software, like Word, Excel, Publisher, etc. be able to send and receive email, and be able to browse and find basic information online.  These are the most basic functions you'll need to be able to communicate with clients and colleagues.

For the computer-related upgrades and repairs, you can hire a computer consultant, preferably one that will come to your home, to help you install new software, network your computers, or help you if your computer is infected with a virus. 

For tasks like website updates, blog setup, shopping cart setup, pay-per-click campaigns, etc., you may want to hire an Online Business Manager or an Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant.  To find one, you can simply Google those terms and see which sites come up in the search.

Later this year I'll be launching an Online Business Manager Training Program, so you'll be able to search for help at www.OnlineBizU.com at that point.

Bottom line -- those who can afford to hire help do so.  Those who can't usually end up learning to do it themselves initially until their cash flow is sufficient enough to hire help...:)

Donna