Blog Title: The Profitable Business Edge

The Secret Commission Blueprints

It has a blog...it has an unbiased review of Commission Blueprint...it has it all...

Check it out http://www.secretcommissionblueprints.com

Looking To Sell A Business Or Investigate A Franchise Opportunity?

Sponsored Post: The following post is sponsored by BusinessMart.com

Are you looking to sell a business?

If so, I have discovered a resource that will help you advertise that business. It's BusinessMart.com, a comprehensive Business Search Engine that puts your small business in front of 1000's of potential buyers ready to look at what you are offering for sale.

Are you looking to buy a business?

You can review the listings at BusinessMart.com to look at thousands of small businesses for sale at the site. Within each listing is comprehensive information about the business for sale, the owner contact info, and types of financing accepted...plus much more.

Do you like to investigate franchises and the opportunities they offer?

BusinessMart.com offers a complete franchise directory listing broken down by category and location. You can view the complete franchise listings here at the main site.

Or...

BusinessMart.com does have a sister site completely dedicated to the most popular franchise opportunities that you can check out. That sister site is FranchiseBuyersNetwork.com, visit today to investigate all of your franchise possibilities. http://www.franchisebuyersnetwork.com

Overall, I found the BusinessMart.com site to be very comprehensive, and performed a couple of searches to ensure that I could find what I was looking for. If you are a business broker, franchise buyer, opportunity seeker, or just looking to buy a business for sale...this site does contain the resources you need.

RSS Feed and Email Updates For The Profitable Business Edge 2 Now Available...

You will see in the upper right hand corner of this blog, a link to the RSS feed view of The Profitable Business Edge 2. You can see the latest posts, and subscribe to the updates via RSS Reader or by Email if you wish.

If you would like the link...here it is... http://feeds.feedburner.com/WelcomeToJosephRatliffname

And no, this does not count as post 100 :)

The Profitable Business Edge's 99th post...

That's right, this is the 99th post...and you know what that means :)

The next post to this blog will have an opt-in box on it. If you fill out the opt-in box, you will be put on the list for an advance copy of my new book due out in Q1 of 2008.

The Ramblings Of A Down To Earth Marketer Issue No. 1

Finally...

I am starting my audio series...where you can gain valuable marketing and business success insights simply by listening.

Click Here to find the first issue ==>

Do Some Shopping While You're Here....

Another Interview You Don't Want To Miss...

This time, I interviewed Lynn Terry of ClickNewz!

For 30 minutes, we covered some good material on affiliate marketing with blogs.

Click Here To Continue And Download Your Copy =>

An Interview You Don't Want To Miss If You Have A Blog...

The interview with Teli Adlam of Optiniche.com.

I have a free copy of a 30 minute interview we completed a little while ago...

You can download it on my other blog...

Click Here To Download Your Free Copy =>

A Special Google News Release

NEWS RELEASE: Google just announced that it's profits jumped 28%! Now you can get a piece of this fast growing company! Google is sharing it's Adwords program with local people who want to earn money working from the comfort of their own home. This is a legitimate program so you must be serious about earning as much as 6900.00 per month or more!
For more information:

CLICK HERE to continue =>


Ultimate Search Guide
Click Here to continue =>

The Profitable Business News Video Feed

Worth a Minute: Optimizing Search

Product Review: Ryan Healy's "Get Clients Report" - How To Get Your First Copywriting Client In 14 Days Or Less...

Hold on tight up and coming copywriters...

This one is good.

Even though I am way past getting my own first client, I choked up and got a copy of Ryan Healy's report. Had to see what my good friend and colleague was up to. :)

Now, Ryan has been interviewed on this subject a few times by copywriting experts like Michel Fortin, and John Angel...but the content in those interviews doesn't even hold a candle to the content in this "Get Clients Report."

Ryan Healy did good here, and you should get a copy for yourself...it requires an investment, but your first client will be worth ten times the price.

CLICK HERE to check it out.

The Info Store...

I have prepared an online information products store where you can get any information product you can think of...

The prices are right too...

Simply CLICK HERE to enter.

90th Post...an Opportunity To Be Your Own Boss...

The next 10 posts...leading to the infamous 100th post...and the gifts, will present to you a number of opportunities to build more income streams for your business, improve your health and well being, and other life improvement items.

The first being an opportunity to build another income stream, or perhaps a first income stream, either way...it is an excellent one:

Check it out at http://profitpartnersconsulting.com/be_your_own_boss.html

What Is The Profitable Business Edge, Part 3

Hello, welcome to the third and final sequel of the trilogy.

