Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/business-website-design-vs-quality-content/.

Start-up entrepreneurs, especially the home based small business owners often ask me this question “Does a small business website design and layout really matter?” Yes, it does. If you can afford to hire a professional website designer to develop and manage your business website set-up, it is good and worth the cost. The simple reason been that a professionally made business website design will give your small business website that unique look that separates it from the millions of websites on the net. You sure don’t want to be lost in the crowd

However, when starting a small business website, I strongly advise you to worry less about website design and work more on getting quality content for your business website. The average online visitor wishes to spend less than 60seconds on each site he or she visits. So, you have a hard job to keep him or her long enough to pass your marketing message.

If you have spent at least a month online as an online entrepreneur,  (internet marketer) you would have learnt that getting visitors to a new website is a herculean task, except if you are ready to pay for traffic (using services like Google Adword, Bidvertiser, Text-Ad-Link etc). If you are not willing to pay for traffic, then you need to be an expert in satisfying your website visitors so that they will visit again and again and tell others about your small business website.

A beautiful business website with professional design showing all the desirable eye candy (dynamic html, beautiful graphics, flash presentation, video clips, audio podcast etc), will not make up for poor content. Have you not visited one or two business websites that looks so promising because of their beautiful design but left disappointed because they simply had nothing to offer you? I have visited many. It can be very upsetting for visitors to discover that the website that looks so promising is actually lacking in quality content.

So, if you ask me, a website rich in Quality Content is way better off and will get better result than a professionally designed website that lacks useful content.

More reasons why an entrepreneur should choose quality content over website design:

• Professionally designed website can be quite expensive.
• Quality Content brings and keeps visitors (Google searches for quality contents and send free traffic to such) while professionally designed template only appeal to visitors when stumbled upon (they must be discovered first) and they lack the power to keep visitors or motivate them to return.
• Quality Content can generate money and pay the bills while a professional template alone does not guarantee income.
• If I have not convinced you yet, then consider this. Google is one of the most popular website online as at today, but it is as simple in design as any website can be. Yet, you cannot compare any other site to Google when it comes to satisfying visitors needs.

So to be a successful entrepreneur, you must focus on  satisfying your visitors needs by providing quality content. Soon enough, you will earn enough from your effort to employ the service of a professional website designer to add all the eye candy that your heart desires. That way, you end up having the two and that is the best for any small business owner. You can bet Nigerian Entrepreneur is moving towards that goal.

If you still insist on having a professionally designed website for your small business right from start, and you are not willing to pay a fortune to hire a professional to design your website template, then I highly recommend you visit Revolution Themes They have some free Wordpress themes that you can easily customize to fit your need. By the way, I should warn you not to fall into the trap of spending endless hours tweaking a free theme to get that perfect design you want. It is not worth it!

I discovered the hard way that tweaking a free theme by yourself can be so time consuming and energy sapping. For over three months, I have desired to change from my former website design, a Remix Premium theme to another theme because I was unable to make something function well in that theme. (The multi-tab that contained my Archives, Categories and Recent Post was not displaying properly in IE, though it displays well in Firefox).

Getting a free theme that fits my needs was difficult. I spent hours endlessly searching and trying out some themes. Eventually, yesterday, I stumbled on Revolution Theme 2 and I got a theme that fits my needs. So, Nigerian Entrepreneur now wears a new look. I hope my regular readers love this theme.

If you are new here, thanks for visiting, I look forward to seeing you again. and again You can drop your comment below. Also, you can easily get updates to this post and other tips for Small Business Owners and Online Entrepreneurs by subscribing free to my RSS.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/make-money-online-promote-local-small-scale-businesses/.

Make Money Online, by Promoting Local Small Scale Businesses. You can earn easy money by advertising Small Scale Businesses Online. African Entrepreneurs are not as tech savvy as their counterparts in the developed nations. The only thing some of them know about the internet is that con artists use the internet to defraud people abroad.

In Nigeria an estimated ninety percent or more of small scale businesses conduct their business transactions offline. Searching for their name in Google will produce no result. Many of the Nigerian Entrepreneurs in this category knows next to nothing about the great potential that online advertisement offers.

Hope you are getting the gist. This obvious need for web presence among the local small scale entrepreneurs in Africa is a wonderful opportunity for any online entrepreneur. You can easily package an offer and make presentation to such local entrepreneurs who are only doing their business offline!

If you are able to get the following four points across to them, you will surely get some for clients:

1. Yellow pages, Television and Radio Advertisement are no longer as effective as they used to be. People now search for information using Google! And it cost a tiny fraction of what they already spend on TV and Radio to advertise online!
2. Small scale businesses that do not have their presence online will soon find themselves at a great disadvantage against business competitors.
3. It is an established fact that more and more Africans are getting online to search for information. Some are getting used to conducting their transactions online via internet enabled cell-phones.
4. Every small scale entrepreneur, be it a chef, plumber, hairdresser, grocery seller etc, can have a presence online so as to capture the local market effectively. Why will I go out looking for a grocery store that offers my special body cream when I can simply use Google to search for such?

