The business of selling cheap domain
names has hit an industry high. So many are chasing for the crumbs
in the internet world causing some succumb to rock bottom prices to
beef up their clientele list. Short of offering free services all
the way, the ridiculous prices cause one to stop and think on the
obligations and responsibilities once one signs up with them. As
such, it is essential to read the fine print as the harder it is to
comply by industry expectations and standards, the smaller the font
gets.To attract patronage to
their sites, these service providers throw in cheap or even free
hosting plus other services upon signup of their cheap domain. Most
sites impose domain registration charges on an annual basis. Since
some do charge on a monthly basis, it is imperative to confirm which
is which before signing on the dotted line. Name categories are
divided into general and country levels. The former is basically a
string of user chosen name combined with an internationally
recognized extension. The latter is similar in nature with the
addition of the country's extension. To qualify for approval to
register country level domain names, respective regional authorities
may require proof of company existence within the countries' shores.
Charges may fluctuate between general and country level domain as
home-based names may carry more value than stateless ones.
Every name has the potential to
draw attention given the right circumstances. A significant
influence to world leadership or the entertainment industry can
cause a name to be snapped up as a domain name. As such, some make
it their business to invest a small sum in domain registration
charges for a bunch of cheap domain names until such time arises to
cash in on the profits. Akin to trading on the stock market, this
form of buying into the future enables one to dream of hitting the
jackpot one fine day.
If you are reading this article then
chances are you want to establish yourself on the world wide web,
and you have some idea of what a domain name is. But just in case
you stumbled across this article trying find out what the term means
and why it's so important, then here you go.
A Domain Name is quite simply a
website address. Not completely unlike a home or business address.
It is what people type in to their web browsers to go to your
website. You will hear people refer to a domain name more commonly
as either a "website address" or "URL" (uniform resource locator).
On one hand, if you are not
planning on starting your own blog or website, you don't need your
own website address, you can blissfully participate in social
networks, and other peoples blogs and forums without needing one.
Also, on that same hand, if you do want to start a blog for
recreational purposes, there are a few sites out there on the
internet that allow you to create a blog for free.
On the other hand however, if you
want to establish your own presence, creating your own brand, and
claim your own piece of virtual real estate, especially
professionally speaking, then you should have your one of your own.
Why shouldn't you use the freebies
that are available? Because they generally have rules in place about
certain content, and if the content you wish to publish is not in
line with their terms of service, they can remove it at any time.
Also, if their company should go out of business or decide not to
offer that service anymore, then all the hard work that you have put
into your blog or website goes with it.
With your own hosted website, you
to have more control over your content, greater versatility, and the
ability to create your own brand.
Now having your own website address
does not mean that you automatically have your own website. That
requires a hosting account as I alluded to a moment ago. But, with a
website address (your domain name), you can use it in a few ways.
If you already have a blog or an
affiliate (company replicated) website, you can "forward" the domain
name, kind of like call forwarding, so that when people type it in,
they are automatically redirected to the site of your choice.
Alternately, if you so desire, you
can set up a hosting account with any of a number of web hosting
companies and create your own blog, company website, or online
store, just the way you want it.
In today's world, and for the
foreseeable future more and more people get their news,
entertainment, and shop, online. If you want yourself or your
company to stand apart competitively, then you will need your own
domain name.
Now that you know what a domain
name is, and why it's important for your brand, there is another
aspect to domain names. When choosing a domain name don't be foolish
with your choice. Domain names play a vital role in SEO or "Search
Engine Optimization". When you register a domain name it should be
relevant to the content on your site, your name, or your business
name.
It may be
a bit nerve wracking to register your own web site name if you
aren't sure how, so I have posted free information on the process
Getting Your Own Domain Name
complete with a two part video tutorial on my blog.
Introduction:
The first question that comes in
your mind after you decide to finally launch a website is what would
be the name of your website. Just like every human being is
addressed by his / her name, websites have names too. And to make
that name visible in virtual world, it has to be accompanied by an
identification label which is known as a domain name. A domain name
is something that we come across in our everyday lives while
browsing on the internet. It's something that describes an empire of
administrative authority, autonomy or domination on the internet
based on DNS which is known as a domain name system. Some of the
best examples of a domain name are.com,.net,.org,. edu etc.
Basic Understanding:
Domains are normally classified
according to their importance on the internet and we all know that
the most common and most preferred domain name used over the
internet is .com
The main purpose of a domain name
is to easily impart effortlessly memorizable and decipherable
identity to the internet resources that are numerically addressed.
