Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Prepaid Debit Cards Cannot Help Rebuild Your Credit score...What Reasons are People using Prepaid Debit Card?

The need for prepaid debit cards has moved from a fringe need to a mainstream. Many consumers are finding it within their comfort and fulfilling to use prepaid cards despite the fees these cards carry. Although there are better options such as secured credit cards and low fees checking accounts, consumers never seem to go for those options. So what are the reasons why consumers are opting for prepaid debit cards yet they cannot help in improving credit score?

The answer to this question depends on preferences, consumer education, and the circumstances in which the cards are being used. Initially, prepaid debit cards were seen as good alternatives for people with bad credit who cannot get credit cards. However, this is not the case today, because there are bad credit credit cards and also secured cards that even people with bad credit can get.


Prepaid cards tend to eliminate the bottlenecks that come with credit cards such as late payment fees, and overdrawing fees on credit card balance. When you make late payment as it may happen with or without your consent, this can put you into a fine of increased interest rate of up to 15 percent in just one missed payment. Although the first and second missed payment may not attract an increase in APR, if it becomes a habit, then you will bear that cost.


Similarly, if you are tempted to use more than the credit limit, you are also subjected to hefty fines because of over-the-limit use of the credit card. These are some of the fees that you can do away with when you use prepaid cards but then again, these prepaid debit cards have their own fees. They charge ATM withdrawal fees, annual fees, monthly fees and other types of fees.


If you are not in bad credit and you do not intend to use a credit card to improve your score, then you may opt for the debit cards. They can help you manage your spending.  A study released by Pew Health Group discovered that consumers are not even wild about the prepaid debit card fees and they say they are better than checking account fees.


Some consumers even cited that they do prefer prepaid debit cards because they simply do not like banks. They argued that banks only lure you to have a sense of comfort while on the backside side they are slowly ripping from your account through fees and other charges.  When the pre paid debit cards first entered the market, they were being marketed as alternatives for people who could not qualify for a credit card. Those days are gone when consumer ailing in bad credit could not get credit cards.


The prepaid cards only offered the consumer a way of using a card like debit card without a credit limit. These cards were and even today are not solving the problem of consumers with bad debt. A prepaid debit is not a good substitute for helping in building credit score. If you have a bad and stinky credit, then be wise and save a few hundred of dollars and use that amount to acquire secured credit cards. Using a credit card can be a good way of building your credit score. You save a few bucks to enable you place a deposit against a secured credit card and be able to get a card that helps in repairing your credit history.



Choosing Reward Credit Cards … What Exactly Are The Things To Look For?

You will most likely notice that rewards on credit cards come in two versions. There are those that attract no annual fees and others that impose annual fees but offer higher rewards. In addition, if your credit card carries a balance, it is essential that you do your mathematics properly to determine whether you will save when you transfer it. Balance transfer cards come in different forms. There are those that offer 0% intro rate in their first months mostly about 18 months but the interest rates hike to higher levels than those balance transfer cards, which attract some interest rates during the first months.

If you are able to repay your balance within a short time, you may need balance transfer cards that attracts some intro rates but does not hike the rates to very high levels after the introductory period.  However, if you cannot repay the balance in a shorter period, you may go for the 0% intro rate cards.

Today, mass market airline frequent flyer reward cards are offering good deals such as free check in baggage and travel insurance and these are deals which previous used to come with only the high-free premium cards. Although 0% balance transfer cards could seem enticing for people with big balances they have to pay off, on the other hand, low-rate cards might do better in the deals in the long run.

Maximizing rewards on credit cards can be a complex thing for card owners. Although cash back reward may be straight forward, others may be difficult. For example, if you are spending in categories like gas, you may earn the set maximum reward up to a particular amount but after that, the percentage rewards go down. This means that you will only enjoy the maximum rewards in a certain period and after spending certain minimum amount, which you may not be able to achieve sporadically.

Planning the spending patterns on your credit card benefits in order to optimize on rewards can be difficult and could plunge you into impulse purchase, which does more damage on your finances. You should not be ruined or tempted to spend more that you have planned simply to get the rewards. This can cost you a penny. It is essential that you keep note of confusing deals on cards.