The business opportunities that can be developed from this NEED are quite numerous, but let’s quickly look at three of them that easily come to mind:

• Offer cheap website design and hosting for small scale business. An all inclusive package works best.
• Develop a localized website portal that serves as an online yellow page.
• Offer webmaster services to businessmen who already own websites but hate doing the technical stuffs.

Let’s face it, you only need to scratch your head a little and you will get an opportunity you can work on. I’m already working on this idea and I have two local businessmen as my clients already! It took less than a day to convince those too to buy my service, and do I need tell you that it is a profitable business! Hey, give it a shot, you too can start earning money online legitimately. These idea does not even require PayPal. (You can collect local cheque or physical cash, if that makes you really comfortable as a Naija Infopreneur!). Those local small scale business owners will love you for helping them promote their business to the millions out there. If you need assistance in any way, drop a note here at Nigerian Entrepreneur, I will be willing to give all the help I can. See you at the top! Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/create-wealth-from-real-assets-not-accounting-entries/.

Does your business create true wealth by building assets and adding real value to the society? Does your business create wealth from accounting entries? What really does your business contribute to the society? Please do not get me wrong. Services such as medical practice is considered as real value adding products in the context of this article. However, some activities adds nothing and yet they “demand” the lion share of the cake!

I just read an article written by PACE. It was a good read as it provoked me into deep thought about the activities of several business enterprises in Nigeria. I encourage you to read the article, Burble Burst or Wealth Re-distribution?

For some years now, the agricultural, manufacturing and other sectors in Nigeria have been struggling to survive due to poor infrastructures and other challenges that are almost insurmountable. Funny enough, the financial sector, especially the banking sector has been declaring astronomical figures as turnover and profits at the end of each financial year.

The question that comes to my mind is, where do they get the profit from? If the real wealth producing sectors that the financial institutions are meant to service are not doing well, where do the high profit come from? Well, PACE gave a wonderful analogy which explains the situation in layman terms. The banking and other financial institutes in Nigeria have been creating “fictitious money” through double accounting entries.

Yes, while the real asset producing sectors are dying, the bankers are getting wealthier by cheer double entry accounting. They are helping to create more debtors in the system, and guess what, the chunk of the liability is owed to the bankers. So while the manufacturers, the agriculturists, and other artisans are impoverished and struggling to survive, the bankers are getting richer.

Now I understand better, how they can afford to spend lavishly on Porsche cars, expensive mansions and other luxury while they actually add nothing to the real asset of the nation. If you are a businessman, and you have been hoping of striking it rich by using this method, the recent crash in the stock market should serve as a lesson to you. If the banking sector do not change their methodology soon and very soon the bubble will get busted and they will be in real trouble!

Get productive. Add real value to the society. Exploiting people’s ignorance to get rich quick cannot build you an enduring business empire. It is just a matter of time, the bubble will get busted. It is obvious to me that the banking sector in Nigeria are already heading for trouble. That is why they look for every avenue to charge for all manner of services that are meant to be free. If you have not noticed, they have cooked up all manner of transaction fees that are not approved by the Central Bank. The charges comes with funny names e.g. Ledger charges for the month!

To the best of my knowledge, they have done nothing to help the Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. Instead, they exploit their customers and help those who loot the national treasury cart away the nations wealth to foreign countries. I know my friends who work in those financial institutions won’t like this. But the truth must be told. Nigerian banks should create real wealth by helping the real sector to grow. Stop creating wealth by manipulating accounting entries!

Feel free to drop your view in the comment section. You don’t have to agree with me, who knows I might learn a tip or two from your view. Thanks for visiting.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/pepperjam-network-for-newbie-affiliate-marketers/.

Are you a Nigerian looking for ways to make honest income online? You probably have been hearing about affiliate marketing and the opportunities it provides for earning money online. The news is true, but often times, where to start from can be so confusing for a newbie. Well, you need not get confuse anymore.

If you are desirous of earning honest cash online and you do not know where to start from, I have good news for you. PepperjamNetwork offers an affiliate program that is specially designed to meet your need.

PepperjamNetwork is a 3rd party solution that brings publishers (webmasters) and advertisers together. PepperjamNetwork represents the next generation of affiliate marketing that provides several tools  that makes the interaction between publishers and advertisers less stressful. The network provides the following tools, a user-friendly Web 2.0 interface, communication tools (i.e. Pepperjam Chat), an educational resource center (The Pepperjam Knowledge Vault), and full and unfettered affiliate transparency (the Pepperjam Transparency Meter). The program is designed in such a way that you have opportunities from various well established online businesses.

All you need to do is register with PepperjamNetwork by clicking the image below.

After your successful registration, you will receive a free tutorial on how the system works.

How do I earn affiliate commission?

