• Anime vs. Cartoon – What Is The Difference?

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Content | Response: 0

    Over the past three years I have written articles, been a guest on radio shows, and even been part of panels, all discussing the wonders and bewilderment of anime and hentai content. In that time, I thought I had covered most aspects of the niche, the content, the market, the huge underground following, the money making potential etc. Yet I am still being asked on a regular basis questions about the niche and especially about the confusion of what is anime vs. other toon type content. So I decided to re-visit the issue in this article.

    One of the newer occurrences that seems to have confused many a webmaster, is the recent surge of content providers now offering images that they have titled as anime. Many of these images are computer generated images (CGI) in 3D like format, which tend to portray almost life like images. While others are cartoon images in various styles, that while they do have their market, are certainly not anime.

    Anime and Bishoujo (also known as Hentai) images are very unique in their style and characterization. If you know certain key points about the art work, you will know if what you are looking at or purchasing can truly be termed anime. And believe me, your surfers or members definitely know the difference! Here are some of the key things that you can do to assure yourself of what you are getting:

    Eyes: The eyes are one of the most important features of anime style characters; they are the most expressive parts of the face, and are part of what makes each character different and recognizable. Large eyes are of course the one feature that most people associate with anime, but just making the eyes large is not enough. Anime characters’ eyes should always have at least some sort of shading. Anime females in particular tend to have really heavy shading and lots of shiny areas. Male characters have light glares in their eyes, too, though they often are not as large or obvious.

    Nose and Mouth: Anime style noses and mouths are pretty straightforward, they consists of three basic simple shapes: a wedge for the nose, a long, thin line for the mouth, and a shorter line to define the lower lip. You will rarely see teeth on an anime character, even when the character is seen with the mouth wide open.

    Hair: Hair styles of Anime characters are stylized, unique, and sometimes impossible to have in the real world. Any hair color is possible, be it blond, black, sky blue, light green, orange, pink, all the colors of the rainbow. Hair length is also unusual as most males have shoulder length hair and most females either have really short hair or their hair is at least four feet long.

    Now this is obviously a generalization as there will be some variance in images depending on the style of a particular artist. But in general, this is what the anime/hentai surfer will look for. The other key to authentic anime is the style itself, the art is hand drawn and until recently always hand inked or colored as well. Though some artists now draw the sketches by hand and color via the computer, it is still very easy to notice the difference in quality of hand drawn art.
    I am not saying that other artworks do not have their market, they certainly do! I just want to make sure, if you are promoting images as Anime that you are truly using anime images, otherwise your sales or sign ups will not be near what they could be.

    Now let’s visit toons shall we? Cartoons, toons, sexy toons, erotic art, erotic illustrations, what ever you want to call them, are also very popular with many surfers. Toons are just what they seem to be, illustrated drawing depicting various characters in an exaggerated form. These images are fantastic for use on or for promoting the mired of Toon sites out in the market today. Toons, like Anime can fulfill fantasies that cannot be realized in real life or with real people. If you can think of it, it can be drawn! There is high demand for quality sexy toons because the loyal surfers out there cannot get enough.

    There are things to watch out for however even in toon content. Copyrighted characters, this has been a popular debate among those of us that deal and make our living from anime and toons. A copyright is a copyright is a copyright! Whether it be created or shot, the characters belong to the creators. Even if the character has been modified to blur the identity, if it is a recognizable character, ie, Batman, Flintstones, Sailor Moon, DragonBallZ etc. then you can be opening yourself up to prosecution from the copyright holder. Many a webmaster can tell you about hearing from Nintendo, Disney, Marvel and many other companies on this issue. Some providers feel that since such images are a parody of the copyrighted characters, they are protected, and in some cases they might be. But unless you have very deep pockets or a rich uncle to help you win that court battle, I would strongly suggest you steer clear of this type of image.

