The private label bottled drinking water is a growth industry with double digit growth and profit opportunities for the entrepreneur. But like most opportunities care must be taken to seek out and exploit the most profitable niche in the market.
A recent market study examined the growth and potential of the market for bottled water and concluded:
"The bottled water industry grew about 10% in 2005, while carbonated soft drinks revenue is essentially flat," says Gary Hemphill, marketing director of BMC. "There are a couple of things driving the market—sure, people like to have a tap water substitution, but it's really driven by people's demands for a healthier alternative to the wide array of beverages on the market."
Private label water is the fastest growing segment of the overall bottled water market and its future growth is considered by many to be “explosive”. .
Private label water combines the purity of refreshing drinking water with consumable advertising that is designed to an individual customer’s specification. The water is popular and the branding message, if designed properly, serves to promote business.
Almost every company in the United States can benefit from private label water with a custom branding message. The opportunities are huge, the market is largely untapped and the private label product is viewed by customers as a cost effective, power way to promote a brand message.
The bottled water industry consists of a number of interrelated parts including research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales. Much of the business model however, requires significant amounts of capital and has high barriers to entry for most entrepreneurs.
Nevertheless, with the advent of the internet and e-commerce, an aggressive sales focused entrepreneur can develop a substantial profitable private label business through affiliate programs .
What Are Affiliate Programs?
Affiliate programs are revenue sharing programs between an entrepreneur and a company that manufactures and sells a product or service. Affiliates are rewarded with referral payments for sending customers to the manufacturer’s Web site. The process works as follows:
• The affiliate place links on its site to a particular manufacturer’s Web site.
• When a visitor clicks on the link and makes a purchase the affiliate earns a referral fee that is a percentage of the total sale.
• The best manufacturer sites have automatic payment mechanisms and real time accounting.
But an efficient affiliate site requires planning and work. Many affiliates believe they will be able to just put up a Web site, establish some affiliate links and sit back and wait for streams of cash to start coming in. Care must be taken however to be truly successful. Consider the following:
• What type of Web site should you have to make money through affiliate programs?
• What are the best programs for your site?
• How will you effectively market your site and the underlying product?
• How can you find niche markets?
Similar to other facets of developing a home business, careful planning is needed to map out a profitable strategy for building a home based business using affiliate programs - a strategy that will allow you to build income through content in a sustainable, month after month way.
The issue is – what are the steps required to develop an income producing web site using affiliate programs that generate consistent, substantial revenue?
Tip Number 1: Align With a Manufacturer That Produces A Quality Product With Unique Features and Manages a Robust Affiliate Program.
As any good sales person will tell you, a high quality product is mandatory for sales success. Look for a company that manufactures (resellers add little value) a quality product that is recognized as different in the marketplace. There are many types of water in the market but purified water is clearly recognized as the highest quality.
After identifying a manufacturer with a quality product offering, chose one with a robust, profitable affiliate program. This should include at a minimum:
• commitment to affiliate success
• commission plans that are substantial
• a website that allows for easy ordering and accrual and payment of commissions
• support for marketing, selling and booking of orders
Tip Number 2: Identify a Niche Market and Create a Plan to Penetrate That Niche Deeply
Avoid the tendency to mass market and “shoot at the flock”. Mass marketing is beyod the scope of most companies and entrepreneurs. There are many profitable niche markets that have significant growth potential. Identify a niche market, understand the buying patterns of that niche and penetrate the market. It takes time and work but done right this effort is very profitable.
Some examples of niche markets: hotels (small and large), health spas, golf courses, gyms, car dealerships, organizations and health clubs to name a few. Almost any organization is interested in promoting their brand and brand message in a cost effective way.
Tip Number 3: Create an Eye Catching Website With a link to The Manufacturer
One of the advantages of an affiliate program is that profitable business can be developed with only a nominal investment. Given today’s technical level of internet development expertise, creation of an attractive web site is easy and cost effective. The critical part of the website however is the creation of a focused message presented in an attractive manner.
Following the creation of the site, establish a banner link with the chosen manufacturing partner that will direct affiliate inquires to the site for order creation and booking of the affiliate commission.
The manufacturer’s site must be able to design and produce labels, provide powerful e-commerce facilities for order booking and shipment and include a facility for the booking and payment of commissions to the affiliate.
Tip Number 4: Create and Implement a Sales Strategy
A clear sales strategy is the most effective path to success and profits in the private label business. Identify in writing the target niche, strategy to penetrate that niche, buying patterns, target prospects and communication material (sales collateral) and tactics to sell targeted prospects. Then implement the strategy in an organized manner and make adjustments to the strategy as conditions change. Remember the old sales adage “Always Be Closing”.
