acrbo jul magazine
DESCRIPTION
July magazine of the Association of Computer Repair Business OwnersTRANSCRIPT
WHAT’S INSIDE Computers, Networking, Websites, Advertising, Marketing & Sales
ACRBO MAG
Offering a Discount For
Free Advertising…. by
Robert J. Gregory
Featured Member…Brian
Wissinger… Cornerstone
Technologies of Indiana
If you have not checked in awhile
you might want to log into the
Association website to see what
new Preferred Vendors have
joined the team.
We continually are looking for
valued vendors to bring aboard
and your emails are appreciated.
ACRBO contents
Regular Columns
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
3 Editor’s Letter
Welcome to the August edition.
2 ACRBO Inbox
Got something to say?
Tell us what you think.
5 Twitter
7 Offering a Discount for
Free Advertising By Robert Gregory
8 Featured Member
Brian Wissinger
11 Learning Pinterest
13 Write content that Panda Loves
14 What to do during slow days
15 Good time management
19 3 ways to get website traffic
24 NextDayPC
Would you like to have an article
published each month in the
magazine?
If so drop us a line and let us know
what kind of article you can provide
on a monthly basis.
All articles will need to be submitted
the 3rd
week of the month.
Email: [email protected]
www.acrbo.com 2
Have a product or service
you’re interested in selling?
If so drop us a line.
ACRBO editor’s letter
Welcome to this month’s issue of our magazine. This month we bring you some great new articles that will hopefully help you and your business. We work hard to put together each issue of this magazine and welcome the feedback and contributions from all our loyal readers. A publication like this would not be possible without the support of our valued advertisers who provide relevant products and services for our readership. Please visit our sponsors as they know what you need to help you with all your endeavors. Lastly I’d like to congratulate you for investing your time to educate yourself by reading this magazine. We are proud to be able to help all our readers, and look forward to serving you for many years to come. Dan ACRBO
As you see the layout of the magazine has changed once again. Unfortunately Jon is not going to be able to edit the magazines future issues.
As some of you already know graphics are not my strong suit. But, we will continue to bring outstanding content which to me is what really matters.
www.Facebook.com/acrbo
www.acrbo.com
Talk to me >> Keep your valuable feedback coming. I try to reply
to every email, I appreciate your input as it helps to
make the ACRBO magazine possible.
Write to me at: [email protected]
ACRBO Magazine
Fredericksburg Virginia
Advertising enquires: Send an email to [email protected]
Contribute articles: If you would like to be a contributing author for the magazine then send an email to [email protected] and let us know what you would like to write about. Copyright 2012 ACRBO. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or converted into machine-readable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher
ACRBO Magazine
Director: ACRBO [email protected]
Contributors Various experts in their fields
The instructions and advice in the
Magazine is for entertainment purposes only. The creators, producers, contributors
and distributors of the ACRBO Mag disclaim
any liability for loss or lack of results from following the advice expressed herein
Welcome to the
Association of Computer
Repair Business Owners
Magazine.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 3
ACRBO inbox
Should I open a storefront?
Very good question and it
gets asked a lot. My advice
has always been not to open a
store front until you know
that you have the finances in
place to do it correctly. You
have to consider things like
how much it will take to open
the store, do you need
employees to manage it
during the days, and do you
have enough work to justify
the added expense that comes
with a storefront.
Remember just because you
open a storefront it does not
mean you will get instant
traffic in the door. This could
actually take some time and
you have to be prepared for
that. My suggestion is to
make a list of what you will
need, what it will cost, what
your finances look like and go
from there.
Dan
ACRBO
Follow us on www.Facebook.com/acrbo
Follow us on Linkedin Group is
“Association of Computer Repair
TO
P E
MA
ILS
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
I don’t own a MAC should I
buy one for my business?
It really depends on what you
would buy it for. If you are
thinking in order to learn
how they work and provide
mac service to your
customers it makes sense. If
you think you need one to run
your business then no.
We have always had some
sort of amc in our shop to
mess with and learn from but
at the same time we do not
push that type of work
because we know there is a
lot to repairing them if you
have not done it before. So in
cases where we can’t do it we
have a person that we just
contract those jobs out to.