Domain names are basically called as domains whereas the owners of
the names are called as registrants or name owners. However the
registration of a domain name with domain registrar does not
essentially bestow any legal possession of that domain name, but
only a right of use that is exclusively for a domain owner.
Domains are mainly used in a
variety of networking framework and application specific addressing
function. Domain names are specifically organized in different
level-sets which are as follows:
· First level set: These are
top level domains abbreviated as TLD's and they include gTLD's which
is generic top level and ccTLD's which is country code top level
domains.
· Second & Third Level Domains:
Second and third level come below first level set of domains in
the hierarchy and are usually open to be utilized by users that
desire to connect to the internet, create publicly accessible
internet resources or to run websites.
The
complete technical infrastructure of a
Domain Name
system consists of a naming tree in which each point contains data
that is interlinked with the name. The domain name actually consists
of different parts which are technically called as labels that are
bordered by dots like myname.com.
Now the best way to understand
different parts of a domain name is to start from the end to the
beginning.
For e.g. in the domain name www dot
sample dot com, the last label reflects the top-level domain name
which means .com is the top level domain name.
Then the flow of hierarchy advances
from last to second last label in the domain name which is known as
a sub domain to the top-level domain which was .com.
Similarly the third level domains are the ones that are canvassed
immediately before the second last label. There are also fourth and
fifth levels of domains with no limitation virtually. Finally the
www initiating a domain name is the name of a host and each label in
a domain name is separated by a dot.
The complete hierarchy of labels
may have 127 levels and each label may hold up to 63 characters,
however 253 characters may be the maximum limit of a full domain
name, but generally the domain registries may have brief limits too.
The Domain Name System was given
shape in 1980s and the domain name space was alienated in two major
assemblies of domains. ccTLD which is The country code top level
domains and gTLD which is generic top level domains.
Some Interesting Facts and
Figures:
The first business internet domain
name which is.com was registered on 15/03/1985 by one computer
systems firm located in Massachusetts..
Not having gained much popularity
in the beginning, mere 15,000 domain names with.com were registered
till the year 1992, however till the end of December 2009 this
number soared to approximately 192 million and as per the recent
research data, the number of registered domain names has skyrocketed
the limit to 84 million domain names as of March 2010, out of which
e-commerce and business websites owns 11.9 million, 3.1 million
domain names are dominated by websites related to finance, 1.8
million are used by sports websites and 4.3 million for websites for
just entertainment.
Conclusion:
Domain name registrars endorsed by
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers delegates the
right to use a domain name. It's an organization charged with
control of the name and number systems over the Internet.
How an Entertainment Agency
worksIn addition to
writing contracts, making phone calls, sending emails (sometimes 50
a day) an entertainment agent will in the first instance obtain the
work, which is in fact, their main role. This has never been so
difficult since the post war period. There are occasions when an
entertainment agent spends the whole day searching for the right
act. Using the example of a sole trader, an entertainment agent's
typical week 40 hr week comprises of:
40%-60% promoting the agency (front
page of Google etc) 16-24 hrs
10%-30% dealing with
bookings/issues 4-12 hrs
20% responding to enquiries
(weeding out time wasters etc) 8 hrs
5% artist registration/maintaining
a large artist database 2 hrs
5% Searching for that elusive act 2
hrs
Entertainment Agent
Overheads
An entertainment agent has
overheads like any business. Here is a list of some of the
entertainment agent's overheads totalling (typically £2000+/year:
• Streamline
• PayPal
• Bank charges
• General office costs - lighting heating stationary PC telephone
etc
• Rent/rates
• Broadband costs
• Hosting service/domain name rental/SEO/AdWords
• Petrol - checking out artists/venues
• Membership of FSB etc
• Insurance
• Advertising - yellow pages etc
• Tax return and accounting (no cash for the entertainment agent)
Submitting your Details to
an Entertainment Agent
When you submit material do it via
post AND email AND text message - that will ensure that your details
can be accessed at all times. When submitting pictures/recordings to
the entertainment agent supply as many as possible, up to 10
examples is okay, and let the agent make the final choice regarding
representation. Most recordings are unusable, so if you are serious
about your work leave it to the expert. A weekly/fortnightly date
sheet is a good idea (It gets quieter towards the end of the week)
as is a gig list on your website. An entertainment agent may use an
internet pseudonym to avoid supplying key words to the public
domain. There is no such thing as an agent friendly website.
The First Gig for an
Entertainment Agent
Getting gigs is hard work so make
an impression and don't rely on the agent to keep getting you
through the door. Don't turn up at the gig without a wad of cards.