Tip Number 5: Follow Up on All Orders and Provide Feedback to Customers
As part of any effective sales effort, follow up and feedback with and to customers is critical to maintaining good customer service and obtaining repeat orders. One of the most powerful aspects of private label water sales is that happy customers tend to be repeat customers. Creation of a long customer list with satisfied customers will generate a steady stream of repeat orders and significant cash flow.
5 Steps to Success in the Private Label Water Business - Affiliate Program Success for Profits and Wealth
Easy Profits Using PPC In Your Affiliate Marketing Business
PPC is one of the four basic types of Search Engines. PPC is also one of the most cost-effective ways of targeted internet advertising. According to Forbes magazine, PPC or Pay Per Click, accounts to 2 billion dollars a year and is expected to increase to around 8 billion dollars by the year 2008.
Let us take a quick look at how PPC Search Engines work.
These engines create listings and rate them based on a bid amount the website owner is willing to pay for each click from that search engine. Advertisers bid against each other to receive higher ranking for a specific keyword or phrase.
The highest bidder for a certain keyword or phrase will then have the site ranked as number 1 in the PPC Search Engines followed by the second and third highest bidder, up to the last number that have placed a bid on the same keyword or phrase. Your ads then will appear prominently on the results pages based on the dollar amount bid you will agree to pay per click.
How do you make money by using PPC into your affiliate marketing business?
Most affiliate programs only pay when a sale is made or a lead delivered after a visitor has clickthrough your site. Your earnings will not always be the same as they will be dependent on the web site content and the traffic market http://www.dogs9.com
The reason why you should incorporate PPC into your affiliate marketing program is that earnings are easier to make than in any other kind of affiliate program not using PPC. This way, you will be making profit based from the clickthroughs that your visitor will make on the advertiser’s site. Unlike some programs, you are not paid per sale or action.
PPC can be very resourceful of your website. With PPC Search Engines incorporated into your affiliate program, you will be able to profit from the visitor’s who are not interested in your products or services. The same ones who leave your site and never comes back.
You will not only get commissions not only from those who are just searching the web and finding the products and services that they wanted but you will be able to build your site’s recognition as a valuable resource. The visitors who have found what they needed from you site are likely to come back and review what you are offering more closely. Then they will eventually come back to search the web for other products.
This kind of affiliate program is also an easy way for you to generate some more additional revenues. For example, when a visitor on your site does a search in the PPC Search Engine and clicks on the advertiser bided listings, the advertisers’ account will then be deducted because of that click. With this, you will be compensated 30% to 80% of the advertisers’ bid amount.
PPC is not only a source of generating easy profits; it can also help you promote your own site. Most of the programs allow the commissions received to be spent for advertising with them instantly and with no minimum earning requirement. This is one of the more effective ways to exchange your raw visitors for targeted surfers who has more tendencies to purchase your products and services.
What will happen if you when you integrate PPC into your affiliate program?
PPC usually have ready-to-use affiliate tools that can be easily integrated into your website. The most common tools are search boxes, banners, text links and some 404-error pages. Most search engines utilize custom solutions and can provide you with a white-label affiliate program. This enables you, using only a few lines of code, to integrate remotely-hosted co-branded search engine into your website.
The key benefits? Not only more money generated but also some extra money on the side. Plus a lifetime commissions once you have referred some webmaster friends to the engine.
Think about it. Where can you get all these benefits while already generating some income for your site? Knowing some of the more useful tools you can use for your affiliate program is not a waste of time. They are rather a means of earning within an earning.
Best know more about how you can use PPC search engines into your affiliate program than miss out on a great opportunity to earn more profits.
Choosing The Right Home Based Business - Then Working It For Profits
Have you thought about owning your own business from home? The benefits can be remarkable. You can earn an excellent full-time or part-time income, often just working a few hours per week.
In no time, you will be saying goodbye to the J.O.B, the boss, the commute, and earning less than you're worth. Even though this sounds good (and it IS good), profiting in your business from home is not a given.
Home based businesses have a very high failure rate. Most people get an idea for a business, then start out with little more than a hope and a prayer. Granted, a few do succeed, slowly finding their way by trial and error. But the School of Hard Knocks can be expensive and time consuming, with 97% of those who try giving up in frustration.