Dan
ACRBO
TO
P E
MA
ILS
www.acrbo.com 4
TWITTER When it comes to social networking, Twitter indeed
takes the crown, with regards to maximum number of
active users across the globe, and its unending
possibilities of marketing, fetching employment,
conversing with celebrities, sharing one’s ideas and
states of mind; all within a limit of 140 words! How
exciting and incredibly unique it sounds, right? In fact,
it is the crispness and the simplicity that lends Twitter
an edge over other social networking websites.
Initially, Twitter shot to fame with more and more
famous personalities started hitting the website to stay
in touch with their admirers. So, naturally Twitter
experienced a breakthrough with huge numbers of
new profiles being created, all thanks to this brand
new concept of staying in touch with eminent
personalities in the online domain. This, in turn, has
opened up a wide range of possibilities in the website.
People started ‘tweeting’ (the term used for posting
messages in one’s Twitter accounts) more often and a
few even developed a brand name for themselves.
The 140 words limitation was always there but the
same aspect, on the other hand, was an exciting
factor as well; because of which the users tried to
make their tweets crispier and slicker.
Many organizations and newbie business have
started using Twitter as a marketing tool these days.
So, what exactly are the dos and don’ts of Twitter
marketing? Well, first of all we need to understand the
dynamics of Twitter. The significance of using simple
language while tweeting, using the aspects such as
“trends” and “hashtags” in the websites. Trends refer
to those issues/subjects on which the maximum
numbers of people in a specified country or region are
talking about. So, as soon as you create your
account, you should set the region to which you would
like to target your business. The next step would be to
upload an attractive and suitable display image and
Twitter background, along with a neat, sleek
description on what the Twitter handle is based on.
Then, you may kick-start tweeting valuable
information in precise, correct English.
It is very much acceptable to have multiple Twitter
accounts on the same concept or idea if you know how to
manage them efficiently without repeating the tweets
used in another handle. Make sure that you understand
the concept of ‘hashtags’ properly while tweeting.
Hashtags are widely accepted and followed entities in the
world of Twitter. They will be of major use to you
because those who will searching for relevant information
in Twitter with these hashtags will end up with your tweet
and hopefully, your handle and the idea behind it will
ultimately receive more and more exposure, or let’s just
say ‘Followers’ in Twitter lingo. Once your tweets start
reaching people, you will be getting followers who have
similar interests as you and thus it will help you form a
circle in the website. Also, it never stops offering you
better prospects. The best thing that you should be doing
is to keep on tweeting quality stuff; rest assured that your
business will get due recognition, although patience is
definitely required in this domain.
Make sure that you understand
the concept of ‘hashtags’
properly while tweeting.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 5
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
OFFERING A DISCOUNT FOR FREE
ADVERTISING by Robert J. Gregory
of Bob’s Computer Service
All business owners understand the importance of advertising. After almost five years in business, I am always looking for creative and affordable ways to advertise. Early on, I did a lot of work for local lawyers. My father is a lawyer and is always passing out my business cards. Thanks Dad! After a while, news of my work spread to the local bar association. They contacted me and asked if I wanted to advertise in their monthly newsletter. I agreed and the ad ran for three months. The association must have liked my work because, after the three months, they offered me a free advertisement in exchange for a 10% discount on labor to bar members. I agreed and haven’t looked back! I also belong to a local members-only swim club. The club doesn’t usually allow flyers or outside advertising. After my experience with the bar association, I decided to speak with the club president about advertising. I offered to give members a 10% discount on labor. The club agreed with my proposal and allowed me to post a flyer and business cards on their bulletin board. Being relatively new to owning a business and having a young family, three boys under five years old, my advertising budget is limited. However, I have found that it is not how much you spend on advertising as it is about getting the message to the right people. In your own situation, is there a group or organization to which you belong that you could approach about a mutually beneficial advertising arrangement?
As we all know, most people today own a computer. How many of these people really know how to fix their computer? They are just waiting for someone to provide reliable and affordable service with a small discount, as well! If you are just starting out, find the arrangement that works best for you because great advertising doesn’t have to be costly!
If you have not already checked out our
newest Preferred Vendor you should.