    As with any content you purchase it is important that you do your research and know your provider! Just because some one is selling something, it does not automatically make it legal, nor does it indemnify you, if it is not illegal. Unfortunately, as in all business there are a few bad apples out there that are willing to risk their reputations and their business to make a few quick bucks. If a provider tells you that the anime/toon images they offer come from Japan, and it is ok to use them, because the Japanese artists do not care, run, do not walk from this provider because that is simply a lie. Japanese artists are very aware of the theft of their artwork and many are now utilizing the Bourne Convention (http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html) to actively prosecute offenders throughout the world.

    I hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion about anime vs. cartoons, and as always I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject. You can always find me through my sites.

    Article written by Bestat

    http://www.exclusivecontent.com

  • The Web Safe Color Palette

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    The “Web Safe” palette is a bit controversial. It is a set of 216 colors that are, supposedly, guaranteed to appear as intended on all graphical displays when used in HTML, CSS, and images embedded in Web pages. Many Web developers believe that sticking to these colors is one of the holiest commandments in the Web design scripture.

    This was mostly a concern when most computers had 8-bit color displays; these days, most people run at 16-bit or 24-bit color. Although these bit-depths render the Web Safe palette pointless, dithering and quantification bugs in browsers and operating systems still cause problems in 16-bit displays (16-bit display, also known as “High Color” mode or “Thousands of Colors,” is generally problematic). Extensive testing has led to a new palette, called “Really Safe,” whose colors are guaranteed to appear correctly on all displays and all browsers.

    If you use different colors than these, you might see images and backgrounds of the same color appear at a slightly different tint, so that a “box” will be visible around them if the background extends beyond the image’s edges.

    Below is the table of ‘Web Safe’ and ‘Really Safe’ colors, you will see some of the color hex codes are in red, these are ‘Really Safe’ colors.

    Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color Code Color
    000000 000033 000066 000099 0000cc 0000FF
    003300 003333 003366 003399 0033cc 0033ff
    006600 006633 006666 006699 0066cc 0066ff
    009900 009933 009966 009999 0099cc 0099ff
    00cc00 00cc33 00cc66 00cc99 00cccc 00ccff
    00FF00 00ff33 00FF66 00ff99 00FFCC 00FFFF
    330000 330033 330066 330099 3300cc 3300ff
    333300 333333 333366 333399 3333cc 3333ff
    336600 336633 336666 336699 3366cc 3366ff
    339900 339933 339966 339999 3399cc 3399ff
    33cc00 33cc33 33cc66 33cc99 33cccc 33ccff
    33ff00 33FF33 33FF66 33ff99 33FFCC 33FFFF
    660000 660033 660066 660099 6600cc 6600ff
    663300 663333 663366 663399 6633cc 6633ff
    666600 666633 666666 666699 6666cc 6666ff
    669900 669933 669966 669999 6699cc 6699ff
    66cc00 66cc33 66cc66 66cc99 66cccc 66ccff
    66FF00 66FF33 66ff66 66ff99 66ffcc 66FFFF
    990000 990033 990066 990099 9900cc 9900ff
    993300 993333 993366 993399 9933cc 9933ff
    996600 996633 996666 996699 9966cc 9966ff
    999900 999933 999966 999999 9999cc 9999ff
    99cc00 99cc33 99cc66 99cc99 99cccc 99ccff
    99ff00 99ff33 99ff66 99ff99 99ffcc 99ffff
    cc0000 cc0033 cc0066 cc0099 cc00cc cc00ff
    cc3300 cc3333 cc3366 cc3399 cc33cc cc33ff
    cc6600 cc6633 cc6666 cc6699 cc66cc cc66ff
    cc9900 cc9933 cc9966 cc9999 cc99cc cc99ff
    cccc00 cccc33 cccc66 cccc99 cccccc ccccff
    ccff00 ccff33 CCFF66 ccff99 ccffcc ccffff
    FF0000 FF0033 ff0066 ff0099 ff00cc FF00FF
    ff3300 ff3333 ff3366 ff3399 ff33cc ff33ff
    ff6600 ff6633 ff6666 ff6699 ff66cc ff66ff
    ff9900 ff9933 ff9966 ff9999 ff99cc ff99ff
    ffcc00 ffcc33 ffcc66 ffcc99 ffcccc ffccff
    FFFF00 FFFF33 FFFF66 ffff99 ffffcc FFFFFF

    Hopefully, you will find a use for the two different color palettes that are now available and, you can begin designing for your surfers, regardless of which browser they use.