Spending tiers are some of the confusing aspects you will find in rewards on credit cards. Some rewards cards will require that you spend up to certain amount so that you get the advertised deal. Consumers need to look for phrases such as “up to” when choosing the card offers. This could mean that you can only get the highest rewards only if you spend the set amount, which could be thousands of dollars in a year.

Similarly, if you find the phrase “up to” on a card deal, you also need to check on the other part of the rewards on credit cards that is not shown. If you do not spend the amount required to get the maximum perk advertised on the deal, what are the other options? In addition, you also need to check on hidden caps where cards such as gas rewards credit cards reduce the rewards percentage when you have spent the initial deal amount. Other important aspects you may need to check in rewards on credit cards are missed payment penalties, changes in terms and expiry dates of the rewards.


10 Ways to Increase Your Business Sales with Corporate Video Production Companies

A corporate video is one of the modes of communication, which a business can use to further its growth, profitability and customer satisfaction and this is why corporate video companies are essential in your business success. As businesses strive to increase their profit margins, videos can be used as tools of boosting sales. Different video media production can be developed for a company and each of these corporate video creations can be used in enhancing business performance and sales growth. 

They can be used as training and instruction videos, safety videos, financial results videos, promotional and advertising videos as well as product launch videos. Businesses can also develop business event filming as well as live and on-demand webcasting with help of corporate video film companies. 

Below are top 10 ways in which businesses can use the services of corporate video production companies to further their business sales.

1. Train your employees with aid of training video production
Whereas you can train your employees with other media such audio training materials, use of videos production is one of the most effective ways. Workers grasp, understand and comprehend the concept and subject of discussion more easily, fast and clearly when presented in graphic motion form. 


Corporate training videos can impart great knowledge and skills in sales lead generation and customer relations. They can be used to train production workers on how to produce quality goods. These types of corporate video trainings help in tapping new customers, enhancing customer satisfaction, improving sales and attaining good returns on investment (ROI).

2. Elaborate your brand with e-Commerce videos
You can develop corporate video production for your e-Commerce application, which can help communicate your brand to the consumers more clearly. Whereas photos present 2 dimensional features, on the other hand, video productions can show 360-degree of a product. This offers a better visualization of the product. These videos can be used online or they can be used in exhibition stands to reach out to consumers and communicate the brand. This helps in influencing the buying behavioral of the consumers.

3. Use compelling video ads on your website
With statistics showing that 60% of all traffic on the internet emanates from online videos, this means that marketing video ads developed by professional a videographer are essential tools for a business to boost its sales. When these videos are embedded on websites, they help usher in the audiences and they also help in converting the leads into sales. You can use corporate video ads done by an expert corporate video company to enhance the conversion rate of your website landing page. This means increased sales and improved profitability.

4. Create convincing customer Testimonial videos to reach audiences
The buying behavior of consumers can easily be influenced by viewing testimonials of what kind experience other consumers have had with your products and services. When you present these corporate video production screenshots in exhibitions, conferences and trade shows, you are linked to hook the audiences and they can be carried away by what other customers say about your business. 


This can easily contribute to making a buying decision and it is a good way in which you can increase your business sales. You can use the videos on webinars and other on-demand shows to showcase your business, its culture, products and services.

5. Present your new product launch with cutting edge videos
When you have a new product to introduce in the market, there are different ways in which you can do this. Corporate video production is one of the most exciting ways to present the new product whether in exhibitions or trade shows. In your business reception area, you can create an interactive point where customers waiting to be attended can have a view of your products and services. 


The newly launched product can be presented in such a setting where many customers pass before they reach your business offices. This can help the consumers know more of any products your business has released in the market. Visual presentation grabs the eyes of the audiences quickly and strongly.

6. Film your special events to reflect your brand

Whether it is employees’ end of year party, a new product launch, or workshop video production and presentation, you can film that event and use it as a tool of increasing sales growth. When employees see such special events where the company has excelled previously, they are able to put more efforts in their production and sales obligations.

7. Educate your consumers with use of videos

When you are designing your corporate video production, you need to know your audience. This will help you prepare a video that will communicate the message across properly. Depending on the type of audience, you can change the tone of the video content while retaining the overall theme. 