FiberCloud, Inc is located in Seattle--in
the heart of Washington’s technology
corridor. An industry leader,
FiberCloud provides businesses with
secure and reliable colocation, high-
speed Internet connectivity, custom-
managed solutions and innovative
cloud-hosted software applications.
If you are looking at supporting
businesses then FiberCloud might just
fit the bill for what you need. Everything
from hosting, backups, and the cloud in
one package. You can easily set the
prices and just collect each and every
month.
Not only is FiberCloud and all-in-one
solution that you can easily utilize but
their support is second to none.
Check them out today.
www.FiberCloud.com
www.acrbo.com 7
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
Featured Member
Name: Brian Wissinger
Business: Cornerstone
Technologies of Indiana
Location: Indiana PA, 15701
Family: Married to Amy and one
child due in August
Website:
www.cornerstone-tech.net
Education: Bachelor of Arts in History, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was growing up, I always told my grandma I
wanted to be a scientist. Seemed like a great goal at the time, but it turned out I am not so
proficient at high level mathematics.
Worst job: After my enlistment in the Marine Corps, I spent some time being a security guard. The
worst post was a run-down strip mall that had a bit of a rodent and homeless problem.
First job: My very first job was at 10. In our town we had an old bowling alley in the basement of a
building. This facility was so old, it was not automated in any way. Scoring and resetting of the pins
was done by 10 year old kids from the neighborhood. It was a terrible job, but kids would do
anything for $10 a night! My first IT related job was a network/systems admin for a shifty mortgage
company back in 2005/2006. It was good pay, but a clear indicator to me about the troubles
mortgages were going to be on the economy based on the deals that I overheard.
How did you end up owning your business? I ran my own mobile business in California from 2005-
2008. Financial and personal setbacks forced me to move back to my hometown. I managed to get
a job at a local computer repair shop. After working there for two years, my wife and I decided that
we could provide better service and provide those services to businesses as well. We bought our
property in 2011 and I have been making a go of it in my own shop for better than 6 months.
What is next for your business? We are moving into managed services as well as looking into
expanding our shop into our rental property in the next 12 months.
www.acrbo.com 8
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
Who was your hero as a child? I'm pretty sure my hero growing up was either Captain Picard
or Captain Kirk.
What business book do you recommend the most and why? Dale Carnegies "How to win
Friends and Influence People". I read this several times growing up and it is a very good work.
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business right now? I would
advise anyone looking to start any kind of business to be prepared and be very sure. Being
prepared is researching that industry and become an expert on it. It cant be emphasized
enough to also have needed working capital beyond what it takes to start a business. A lack of
capital will quickly end any business efforts. And be sure, because it can be hard to reverse
and go back to working for someone else.
What are you most likely to be doing when not working? It is difficult to determine what I
am doing beyond working constantly. Because of my education background, my wife and I
travel to various museums and historical sites. My favorite area is anything naval. We visited
New York City earlier this year only because I wanted to see the Intrepid Air and Space
Museum. The US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Oh is another favorite.
Where do you want to be five years from now? Five years for now, I hope to have expanded
into other various ventures outside of technology. For Cornerstone Technologies, we are
working to be the leading source for our counties technology solutions. Since opening our
physical shop last year, three local shops have folded, giving us a boost of clientele that is
quickly multiplying due to word of mouth. I would like to have an in-house web/application
developer as well.
Who would you rather spend time with, Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett?
Given the choice of the three individuals, Bill Gates would be someone that I would probably
want to meet the most. While Warren Buffett is an extremely intelligent and capable business
person, that doesn't appeal to me. Bill Gates is actively using his wealth to make the world
better though direct activism. While his business practices might have been questionable at
the beginning of Microsoft, one cannot dispute the difference he is making in Africa.
If you would like your business to be featured in the ACRBO Magazine
then drop us an email and we will get back to you with what details are
needed.
--Dan www.acrbo.com 9
Check out Iain Mcdonald’s website:
>>
Repins in the Pinterest world is social photo
sharing images pinned by a user you followed or
found while browsing Pinterest. It gives credit to
the user who first pinned the image. When
repining something it gives you the option to edit
or add descriptions. Repined items retain its
source links no matter how many times the pin is
shared. You can also add a "Pin It" button into
your browser (currently available only through
Chrome only) for easy pinning of things you
chance upon the internet. Every time when you
pin something, social photo sharing can be done
on Facebook and twitter.