You can earn affiliate commission by promoting any of the following for an advertiser;

• text links - Simple text links that leads to the adveritser product or service when clicked.
• product feeds - RSS feeds about the advertiser product or service
• pepperjamADS™ - A special widget that displays products and services of advertisers on your site
• banners - different sizes of banners e.g 125×125, 100×100 etc.
• dynamic rich media - flash, video and other media
• e-mail - You can even promote affiliate links via email (but you must not SPAM!)

Quite simple, beside this, you can also write reviews for products and services on your website and get paid for doing so. Earnings is calclulated based on either CPA (cost per action) basis or percentage of sales. Either way, you stand to earn good residual income.

Since registeration is free, I encourage you to try this out, PepperjamNetwork. You loose nothing but stand to gain. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/why-did-you-start-your-business/.

Why did you start your business? What made you choose the entrepreneurial path? I hope your answer is not any of the following:

• I wanted to be my own boss.
• I wanted to earn more money.
• I wanted to be free from the 9a.m to 5p.m daily routine.
• This business is the most lucrative I could start.
• I have the technical skill to do the business. etc

For some days now, I have been reading the E-Myth Revisited written by Michael Geber. It has been a real eye opener and I will strongly recommend it to any newbie entrepreneur who really want to achieve TRUE SUCCESS! Well, this is not a book or product review (though I will gladly do one for the book, it is worth it). This is an attempt to share one of the lessons that I have learned in the book.

Have you ever asked yourself what you really want in Life? I have come to understand that you cannot really be happy in life if all you do is labor for SUCCESS, when you do not have a personal definition of what SUCCESS mean to you. I am not talking about dictionary definition. As at today, if you ask Barack Obama for the definition of success, I guess his answer will be “I want to become the next Amercian President”. Meanwhile, some folk do not (I am not talking about pretenders) want anything to do with the American White House! Some guys want to visit Mars before they die, that to them is success.

So, trust me on this one. Nobody on earth can define SUCCESS for you. You are the only one that can define what SUCCESS in life means to you. As our faces differs, so our desires, passions and aspiration defers. It is quiet unfortunate that our parents and friends out of ignorance tries to define for us what SUCCESS is. That is the reason why so many people die UNFULFILLED!

Too many people are struggling and striving to achieve goals that were not set by them. They have long lost the vision of what they actually wanted in life and are now attempting to live others dream and daily labor for achievements they have no passion for.

Let me use myself as an example. Right from small, I have always been passionate about knowledge and I am quite enthusiastic about sharing what I know (even when it is little). I discover at a very early stage in my life that whenever I attempt to teach others the little I know, my wealth of knowledge increases. So, what kind of career am I supposed to undertake! Education right!

Well, I wanted to follow my heart (even though I lack the understanding that I have now as at then). Unfortunately, my guardian discouraged me! It was all out of a good and sincere intention. He wanted me to become successful in life. He pointed out that I will become an average Nigerian citizen and struggle financially if I choose Education as a career. So, I changed my course of study and went for a course that guarantees a blue collar job. Do I now consider myself successful?

On the job, I do well. My colleagues and friends commend my contributions to the organization. However, like Micheal Geber pointed out in his book, my spirit is not happy! Yes, you heard me right, I am earning good salary, but I am not feeling fulfilled because, my childhood dreams have been bottled up all this while. I did not give expression to them!

I have learned in a hard way that it is not all about money. My LIfe Dream is more important than wealth accumulation. I guess you have heard stories of wealthy millionaires who commits suicide because they were unhappy with their life! Sounds weird, but it is true. You can have money and yet be miserable.  If you are not working to achieve your life dream, you will end up feeling frustrated and unfullfilled in your old age.

I have made some drastic changes and I am currently drawing up a blueprint for what I want to do with the rest of my life. I am not going to live another’s dream. I am going to give expression to those childhood dreams that have been abandoned for so long. It is time to fulfill my God’s given assignment to this earth. My business will only be a tool in accomplishing that goal. So, I cannot be a slave to the business!  In  some future posts, I will share with you what I have learned about how an entrepreneur should run a business and not getting ruined by the business!

So, I ask you again, Why did you start your business? Did you start a particular business because you felt it is lucrative? You may just be laboring for nothing. I strongly suggest that you sit down and ask yourself sincerely, “What do I want in Life?” When you have answered that question without any interference from anybody, then you can now ask the next question.

What business can help me achieve my Life Dream? Yes, your business should help you achieve your life dream. It should give you an opportunity to express yourself as a human being. Business should not be an end in itself. It should not turn you to a slave that labors and suffer health problems due to overwork. Your business should be a tool for realizing your dream about life. Then and only then will you find fulfillment as an entrepreneur.

I will love to hear your personal opinion on this one. Please share with us  your views on this issue by dropping a comment.  Critisism of my views are equally welcome. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/free-jonathan-elendu-now/.