A video production that presents a launch of a product for young people may not have the same tone as a video that is produced for the adult audience. This will ensure that the message about the product is understood clearly by the consumers. These consumers are more likely to buy your products when they understand its formulation features, ingredients or its characteristics through visual aid.

8. Make use of quality videographers
The video you use is a brand image of your business. It speaks something about your business. In order to stand out of your competitors, you need to create video productions that are of the highest quality. Using a high quality video production company can earn you good reputation from the audiences. 


It also improves your image to the consumers. The consumers would like to be associated with a brand that shines above the rest. Your corporate video leaves a lasting impression for your business and must professionally be done whether it is a video ad, a training video, a new product launch film or a company overview/descriptive video.

9. Develop an outstanding corporate overview video
Overviews are descriptively the launching point of many companies and this is perhaps the first video that a company develops. You can develop a short video that gives an overview of your business in just 2-5 minutes and give what the audiences want to hear about your business. 


The video production may entail a brief history of your company, introduction of the executive and senior management team, its location, facilities and the key products and services. This corporate video helps portray the image of your company to the consumers and it can help create confidence and increase clientele base.

10. Reach your audiences with Video News Release (VNR)
Video news releases are like press releases. They are ideally 90 seconds or so videos that your company distributes in television channels so that they can be aired in news programs. These video press releases need to be created thoughtfully so that viewers can feel them as original news stories. This not only helps strengthen your brand name but also helps in increasing consumer confidence and sales growth. 


These corporate video news releases can be produced by featuring professional actors who perform as news correspondents. The professional actors may also feature as experts who are interviewed by news anchors bringing a feeling of real and true experience.

In a nutshell, corporate video production is not an easy undertaking that can be done by neophytes. It requires a high degree of expertise in creative video services to enable a videographer develop a video masterpiece that has interesting storyboard, engaging quality images and sound effects as well as convincing video tone and content.



10 Ways to Increase Sales with Online Video Ads

Statistics show that over 60% of all traffic on the internet today originates from online video contents meaning that a marketing video ads are very essential tools in your marketing strategy. A website is embedded with video ads attracts a higher ranking by the search engines like Google and Yahoo and this can easily help increase sales in your business. However, the ability of your corporate video to deliver good results in achieving sales growth is based on many factors which range from the design aspects of the video, through the level of engagement and the type of channels where the video is submitted. 

It also depends on how you measure your video ad performance and adjust to the prevailing demands in online video ad creation and marketing. Nonetheless, when the business video ads are used intuitively, they can deliver very good results. Below are top ten ways in which you can increase your sales through use of corporate video;

1. Design engaging online video ads

The design of your business video ad is the building block for an effective video. There are different corporate videos, which can be prepared such as training videos, special occasion videos and advertising videos. All these require varying designs in order to fit their applications. To enhance the effectiveness of your online video ads, you can consider animated videos for instance, which influence the viewers greatly than the traditional 2D or 3D videos. The videos should be created by professionals so that they bring out the best qualities that are required for a corporate video advertisement.

2. Know your audiences

Before you embark on any video creation, you need to understand the audiences, which you are targeting. This is one aspect which helps define how the audiences will respond to your video ad. If you do not know your audience and their likes and dislikes, you are likely to create a very high quality video but which does not yield any results. You need to influence your audience viewers and convert them into leads and then into sales. This needs to be done intelligently. The message you put across should fit well to the cadre of audience you are reaching out to.

3. Make your online video short, precise and targeted

Before you create your video, you need to understand how the audiences behave when they are viewing videos online. According to a survey carried out by Poll Position, it showed that 54% of the interviewees think that 15 seconds is the acceptable that they would dedicated to view an online video ad from YouTube, Google Video or any other video channel. 12% of the participants said that 30 seconds would be suitable for an online video ad.

The poll involved 1,179 participants and the general message put across by the interviewees is that patience is low in regard to viewing commercials on the internet before consumers can access the information they want. It is recommended that a corporate video should run between 2-5 minutes depending on the content being put across to avoid abandonment by the viewers. Before, viewing a video ad, the viewers check the time it runs.