    Article written by Lee

  • Converting German Adult Traffic – The Niche Paysites That Work

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Traffic | Response: 0

    With the rapid development of US companies and webmasters looking to attract a larger percentage of international surfers and, wanting to make money off these surfers I thought it would be an idea to share the most prevalent niches for each of the international markets country specific surfers. In this first article we will take a look at the niches which convert best on German oriented surfer traffic.

    German Traffic – Dispelling The Myths.

    First and foremost I think it would be a good idea to let you know that, strangely enough, not all German surfers are looking for kinky, in your face sex, in fact, they pretty much have the same tendencies towards their online porn as US based surfers do, with that in mind, lets take a look at some of the niches that do convert well on German traffic.

    German Traffic – The Niches.

    As with any type of surfer the best way of getting them to convert is to start targeting them from the second they hit your site using Full Page Ads, localized text links and, consoles, over the last 3 (three) months we found that the niches which converted best on German porn surfers were as follows.

    Amateur.

    The German adult surfers we sent to several amateur sites, including live web-cam sites and paysites converted exceptionally well, it would certainly seem from the last three months of stats that German porn surfers like the ‘amateur’ porn angle when it comes to satisfying themselves online.

    Teen.

    As with the US adult surfer, it would appear that the teen niche is truly a global requisite in fact, the teen niche was one of our best converting niches across the globe when we analyzed our international traffic conversion ratios.

    Gay.

    To our surprise the little German traffic we did send to localized German gay sites converted at less than 1:75, bearing in mind that the best converting niche for us was Teen and, that the specific site we sent the teen traffic to converted overall at around 1:138 we will be targeting a lot more German gay traffic in the future.

    Fetish.

    No mystery here, when we started our filtering process we ensured that the various fetish niches were high on our filtering list, after all, everyone seems to know that German porn surfers are looking for the hard to find hardcore scene and, the general fetish niche seemed to work wonderfully.

    Ebony.

    The ebony niche was a vary profitable one for the traffic we filtered to it, in summary, my personal feelings are that it converted so well because ebony men and women in Germany are very few and far between, again the results for this niche would seem to back-up the fact that giving Germans access to something that might be ‘taboo’ in their country converts their traffic well.

    Other Niches.

    In addition to the above niches which converted above and beyond the others we used we did get a few sales to some more micro-niched paysites for example, BBW, Asian, Cumshot and General Hardcore sites had around 3-5 sales per site, per pay period. Given that we did not target this type of traffic as effectively as we could have done and, that the traffic was from TGP’s and Geo Targeted Traffic Brokers we were happy with the results we saw.

    German Adult Traffic – The Results.

    It would seem, given our results from the 3 month test we ran on our traffic that the top converting niches for German adult surfers are the Amateur, Teen and Gay niches. Although, the rest of the niches we filtered out our traffic to did not convert as we would have hoped we still saw a good rate of sales month on month from the previous pay period.

    When all is said and done, as long as you have German porn surfers on your sites you would be wise to start spreading and filtering this traffic to some niches that, perhaps you wouldn’t have ordinarily targeted after all, a sale is more money in your pocket, whether you know the niche or not.

    Article written by Le

  • Using TITLE Tags effectively

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Search Engine Optimization, WebDesign | Response: 0

    Microsoft Internet Explorer has supported the TITLE attribute for links since version 4.0. Netscape began supporting it in version 6.0

    The TITLE attribute allows you to enter descriptive text about a link that’s displayed when the mouse moves over the link. For an example, move your mouse over the link below:

    European Webmasters

    The HTML source code for this link is shown below:

    <a href="http://www.europeanwebmasters.com"
      title="Click Here To Learn Foreign Adult Marketing">European Webmasters</a>

    If your browser supports the TITLE attribute you should see a small popup box appear, similar to the way alternate text for images is displayed when you move your mouse over the image.