I am just going to touch base on the 4 items we finished with from the last post...

So, what is the real deal with the signature?
Well, in my signature file I typically use "author of The Profitable Business Edge" and now use "author of The Profitable Business Edge 2" .

This has developed to serve a few purposes. It is the branded name of my first real business blog yes, and now will carry on to this blog's sequel (which I will get to in a moment). Next, there are plans in the works for books that I am writing that I cannot divulge too much detail on just yet. Notice the bold on the "s". ;)

So, I am going to publish an actual, covered, printed book in the upcoming months for all business owners online and off to enjoy. Part of my surprise for the 100th post centers around this little invention of mine.

Where is The Profitable Business Edge 2 going to take us?

The cool thing about the sequel blog, located at http://josephratliff.name , is it has all of my posts up to this series in it, plus more that I have added since then. Check it out, because in addition to the content quality being "on the edge," I have learned a lot about blogging. For example, The Profitable Business Edge 2 is a fully functional Wordpress style blog using my name as a domain. Easy to remember.

In the future, I will be opening a feature for content writers to add carefully selected marketing pieces containing "insider secrets" that will benefit all business owners (me too). Be on the look out for hidden extras as well.

And now, the question and answer you have all been waiting for...

What about the 100th post to the original should I be watching for?

Bonus time. On the 100th post, which will be obvious to all the readers...I will place a subscription form where upon submitting your email and name (again, sorry, I want to track results with this) and receive the following for FREE:

• A special free report "The Best 10 Out of The First 100", a kind of Greatest Hits for The Profitable Business Edge based on visits and other accumulated stats. ($27 value)
• An audio titled "Breaking Loose, Taking Your Business Beyond The Mediocre" by me. This audio will contain the critical information you need to step up and really rake in the profits. This audio will be like sitting in a room with me and getting a "hot seat treatment." ($197 value)
• And...last but not least, only those that submit their name and email address on this list will receive a FREE copy of my first book in pdf format when it hits the shelves. You will also have an opportunity to receive a special offer on the hard copy version (really special offer).

So, that about does it. Pay careful attention to this blog for that special day, as I will be limiting the number of free bonuses to under 250 people (announcements will be made on both this blog, and The Profitable Business Edge 2 when the time is approaching for the bonus).

Until then, keep coming back here and the sequel for cutting edge information and tips to improve your business.

To your success online and offline,

Joseph Ratliff

Marketing Consultant, Copywriter, and Author of The Profitable Business Edge

P.S. You can still, for a limited time, grab a copy of the report "How To Uncover Thousands of Dollars In Profits" at http://profitpartnersconsulting.com by visiting today.

What Is The Profitable Business Edge? Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of the story behind The Profitable Business Edge.

So, what are we going to cover in part 2?

* Why the name "The Profitable Business Edge"?
* Where is The Profitable Business Edge now?
* An upcoming special surprise. :)
* And why the heck does Joseph's signature always say "Author of The Profitable Business Edge"? That could only mean he is...

We will start with why the name...

Well, it represents my coaching style. Edgy, in your face, challenging you to become the best business person you can be towards increased success.

And, I wanted to describe the main benefit in the title for business owners online and offline.

Profitable Businesses.

Put the two together, and you have The Profitable Business Edge.

So, where is The Profitable Business Edge now?

Well, this is the 81st post since February 2006. It has been received very well by the readers, with comments, emails saying thank you, and so forth. But, I know that even good things can always be improved...so...two things come into play here:

1. There is a sequel, The Profitable Business Edge 2, located at http://josephratliff.name which will be even edgier than the first, with high - level content to deliver profitable business information for all.
2. And I think I would still keep an eye on the original for the 100th post. ;) There may be a surprise in the works...

So, the last thing is the signature.

Anyone who reads any of my signatures reads "author of The Profitable Business Edge" contained within the signature file.

Why? Well, I will tell you it has nothing to do with being the author of this blog.

I will reveal all of this in part 3:

• So, what is the real deal with the signature?
• Where is The Profitable Business Edge 2 going to take us?
• What about the 100th post to the original should I be watching for?
• Any changes that need to be addressed in the sequel.

Stay tuned...

To your success online and offline,

Joseph Ratliff

Marketing Consultant, Copywriter, and Author of The Profitable Business Edge

What is The Profitable Business Edge? Part 1

I am creating this three part series to inform you what The Profitable Business Edge really is...and how you can benefit from it.