4. Optimize your online video on the website

The way in which your video is embedded on the website determines how it will perform. The ranking of your online video ad by the search engines like Google will depend on many factors such as the title and description tags, views and frequency, likes and dislikes, flagging, sharing, comments, age of video, video responses, subscribers, favorites, inbound links, and embeds.

Your corporate video helps in creating inbound links to your website. The keywords, titles, and description tags for your videos should be relevant, creative and unique. Tags help search engines to crawl your site and readers to find your web pages.


5. Engage viewers in your video ad

Your video should be able to engage viewers from the beginning to the end. This is because, if the viewers abandon the video, they will not get the message put across and will also not be able to visit the main website page. The first 15 seconds of your video will determine if the audience will continue watching the video or not.

The first seconds should spark curiosity among the viewers to continue watching. The opening part of your corporate online video should be compelling in both personality and content. The personalities should usher in the viewers and ask a question that teases the rest of the video. The content should start with a quick recap of what is to come thereafter. In the video, you need to create short attention spans that hook the readers and keep them engaged. You also need to use “call-to-action” phrases.


6. Put your video on the first page

Viewers may not have the time to navigate through other pages and it is good that the video is embedded on the first page. The video helps create an image of your business. The first impression lasts and this can help redefine the kind of response that you get from the viewers. In addition, the video helps create confidence among viewers, which can easily influence the buying behavior.

7. Submit your online video ad to social bookmarking

There are plenty of social bookmarking sites which you can submit your online video ad such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and SocialMaker. The aim is to increase the level of viewership for your video, which helps increase inbound links to your website. The more quality links a website receives, the higher it is ranked on the SERPs.

8. Don’t just rely on YouTube, diversify your video ad channels

In order to increase the level of viewership of your corporate online video, you should not rely on one channel. There are many channels that you can upload your video. YouTube is the most popular video platform for creating video engagement on the internet and it has a total of 81.9% of the total embedded and linked videos on the internet. It is followed by Vimeo with 8.8% and DailyMotion with 4%. My space has 1.1%. Other video channels you can consider are such as Yahoo Video, Google Video, MySpace, Flickr and Blip TV.

9. Ensure consistency in your video ad

Viewers will not want to see the same video clip over and over again every time they visit your site. You need to ensure that you keep on changing the video themes while still capturing the right message to pass across to the readers. This will ensure that they remain engaged in your site.

10. Measure your video ad performance

One of the most effective ways in which you can succeed in internet advertising and marketing including corporate video marketing is to measure the performance of your video ad. This gives you a direction on where you are heading in your video campaigns. It can help you change tactics in the video design as well as content presentation. There are many analytics tools you can use such as the YouTube analytics. This tool provides deep insights about your video, content, as well as the audiences. The tool helps you prioritize video optimization and measure impacts of new strategies that you have applied.

In essence, when you apply the above tips, you can greatly increase the performance of your corporate online video ad and build confidence within your audiences. This increases the traffic in your websites and enhances the conversion rate of your landing page. What this means is that you increase sales and returns on investment (ROI).




10 Small Business Website Ideas You Can Use For Your New Site

Creative and intuitive website ideas can help small business owners who are designing and developing websites to create brand name awareness and advertise their products and services. Internet marketing has become quite competitive and for a business website design
to increase its presence on the internet, it has to impress the search engines and readers. There are great website ideas that can help small business owners to reap from the benefits offered by the internet.

The following are 10 cool small website business ideas, which you need to embrace when you are designing and developing a website for your small business in order to get optimal returns on their investment (ROI);


1.    You need to create a problem solving business website design. This simply means designing a website that helps solve problems. Many people are desperate to know how they can solve problems they are going through. It could be health problems or even social problems.

2.    When searching for new business ideas, you can start from your home by reading through magazines on your drawers. You can extend to the internet and search from popular sites such as eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, and the rest. You can create a forum on a social media network such as Facebook to gather ideas from friends and relatives about a web design.

3.    Create you new website based on products that have passionate demand. You have to sell products that are sellable. Products such as consumables are frequently replaced and these could give you a good business.

4.    You need to define your online business website target audience. The website you design should be able to represent what your audience would like to see. A website that targets men over 35 years would be different from a website that targets teenagers.