Arrive early - it looks professional and it's a good opportunity to
break the ice. A Satnav is worth its weight in gold. Entertainment
agents don't like unnecessary phone calls in the evening, especially
when their job has already been done. They may rebook because they
like you rather than product.
Always discuss the requirement
directly well before the booking date, it's reassuring for the
client and allows any fine detail to be buttoned down, E.g. special
song, local gags etc. If two sets are required checking with client
after first set is a good idea. Adopt a flexible approach. An
entertainment agent can't get work for everyone and will always have
their favourite artists and they are not necessarily the most
talented but could be the most flexible.
Also remember that the first
entertainment agency gig is very important but high risk, so it may
not be a big earner. However if all goes well you have initiated
what could be a fruitful relationship. If the agent comes along to
see the act ask for feedback- he is the only one who will tell you
the truth when you in the "zone". When was the last time your
product was reviewed?
Pat Testing of equipment and Public
Liability Insurance
This is a requirement mandatory by
law and a requirement of all bookings by any entertainment agency,
so don't get caught out. It also looks professional if you can
forward the relevant certificates.
How to get on with
Entertainment Agents
Ask yourself why you use an estate
agent and avoid outmoded clichés like, just one phone call.
The industry is becoming polarised.
Established artists are working with established agents, new artists
working with the newer "post internet" agents. The entertainment
agent wants the service at wholesale prices with a view to
competitive retail. If an agent charges:
• 15% commission - you will be one
of a 1000
• 20% commission - you will be one of a 100
• 25% commission - you will be one of 10.
Treat every gig as a promotion
opportunity. Not getting rebooked on the night is okay. Not getting
any enquiries is questionable. It is advisable to have more than one
product. E.g. a comedian can be a hypnotism, or magician/clown, an
80s band/soul, Elvis/Ratpack and so on. Make sure your product is
commercial and clearly defined. No one will be looking for 6
different tribute acts in one show. Be responsive, agents don't like
answer machines or email responses more than 1 day old. Email on the
move is a must have.
In Conclusion
Each gig costs an entertainment
agent around £100 to obtain and it generally takes longer to get the
gig than to do the show. An agent does not get paid for just
brokering the deal; it's also for marketing the product,
establishing hundreds of connections and dealing with interminable
dialogues. Technology has changed the industry. Some entertainment
agencies are venue led others are internet led. When the recession
is over we will be in a new economy with entertainment moving into
line with other industries and work slowly migrating towards the
more progressive internet driven entertainment agencies.
The age of information is upon us. As
vertical expansion on this planet continues, mankind's high
technology has opened access to a horizontal expansion into a
cyberspace of digital land. The virtual real estate game differs
from its physical counterpart in several ways, including cost of
entry, currency of cost, and the factors that drive this cost.
Unlike the physical plane, where the
cost of entry into the market is a grossly enormous amount, the
digital world opens its gates for a small recurring fee of the old
currency. The term "old currency" is purposefully used because money
is no longer the dominating unit of exchange. Money buys building
materials, a plot of land, and manual labor. In this fashion the old
fashion real estate was created. The new virtual real estate is born
out of a currency of consciousness. The building material is the
knowledge of the website construction program of choice. The plot of
land is the allocated server space. Manual labor is now automated.
Content creation is the new currency - the exchanging of ideas.
In the physical world there will
eventually be a scarcity of land (which is why the trend has become
building upwards into the sky). There will never be a scarcity of
digital land, as it is composed of information being ever
increasingly more efficiently stored on disks and drives. Real land
is limited by space. Digital land is not limited by space, but by
language. The driving factor of cost here is the scarcity of common
search phrases.
Like the times when acres sold for
pennies, domain names were easy to purchase for the early internet
settlers. Navigation of the digital realm occurs by typing common
phrases into the address bar or search engine. These phrases
represent the premium locations on that busy city intersection
downtown. If the domain name matches the search phrase, then all the
better for the driver. The car is replaced by the search engine. The
road traveled is the search algorithm. The destination is the
linguistically most relevant piece of virtual real estate. Common
search phrases as domain names have become incredibly expensive and
unavailable as each human language's phrases are being finely picked
and extracted for use.
Language alters our perception of
the real world, but it creates the digital world. The limits of
language are the literal limits of digital land. The expansion of
language will equal the creation of new virtual worlds. Perhaps this
should inspire a reconsideration of the meaning of the ideas of the
Hindu seed syllable Aum, the Christian Logos (the Word), and the
Simulation Theory...