    This attribute is similar to the ALT attribute for the IMG tag, both in its appearance and its limitations. The value of the attribute must be inside quotation marks, and it can only contain plain text (no HTML tags). You can include carriage returns in the title, and these will be displayed in the text. The maximum length of the TITLE text for Internet Explorer is very large; we’ve tested it with over 500 characters. Try to keep your descriptions below 25 words, though; any more than this can be hard to read and, because the search engine spiders can read this text you may be considered as spamming the engines.

    The TITLE attribute is useful in places where your HTML design limits the length of your link text. That’s often the case for links in a navigation bar, especially if your page has a multi-column layout. Try using the TITLE attribute to give your visitors extra navigation information.

    In addition you can also use the TITLE tag on standard text for extra information where you just don’t have the space to be as affluent as you would like. An example of this is shown below:

    Use of the TITLE tag on plain text

    The HTML code for this is also shown below:

    <font size=”2″ face=”Verdana” color=”#000080″ title=”Use Of The TITLE Tag On Plain Text”>Use of the TITLE tag on plain text</font>

    This attribute is part of the HTML 4.0 standard. Internet Explorer, Netscape 6.x and Opera (Version 3.0 or higher) support it. However, the attribute degrades gracefully, visitors with non-supporting browsers (like Netscape 4.x) would see the link as if you hadn’t used the attribute.

    As you can see from the above examples by using the TITLE tags effectively you can double, if not treble your use of keywords however, caution should be paid when using these features of the tag so that you don’t inadvertently spam the search engines.

    Article Written By Lee

  • Pay Per Click Traffic – More Than One Use

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: Paid Traffic | Response: 0

    We all know the stigma surrounding getting traffic to our sites and, this is no different with that of the PPC traffic sources. We have all heard varying stories of success and failure when it comes to this type of traffic whether it be from Googles Adwords program, Overture PPC engine listings or in fact, highly targeted Sex.com adult traffic.

    But how much do we all actually know about maintaining this level of traffic once we actually get it and at a minimal cost to our bank balance?

    First of all there seems to be a belief that PPC traffic should be sent to a sponsor or one of our existing sites, this is all good and proper but, what happens when the sites we own or the sponsors we use don’t convert on this traffic do we just give up? For the most part, yes webmasters do tend to give up and mark this source of unrivalled traffic as a flop.

    Enter the world of traffic manipulation.

    We all know about a variety of programs that are available to drive traffic to our existing sites from banner exchanges like Pornclient to text link exchanges like TextPop even to top lists.

    So why don’t we utilize these when we buy PPC traffic? Quite simply many webmasters forget that traffic can be manipulated regardless of where it comes from initially.

    Lets take a simple listing on sex.com, you fund your account and traffic starts to flow, you get 1000 hits per day for as long as you have funds in your account. Were you aware that this 1000 hits could in fact, become 10,000 hits if we actually thought about our pay per click listings.

    How you may be asking especially with so many rules being levied upon us by the PPC traffic sources? Simple, set up a filter page, on this page you should place a single text link which would be your entry link however, you should also place a few other items on the page this is what i will explain next.

    Ideally you want to be able to use the traffic you are paying for in order to build up a larger traffic base this is where the use of such programs as banner exchanges and the likes come in handy.

    As well as your entry link you should also place a banner exchange (or a text exchange) code on your filter page this will mean that for every visit your page gets from the PPC Engine you are accruing credits towards additional visitors.

    In addition to the link exchange you might also like to consider placing a counter on this page specifically, a toplist counter such as Outster or sextracker so, for every page view you receive you get rated further on their toplist.

    Also, as we are on the subject of top lists why not place a text link to one on this page? Even though you are sending your traffic out you are actually getting sometimes in excess of twice that back depending on the toplist you choose to use.

    Now we have the basics set up we need to look at what else we can do to maximize this traffic, i would suggest having a single console (preferably a blur console) load on this page if the PPC SE allows again, this should contain a link exchange of some description however, you will need to make sure that the account you are using is separate to the one on your filter page.