5.    Understand the likes and dislikes of your audience. This is a very important point of the website ideas. This will help you create the right impression for your business through your website design.

6.    Establish your business competitors when you design business website. This will enable you understand your business environment. If you are venturing in selling women shoes, you can narrow down your business to target young female shoe designs. This way you are cutting off most of your business competitors.

7.    The design and layout of your new website is a very essential. This will not only determine how your website is ranked by search engines but also how user friendly it is to the readers. Today, Google, which controls over 65% of the search engine share, ranks websites depending on how easily they are read by the engine and readers.

8.    Another essential aspect of the website ideas is that you need to know how to promote your website. Depending on budget, you could opt for search engines, pay-per-click, email marketing, and social media marketing. One reason why search engine optimization is preferred to pay-per-click such as Google AdWords is because it is cost effective and can produce very good results.

9.    You need to harness the marketing power of social media networks such as Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter. This is one of the most important website ideas that small businesses need to explore. Business owners get suggestions from customers on how to improve their products and services through these sites.

10.    Share your opinions on hot topics on the internet. Readers will want to know more about you and your business. Identify a topic you are knowledgeable in and contribute in discussions. This could be through the social media networks or forums.

In a nutshell, there are many small business website ideas that can you can use to succeed in your business and these begin right from the web design, through identifying your audience, to ways on how to promote your website on the internet. On top of those ideas, ensure that you get an outstanding business website hosting company for enhanced online presence and visibility.



Tips on How To Succeed In Drop Shipping At eBay Marketplace

One thing you need to know is that eBay is a very reputable selling and buying marketplace. Before you even consider drop shipping using this platform, you need to re-evaluate your competency in offering the services including those of your drop shipping supplier. The clients who buy goods and items at eBay expect nothing short of quality goods and services. The following are simple tips, which will make your drop ship business successful;

Research the products

It is important to research on the products you want to sell and find out if they are sold at eBay or they are sellable in this marketplace. There are thousands of products sold through eBay marketplace and choosing the “hot selling” items gives a competitive advantage over other retailers in this market.

You also need to know that there are many other retailers and also big companies selling same or similar products and the competition is high. You must model out a good marketing strategy. The market is highly competitive meaning that only products which have a good rating from consumer reviews at eBay or Amazon will be able to sell fast. If there are negative expressions from customers on the products, it means that you will have a tough time selling them.


Seek an eBay approved drop shipper

You have to look for a drop shipper who is integrated with eBay. If you get an approved drop shipper, your task is made easy. You do not have to find out if the products of the supplier are sold at eBay.

Monitor stock levels from your distributor

To avoid complaints which could damage your reputation, you should ensure that there is sufficient stock level from the distributor. Any complaints and negative comments you get from customers will affect your business and therefore, you have to set everything right.

Whether it is the availability of stock or the shipping process, they need to be offered satisfactory. When selling at eBay, you must monitor stock levels from your distributor. You have to get updates on the level of stock so that you do not sell products, which are out of stock.


Keep track of the shipment feedbacks

If you close a sale, then you have to follow-up on shipping of the items. It is essential you keep close contact with the customer and get feedback on their order progress. You may opt to provide a kind of satisfaction survey for the customer to provide feedback on their order shipment fulfillment.

Delay of order delivery and shipment will mean that you get negative feedback and this could lead to payment reversal like PayPal that can seriously damage your business success. Mistakes committed by the drop shipper distributor will end up affecting on your business meaning that your business will suffer from distributor faults.


Mediate issues of return and exchange of goods

If there are any issues which result to return and exchange of goods, you as a drop shipper retailer, you have to take a mediation role. You will need to engage the customer and apologize for any faults that are witnessed in the transactions, otherwise, all return and exchange issues come down to your business and not the supplier.

There are high expectations on the quality of products bought by buyers at eBay. The drop shipper you are dealing with should be competent and avoid any product faults or switch of inventory. If a buyer buys goods at eBay, he or she expects to get exactly what has been ordered.


A drop shipping wholesaler who will switch inventory and get you a substitute or another brand equivalent to the one you have advertised at eBay will only damage your business reputation. The customers are very particular with what they order and do not attempt to sell something different or similar unless you have consulted with the client and agrees to buy that product. 