Here's how web templates work. All you
have to do is go to one of dozens of web development companies that
offer free templates for building websites and download the one you
like. Then you add text and pictures, even video and audio clips of
your favorite celebrities. That's all there is to it. You don't need
any coding skills because everything is drop and drag. Each template
come with instructions and you don't' have to buy any additional
software.Some website
development companies even offer free web hosting if you let them
advertise on your site. The only thing that you have to pay for is
the domain name registration, which is about the cost of two or
three gossip magazines. You can update and change your website as
often as you like, so you will always be current with latest trends
and gossip.
There are many different helpful
aspects of these web templates. The first thing is that they are
flash templates. This means that there are all kinds of neat effects
that you can add to them. For instance, you can add a slide show
with all of your favorite celebrities. Or if you are obsessed with
one celebrity you can create a slide show of them.
These templates are also divided
into different pages with tabs that you can click on so all of your
photos can be organized and easily viewed. So for example you could
have a page with the cutest photos of your favorite celebrity,
doctored photos where you put yourself in the picture with a
celebrity, and fashion do's and don'ts.
You can also have pages with stats
and biographies and separate pages for commentary. Add a chat forum
and you have a complete site devoted to the celebrities that you
adore. As stated earlier, you may even want to devote a website to
one celebrity in particular.
This is a neat thing to do because
celebrities are very vain people. They are always looking themselves
up on the Internet and love to see that so many people are talking
about them. If you can get your site ranked for one celebrity, you
may be surprised that they drop in on your chat room and leave you a
message of thanks - or maybe the threat of a gag order, depending on
whether they like (or don't like) what you have to say about them.
Who knows, you might even get to meet them.
You can also use these kinds of
websites to start a fan club. You never know what kinds of people
you can attract to join as members and they might even pay you. Or
you could organize a group trip to go to the celebrity's home and
work.
You might even be able to get some
of your own photos of your favorite celebrity while you are in
Hollywood, or wherever they live and work. Just make sure you check
out the local stalking laws before you get too close. The best thing
to do is just enjoy Hollywood while you are there and appreciate all
that your free web templates have done for you.
If
you love Hollywood gossip there are so many websites that
you can visit, but what about starting one of your own?
Maybe you live in a city with lots of celebrity action, or
maybe someone is going to be shooting a movie in your home
town. Maybe you just like to post pictures of your favorite
Celebes and talk about them with other fans. If you don't
have any web skills, don't let that stop you. There are
plenty of
web templates
that you can use to create your own entertainment website.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rose_Elsa_Anderson
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Successful domain name acquisition is
harder than you might think. In order to run a successful business
website-or personal, for that matter-you need a name that will
exemplify the qualities, characteristics, or themes that you want
put on display. If the site is for your company, SPMI Financial, it
is best to go with something like spmifinancial-dot-com. But as
you're about to see, it is not always such a cut and dry experience.
1) Find the right web host. Hosting
services, as it is said, are a dime a dozen. There are many out
there who offer you cheap prices and exemplary services. Many of
these locations back it up, but it is always a good idea to ask
friends, family, and posters on independent message boards what
their experiences are like with certain providers. This can alert
you to the pitfalls and clarify what it is you are looking for in a
service.
2) Search for a name that will be
descriptive of your business. Choosing a name isn't always as simple
as the name of your company. Just ask World Wrestling Entertainment,
the former World Wrestling Federation (or WWF). During the Nineties,
the titan of sports entertainment engaged in a losing battle with
World Wildlife Fund, despite having carried the WWF monicker for
nearly two decades. It all came to a head over their dispute for
domain registration.
3) Examine the results. You may
have to run several searches before you can pick a winner. If that's
what you must do, then by all means do it. Rarely is the name you
have in mind not already taken. Human brains work in much the same
way all over the globe. It's easy to replicate similarities no
matter how unique that you think your idea is. No sense in suing
just yet. Simply try to find a name that isn't taken, which will
work for you.
4) Refine your search until you get
something that works for your business or site, and for yourself.
Once you're there, it is time to start the final process. But first,
take pride in the fact that you found something innovative and
catchy enough to make a go of it. It's one giant leap forward for
the success of your website.
5) Purchase your page title with
all available extensions. Don't stop with a dot-com or dot-net. The
fact that ideas are replicated so often is something of which you
need to be aware. By protecting your catchy name at the time of the
purchase, you can make sure that your creation is always branded
that way without the headaches of trademark and copyright forms.
Following these steps leads to a
smoother experience for customers and a more successful presence on
the web.
Are you interested in promoting your
band without getting hosed by some savvy band promoter for hundreds
or even thousands of dollars? This article gives you 3 easy steps
you can take to promote your music on YouTube without getting hosed.