Some days ago, I wrote about Jonathan Elendu’s. He is a Nigerian blogger who lives in US. He was arrested by the Nigerian State Security Service, SSS and detained for days. Recent news from his family has it that he has been released from SSS custody and is currently undergoing medical treatment.

I wish to use this post to express my gratitude as a Nigerian to all those who contributed to the pressure that led to his release from detention. May the Lord bless you all for adding your voice to cry out for justice for this blogger.

Unfortunately, Mr. Elendu is not yet totally FREE since his traveling documents are yet to be returned to him. He is currently stuck in Nigeria while his wife and child are in US where he reside. Nigerian bloggers at home and abroad have been creating awareness on this issue and have done much to attract the attention of the international community to the plight of Elendu.

I am neither a lawyer nor a judge, but I strongly belief that in all cases, the rule of law and the provisions of the constitution must be upheld. Nigeria will have a better international image (without spending a dime for image laundry) if we simply uphold INTEGRITY! We must all operate under the provision of the Nigerian constitution. Setting aside the constitution for whatever reason creates a very terrible image about us to the international community. We must not be seen as a nation that has no respect for Human Rights!

If the SSS are not willing to charge Mr. Jonathan Elendu to court for whatever offense they claim he committed, then they should return his traveling documents immediately so that he can rejoin his wife and child that are living in US. I have been troubled about the trauma the spouse and child of this blogger has been subjected to due to none adherence to the rule of law by the SSS. We are not under a military rule. So, nobody should act as if he or she is above the law.

Please join your voice to the cry for justice by dropping a comment. Remember, Evil thrives when good people keep quiet and watch!

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/revisiting-the-foundation/.

When progress slows down to a halt, what do you do? In practical day to day living, there comes a time when all that you know seems to fail at getting you across a particular threshold. You just feel stuck! You have no clue what went wrong and how to get going (maybe that sounds familiar). Well, that is what happened to me of recent.

I sit before my computer and I am blank. Yes, I practically have no clue what I should write about. Even though things are happening around me, I just do not feel like writing about them. However, whenever I visit other blogs or forums, the inspiration flows as my fingers dances up and down on the keyboard (I am an amateur touch typist, doing 50wpm). Some comments I make on other peoples’ site can as well pass for a short post.

This was worrisome, so I decided to take a break and revisit my foundation. I will tell you what I discovered. I had a goal to build an online business and it was well spelled out. However, the zeal and energy I have expended in bringing it to reality was that of a novice in the industry. The veterans in the field knows that internet rewards patience and persistence. Even though the technology that drives internet is at the speed of light, for a new entrepreneur, getting result online may be at snail speed at first, and you just need to be patience. Never compare yourself with those gurus who have spent five years learning the rope!

I have learned that it is better you allow a natural growth rather than a hurried growth. Haste, will get you wearied and exhausted. You will hit the “burnout” or “writer block” sooner than is natural. So what is the way forward.

Well, I am revisiting the foundation of my online business. I am busy reading what the experienced online entrepreneurs have to say about creating a successful venture online. I want a business that runs as a system, not another JOB! As I read, I ask myself if my business is built on those tried and tested principles or some fallacies I dreamed up out of ignorance.

Rich Schefren’s recent free report “The Entrepreneurial Emergency” has been of tremendous help. After finishing the report, I decided to read, The E-Myth. I have gone half way, and I can sincerely say that the lessons in the book is a must for any serious minded entrepreneur. I particularly love the conversational method with which the lessons were presented.

I have been reading the newsletter from Yaro Starak also, those have cured me of my tendency to always want a perfect post or nothing! Yaro was empatic on the fact that a blogger must not always shun out PERFECT posts. Just be real, educative, entertaining and focus on the need of your readers. This is encouraging to me. I am actually using this post to test the weight of his suggestion. I am going to do more post in the RAMBLING categories in the future. Of course, I will still regularly shun out well researched posts that will be of tremendous help to my readers.

Ok, I have said enough, I promise you that you can look forward to a better blog offering richer content because I am learning to be a better entrepreneur and a reader friendly blogger. Thanks for visiting and expressing your views in the comment section. It keeps me going even when the going seems tough. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/nigerian-blogger-arrested/.

Jonathan Elendu a Nigerian blogger who is based in US was arrested on Saturday 18th October upon arrival in Nigeria, for “sponsoring a guerrilla news agency”. When Nigerian Curiosity dropped a note for me on the issue, I thought it was a joke, but alas it is real!

Jonathan Elendu is the blogger behind Elendu Reports. His writings focus on events happening in Nigeria and his articles covers activities of political office holders. I am not a fan of political news, and I simply prefer talking about financial survival in Nigeria above other national issues. However, I owe a duty to my conscience to decry this infringement of Mr. Jonathan Elendu’s basic human right. If he has committed a crime, he should be charged to court and not held indefinitely while being denied access to his family.