That's why I always urge people to base their home business around a well thought out direct sales opportunity. Direct sales provides for high commissions -- much higher than MLM -- and greater stability. I've found, and industry statistics bear this out, direct sales is probably the easiest way to earn a good income from home in a truly serious business of your own.
Follow these tips to greatly increase your chances of success:
1. Insist the opportunity you chose has a proven marketing system that is easy for you to duplicate. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Get a good plan, then work the plan consistently for a year to 18 months to achieve consistent profits.
2. Build your success on the success of others. Big profits always come from teamwork. When you can help others earn while profiting from their hard work, you've got the key to rapidly accruing profits.
3. Make sure the products and company are something you'll be proud to put your name on. Representing a great product isn't hard at all. You'll be happy to tell your friends, family, and prospects -- and they'll be delighted to hear what you have to say.
4. The business you chose should be built on integrity. Far too many businesses online are based on ripping people off. While that can earn you some money in the beginning, shaky deals always fall apart fast. Stay away!
5. Your home-based business should improve your life, let you work fewer hours, and give you more flexibility to be there for family and pursue your interests. Knowing your business is making your life better will keep you going through the tough times and spur you on to greater heights.
Earning money from home using a duplicable marketing system and applying it to big profit products that benefit everyone is a remarkable experience. You'll find direct sales is your path to home-based success.
Easy Profits Using PPC In Your Affiliate Marketing Business
PPC is one of the four basic types of Search Engines. PPC is also one of the most cost-effective ways of targeted internet advertising. According to Forbes magazine, PPC or Pay Per Click, accounts to 2 billion dollars a year and is expected to increase to around 8 billion dollars by the year 2008.
Let us take a quick look at how PPC Search Engines work.
These engines create listings and rate them based on a bid amount the website owner is willing to pay for each click from that search engine. Advertisers bid against each other to receive higher ranking for a specific keyword or phrase.
The highest bidder for a certain keyword or phrase will then have the site ranked as number 1 in the PPC Search Engines followed by the second and third highest bidder, up to the last number that have placed a bid on the same keyword or phrase. Your ads then will appear prominently on the results pages based on the dollar amount bid you will agree to pay per click.
How do you make money by using PPC into your affiliate marketing business?
Most affiliate programs only pay when a sale is made or a lead delivered after a visitor has clickthrough your site. Your earnings will not always be the same as they will be dependent on the web site content and the traffic market.
The reason why you should incorporate PPC into your affiliate marketing program is that earnings are easier to make than in any other kind of affiliate program not using PPC. This way, you will be making profit based from the clickthroughs that your visitor will make on the advertiser’s site. Unlike some programs, you are not paid per sale or action.
PPC can be very resourceful of your website. With PPC Search Engines incorporated into your affiliate program, you will be able to profit from the visitor’s who are not interested in your products or services. The same ones who leave your site and never comes back.
You will not only get commissions not only from those who are just searching the web and finding the products and services that they wanted but you will be able to build your site’s recognition as a valuable resource. The visitors who have found what they needed from you site are likely to come back and review what you are offering more closely. Then they will eventually come back to search the web for other products.
This kind of affiliate program is also an easy way for you to generate some more additional revenues. For example, when a visitor on your site does a search in the PPC Search Engine and clicks on the advertiser bided listings, the advertisers’ account will then be deducted because of that click. With this, you will be compensated 30% to 80% of the advertisers’ bid amount.
PPC is not only a source of generating easy profits; it can also help you promote your own site. Most of the programs allow the commissions received to be spent for advertising with them instantly and with no minimum earning requirement. This is one of the more effective ways to exchange your raw visitors for targeted surfers who has more tendencies to purchase your products and services.
What will happen if you when you integrate PPC into your affiliate program?
PPC usually have ready-to-use affiliate tools that can be easily integrated into your website. The most common tools are search boxes, banners, text links and some 404-error pages. Most search engines utilize custom solutions and can provide you with a white-label affiliate program. This enables you, using only a few lines of code, to integrate remotely-hosted co-branded search engine into your website.
The key benefits? Not only more money generated but also some extra money on the side. Plus a lifetime commissions once you have referred some webmaster friends to the engine.
Think about it. Where can you get all these benefits while already generating some income for your site? Knowing some of the more useful tools you can use for your affiliate program is not a waste of time. They are rather a means of earning within an earning.
Best know more about how you can use PPC search engines into your affiliate program than miss out on a great opportunity to earn more profits.
Candle Home Businesses - Can You Light Your Way To Substantial Profits?