Build a Landing/Squeeze Page For
Your Band
This sounds harder than it actually is. You can use a free account
at Blogger to create a squeeze page for your band. Get an auto
responder for around 10 bucks a month. Post the HTML code for the
auto responder on your website (don't worry, it's easy). Have a
short promo video on your site and right below put the HTML code
from your auto responder under the video. Then put the headline,
"for more great videos type in your name and email and we'll send
them right to you".
Post Your Video on YouTube
Get a video of your band to post on YouTube. On the front page of
the video put the domain name for your blog where you have the auto
responder set up. At the end of your recording say something like,
to hear more great music visit (your domain name for your site).
This will drive traffic to your website. The people who give you
their email and name are now on your "list" and they can be
considered your fans.
Send Emails To Your Fans
After you have your list of fans that gave you their email address
and name, send them emails once a week. Promote your music and
merchandise to your list of subscribers. You can even offer then
free stuff; They'll love you for it.
Promoting your music and band
promotion is not too complex; it just takes a little imagination.
Don't worry, after you make it big you can get your own band manager
and band promoter. Savvy?
If you've made a feature film,
congratulations! As an independent filmmaker, you've just
accomplished a feat that many find impossible. But behind all the
excitement, you and I both know there is one nagging question on
your mind. And it is the same question asked by every independent
feature filmmaker. You're wondering: "How am I going to sell this
thing?"That is a good
question. And if you're crossing your fingers for a huge paycheck
and a three-picture Hollywood deal, what I'm about to tell you is
going to be very different than what you had hoped for.
Thanks to technology, any person
with a thousand dollars can grab an HD camera and create a backyard
indie. And while this does not guarantee quality, it does create a
market flooded with cheaply produced movies. Couple this with a
decline in traditional sales channels and your odds of finding a
profitable deal have become increasingly challenging.
For most filmmakers, this
revelation comes as a shock. After all the work you put into making
your movie project a reality, the prospect of putting a no-deal DVD
onto a bookshelf and failing to get a return on investment is
discouraging. And if it wasn't for the internet, I'd probably tell
you that a career selling life insurance wouldn't be too bad.
But I have good news! Like you, our
first feature was met with empty distribution promises and crappy
deals. So by necessity, we started selling our title on Amazon as
both a physical DVD and a video on demand download. At first, none
of the producers liked that idea. I mean, even if a traditional deal
sucks, at least there is still validation of seeing your title on
the shelves at the local video store...
Then we made our first sale. We
thought it was an anomaly. How could we possibly make money with our
movie? We had no stars. We had no formal distribution. And most
people on earth had never heard of our title (including you.) But
then we made another sale... And then a third... And then a dozen...
That was 2006. Since that time, our
movie has sold in ways we never imagined. As a result, every four
months I get a nice check. And while it's not enough money to buy my
retirement, I can't complain.
This success was enough to convince
me that making money as an indie filmmaker is no longer about the
BIG pay day. These days filmmakers need to create good work, find
their target audience and focus on selling movies consistently over
time. As a result, I now believe the modern moviemaking model is to
eventually create multiple streams of movie income.
For many filmmakers, this sort of
talk might be crazy.
Think about it. In years past,
filmmakers only self distributed their movies when they had to. It
wasn't a choice! But these days, filmmakers can choose to
self-distribute, because 9 times out of 10, making your title
available on Amazon and iTunes and other popular VOD marketplaces
can potentially pay more than a traditional deal. Because a deal
that pays zero is not a deal. (Of course I'm expressing my opinion.)
The following "How To Sell Your
Movie" checklist will provide you with a broad overview of how to
market and sell your movie without the middle-man. Also, wherever I
thought it would help, I have mentioned some of my partner
companies. This means if you utilize any of these services, there is
a possibility I will receive compensation. This will not affect your
purchase price. That said, let's get started!
How To Sell Your Movie -
Check list
1. Create a website specific to
your movie. Research various hosting companies and grab hosting for
your site and reserve your domain name there. When you purchase your
hosting, a domain name is usually included in the purchase price.
2. Branding is the marketing
equivalent of matching your belt with your shoes. Don't make your
marketing complicated. Make sure your colors, logos, posters and
fonts are consistent.
3. Most filmmakers make a crazy
website with all sorts of bells and whistles. Your website should be
simple. You should have a trailer, an about page, a buy now button,
links to your social networks and an audience list.
4. Out of everything I mention,
getting people onto your opt-in audience list is most important. An
audience list will allow you to collect a name and email address of
your visitor.
5. Take a moment to think about
your target audience. Hopefully you have a marketable hook for your
movie, and a plan for reaching your target demographic. If not,
figure it out!