Article 19 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights says

“Everyone has right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

The spoke-person for the SSS was quoted as saying that Elendu activities have generated “national security issues” Everyone is wondering how the articles on Elendu Reports can be classified as such. If he is being held for another reason, it is necessary that the SSS make a press statement. Meanwhile, he should be charged to court immediately so that he can enforce his rights. The Nigerian constitution does not permit holding a citizen beyond 24hours! The SSS is not above the law (I hope).

I hereby call on all fellow Naija brothers and sisters at home and abroad to cry against this inhuman treatment of a fellow Nigerian.  We must not go back to the pre-1999 days, when anything can be classified as “Treasonable Offense”

Nigerian Curiosity is keeping an update on this issue. Committee To Protect Bloggers is also keeping an update. Please do what you can. Digg, Stumble this post or any of the two links to create awareness online and attract the attention of the international community to intervene and press for the release of Jonathan Elendu. Remember, evil thrives when good people keep quiet!

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/stock-market-crash-2008-to-hold-or-sell/.

All over the world, the recent economic depression is biting hard on shareholders. The stock market in Nigeria is badly affected too. Musa Al-Faki, the Director General of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission claimed that over 3trillion naira has already been lost in the past seven months. Some of my friends are selling off their investments in the stock market at huge loss! As, I watch the trend, I remember the lesson I learned sometime ago from a stockbroker. The Stock Market worldwide follows the same trend over decades. There will always be a crash sometime some date! Remember the market crash of 1987, some thought that was the end. Well, we lived through it.

So, the market has crashed again! Too bad, many are badly burnt financially, including yours sincerely. Many are selling off their investments at a loss out of panic. But is that the right thing to do? That same stockbroker teacher thought me not to panic whenever the market crashes. It is a matter of time, it will pick up again. It may not be as fast as you desire as an investor, but check the history books, you will confirm that it always does.

The financial news media are already reporting some slight improvement in the international financial market. So, it is advisable that you think twice before you hurriedly sell off your investments for peanuts. You may actually regret that decision in another six months down the line.

So like a wise entrepreneur, it is time to weigh your options carefully and take a decision that you are willing to take responsibility for. Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion. For expert information, consult your Accountant or Financial Adviser. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/fighting-poverty-in-nigeria/.

There is a global call to action today. Bloggers, great and small are called upon to examine poverty and share ideas on how it can be eliminated. It is a good opportunity for me to air my view about the pathetic approaches being use to fight poverty in Nigeria.

Cash Gifts to Unemployed Youth

This is the most foolish of all the attempts at eliminating poverty. The method is crude and produces negative result. States in Nigeria that employ this method (often tagged Poverty Alleviation Schemes) end up incurring budget deficits without producing any significant result (of course half of the amount budgeted for such schemes disappear into private pockets of greedy politicians). I see these schemes as a foolish policy. Foreign nations that support such schemes are not helping Nigerians in any way.

Grants for Small Scale Entrepreneurs

This policy has some merits, but there are too many hurdles for a newbie entrepreneur to overcome. Government agencies that handle this programs are poorly positioned to offer quality services. Often times, the mentors appointed for the newbie entrepreneurs are selected based on political affiliation, rather than experience. Too many youth that received such grants ended up frustrated as the grants gets finished before the business could break-even.

So what do I recommend?

I recommend just two things. First, get the people empowered with the right knowledge. Then, eliminate two of the major constrains that has been hampering the survival of small enterprises.

Fighting Poverty With Quality Education

Too many Nigerians are getting trained for jobs that no longer exist. Yes, what is the usefulness of producing graduates for a market that is already saturated. It is high time that our society (not just the government) take a second look at our educational curriculums.

Imagine what it will be like if children are given practical lessons on how to earn a living by employing their hands and intellect. Gone are the days when Diploma, Certificates and Degrees guarantee stable employment and food on the table. It is time to face the stark reality and re-strategize.

We desperately need to start learning how to create jobs from the opportunities that lies around us instead of wasting our lives waiting for government grants.

To the best of my knowledge, the government of President Y’aradua should concentrate on just two things and posterity will write his name in gold. Get rid of the two monsters that is terrorizing Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria. Epileptic Power supply and bad roads!

Fighting Poverty With Stable Electricity

Like it or not. A colossal waste is being made of our resources due to epileptic power supply. There will be more business, more profit and invariably more opportunities for employment if all the fund being spent on fueling electricity generators are saved by Nigerian Entrepreneurs. Yours sincerely spend between $400 to $500 monthly to fuel generator.

Fighting Poverty With Good Roads

Inability of the government to provide and maintain good roads has crippled many enterprises in Nigeria. The cost of moving goods and personnel around in Nigeria is simply expensive. Cost of maintenance of motor vehicles is quite high due to high ware and tear from poorly maintained roads. Also, so much man-hours gets wasted due to road congestion.

If this two ugly monsters are eliminated by the government, the goal of poverty elimination would have been half-solved.