In essence, as drop shipper retailer, you have to know that you are managing your business. You must think outside the box and ensure that you deal with issues proactively. The drop shipping business model is faced with problems which may not make it successful at eBay. Right from the quality of goods, through the shipment process to customer engagement, all these aspects must be emphasized.


The drop shipping culture falls short of competency and the most affected is the retailer. Since the success of the drop shipping retailer business is largely depended on how he or she conducts the marketing strategy and how the distributor offers the supportive services like shipping, if there are loopholes on the distributors’ side, they land on the retailers’ business. Understanding the eBay culture and drop shipping scenario can help put in place mitigation measures that can lead to a successful drop ship retail business.



How Much Can You Earn From Drop Ship Business

The question as to how much you can earn from drop ship business is not easy to answer but the most probable answer is that you could earn as much as you may work for. Drop ship business is not a magic that will give you easy cash and although this is not ruled out, the bottom line is that you have to work for it. There are lots of marketing tactics required as well a strategic business planning. You need to identify the right products to sell. You also need to have a good marketing strategy.

There are numerous aspects which will determine how much you earn in a drop shipping business and they are;

•    The marketing approach you apply.
•    The goods you are selling.
•    Competency of the wholesale distributor.
•    The margins of commission you get from every sale.

It is estimated that only about 10% of drop shipping retailers make money and this is because there is a big competition in the market. You have to put everything right as far as marketing is concerned. Marketing is the cornerstone in succeeding on your drop shipping business.


There are different ways you can market your products. You can create a website which drop-ships to the product’s suppliers. This means that you have to post content on the website with descriptions of products. The descriptions have to be unique from those of the suppliers and other retailers. In this case, the quality of content will market your drop shipping business. If you submit very informative and interesting content on the website, you will create confidence with your buyers and this translates to more sales.


In addition, you will also need to create a blog. Because managing a website may be costly for a beginner in this business, a blog would be appropriate. Hosting a professional blog may not be costly as hosting a website. In addition, you have to use social media marketing to create social signals that will help increase the ranking of your website or blog. This means that more traffic will be generated on the blogs and this is connected to the supplier’s e-store you have been allocated.


Moreover, you may also use other methods like email marketing in order to make follow up on leads that have bounced. Search engine optimization is very essential when you are doing drop ship business.


You also need to write a few articles per week about the products and relevant topics. These articles are posted in major directories and will help drive traffic in your blog site or website from where visitors learn more about the products you are selling. The quality of content submitted to the directory and authority site will also help install confidence among the buyers.


You also need to select sellable products. There are many products you can sell through the drop ship business. These items range from diet pills, cell phone boosters, and power tools, garden equipments like lawn mowers, home appliances, kitchen equipments and toys. You may search for the “hot selling” items from sites like eBay in order to know, which products you go for in your drop ship business.


Another aspect which will determine how much you earn is the drop ship company you deal with. The wholesaler you are dealing with must demonstrate competency in offering the services. Since the company handles the shipping, it is important that when orders are made, the shipment process is done in time.


Your business image will largely be determined by how professional the wholesaler executes the shipping process. In addition, the wholesaler should be able to provide timely information on stock levels. Selling a product in your drop ship e-store only to realize that it is out of stock is quite frustrating for the buyers. The wholesaler should have a data feed system where you are able to get updates on quantities of stock.


The margin of commission of the sales also determines how much you are able to earn. If you only get 2% of commission, it means that you will have to close sales of 1000 items per month in order to earn a total of $2000 in that period. The kind of products you are selling will also determine the overall commission amount. If you are selling used low mileage automobiles from Japan, you will not get the same commission as selling used children clothes.


In essence, there are many aspects which will determine how much you earn. The most important thing is identify the most selling products and do a lot of homework in your internet marketing strategy. This way, the returns will be good. Also remember to engage with a professional drop ship wholesaler who has sufficient stock and is able to deliver goods in time. The shipment process must be done professionally in order to build loyalty with your customers. These are the same customers who will make a repeat purchase. They will also spread a word-of-mouth of your business to other prospective buyers.