6. Get your movie selling as a
Video on Demand rental and download. Upload your movie to the many
VOD marketplaces, such as iTunes, Amazon and NetFlix. To make this
easy, research a company called Distribber. Tell them I sent you.
7. You can sell DVDs too. Amazon's
Create Space makes this easy. And even though it's more expensive, I
advise you to stay out of the shipping business. Let CS manufacture
your DVDs and fulfill your orders on demand. This way, you can focus
on increasing your sales, as well as your next movie projects. Not
shipping.
8. Your trailer is your sales tool.
Upload your trailer to YouTube as well as other, popular video
sites. Make sure your trailer mentions your website. Put your focus
on optimizing YouTube. Why? Because YouTube is both a social network
and the second largest search engine on earth (also owned by Google.)
It's worth it!
9. Write press releases related to
the availability of your movie. Include back links to your site.
Send the release out via one of the online press release submission
sites. In addition to this, don't be afraid to call magazine editors
and journalists who write for your target audience. As they say, if
you don't ask - you don't get!
10. Join online forums related to
your target market. Create a profile, complete with a signature link
to your website. Now, whenever you join a conversation, you'll
spread your links.
11. Just because you're in a forum
doesn't mean people care about you or your movie. If you join
conversations without adding value - or if you become one of those
spam happy people who talk about your movie and fail to add value to
the discussion, you will be seen as a spammer.
12. If the idea of contributing to
forum conversations annoys you, then just pay for advertising on the
site. The whole point is to increase awareness of your movie and get
prospective audience members to your site.
13. Create
a Facebook page, a Twitter account and join the popular social
networking sites. Again, you'll want to build a fan base for your
movie. And to manage it, try
http://www.Ping.Fm
This tool allows you to update all your social networking sites at
once, which is cool!
14. The purpose of using social
networks is to connect with your target market, spread word about
your movie and once again, lead people off the networks and onto
your Audience list.
15. The reason you can not rely
solely on social networking for your audience list, is because many
of those sites have gone out of vogue. I lost 10K "friends" on one
of them. As a result, I estimate this tip is worth $100,000.00.
16. Additionally, have your
webmaster put a button on your website so people can tweet,
bookmark, and share your movie website with friends on their social
networking sites. (Can you please click the tweet button at the top
of this article?)
17. If you have the budget,
purchase some offline advertising in publications related to your
movie. To find related publications, go to a book store and look for
magazines. Also, try Google.
18. All of these methods are
intended to get people back to your website. The purpose of your
site is to get people to watch your movie trailer and click the BUY
NOW button. Anything that distracts these visitors must go!
19. You'll soon realize that most
people will not buy your movie on their first visit to your website.
If they don't click, then at least try to get them to opt into your
audience list. Then you have a chance of getting them to buy later.
22. Out of all the people who click
the BUY NOW button, many won't buy. But some will!
23. Consider using that money to
purchase more advertising and then repeat the cycle. The goal is to
keep investing and reinvesting the money until you produce a self
sustaining machine.
24. Sales will tend to level off
after a few years. This is the normal. When this happens, find some
other filmmakers with a movie geared towards the same target
audience. Offer to promote their movie to your audience list. If
these other filmmakers have an audience list too, ask them to
promote your movie. Be willing to pay them a cut of your profits.
25. Time for your next project. But
unlike before, you'll have a strong mailing list at your disposal.
And as a result, you can now ask yourself the following magical
questions: "How many VOD downloads do I have to sell to recoup my
investment? And how am I going to sell them?" Answer those
questions, and you'll also be talking the talk with your investors.
The best way to sell beats is to sell
your music on your website. While there are many sites on the web
where you can sell beats, having your own site is the absolute best
way to make money. The fact is that having your own domain name and
your own web hosting give you more control over the profit you make.
The advantages of selling your
music on your website are:
You don't have to split your profit
with someone else because they host your site. Most of the time on
websites that allow you to post your beats for sale, you have to
give them a percentage of your profits. Or you have to charge your
beat buyers an extra service fee to cover the cost of selling your
beats on someone else's site.
Some buyers don't mind paying extra
for the service fees but if you can cut them out, then your profit
will increase. Also your buyers won't be as hesitant to buy from
you.
Another advantage when you sell
your music on your website is that you can control when your beats
are displayed for sale. If the 3rd party site goes down, then you
can't sell beats therefore you can't make money. Any site can crash
because it main servers go down but you can recover quicker if its
your own site by contacting your web host directly. With 3rd party
sites you have very little control if the site comes down or goes
out of business.
You can control how many songs you
upload by having your own sites. Some 3rd party sites make you pay a
monthly membership fee to post more beats on their sites for sale.
