There are many things that you can do to prepare for disasters of every kind, and the continued success of your online business depends on your being prepared to handle whatever disasters are thrown at you. Here are some things that you should do in order to be prepared for any disaster that may threaten your online business:

• Natural Disasters

Natural disasters simply strike whenever and wherever they want, and there is no way to predict them. It is vital that you are prepared for them when they do come. In order to be prepared, it is vital that you ensure that all of your information is backed up on virtual storage space. Virtual storage space enables you to store data offsite, meaning that you can recover your information even if your hard drives and server systems get destroyed. You should also look into an alternate supplier in case the person who supplies your online business is also struck by disaster.

• Site Hacking

Hackers are constantly threatening to attack websites, and it is vital that you are prepared to handle the disaster that is a site hack. You should prepare by having as many security measures as possible installed on your website. Make sure to use a firewall to prevent any hacking attempts, and keep all of your vital information stored somewhere else besides your website. If your site is hacked, you will need to take the time to search through your site to find what was hacked, and take the steps to repair the damage done.

• Server and Hosting Problems

Server problems can strike anyone at any time, which is why virtual servers are such a benefit. Instead of only having your own physical private server in your business, you can use a virtual server as a backup in case of server failure. Paying for virtual hosting is another great way to ensure that your website will always be online, thanks to the fact that your website isn’t hosted on a physical server that can break down.

• Data Loss

Data loss is not something that you can always prepare for, but it is vital that you take the time to back up as much information as possible. Using offsite backup systems is the best way to ensure that you can always access your information. Make sure to back up your information at least once a week, or at least twice a month. Backing up information regularly with offsite storage space will enable you to recover any lost information as easily as possible.

But it’s not always easy to develop a good article marketing strategy, so here are some tips:

• As with most written content, your headline is important. Try some different strategies to see what works best for your niche, but it’s always good to focus on potential benefits to the reader; this will help draw them in.
• Article marketing takes time; it’s nothing something you’re going to see immediate results from. And you don’t want to get burned out, so take it easy at first. Try writing one or two a week or, if that’s too much, one or two a month. It’s may be six or nine months before you start seeing any results, so be patient.
• Perhaps the most important details is that your articles need to be good. They should provide valuable information to the reader and shouldn’t just be long-form advertisements. You want to present yourself as an expert on the topic or the industry, not just another hack trying to make money online. Your articles shouldn’t be too long, either; a good range is between 400 and 600 words.
• You will, however, want to shamelessly promote the articles you write. Utilize various social networks to share links to your content, promoting yourself and your brand.
• While submitting your content to various directories will help make it available online, there’s nothing wrong with being proactive and offering your content to niche websites. If their site is related to what you’ve written, they may be willing to publish it.

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Just because you are doing what you love, it doesn’t mean you will make money at it – but it definitely helps.

If you’re looking to start a business, your first inclination may be to delve into something you’re already passionate and knowledgeable about. This can be a great advantage because you’ll be familiar with the industry, the products, and the services. You’ll be able to more easily answer customer’s questions, as well as be able to provide regular content (via a blog or newsletter) about your company and products.

However, just because you’re doing something you love and are knowledgeable about the industry, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be successful. Not only can it be difficult to effectively transfer personal emotion for a product or service to your customers, but you may misjudge the general appeal of your business (since you may be a bit biased toward it).

There’s nothing wrong with trying to make some money off what you love, and if you can make a successful business out of it you should definitely try. But if you’re worried about whether you’ll be able to base a business on your hobby or passion, you may want to consider that as a side project or side business – not as your main source of income. Instead, do your research to see is there a market niche you could capitalize on; eventually, that niche will become a new passion and a new hobby you’ll be able to dive right into.

And in an ideal world, everyone could do what they love doing and make a living from it. They’d be able to build their business around their passion, gaining both personal and financial fulfillment from their job. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. So it’s important to take all factors into consideration when moving forward on your business.

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There are a lot of characteristics of effective ad copy, but one of the most important is a call to action. A call to action breathes life into your copy and, more importantly, gives your customers some direction as they interact with your company.

In the early days of the Internet, a call to action was as simple as “Click here!” However, as people have become more comfortable online and learned more about how ads work, telling users to click anywhere has a patronizing, even archaic tone. People already know where to click if they want to visit your site. What they want to know is why they should bother. And that’s where a successful call to action comes in.

