ECommerce: "E-Power" The EZine Advantage

"E-Power" The EZine Advantage

Written by Heidi Richards, MS

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Make it easy to read and brief. Two to three pages max. One of repparttar

most important things we had to deal with was when our lists started growing (beyond 250); we were very limited in sending through our original e-mail account (AOL). They have rules and sometimes will freeze an account if you send too many at once. The format would also get botched sometimes. The lists became unmanageable when we had to remove unsubscribers and duplicates. Finding repparttar 136318

ones who wish to unsubscribe can be challenging. We switched to another service hoping they could send our newsletters and maintain our lists. It was a good service; however, we didn't like repparttar 136319

look of our newsletter. It had limited capabilities (no bold or italic). Since I'm repparttar 136320

creative type, I didn't want my ezines to look like everyone else's. We have now found a program we are very happy with. There is no monthly fee, just a one-time purchase fee. It is called Group Mail Pro - Mailing List & Group Management Software. And it only costs $79.95 (and you own it). For more information visit: http://www.sellshareware.com/CustomView.asp?PrID=34362.&AfID=7838&PageID=1

Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” Basic Membership is FREE. Ms. Richards can be reached at Heidi@speakingwithspirit.com or heidi@wecai.org.

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

Written by Heidi Richards, MS

Continued from page 1

Developing a business over repparttar Internet requires many of repparttar 136317 same major activities as starting any other business. You need a business plan, something to sell such as a product or service; you need customers and you may even need financial backing to get started. In addition, you need to market products to your customers, exceptional customer service practices and many other resources just as you do with traditional bricks and mortar enterprises. They may include inventory, fulfillment, shipping banking relationships and more.

Your store will need a "merchant" account, or repparttar 136318 ability to process your customers' credit card transactions over repparttar 136319 Internet. This includes needing a "secure server," (security certificate such as Versign or Geotrust) so that thieves cannot gain access to your customers credit information. Your merchant processing can be as simple as accepting payments through PayPal or as complex as a custom designed shopping cart system you pay for.

Getting a Merchant Account - If you have a good relationship with your bank and they don't require a security deposit this may be your best option for setting up a merchant account. Alternatives to getting a merchant account through your bank are to go through a broker, a fulfillment house, or using third-party billing.

For more information on establishing an ecommerce presence check out repparttar 136320 e-book entitled: Show Her repparttar 136321 Money – The Woman’s ECommerce Handbook for Online Transactions (www.showherthemoney.com). If you are, or become a member of WECAI – www.wecai.org, this resource is yours with your membership.

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