By the time you've finished paying money out to these 3rd party
sites, you could've found a webhost, learned how to build your own
site and then upload as many songs as you would like on your site.
Some of the disadvantages
so selling your music on your website are:
You have to spend money to host
your website. After you picked out your domain and called it "your-site.com",
then you must have some form of hosting so that people can find your
music on the web. This does cost money but you should be making more
money eventually than the money you have to pay out to your web
host. You can get a web host for less than $20 per month. You should
be able to make more than $240 per year with your site if you learn
how to market and sell beats.
You have to both build your own
site and maintain it versus selling on another site where someone
else maintains the site and has built it already.
You should really look at all the
pros and cons. Whether you sell your music on your website or use a
3rd party site, you should ultimately figure out what is in your
best interest and what is in your business interest.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mello Melanin is the force behind
www.HowToSellBeats.info,
a site specializing in teaching new producers how to sell
beats. He is the CEO of What's Hot Media, Inc. Some of his
greatest accomplishments include, performing at the world
famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York and performing
with Grammy Award winners The Roots and Hiphop legends like
KRS-ONE. For more information about how to sell beats, check
out his site at
www.HowToSellBeats.info.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mello_Melanin
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Are you a hip-hop artist, producer,
entrepreneur or fan who wants to make money in the rap industry?
Have you ever thought about starting a hip-hop blog? Believe it or
not, hip-hop blogs are becoming more and more popular, and there are
plenty of opportunities for hip-hop bloggers to make money online.
If the idea of getting paid to share your thoughts and opinions
about rap is music to your ears, here's how to get started.
Step 1 - Choose a Domain Name
and Web Host
A domain name is the website
address that people will use to visit your blog. In general, you
will want to choose a domain name that is easy to remember and gives
people an idea of what type of content they will find on your site.
Examples of things you may want to use as a domain name are:
- Your stage name (if you are an
artist)
- Your company name (if you have
an entertainment company or independent record label)
- Your blog name
- Catch phrases or descriptive
names
Chances are, your first option for
a domain name will already be taken, so be prepared with alternates.
Once you find an available domain
you like, you will need to register it quickly to prevent someone
else from using it. There is a small domain registration fee, but
many web hosting services will waive the domain registration fee
when you sign up for hosting.
Step 2 - Install WordPress
WordPress is blogging software that
has been used to power over 200 million websites. There are a number
of reasons WordPress is so popular:
- Affordability - WordPress is
100% free
- Ease of Use - It does not
require any computer or programming skills to install or use
- Highly Customizable - There are
thousands of free themes and plug-ins available for download
- Supported - WordPress has one of
the largest development communities of any open source software,
so it's easy to find free technical support online
WordPress can usually be installed
in less than five minutes through your web hosting control panel.
Once installed, you can customize your blog by downloading the
hip-hop theme of your choice and installing whichever plug-ins you
want to use through your blog's dashboard.
Step 3 - Start Publishing
Hip-Hop Related Content
Once you set up your blog, you will
be ready to start publishing content. In general, you will want to
publish content of interest to hip-hop fans. This could include:
- Hip-hop related news
- Music, videos and images
featuring rappers
- Reviews of new rap music
- Information about upcoming
hip-hop events
- Links to other hip-hop blogs
If you are a rapper or producer,
you should have no problem creating content based on your own music.
Similarly, if you are starting your own entertainment company or
independent hip-hop record label, you can blog about the artists
you're working with. If you are not in the music business at all,
you can spend a couple of hours each day reading other hip-hop blogs
and write a post each day about the hottest hip-hop topics. The key
is to create as many good hip-hop related posts as you can each
week.
The posts you publish on your blog
will eventually be "crawled" and "indexed" by the major search
engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.). Once indexed, your blog will
start showing up in search results for hip-hop related content. The
more posts you publish and the better the quality of those posts,
the better chance you have of people discovering your blog through
search engines.
Step 4 - Monetize Your Blog
There are lots of ways to make
money as a hip-hop blogger. Here are some of the easiest ways:
- Join an advertising network and
earn money each time someone clicks on an advertisement on your
site
- Join an affiliate program and
earn commissions by recommending products and services you use to
your readers
- Install a free e-commerce
plug-in and sell your own CDs, digital downloads and hip-hop
related merchandise
- Sell ad space directly to
artists and labels who want to promote their music through your
site
- Turn your blog into a membership
site and charge people a fee for access to exclusive content
- Charge a small fee for each CD
you review on your blog
- Charge people to post their rap
videos on your blog
These are just some of the easy
ways to make money as a hip-hop blogger. Experiment with each of
these methods and see which methods earn you the most cash. Or, be
creative and come up with something entirely new. As long as you
keep coming up with content and getting traffic, the money will
come.