The reason for doing this is to:

• Clarify a few things.
• Provide a marketing and branding lesson for you.
• And to let you know where The Profitable Business Edge came from, where it is now, and where it is going for the future of internet marketing.
• And, to get to know me better as a marketer.

So, for the remainder of this post...and the next two posts...sit back and enjoy, you just might learn a few things about many things (but you will have to read into it a little).

The Birth of The Profitable Business Edge

The Profitable Business Edge was born out of an idea that I could use a blog to deliver high impact, totally out of the box information to help small businesses succeed both on and off the Internet (and my readership is split almost right down the middle to prove it).

But let's expand on this a little. You will notice I wrote "out of the box" in my earlier statement. That is what makes The Profitable Business Edge unique in a way. The information presented here is delivered in such a way as to make even the most basic marketing techniques seem really deep conceptually (all marketing boils down to basic techniques, there isn't "advanced marketing" strategies anywhere, it is more of a mentality).

So why the "really deep" approach to basic marketing strategy?

To change your thinking process about marketing. I write these posts to challenge you, and your current thinking, so that you will view marketing in a different light. I have received numerous emails from business owners online and offline, that own businesses ranging in annual sales volume from less than 100k a year all the way up to 60 million a year. Comments almost always center around the fact that by reading The Profitable Business Edge, their thinking has changed.

So, I am accomplishing exactly what I wanted to when I started this blog. And, I thank and appreciate every one of my readers who have commented on, and submitted emails to me with feedback.

This blog would not be nearing it's 100th post without you, thank you.

So, what are we going to lead into in part 2?

• Why the name "The Profitable Business Edge"?
• Where is The Profitable Business Edge now?
• An upcoming special surprise. :)
• And why the heck does Joseph's signature always say "Author of The Profitable Business Edge"? That could only mean he is...

Stay tuned.

To your success online and offline,

Joseph Ratliff

Marketing Consultant

Copywriter

And Author of The Profitable Business Edge

P.S. Please tell me your thoughts by commenting below...what you would like to see in upcoming posts beyond this three part series, any feedback, etc..

It's Time To Acknowledge Our Independence Again...

Well...

It's that time of year again. This is the second Independence Day for The Profitable Business Edge. In my first 4th of July Post last year, I gave thanks to those who helped give me independence in the online and offline world.

I am going to start by doing the same this year...

My wife Dawn, and my two boys Justin and Austin - Well, aside from the obvious reasons, I would be a fool not to mention the foundation of my life, my family. The support my wife has given me to push through even though it meant 14 hours of work today...has been priceless. My two boys help out on the other end...

"Dad, when are you going to be done on the computer today?" Heheheh. :)

Ryan Healy - A world-class copywriter, mentor, and friend. Ryan has helped me through a couple of brief "rough" patches I had this year of 2007... and deserves a visit to his blog "On Copywriting" over at http://www.ryansblog.com today. Thank you Ryan, you have helped bring peace in the couple of turbulent times I have had.

Noah Fleming - Owner of the very popular internet marketing membership site, http://www.rich-jerks.com , Noah has shown me quite a bit about internet marketing from an "insiders perspective." His friendship and coaching have brought a new view for me to the online world, and I am using that viewpoint to create something big...something I think that will be revolutionary in the online world, and I will ask Noah to help bring it to light when finished of course ;) . Thank you Noah, first for your friendship, and of course for the coaching.

There are countless other individuals that have made an impact in my business and personal lives...know this, you are all dear to my heart and I thank you.

Let's be thankful for the freedom to make choices today everyone. That freedom has come at a heavy price, so don't "ruin it" by forgetting to give thanks.

To your freedom in business,

Joseph Ratliff

Can You See Through The Online Clutter?

Sometimes, it is really hard to see an opportunity through all of the "clutter" out there.

What am I speaking of?

A mentality amongst entreprenuers online that there is too much competition out there to be profitable in this online niche/business/affiliate marketing opportunity etc...

Know what I say to that? Pfui.

You really can create a business, even when competition is at it's highest.

Here is today's lesson on how to "separate yourself from the crowd in a crowded market."

Let's use affiliate marketing as today's example...

What usually happens when you sign up for an affiliate opportunity that is popular? Do you really think that affiliate opportunity, if it is a viable business, will be sold by anyone besides you? Of course it will. Good affiliate opportunities...