If you have some ideas other than those listed above, do well to share with us in a comment. Nigeria must be built by Nigerian. Waiting for foreign aids is waste of time. We have enough resources lying around that we can harness and use to move this nation forward. I am proudly Nigerian.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/internet-marketing/.

Millions of people come online daily. Gone are the days when only the rich can use internet. Now, it is possible for anyone with few dollars to connect to the internet and seek to make a fortune. Many newbie entrepreneurs want to be an internet marketer. I receive mails from readers who want to know how one can become an internet marketer. The sudden interest in internet marketing should not come as a surprise though.

Statistics shows that Internet marketing as of 2007 is growing faster than other types of media. In this new millennium, online advertising has grown to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually. PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that US$16.9 billion was spent on Internet marketing in the U.S. alone, in the year 2006.

A quick look at the ongoing electoral process in US shows that Internet marketing is playing a major role. The candidates for US 2008 Presidential election are utilizing Internet marketing strategies to reach constituents. You will be amazed at the level of awareness in remote places in the African and Asian countries about the progress being made by the various candidates .

So What is Internet Marketing?
We need to first get rid of some wrong conceptions. A lot of people view internet marketing as disjointed activities. Some ignorantly view internet marketing as having a website where you paste banners and text advertisements.

Others see it as a process of using technology to cajole consumers into purchasing products or services they have no need of. That is not internet marketing. In the short-term it may produce a little income, but in the long-term, that business must crash.

Many newbie internet marketers are wondering why they are not succeeding. The answer is simple, they have no clue what internet marketing is all about. They are like a man trying to appreciate what an elephant looks like while he is blindfolded.

Internet marketing is effective when there is a comprehensive strategy that makes optimal use of an entrepreneurs resources to achieve set goals. The business sales goals must be well represented by its website in function and appearance. The focus must be that of satisfying consumers needs.

You will be better off if you understand what internet marketing is all about and what makes it work. So, lets start by looking at the key terms INTERNET and MARKETING.

What is Internet?
I thought you already know. Well, if you insist on getting a definition from me, it is The huge network of computers connecting millions of users from more than 100 countries across the globe. Allowing them to exchange and share data, news and opinions in real time. Okay, if that wasn’t simple enough, it is what brought you to this website. You can forget about all the technical terms. If you can find your way to  www.naijaecash.com, you already know enough of internet for a start.

What is Marketing?
Permit me to share a little background information. When I was undergoing my undergraduate studies, I was taught by my Professors that :

Marketing is the process of persuading potential customers and clients to be interested in your product or service.

I enjoyed those classes because of the psychological tips that were taught. I actually viewed those tips as the magic formula for selling anything to anybody whether they need it or not. My Professors emphasized on the need to work tirelessly on the Four Key components that makes for a successful marketing plan.

• Products and Services - Get a great product or service that is well packaged.
• Promotion - Use the best means to drive home awareness about your product.
• Distribution - Employ the most effective distribution channel you can find.
• Pricing - Beat the competition to it by selling at a lower price.

Well, I accepted those teaching and learned how to reproduce them on paper during examinations.  So I was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree with honors after four years. That makes me an expert you assume. Just hang on. You’ll soon judge me better.

It is just a little over a decade that I sat under those Professors, and behold, almost all those information given to me has become obsolete and irrelevant due to the constant changes in our society. Applying those definitions and theories to any business today will guarantee failure.

No wonder The Chartered Institute of Marketing has updated their definition of marketing as:

The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitability.

Did you notice the difference? My Professors taught me to think about myself, my product and what I want. There was actually no mention of the consumer except when considering how to manipulate the consumer using some psychological magic formula to cajole him or her into buying what he or she doesn’t really need.

Have you ever purchased a product or service because of the sweet talk of the salesman? How did you feel afterwards when you realized that you have just been tricked into parting with your money for something you don’t really need. I bet you vowed not to visit that store anymore! Well, that salesman was not marketing!

If you are an entrepreneur, and you are still using the old marketing definition as basis for your business, you will soon be out of business. You cannot cajole or trick people to buy what they don’t need anymore. If at all you succeed in getting them to buy once, you can be rest assured it will be the last time they visit. You need to put yourself in the shoe of your potential customer. How will you love to be treated?

My definition of Marketing
Marketing is all about IDENTIFYING, ANTICIPATING and SATISFYING a consumer’s NEED! It is all about the CONSUMER! Not the SELLER or the PRODUCT or SERVICE! The earlier you understand that the better chance you have at succeeding as an entrepreneur.

I love the way Boone and Kurtz defines marketing it is more detailed.

“Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, services, organizations, and events to create and maintain relationships that will satisfy individual and organizational objectives.” -Contemporary Marketing Wired (1998) by Boone and Kurtz. Dryden Press.

Ok, enough has been said about the definition of marketing. It is time to talk about internet marketing.

What is internet marketing?
Since we have defined internet and marketing it is simply to put the two terms together. So, we shall define internet marketing as:

Internet Marketing is the process of IDENTIFYING, ANTICIPATING and SATISFYING consumer NEEDS using TOOLS and RESOURCES available on INTERNET!