No matter where people are reading your ad copy, there are other things competing for their attention. In most cases, your competitors will be present as well. Therefore, it’s important to point out what makes your brand different and what customers should do about it. If you run an online company and are using a Google Adwords campaign, your ad copy is the one thing customers will use to decide whether to click on your link. Sure, you could say, “Baby clothes at great prices.” But wouldn’t “Buy baby summer clothes today for 35% off” be a bit more effective? It communications what is unique about your business and encourages customers to take a specific action.

Before publishing any ad copy, ask yourself: “What am I asking people to do?” If you don’t know, your customers won’t either. Be sure to include a clear call to action to make your ad copy effective.

• There are various social networking sites available to you to help you promote your business and your brand. However, don’t think you can just spam those sites to build your e-mail list. You’ll actually have to contribute to the community and the discussion. It will take some time, but you’ll build yourself up as a valuable resource and people will appreciate that.
• Network with others in the industry to promote your mailing list. You may be able to take out an ad in their newsletter, convince them to add a link to your newsletter on their website if you agree to do the same, or partner with some of them to help promote each other. This is a great way to find people who have already shown at least some interested in your industry and what your business does.
• Be sure to place the sign-up for your e-mail list in a prominent place on your website, and be sure to include at least one such link on every page. (Putting it in the sidebar, header, or footer is the simplest option.) You should also include the option for them to automatically sign up whenever they buy one of your products. Make it easy for them to subscribe.
• When people sign up for your list, they should know what to expect, and they should get what they expect. Let them know how often you’ll be contacting them and what you’ll be sending them. If you start abusing this channel, they will be quick to unsubscribe.
• With every e-mail you send out, let your readers know that they’re welcome to pass the content along to other and to encourage their friends to sign up as well. If you’re providing them with good content they’ll already want to share, it will be easily to capitalize on that.

–Norman Vincent Peale

Wealth has never been a prerequisite for success. The list of once-broke successes is nearly endless. So if it’s not money, what prevents most individuals from reaching their dreams? According to Norman Vincent Peale, the answer is “empty heads and empty hearts.”

Complacency is a silent killer. It can strip your mind of dreams and corrupt you until you accept the status quo. Settling for mediocrity is an easy, even comfortable, thing to do. By stepping out of your comfort zone, you can stretch yourself and accomplish whatever is important to you.

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For hundreds of years, most people couldn’t get enough information. When the Gutenberg Press made it possible to mass-distribute books, newspapers and pamphlets, people were elated at the prospect of having access to so much information.

Since then, technologies have multiplied and the channels that provide us with information have given us too much to keep track of. A typical American adult today has not only a daily newspaper (if he even gets it in print anymore), but also e-mails, voicemails, RSS feeds, trade magazines, podcasts, text messages and other media sending him messages all the time.

Avoiding information overload is important to your success. Sorting through all the information you receive can become a daily task in itself, not to mention digesting the information you decide is important.  Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you sort through the never-ending pile of information – both physical and electronic – that comes your way every day.

1. Can I find this information elsewhere? Many things contain valuable information, but you can often find it on the Internet. Having a link to an article on hand might be helpful, but deleting information that’s repeated elsewhere will simplify your life and keep your inbox clutter-free.
2. Does this information need to be filed for use later? When you’re sorting through your office or computer, it’s easy to get so excited about getting rid of clutter that you delete important documents accidentally. Tax documents and contracts need special care, as do receipts and other records. Keep them in a cabinet or drawer designated especially for this purpose.
3. Does this information require action? A lot of information is meant only to be consumed, but some messages require you to take action. Make sure you sort those out. As you organize your e-mails each day, toggle between your inbox and your calendar. If you come across an e-mail that requires action by a certain date, note it on your calendar. If nothing else, be sure to flag the message in your inbox to be revisited later.

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The Internet has become such a pervasive part of our culture that many people use it without thinking much about the way they go about it. For the most part, we learn by doing. That usually works, but there are a few things you can learn that will make your online experience much more productive – specifically, how to choose a browser and search more productively.