Seem to "catch on", and be sold by everyone on the planet.

Right?

So what are you to do? Give up and let everyone else make all the money?

Here is a little secret...

Of the thousands of people that sign up for good affiliate opportunities...

75% of them are making hardly any money at all. That's right, hardly any money at all.

Why is this? Well, it lies in the reason many people sign up for affiliate opportunities in the first place. As human beings, we want an "easy" way to make money. In other words, we possess a greed gland.

So we sign up for the affiliate program, confirm the email, and make the crucial mistake that will put us in the 75% category...

We do what everyone else is doing to sell the affiliate program/product/service.

Wanna see through the online clutter? Wanna join the top 25% of any affiliate program?

Here is the secret:

Add your personality to the materials in the affiliate program. Make the materials they provide your own. Make it seem like the offer came from you.

Even better...

Test graphics, copy, and email marketing...and really make the whole product seem your own.

In other words...do what others won't do and get results that others can't get. Period.

Work at it. Separate yourself from all of the clutter.

So, how does this apply to business in general?

Even if you own an offline business, there is never too much competition. You just have to be creative, get off your butt, and do what other business owners won't do to separate yourself from the crowd.

More to come on this subject.

To your success online and offline...

Joseph Ratliff
Marketing Consultant
http://www.profitpartnersconsulting.com

P.S. If you would like to investigate an online business on a plate...go to http://www.profitpartnersconsulting.com/Turbo.html

How To Make $1000 - 2000 in 24 Hours

Wanna find out how?

Visit http://1000in24hours.buildinginternetwealth.org right now.

It's that simple.

One Secret To Increasing Sales From Your Affiliate Links

If you find that your affiliate links are not as effective as you would like them to be, despite forum posting, article marketing and all that good stuff, it’s time to consider a new method. There is a new hype going around, about using Adwords to sell your affiliate products and it is a pretty good idea. The whole thing is quite simple, and you will learn everything you need to right here in this article. Stay tuned at the end, and you will discover how to get your Google Adwords campaigns for FREE.

Affiliates can be notoriously difficult to sell. Most people join the program and never get anywhere. After a month or two without sales, they give up and quite trying. The few who do manage to earn money are excellent promoters and few and far between. You have a better chance of earning with your own business in most cases.

However, there are exceptions. You can actually use Adwords to get people to buy your affiliate products without having to do any promotion at all, it is all taken care of by Google’s promotion package. You will have to pay a small amount, but since Google allows you to set your budget, you can keep your costs low until you have sold several affiliate products and earned enough to bump your budget up.

The whole thing is quite simple. You sign up for one or more affiliate programs and get the codes. This is usually easiest when you work through one conglomerate that brings hundreds of programs together under one roof, like Clickbank or ShareASale. You can take on as many affiliate products as you wish and market them.

First, you will need to sign up for a Google Adwords account if you don’t already have one. This is extremely easy and only requires email verification before you are able to start pumping out ads. Your affiliate product will give you the inspiration for your ads. For example, if you are trying to sell an ebook on Ebay selling techniques, you might write an ad that looks something like this:

“Earn Massive Cash Today, Ebay secrets that every reseller needs to know. You too can earn $$$ on Ebay auctions.”

You can experiment with different types of ads, aimed at different markets. The idea is to get people to click on the ad, of course. You will be able to specify a link for the ad and this should be your affiliate link. Put a simpler one in the link that will actually be shown with the ad, since they don’t have to be the same and you don’t want people to know that you are using affiliate links.

Now, you can set your price to as low as you want, even one cent per click, although this will probably take you out of the running! Instead, go for 5-10 cents a click and specify the amount you want to spend per day. If you want to, you can limit your ad to just three clicks per day! Start small and build up, $2-5 is a good daily amount to start off with.

From here, Google will take over, placing your ads on any relevant website that has AdSense as well as displaying them on the main search page whenever anyone looks at anything to do with Ebay. You pay only for the clicks that go through. The whole idea is that people will click because they are interested and hopefully buy the product through your affiliate link. Not a bad way to earn some cash with minimum investment.

The Holy Grail of Internet Marketing - A Business On A Silver Plate

A Business On a Silver Plate
By Joseph Ratliff

What will you do if you’re given the chance to own a
franchise to one of the most successful line of information
products in the Internet today?

What will you do if you’re given exclusive access to a
non-stop factory of innovative eBooks, programs and scripts
that you could sell for profit any time of the day, any day
of the week?