Benefits of social photo sharing for brands
· Advocacy on brands - if you get people to like
your products not only they will pin your stuff but
might dedicate an entire pin board promoting
your brand. The key is finding what your
followers like.
· Being visible - for smaller businesses tight on
the budget or resources in terms of search
results, Pinterest can quite level the field. It helps
people in finding new products or brands that
people would not normally come across when
plugging keywords into search engines. Social
photo sharing reveals similarities in interests, by
checking out their pin boards one can probably
find the product he is looking for. It also allows a
variety of choices since results change as new
pins are updated.
· Creating links - a link is pulled out together
with the image every time someone pins from
your site. The chance for an image to be pinned
is multiplied building up a healthy amount of
backlinks. It is a natural place to promote small
business only, do so with caution. Followers
would not want a board spammed with nothing
but your own products. Self-promotion is allowed
just do it moderately to stay in the good graces
of the community.
Learning The Basics of Social
Photo Sharing With
Now what do we have here? A social photo sharing
where one "pins" images from the web and groups it
by collections or boards? Sounds appealing, what is
it? It's Pinterest, a virtual pin board just like the
interactive, shareable scrapbooks. Launched in
2009, the site allows users to create boards and do
social photo sharing of whatever interest one might
have.
Similar to other social networks, a user can follow
either users, share contents, tags and even make
comments. You can also get real-time post and
social photo sharing can easily be made even on
Twitter and Facebook.
Pinterest stands out among other main social
networks because most people use it to find
inspiration in areas like hosting a party, a wedding,
room and house renovations, or even cooking
recipes for enthusiasts. Pinterest leads people in
their buying decisions through source links to make
a purchase.
Let's see how does social photo sharing work in
Two of the most intimidate elements of social media
are visual content and sharing. In Pinterest, these
two are arranged by social photo sharing. Pins or
images are categorized by topic, called boards that
can be renamed or deleted depending on the user's
interest. There is an option to follow all of other
user’s boards and select certain boards to follow. If
you already have a twitter or Facebook account it
will make it much easier for you to find all your
friends and contacts that are already using Pinterest
www.acrbo.com 11
Win a Brand New Windows
Sysinternals Administrator’s
Reference book!
We will randomly choose a winner
and e-mail the winner.
Just send an email to
[email protected] and in the Subject
line put: Win Book
Last Months winner of the book is:
Mike Gargano of Overdrive
Computer Repair
If you own a computer business you can’t afford
not to be kept up to date with the latest news
and techniques being used by others. Check out
all the Podnutz series and see what you’ve been
missing. Visit www.PodNutz.com
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 12
It's Time To
Write Content
That Panda Loves
When we talk about Google Panda
content, there is no defined elaboration of
the term. Although Penguin update is now
on the platform to throw more realistic
aspects, Panda still enjoys its relevance
in the domain with quality and original
contents. This article illustrates the ways
in which you can add content that is
panda ready.
Be Original, Unique and New:
This is probably the most important
aspect that a content writer should think
while writing web contents or articles for
the business websites. Your readers are
very special to you so you must give them
an opportunity to read something good
and original. When you wrap up a topic in
the content, cover it in full details and
offer final insight to the audience. You
may add more creativity to the articles by
adding videos, slide-shows and images if
possible.
Highlight The Portions for Visibility:
All content has some striking points that
may attract readers instantly. Bold or
highlight them. You should also highlight
those content elements that are important
to the text. It will give a big impact to your
article if you highlight keywords within the
content. This will not only help search
engine bots to index your article efficiently
but also offers an opportunity to readers
to go across the important points of the
content.
Target Your Potential Audience Only:
Every website has a special business motive to
accomplish. You have to target only those customers who
are relevant to your business domain. Internet marketing
experts therefore write their contents by keeping the
requirements of the potential readers in the mind. All you
have to offer quality articles to your readers without losing
the core motive of paragraph optimization.
Add Heading Tags:
Proper headings and headlines play a significant role in the
article. For the main title of the article, highlight the titles
with the appropriate labels. Putting descriptive and
illustrative titles may serve more information to the user.