I bet that sounds simple and uncomplicated. We want to identify the need of the consumer and satisfy it. The only addition we need to add is that we must do it in a way that is profitable to us. For those that love details, please note that other terms such as online marketing, web marketing, internet advertisement, online sales, affiliate programs etc are often use to refer to internet marketing. Ok, let’s get back to our focus.

I am convinced that with our definition you can clearly see that internet marketing is not just about selling products or services over the internet. It is more about identifying needs and satisfying them in such a way that we build relationships that last. Yes, we satisfy our customers in such a way that they enjoy coming back again and again and they are so excited to tell others about our products or services.

Internet marketing is quite broad and has several branches such as:

• E-commerce - Electronic Commerce. Goods and services are sold directly to end users electronically.
• Publishing - Sale of advertising to create awareness for products, services, individuals or corporate entities.
• Affiliate marketing - A reward system for encouraging individuals or organization to promote services or products of a business for commission.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the advantages that internet marketing has over the traditional marketing media.

1. One-to-one approach - The customer really gets a personalize attention. He is not just treated as a nobody. Remember, if we build the relationship well, we will get free quality publicity in addition to the profit from this one time sale.
2. Appeal to specific interests - We identified the need right from the beginning, so there is no tricking or cajoling. The consumer wanted it before we offered it.
   Low operational cost - Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to traditional marketing media. You can start a website with free resources. It is hard to get a free Television or Radio slot for a business.
3. Instant Report - Results can be measured easily and in real time. You must have heard terms such as; pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action. Internet marketers can easily determine which messages are generating the desired result.

Okay. I think we have laid a good foundation. In subsequent posts, I will be sharing tips on how to build on what we have learned. If you enjoyed this post, say so in a comment. Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed. That way, you can easily get updates to this article. Thanks for visiting. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/how-to-receive-payment-online/.

Are you a newbie online Entrepreneur having no clue how to get payments for your online business activities? If you are getting confused with terms such as Merchant Account, Payment Gateway, Third Party Payment Processor and wondering what that has to do with collection of payment for goods and services you render, this post is meant to help you. For well established online entrepreneur, you may find some useful tips in addition to what you already know.

I often receive emails from my readers (especially those from Nigeria) asking for help on how to open a PayPal account or a US bank account. Reading through some of the requests, it is obvious that those asking for help do not even fully understand what their needs are and as such often ask for solution that does not fit their need. So, I will start with a little explanation on what an online entrepreneur requires to collect payment online and then make suggestions on how even a Nigerian Entrepreneur can collect payment online.

Collecting Payment Online
Once you offer products or service for sale online, it is important that you have in place an easy way that your would be customer can pay you for such product or service. However, the system of receiving payment online will largely depend on the kind of customers you deal with and the kind of product/service you offer. Let’s look at some practical examples.

• My web hosting company NAIRAHOST is owned by a Nigerian and I pay for their services with local currency (Nigerian Naira), by using the banking facility provided in Nigeria. It is smooth and convenient for me. However, their customers outside Nigeria pay with dollars using Credit Cards or PayPal.
• Of recent, I bought a Toshiba Laptop from BestBuy. The payment was made using a US bank issued Credit Card (this was done on my behalf by a friend).
• Last week, I paid for a heavy industrial equipment worth several thousands of dollars. Even though the company is online, payment was made via secure Bank Telex Transfer because the amount involved was huge.

From this simple examples, you can see that one payment option may not fit all situations. The nature of your business activities plays a major role in determining what Payment Option your customer will consider suitable. So the first question to ask is; How do my customers want to pay? While there are several payment options such as:

• Paper Cheque - A paper cheque is written and mailed to you. Not the most convenient or timely option.
• Wire Transfer (Bank Telex Transfer) - Most suitable for huge amount of money. e.g local bank to a foreign correspondent bank.
• Credit Cards - Most suitable for any amount of money. eg. MasterCard, VisaCard
• E-Payments - Highly convenient for small amount of money. eg. E-Gold

I only listed the various options, but time will only permit us to look at just one. So, I will focus on the most common option, being credit card payment.

Credit Card Payments
Statistics have it that 90% of all online sales get settled through credit cards. So if the customers want to pay with their credit cards, you must put in place a facility for accepting credit card. It is a fact that for you to do business with consumers in the developed countries, your online business must be able to accept credit cards as a form of payment. To accept Credit Card payments, you will need to obtain either a personal merchant account or use the service of a third party processor.

What is a merchant account?
This is a special account provided by a bank or financial institution that enables an entrepreneur accept customer Credit Cards and other electronic payments via an e-commerce website. Simply put, it is a special kind of bank account. The process of getting a merchant account can be simple or rigorous depending on the kind of business activity the entrepreneur is carrying out online.