Step 5 - Promote Your Blog
Now that you have got your hip-hop
blog up and running, you need to start promoting it. The more
targeted web traffic you get, the more money you are likely to make.
Therefore, it is important that your blog gets seen by as many
hip-hop fans as possible. Here are some free ways to promote your
hip-hop blog:
- Add your website to as many
hip-hop friendly website directories as you can
- Become an active participant in
hip-hop forums and conversations on other hip-hop blogs (be sure
to include a link to your blog in your "signature")
- Set up pages on social media
sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and link them to your
blog
- Talk to other bloggers about
reviewing your site, swapping links and possibly writing guest
posts
- Write hip-hop related articles
and submit them to article directories (like this one)
By following these quick, easy
steps, you can start your own hip-hop blog and be on the road to rap
profits in a matter of hours.
If you are a neophyte in the blogging
career, you might as well take a look at the advantages of making
use of Google hosting into your site. It will be a wonderful choice
to use Google. If you don't understand how Google hosting can help
you then go through the discussion below and be oriented with all
the beautiful qualities it has that will ultimately work for your
own advantage.Do you want to
create a website of your own for your business or profession? Then
go on and use Google hosting to show to the people around the globe
what products and services you offer. You can always discuss the
advantages of using your products, boast about them, and show how it
can change their lives and so on. As long as you have this as your
host you can just do anything with your website. Configuration and
plug-ins are truly easy so you can make designs and adjustments by
just few clicks. You can add much functionality on your site by
using Google so let your creativity work for your benefit and use
this host to make a design made by a computer genius.
Are you thinking of putting up a
website about entertainment that will compete other entertainment
sites? Well use Google hosting to come up with a sizzling concept
that will definitely attract many die hard fans to visit your site.
Who shall guess? Maybe you can even surpass the traffic of the
popular entertainment sites out there. You just need to be careful
in choosing a domain name and in creating a web page that must truly
showcase your products. Remember that the webpage design must
attract people but should never give false information juts to draw
them to your site. You must be honest in your dealings with your
visitors so that you can ultimately turn them into potential
clients. Once you have gained their trust it will be easy to do
business with them.
Are you planning to post your blog?
Through Google hosting you shall be able to make great blogs. Google
hosting will be your best partner in making it big in the internet
world. Just like the website, you can just make use of the plug-ins
to come up with much functionality for your blogs. Allow your
visitors to leave comments, inquire from your online office and
encourage forums. There are many designs in the web that you can use
in order to have unique blogs.
Aside from all the benefits in
creating your website, you can be assured that you will have a heavy
traffic on your site because Google itself will control it. The
visitors can easily access your website and more people will be able
to see your website's features. Once there are many clicks on your
site the chance of meeting potential customers who shall avail of
your services or purchase your products is possible.
Try Google hosting and realize that
it is the best choice that you have ever made in your internet
business.
How to buy a domain name is a question
which can be found on many forums for people interested in starting
an online business or just a website for fun or a blog. Due to the
automatisation of this process, now it is easier than before to
acquire a domain name.The
first thing to do is to choose the name. It has to be relevant for
your business or intention regarding the online presence, or it has
to include your company's name. The next thing to take care of is
related with the suffix, like dotcom, dotnet or other. In this case
you need to think if you will run an internet project for the local
business, or it will be an international one. The choice will be
yours.
The buying process is very simple:
1. You choose the website or the
registrar from which you will acquire it; please verify before the
internet if there are negative reviews about it to avoid
supplementary problems in the future;
2. By using the platform, choose the desired name; if it is free,
you will be able to register it immediately; if it is not you can
contact the owner of it to buy it from him - but usually the price
will be much higher or just search for another name or the same name
with other suffix;
3. You will need to introduce the owner's data which can be
yourself, another person or a company and eventually set some
privacy parameters;
4. Pay, usually with a credit card and the domain will be yours; You
can buy the domain for at least one year and you will have to take
care for renewing it when this will be necessary;
After that you will need to host
the domain on a server and this decision will be taken having an
idea about what kind of project you will develop and how much space
and bandwidth you will need. The best option is to choose a webhost
which will enable you to upgrade the plan when you will have new
requirements. You will begin most likely with a shared hosting
option and will go further to a semi-dedicated or dedicated server.
Also, take care of the support system. You will need to choose a
webhost where you will have somebody from the support department
answering very fast to any requirement or technical enquiry from
your side.
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