Include the keywords in the headings in very meaningful
manner and use them only if need arises.
Strict 'No' To Plagiarism:
Copied contents have no meaning in the contents and they
serve almost no purpose for the author and reader as well.
You are therefore advised not to copy content from
competitor or other sites in the domain. Search engines
don't like copied contents and hate to see duplicate content
in their index.
Include Social Media Gadgets:
A professional writer from the SEO content writing
company can also take advantage of the social media
platforms like Facebook and Twitter. There is no better
way if you want to spread your article among masses.
www.acrbo.com 13
What To Do During
Slow Days
Let us face it. There are days when our work
seems to be slow. And it does not really come
as a surprise, since lead generation can be a
highly seasonal form of work. Think about it,
there are times when you really have to work
overtime to generate B2B leads, but there are
also times when your day seems to be moving
so slow that there is practically no motivation
for you to generate business leads for that
day. In these cases, you might as well do
something else. But what tasks should you do
during these times? You might be surprised by
these suggestions, but they really will matter
to your business:
1. Work on your e-mails - believe me, you
will be in a much better mood once you have
organized your e-mails. You might have to
delete some of them, save some of them, or
you might have to send a reply. It will help
clear up your inbox, providing you more
space, as well as give you a sense of
fulfillment.
2. Call your clients - you can use this time to
do calls to your current clients. Ask them how
they are doing, whether the service they
received from you was good or not, as well as
any suggestions for improvements. You can
learn a great deal from them.
Just make sure that the people you call have the
time to talk to you,
Don’t make it a “sales” call…Make it a “I want you
to continue to be a customer call”.
3. Read and learn - think about those times
where you really have a some free time that can
be impractical to start a project or anything, but
you can use this time to read on some business
concepts, like in leadership and marketing, that
can help you improve. These short periods of
time can be maximized to your benefits if you
want to be a better employee. You just need to
read up some good materials.
4. Get out in the community – Take the time to
get out in the community and see what it going
on. Visit a few businesses and hand out some
business cards or just stop in and have a coffee
with some other business owners.
Free time does not have to be boring time. You
can use this period to do a lot of things that you
are not able to do when you are busy. Use this
period well, and you can make your life much
easier later.
www.acrbo.com 14
Good Time Management -
Essential Strategies Basically, in this situation examine why the
circumstance occurred, whether it is going to be
frequent and consider an action plan to prevent a
later incident.
Recognition of underperformance:
By this I mean the person who is performing less
well might not understand that they are. This may
cause dissatisfaction for you but will continue if you
don't do anything about it. In this situation there may
be many causes why the person performs less well.
For instance:
May they lack the necessary skills or expertise? Did
they totally grasp what was required of them? Did
they really do it or was the activity delegated? Has
their motivation declined? (see below)
You must speak to the person, privately, to
ascertain the facts and then go from there.
For example, plenty of documents could be
improved in their detail by distributing a draft to
concerned people to begin with.
Empowerment and motivation:
Performance, for good time management, is
strongly associated with motivation. Without it time
is squandered as effectiveness drops quickly. Why
should this be so?
Were they involved in the decision making
procedure or identification of the data demanded?
Were you courteous when you asked for them to
take up the task? Did you supply unclear data to an
individual who is unwilling to seek questions to shed
light on the situation? Does the individual have
personal concerns?
It might be easier to pinpoint a drop in commitment
for an individual that you collaborate with directly.
Be on the lookout for decreases in enthusiasm or a
basic lack of interest.
If you have employees working for you I am
sure you can relate to the article. Never
enough time and without completely
understand your employees and them you
then you will find yourself wasting valuable
time.
It is not always straightforward to plan against
a few activities that squander time. We deal
with a few examples for some of these.
Unpredictable problems:
A few problems are not simply eliminated and
their character will differ substantially. For
instance, you may acquire a report from an
associate and find that it contains a significant
amount of mistakes that you must amend.
Possibly a co-worker gets unwell and you
must take over their responsibilities at short
notice. You might need to accept the present
arrangement but suppose it happens again?
Whenever you uncover an unforeseeable
event that uses up your time think what you
can do to stop it.