Candles are becoming more and more popular as home accessories, and a hot new trend are candle parties from your own candle home business. Starting a candle business is not difficult, but it does take a lot of hard work and the right personality to be successful. If you are looking for a new business opportunity, here are some tips and questions to ask yourself to find out if a candle home business is right for you.
How much does it cost to start a candle business?
Unlike other businesses, if you want start a candle home business, you will not need a large amount of money for start-up costs. You have the option to purchase your products after your customers place their orders. As long as you can provide several candle and scent samples, your customers can see and smell the quality of the candles you are selling.
Do I have the right personality for a candle home business?
You do need a lot of style and an outgoing personality. To be really successful in your candle business, you will need to network with people and grow your client base. When you are throwing your candle parties, you will need to really sell the products. Let people know why your candles are the best, and why they need to have great candle accessories too. If you are throwing a party at someone’s house, know your products well enough to be comfortable recommending a great pillar candle and centerpiece set that would accent the dining room, or a festive wreath set that would look great on the mantle for the holidays.
Do I have time to commit to my candle home business?
Another thing to think about when starting a candle home business is whether you will have enough time for this type of business. Your candle home business can be as small or as large as you make it. You do need to remember that the majority of the hours that you work will be evenings and weekends when people can attend the parties.
Candle home businesses are a very popular way to have your own business, and have a lot of fun too. If you are a person who loves to be around other people, and are outgoing, friendly, and can talk to (and sell something) to anyone, a candle home business would be perfect for you. Nearly everyone has candles in their home, why shouldn’t they buy them from you?
If you are interested in starting a candle home business, there are many to choose from. Remember to always thoroughly research a company or business opportunity before investing your money.
Add Value To Your Business Offering And Enhance Profits
A classic mistake a lot of new businesses make is to solely compete on price. By adding extra features to your offering it is often possible to charge higher prices.
Let’s say for example you are a small soft drinks manufacturer. What could you add that would allow you to charge higher prices? One idea might be to add some vitamins to your mixture or if it’s fruit juice – no added sugar. Another idea might be to use premium or novelty packaging.
Have you seen the lolly in a tube which children can open and shut? It is based on the lipstick concept which allows the children to have exactly the right amount protruding for maximum taste. A normal lolly might retail at a few cents whilst this one retails at around a dollar! Same product plus novel packaging equals much higher profit.
Another idea that aroused my interest was when a well known toothpaste manufacturer managed to increase the sales of their product by just increasing the size of the hole! They realised that their customers used to spread a line of toothpaste and when they increased the size of the aperture people carried on spreading the same length not realising that they were using more toothpaste!
Recently have you noticed that cans of beer & juice have wider apertures to allow us to gulp our drink quicker? You can now drink just as easily from a can as you would from a glass. Not all manufacturers have followed this example yet!
Have a look on the Internet and you will find that the best websites offer a lot of information for free. Some of them have a whole host of articles telling you how to do their job! Off course what they are really counting on is the fact that even if they show you how to do it you might not have the time or the inclination to do it! By explaining the processes involved it serves to show their expertise on the issue and means that you are more likely to become a customer.
By adding extra ingredients, improving packaging, offering free information and looking at how easy your product is to use can make all the difference between charging a cut throat price and making a little extra profit.
Attract New Eyes and More Profits to Your Business with Flexible Neon LED Lighting
There are many ways to get your business noticed. Signs, flashing lights, bright building paint colors, banners, and window displays can all attract more customers to your establishment. But a new innovative method that many businesses are now using to get attention is the addition of flexible neon LED lighting to their building. Flexible neon lighting such as NeoFlex neon offers many benefits, dollar savings, and an easy way to spruce up an older building.
Uses for Flexible Neon LED Lighting
There are many uses for this unique type of neon lighting. You can decorate your building in a great way by installing the lighting around the entire building or storefront. Many businesses place the neon border tubing along the edges of building borders and roofs. In the windows, you can create unique neon signs for open/closed signs, slogans, special sales, or even the name of your business. You can also create amazing logos with the neon tubing.
These neon lights and signs not only attract attention while customers are entering your store or business, but they also attract attention from the highway, especially at night. The more people see your storefront, the better chance you'll have of getting them to enter your store. You can get their attention with neon, and then make a special offer on a sign to bring in targeted customers.
These types of lights are great for car wash neon lighting, bar neon lights, stage lights, casino neon lights, and restaurants or pubs. They do wonders for hotels and condos, or any business that's open after dark.