What will you do if you’re given everything… EVERYTHING…
that you would ever need to successfully run this franchise
and make some gigantic earnings in the process?

What will you do if someone gives you a Business on a
Silver Plate? Would you say No??

Nah....

I am asking these questions because they are what John
Delavera is offering in his latest brainchild: the chance
to have your own business with full technical, inventory
and coaching support at a price that is lower than two
pairs of jeans at Walmart.

Aptly named the TURBO Membership, John Delavera is pulling
out all the stops on his latest endeavor and he wants you
to ride with him. He is offering you the chance to own and
sell his highly acclaimed TURBO line of products for an unheard of
95% profit, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

He will also give you new, exclusive products every month from his
virtual assembly line of cutting edge concepts and ideas.

And you will be able to earn from all of these through a
complete business module that would be provided for you,
including a web hosting subscription, website design, an
excellent autoresponder service, marketing materials, and
most importantly, the tutorship from one of the best minds
in the industry, John Delavera himself.

So, are you ready to make that change that would finally
put an end to your commercial burdens and hitch you a ride
on that highway to online prosperity?

Check it today and see the difference that EVERYTHING can
make:

http://turbo.buildinginternetwealth.org

Yours in success,

Joseph Ratliff
ebusinessnow@gmail.com

I have tested it...AND IT WORKS!

Do Your Customers Have To Ask You To Market Your Business?

I know, I know...

Huh?

Please allow me to explain, because this is an instant profit generator for your business.

I mean it.

If you own a business that offers multiple products or services to your market...how do your customers find out the ways that your business can benefit their lives?

Do they have to actually ask you? I mean, is it their fault if they don't do enough research and find out from other sources what you have to offer?

Nope, it isn't their fault...it's your fault...and your responsibility to educate your customers how your business can benefit their lives.

"But Joe, I have a website/brochure that does all of that. Man, your a moron...telling me that I have to educate my customers on all of the services/products that I offer. Plus, they never ask me what I offer, so I assume they don't want to know."

When a business owner replies this way...I naturally challenge them:

"Ok, Mrs. Business Owner, so what you are saying is it is your customers responsibility to use your brochures and websites etc... to educate themselves on your business and its offerings? What if they don't understand everything you offer? What if they don't want to read your website or brochure to find out how about every way you can help them?"

"Mrs. Business Owner, how are you going to get your message across?"

"How Forgetting About Profits Can Help Market Your Business"

Hold on for one second...

Don't fire up that email program and start blasting away at me yet.

I don't mean you have to totally forget about managing your business to extract maximum profitability out of it. That would be business suicide.

Picture this with me for a second...

You have two buckets, one above the other. The top bucket represents the value your offering to your customers with your product(s) or service(s).

The bottom bucket, represents your business' profits.

If the customer value bucket is directly above the other, you cannot start to fill the profits bucket until you fill the value bucket. No, you cannot tip the top bucket over either.

In other words...your value bucket has to overfill in order to start filling the profits bucket.

Are you with me so far? Good, because you absolutely must understand this concept as the small business environment keeps getting more and more competitive (both online and offline).

You have to deliver more value than your customers expect in order to fill your profits bucket. As you can see, the profits bucket is empty with each new customer that you serve in your business.

But what if you could fill more than one profit bucket for each customer? You can...and that is actually the focus of this lesson.

Which bucket will you focus on for each customer in your business? Value, or profits?

Focus on value, and you can keep filling up more profit buckets for each customer.

Focus on profits, and you will have a hard time filling that bucket without adding value.

So, which one do you choose?

I already know the answer to that question. So, the next logical question would be...

• Are you a service provider? Add a special report or two that will aid in making it easier for the customer to do business with you. You can also include reports that will allow your customer to make some money in the process of doing business with you.
• Are you a retail store? Then simply package items that enhance each other's usability together. For example, shampoo and conditioner for just a little more than the price of shampoo. Oil and filters for the price of the filter etc...
• Do you sell services and products? Then package a couple of products that enhance the service you provide together for the price of your main service.

There are obviously way more possibilities that could make this post over 100 pages long. The key here is to make the offer a creative one, an offer that benefits your customer's lives.

And know this...the better your offer, and the more perceived value your customer senses, the faster you will be able to fill up those profit buckets.

********************************************************************

Grab your copy of "Double Your Business In 90 Days" for free at

http://www.profitpartnersconsulting.com

But hurry, this offer is soon to be pulled due to overwhelming response.

*******************************************************************