Training:
Lack of training might have many aspects. It
might be a contributory feature in many
instances of poor time management. When
effectiveness is inadequate generally consider
if a shortage of coaching is at the heart of the
matter. Establish gaps and put a coaching
plan into action. Understand that training
takes time but should experience lasting
rewards.
In a worst case circumstance you might have
hired the wrong individual for the work.
Monitoring jobs:
Often errors happen due to inadequate
monitoring methods. Have mistakes
developed due to pressures or just a lack of
checking methods? It might be useful, for
good time management, to get another to
check the work, as a fresh eye could be
useful. This is a similar technique to
distributing a report for opinion before it is
completed.
Input and output:
Sometimes, asking for a certain piece of
information can be similar to the game of
Chinese whispers. What you ask for and what
is taken on board by the other person can be
completely different. Translation of your
directions can be a problem.
Ensure precision by calling for the person to
restate what you have requested. This might
include when, who, what, why and how? If
necessary put it in writing. This can be a very
helpful method when asking for quotations for
jobs at your house, for instance builders,
plumbers, decorators or gardeners etc. Verbal
requests are readily misinterpreted and
forgotten.
This area has the potential to cause irritation
and rancor if not managed appropriately.
Performance, for
good time
management, is
strongly
associated with
motivation.
Without it time is
squandered as
effectiveness
drops quickly.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 16
ACRBO Deals
Laptop Repair Videos
Some of you may have already heard
but Steve Cherubino has disclosed
that he is going to be coming out
with the NEW Computer Repair Tech
Website Builder.
Years ago Steve developed an easy
to build/edit website for computer
businesses and was greeted with
great success and praise from
business owners.
Realizing the market has changed
Steve has done a total revamp to the
Tech Website Builder and it should
be released very soon…
Below is a picture of the old format
that was used with great success.
Really looking forward to this new
release.
STAY TUNED
Computer Repair
Tech Website
Builder
Instant Housecall
Thinking about
working on
Laptops? Then
you need this
package
View and control remote PCs
from anywhere without
preinstalled software. Full
featured, up to 10 concurrent
sessions, branded with your
company logo. Subscription or
one-time prurchase. Easy for
your customers. Powerful for
your business
“Going into business for yourself, becoming an entrepreneur, is the
modern-day equivalent of pioneering on the old frontier.” Paula Nelson
Free Trial:
www.instanthousecall.com/free-trial
More Information:
www.instanthousecall.com
Contact: 1-888-838-4050/
Visit
www.LaptopRepairVideos.com
ACRBO Preferred
Vendor
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
ACRBO Preferred
Vendor
3 Ways To Get Website Traffic That Are Still
Popular
So... would you consider yourself to be a
marketing expert? If you didn't already
know, what's more important to be a
marketing expert than it is to be an expert
at what you do. If no one sees your
website and your great work, then how will
you get exposure for your website?
Because of this question, I want to share with
you a few ways that you can get traffic to your
website, and get the exposure that you are
looking for. Getting website traffic isn't hard,
you just have to stick with it over the long
term. Here's the first traffic method:
1) Blogging and pinging
This is a very easy concept and strategy to
include in your marketing strategy. What you
want to do is write 1 new blog post per day,
and ping the major search engine services
each time you finish completing a post. If you
have a "Blogger" blog, you will have to use a
site like "pingomatic" to ping your blog. If you
have a WordPress blog, you can have it set
up that you ping all of the major search
engine services automatically after each post
that you make. Here's another traffic strategy
that I like:
2) Article marketing
There are many article directories on the
internet but only 1 or 2 of them will get you
the bulk of the article marketing traffic out
there. To do this technique effectively, you
will have to write up a 400+ word article on a
given subject (related to your website), and
submit it to the top article directories.
Some people say that article marketing has taken a hit,
and some people say that it is working better than ever
now for them. For a lot of marketers online, article
marketing is the backbone or the cornerstone of their
online business. You never want to rely on just 1
marketing source - but this is something that you will
definitely want to add in your plan. Here's another way
to get quality traffic to your website:
3) Search engine marketing
Search engine marketing or search engine optimization
(SEO) is something that can bring you incredible
amounts of traffic to your website. The key with search
engine marketing is that you find low competition
keywords that you can build and create articles and
content around.