Benefits of Flexible Neon Lights
Using flexible neon LED lighting for architectural lighting offers numerous benefits. The tubing is bendable so it can be molded and shaped to fit almost any surface. It is easy to install, and many business owners install it on their own for smaller lighting projects. Flexible neon tubing can be cut to any length to meet any lighting need. Also, it is made with a thick rubber coating that protects it from weathering, vandals, or flying debris.
This type of lighting can be plugged into a regular 110-volt outlet, so no special power supplies are needed. Also, it is cost-efficient. You can save up to 80 percent in energy costs when compared with standard neon lighting. This lighting has up to 100,000 hours of life expectancy and is also cool to the touch.
Colors and Surfaces
There are also a variety of colors so you can match the neon lighting your business logo colors. These include red, purple, green, white, blue, yellow, and orange. You can decorate in one color or all "rainbow" colors if you want your business to really stand out.
Flexible neon LED lighting can be installed on several surface types such as wood, steel, plastic, and concrete. Up to 300 feet of continuous border tubing can be stretched along your building's exterior or interior to create eye-catching building highlights.
If you're searching for an affordable, but noticeable, way to draw more attention to your storefront, LED neon lighting is a great alternative lighting solution. Easy installation neon lighting gives your business its opportunity to shine!
9 Ways to Increase Business Profits Quickly and Easily
Many business owners who operate a business want as many clients as possible, both those who have just started their business and those who have owned one for a long time. They are, however, not fully utilizing all of their assets as they could be in order to achieve their desired results.
The objective of increasing business profits isn’t only met by attracting more clients. There are several other reasons why a business doesn't make as much money as it should besides not having enough clients.
Here are a few simple, yet effective business coaching ideas that will help you unlock the hidden profits in business and also some reasons why things aren't operating at full potential as they should:
- Focus more time on the important matters - you may not have enough time available to boost your business, especially if you are the one who is serving clients on a regular basis. In this case, you should consider hiring somebody to help. Running a business takes a lot of work, so let the employees handle the day-to-day issues, while you take care of the important ones such as developing strategies for present and future growth. Set aside an hour each week to brainstorm ideas, implement strategies and nurture key business relationships.
- Carry out competitive intelligence on other businesses, especially the ones that are successful and emulate them. This doesn’t mean copying whatever they do. Take the best parts of your competitor’s business and apply them to your own. It is also very important to keep a close eye on the competition, regardless of the nature of your business. If you are running a restaurant, for example, you should inspect the services, the offers and the prices of the competition. By doing a little research on other businesses, you will be able to reorganize, improve your services, adjust the prices depending on the competition, as well as introduce new offers to your clients. By knowing what your competitors are up to, you will always be one step ahead of them.
- Spend less of your gross profit on overhead and ineffective marketing. Lease unused space in your office or warehouse. Track sales as a result of expense. Employ salespeople on a higher commission scale rather than a high base salary. Test and measure for effective marketing campaigns before dumping a ton of money on any marketing campaign that is doomed to fail from the start.
- Instead of competing on price, develop an ultimate strategic advantage™. Emphasize the qualities that make your business stand out and create a whole new positioning in the industry. Find out what really matters to your clients by surveying them and give it to them.
- Talk with clients and find out if they are delighted or not. Ask for suggestions. Dissatisfied customers will not return, while a delighted client will refer others.
- Nurture existing clients. Instead of focusing on acquiring new customers, concentrate on nurturing and maintaining the clients that you already have! Make sure they are pleased with the services you provide for them and pay attention to their needs, desires and complaints. It is very important to establish and maintain good relations with your clients, as they are the ones who keep your business running.
Many business coaching companies encourage selling more to existing clients because it improves a business bottom line by increasing the lifetime value of a client. It also brings new clients, attracted by positive experiences from your delighted clients. Referrals lower your acquisition cost through word-of-mouth marketing and this also adds to business profits.
- Up sell other products/services. Selling extras is known to be a great method of increasing profits. For example, grocery stores strategically place many magazines and snacks near the checkout. People browse and buy these while waiting in line raising the average dollar sale with these extras. McDonald’s is well-known for its up sell before a sale is completed by simply asking a simple question to add on more products (complete meal, fries, sundae, or apple pie).
- Increase your advertising - advertising is expensive but if things work well, the money will definitely return to you. You can also try to make the best use you can out of free advertising. Get the most out of promotions and limited offers, especially around holidays.
- Seek out business coaching advice. Having a comprehensive set of business strategies can help you further, by providing you with new efficient methods of increasing the profits of your business. To operate a business effectively long-term, most businesses will have to deploy several strategies in order to diversify their sources of leads and maximize their profitability through smart marketing, team building, and business process management.