Third Party Credit Card Processors
If your business is small and your monthly turnover is less than five thousand, you may not need to bother about getting a personal merchant account. You can actually start collecting payment online by using the service of a third party Credit Card Processor. When the business turnover grows, you can then obtain your own merchant account. Let look at examples of affordable Third Party Credit Card Processors you can use.

PayPal
This is the most famous of them all. PayPal is a simple and affordable payment solution for new online entrepreneurs. It safes you the high cost and stress often associated with getting a merchant account. Also, PayPal offers different solutions to Online Entrepreneurs. We will take a look at three of them.

1. PayPal Website Payments Standard: Your customers are afforded the option of payment with Credit Cards or Paypal. The transaction is processed on PayPal secure server.
2. PayPal Website Payments Pro: Almost the same with above, but the customer does not leave your website at any time. It is quite similar to having your own merchant account.
3. PayPal Email Payments: This is the most common one. You simply open an account with PayPal and request your customers to pay you using your PayPal account details. This is sufficient for small online businesses who receives payments that are less than a thousand dollars per transaction. However, it is advisable and financially wise to upgrade to either of the two options mentioned earlier as soon as possible.

Advantages of using PayPal: PayPal is about the most popular payment options available online today. It is easy to open an account and the processing of transactions is quite fast. Also, a great number of consumers from the developed nations use PayPal.

Disadvantages of using PayPal: PayPal is not available to entrepreneurs residing in some countries, for example Nigerian Entrepreneurs residing in Nigeria are not allowed to open a PayPal account from Nigeria. Beside this, many former users of PayPal claim that your account can get frozen for a number of reasons and you stand to loose whatever amount of money you have in the account. This can be scary for an entrepreneur. Before choosing PayPal it is advisable that you read reviews on websites such as www.PayPalSucks.com

Note: I am neither promoting nor discrediting PayPal. I use it but cautiously. Also note that the account I use was NOT opened from Nigeria (don’t fall prey to scammers who promise to open PayPal for you in Nigeria. A quick trip to PayPal.com will show you that Nigerians are not accepted for now. If you use a dubious way to open as a Nigerian Entrepreneur who is residing in Nigeria, you stand a higher risk of getting your account frozen).

AlertPay
AlertPay is an online payment service similar to PayPal. It provides individuals and businesses the ability to send and receive payments online without exposing their personal or financial information. The service is being provided by a Canadian privately owned and managed company founded in 2004. It is a rapidly growing leader in online payments. AlertPay offers several options:

AlertPay Personal Accounts

• Personal Pro Account: If you want to sell something online and you need to get paid in a hurry the Personal Pro Account is the way to go. It gives you the flexibility to send and receive payments and do business using your name. You can open a free account in less than 5minutes by clicking here.
• Personal Starter Account: If you are skeptical or not sure of where to start, use this option. The Personal Starter account is the ideal account to shop online safely without exposing your financial or personal information. It affords you the opportunity to get cash from your friends and family or send payments online for FREE.

Advantages of opening an AlertPay Personal Account:
1. No cost to send or receive payments
2. Accept numerous payments options.
3. Access to AlertPay Business Tools
4. Free for shoppers
5. Shop online without exposing your financial details.
6. Highly Secure.

AlertPay Business Account
If you own a business and you operate it using a unique business name different from your personal name, then an AlertPay Business account will be a good choice. It is tailored to meet all the needs of your online business. You will have access to numerous online business tools that will help your business grow online.
Advantages of opening an AlertPay Business Account:
• Conduct business under your company name
• Low transaction fees per transaction
• Accept Credit Card payments
• Sub accounts: Manage multiple online businesses with one account
• Website Payments: Buy Now Buttons, Subscriptions and Recurring Payments
• Business Tools: Integrate AlertPay into 3rd party applications
• Mass Pay: Send out payments to groups of people

Naturally, I love AlertPay because they allow online entrepreneurs from all over the world to open an account, Nigerians inclusive.
Note: I maintain an account with AlertPay and participate in their referral program.

There are other third party payment processors like 2Checkout.com, moneybooker.com, ikobo.com etc. But time and space will not permit that I talk about them now. Maybe I will discuss some of them in future post. Wishing you success in your online ventures. See you at the top. Cheers.

Copyright © 2008 NaijaEcash. Visit the original article at http://naijaecash.com/hurray-nigeria-is-48/.

Congratulations to all Nigerians!!! Nigeria is 48 today. It is our forty-eight independence day celebration today as a nation. We definitely have a lot to reflect and complain about, however, a wise elder ones told me that the reason one is able to complain is because one is among the living. Dead people do not complain.

So, instead of complaining about how the dreams of our founding fathers have been sabotaged, I want to reflect and thank God for how he has kept us as a nation despite all the troubles and confusion. Since we are alive, there is HOPE for a brighter FUTURE!!!

Long Live The Federal Republic of Nigeria. Long Live Naija brothers and sisters (at home and abroad). “Naija go better whether the saboteurs like am or not!“