There are many books on search engine marketing
because the largest search engine (Google) constantly
changes its algorithm to provide for a better search
experience for their users. And this is a good thing that
Google is trying to do. When I'm not trying to sell
anything and I'm just looking on Google for a particular
piece of information, I want the best website as
possible.
Search engine marketing still works despite the
algorithm changes, so you will want to continue to
practice it if you want to get more new sales and profits
for your internet business. It's a good thing to do.
Take these 3 traffic strategies and put them to work in
your online business today.
Good luck with getting traffic to your website.
For a lot of marketers online, article
marketing is the backbone or the
cornerstone of their business.
www.acrbo.com 19
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
ACRBO marketplace
PC Dice Contact: [email protected]
A great gift for that tech you
know. Or even better take them
on site with you and amaze
your customers.
Veteran Web Hosting Contact [email protected]
ContactUs Hosting – Domain Names –
Yearly Packages (ACRBO
Discount)
Linux For The Rest Of Us
- Do you want to stay ahead of the
computer curve so that you don't feel left
in the dust?
- Do you want to expand your knowledge
so that YOU are that technician who
people go to for advice?
- Do you want to learn an operating system
so powerful and fun you'll wonder how
you lived without it? Your Ad here Contact [email protected]
Let Us Know > Want to see your ad here? Drop us
an email.
“If you don’t have a competitive advantage,
don’t compete.” Jack Welch
Visit
www.VeteranWebHosting.net
Visit www.PcDice.com
Visit www.LinuxForTheRestOfUs.com
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 23
ABOUT THE NEXTDAYPC RESELLER PROGRAM ---------------------------- NextDayPC.com is the premier product procurement partner for IT Resellers (VAR’s) and solution providers serving the small and medium market as well as educational and government organizations. NextDayPC supplies over 450,000 name-brand computer, electronics, and office products by combining the product inventories of fifteen of the largest US IT distributors . NextDayPC’s business model creates the following advantages for its resellers:
• Low cost, wholesale pricing through the aggregation of purchase volumes from its reseller network
• Expanded working capital leverage through NextDayPC’s agency model
• Flexibility to set markup and margin by reseller
• Fully automated bid proposal tools Build to Order (BTO) configurators
• Financial Services and tools (Net 30 Terms, Leasing and Credit Card Processing)
• Reseller-branded or co-branded web sites (instant e-commerce capabilities)
• Free access to tailored business tools, commission administration, and other back-office support
Visit us today at http://www.resellersonly.com If asked, use activation code: 9D4CBD
I've been a member of NDPC for almost 12 years... I started using this tool to increase my sales and to have access to a distributor without having the need to purchase in bulk quantities, although this is allowed. Over the years I really wanted to be more competitive with the bigger stores, but soon realized that is not possible with this store. NDPC is not designed to help the small business owner be competitive but rather give the business a tool to allow him/her give their customer the best possible service and still make a few dollars on commission for each sale. We need to keep in mind that the bigger stores purchase their product from the distributors at a bulk discount and resell at the MSRP (Manufacture Suggested Retail Price). Then they set their discount sales from that price enabling them to still have a profit because they purchased the product at a bulk discounted rate. In order for the small business owner to compete with the bigger stores, we would need to purchase product at a bulk discounted rate therefore passing the savings on to the customer. So in the end, you can do what many small business owners have done... either use NDPC exclusively or research for the best prices at www.priceline.com or use both. Personally, I use both with the understanding that NDPC will never give me the competitive prices that some of my customers demand from me, and the ones that don't demand the lower prices are just happy their computer is getting fixed and are happy to pay the price to have it fixed.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 24
IT Professionals/VAR's/Consultants
Selection, price, product availability and speed of
delivery are the main reasons why most of
NextDayPC’s 8,000+ resellers have joined the
company. Free back-office tools, financial
services and e-commerce solutions are why they
will never leave NextDayPC.