Choosing a Browser

A web browser is an application that allows you access to the Internet – the one you open when you go online. Many people don’t give much thought to which browser they use, but each type has its strengths and weaknesses. Choosing the right browser can make your online experience better.

In the early days of the Internet, Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer battled for the larger share of the market. Internet Explorer proved to be the browser of choice at the time, but as the Internet has evolved other browsers have come into the forefront. Today, IE competes with Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Apple’s Safari, among others. Different browsers display websites differently and offer a variety of advantages to users including add-ons, developer tools, pop-up blockers and others. Research the differences to determine which browser is best for you.

Searching More Efficiently

Search engines largely determine the things we see on the Internet, and knowing how to use them well will help you find what you’re looking for. Google has some indicators you can use in your searches to help return better results. Here are some things you can do to make your searches more efficient.

• Specific searches. Google’s specialized fields can help narrow search results significantly. Use Google Images, Maps, News, Shopping, Books and other fields to search within a certain area.
• Quotation marks. Putting quotation marks around a phrase signifies to Google that you want results that match the entire phrase, not just one or two of the words. This is helpful when searching for specific types of things, like “baby shoes” or “gas stoves.”
• Similar terms. You can signify that you’d like results for terms similar to the one you submitted by putting a tilde (~) before the term. If you’re searching for baby shoes, for example, changing your search to “~baby shoes” would also return matches for things like “children’s shoes” or “toddler shoes.”

The first brother, who could swallow the sea, reluctantly agrees to help a young boy go fishing on the condition the boy would follow directions promptly. The brother swallows the sea, allowing the boy to walk along the bottom as he collects fish, rocks, and other treasures. As the pressure of the sea builds, the brother motions for the boy to return to the shore; even though the boy sees it, he does not return. Eventually the brother cannot hold in the sea any longer and the boy drowns.

When the brother is sentenced to be executed by beheading the next day, he asks if he can bid his mother goodbye. He is allowed to return and the second brother – the one with the iron neck – secretly returns in his place. As the execution method is changed to drowning, then to being burned at the stake, and then finally to suffocation, the next respective brother secretly replaces the last so none is ever killed. The people eventually give up.

There is an obvious business application from this story. While your business will likely never have to deal with capital punishment, you’ll likely face a wide variety of tasks and challenges. It’s important that for any given challenge you have someone who can own that project. It’s important to surround yourself with a versatile group of people who can help you address the various problems you encounter.

This doesn’t mean you necessarily have to hire tons of people; it does, however, mean you should get to know employees and all of their abilities. You may already have someone on staff who knows how to handle that problem, you’re just not aware they have that ability – and they may not be aware there’s an issue.

That’s why it’s vital to have open communication among all the various departments and utilize all the skills of every individual.

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Tumblr is one of many free blogging services available online, but its greatest appeal may be its simplicity – both in posting new comments and in interacting with other Tumblr blogs. While many blogging platforms require some programming knowledge, Tumblr lets you post pictures, videos, links, chats, or even audio simply and quickly.

As you sign up for a Tumblr account, you’re given subdomain [subdomain].tumblr.com which you can personalize and change later if desired. You can also customize your blog’s appearance by choosing one of the many free or paid themes offered (no need to copy HTML code). Tumblr also allows you to follow other Tumblrs through your dashboard, allowing you to reblog or “like” others’ posts with one click.

Tumblr also allows you to create as many blogs as you want all from one account, each with its own unique subdomain. All of this can be done from the dashboard’s simple interface.

But here’s the problem: you’ve already got a website and a Twitter feed and a Facebook account you’re trying to coordinate. Tumblr allows you to connect each of those accounts, redirect any FeedBurner URL, and import any RSS feed. These combinations allow you to use your Tumblr in any capacity you’d like. Use it as the original content source, which is the automatically reposted on your various social networking sites; use it as another medium to report your content from elsewhere; Tumble also has an option for people to ask or answer questions, which can help establish a valuable online interaction.

The culture and atmosphere of Tumblr may be a little different than you’re used to and may take some getting used to. For instance, there are very few long-form posts; any lengthy content is usually posted elsewhere and linked through Tumblr. Tumblr also utilizes categories within its network, which makes it easy to focus on a certain niche.

But regardless how you use it, it’s another arrow in your quiver.