NextDayPC.com is the premier product
procurement partner for IT Resellers (VAR’s) and
solution providers serving the small and medium
market as well as educational and government
organizations. NextDayPC supplies over 450,000
name-brand computer, electronics, and office
products by combining the product inventories of
fifteen of the largest US IT distributors. As a
result, it offers the broadest range of products to
its nationwide network of IT resellers. In addition,
NextDayPC’s unique ‘agency model’ reduces the
resellers’ working capital requirements by
allowing them to own the sales transaction, and
earn a profit margin on it, without taking title of
the products. Therefore, NextDayPC’s resellers
are able to efficiently and effectively service their
end customers through NextDayPC, while
focusing on their higher margin service business.
NextDayPC’s business model creates the
following advantages for its resellers:
• Low cost, wholesale pricing through the
aggregation of purchase volumes from its reseller
network
• Expanded working capital leverage
through NextDayPC’s agency model
• Flexibility to set markup and margin by
reseller
• Fully automated bid proposal tools Build
to Order (BTO) configurators
• Financial Services and tools (Net 30
Terms, Leasing and Credit Card Processing)
• Reseller-branded or co-branded web sites
(instant e-commerce capabilities)
• Free access to tailored business tools,
commission administration, and other back-office
support
Why Join?
Our service is free.
Only if we can assist you to make sales with
commissions for yourself through any of our tools
we deduct a Reseller Fulfillment Fee of 2% (min.
$2 per order) from your commission checks. In
other words, you never get a bill from us and this
fee only applies if we are about to send you a
commission check.
An alternative product source for your company
.Through our proprietary software we are able to
offer you the best availability and very
competitive prices, every day. The @MyCost
section of our site lists over 300,000 products
with images and descriptions.
Over 625,000 brand name products to choose
from.
We currently have over 625,000 products to
choose from including Built-to-order PC's, servers
and Notebooks, and our catalog constantly grows
as new products hit the market.
Team building pays.
You can sign up your own team of resellers. You
will receive 1% of every sale that they make.
Free co-branding.
You'll get a free storefront as soon as you sign
up. Commissions on the storefront can be as low
as 0% or as high as you wish on all our products,
and you can change it at any time.
Free sales and administrative tools.
A large suite of cutting edge tools.
Our interface offers you the tools that fit your
customers and contracts, and we are constantly
creating more.
Our partners have immediate access to all
information in their private accounts with us, and
can track any and all purchasing activities of their
customers in seconds.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 25
Site: www.TechNibble.com
Who Is Technibble For?
Technibble is a free resource for Computer
Technicians and Computer Business Owners.
Technibble helps computer technicians with
information and how-to-articles published a few
times a week and has a strong community of
Computer Technicians to help one another.
Technibble helps you by covering topics such as:
- How to start a Computer Business
- Advertising, how to get clients and keep them
- Business and legal issues
- Streamline your computer repair work
- Technician related product reviews and discounts
- New opportunities to look out for
- Stories from “the trenches” from your fellow
Computer Techs
Technibble also has a large database of Computer
Repair tools and adds a new on to its database
every week.
Be sure to check out the Archives, Computer
Repair Tools section and the Computer
Technician forum. .
www.Technibble.com
The Industry If you are in the Information Technology industry then below is a list of must visit locations
Site: www.TheForceField.net
What is The Force Field?
The Force Field is the name of a podcast for IT Service Professionals, IT consultants, VARs, computer shops and anyone else in the technology field, particularly those who offer products and services to end users.
The half hour show is produced by Savoia Media and hosted by Rick Savoia, an IT Service Professional who is also a veteran in the broadcast industry.
Your Ad here Contact [email protected]
Let Us Know > Want to see your ad here? Drop us an email.
ISSUE 008 JULY 2012
www.acrbo.com 26
Dennis Drew [email protected] Now available for Android and iPhones
Put simply, an app makes things easier; they make accessing information quicker and more
convenient for the user. The app market caters for everyone, apps can help customers find you,
find out more about your business and interact with you. Businesses are now putting faith in
apps to generate revenue, raise brand awareness and increase user engagement. I compare it
to the internet came about and people were wondering “Do I really need a website?”. The same
can be asked of apps, and to me the answer is yes. If it’s affordable and doable why not
implement it into your business.
Pricing is: $50 for just the Android app, $125 for the iPhone version, or $150 for both
(Prices reflect ACRBO membership discount)
Contact Dennis Drew [email protected] for more information
Business Apps
www.acrbo.com 27