    Finally, remember the entry link, that shouldn’t go directly to your sponsor instead, send it to an FPA (Full Page Ad) first and, on this FPA place a table ad which is pure text at the bottom again, sending this traffic to a variety of other niche filter pages all set up in the same method as the one we have just made above.

    Hopefully by using these methods your ventures into the Pay Per Click search engine world will be more fruitful than the webmasters not using the above method.

    Article written by Lee

  • Thinking Of Starting An Adult Website In The UK?

    Date: 2011.02.24 | Category: General | Response: 0

    We all know that there are many foreign / international adult webmasters and there are some very well known ones based in England however, before you start building your online empire what are the legalities regarding the type of content you can and cant use on your adult pornographic sites?

    To be honest with you, there are no ‘defined’ laws in England (At the time of writing this article) regarding the use of online media to promote adult activities however, it is a commonly held belief that as long as you stay to the same standard as what most ‘top shelf magazines’ or ‘R18 Videos’ have in them you shouldn’t go far wrong.

    So what are these standards? That’s the information that I am about to give you.

    Content that IS NOT acceptable.

    1) Any material which is in breach of the criminal law.

    2) Material (including dialogue) likely to encourage an interest in abusive sexual activity (e.g., pedophilia, incest) which may include depictions involving adults role-playing as non-adults.

    3) The portrayal of any sexual activity, whether real or simulated, which involves lack of consent.

    4) The infliction of pain or physical harm, real or (in a sexual context) simulated. Some allowance may be made for mild consensual activity.

    5) Any sexual threats or humiliation which do not form part of a clearly consenting role-playing game.

    6) The use of any form of physical restraint which prevents participants from withdrawing consent, for example, ball gags.

    7) Penetration by any object likely to cause actual harm or associated with violence.

    8) Activity which is degrading or dehumanizing (examples include the portrayal of bestiality, necrophilia, defecation, urolagnia).

    As you can see from the above, there ARE very specific guidelines regarding water sports, animality and, some of the more ‘out there’ fetishes.

    Now you know what you cant use on your adult sites, lets take a look at the list of sexual activities that you can use. Its no surprise that the list of what you can use is considerably shorter.

    Content that MAY BE acceptable.

    1) Aroused genitalia.

    2) Masturbation.

    3) Oral-genital contact including kissing, licking and sucking.

    4) Penetration by finger, penis, tongue, vibrator or dildo.

    5) Non-harmful fetish material.

    6) Group sexual activity.

    7) Ejaculation and semen.

    It also worth noting that the above guidelines are not distinguished between heterosexual or homosexual activities.

    So, that’s the low down on what the current status of affairs are with regards to the use of adult content on websites in England and Wales. Actually, that’s not to bad just ensure that you stay within these guidelines and, more importantly, that you do consult a solicitor before commencing any form of adult business after all, that’s what they are there for, to give you SOUND legal advice instead of basic ‘guidelines’.

    Article written by Lee

  • Converting Japanese Traffic – The Niche Paysites That Work

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Traffic | Response: 0

    Up to this point we have only looked at the European traffic sources and what niches convert for them however, we will now take a look at the Japanese specific adult surfers and, see just what makes them tick when they come to look online for porn.

    Japanese Adult Traffic – Dispelling The Myths.

    Contrary to popular beliefs Japanese porn surfers are not all looking for Bukakke or Hentai orientated adult sites in fact, the results we saw far from backed this up. Also, many webmasters believe Japanese traffic is worthless again, from our results this is simply not the case.

    Japanese Adult Traffic – The Niches.

    We were extremely pleased with the results we found from the Japanese traffic we got to our hub sites in fact, we altered the type of sponsors we used on our Japanese hubs so that we could see just how well this type of international adult traffic converted and, i think you will see the results are worthy of you sending your Japanese adult traffic to sites that do not encompass dialers as the only means of revenue for those surfers after reading this article.

    Asian.

    We set up a small niche specific ‘Asian’ hub trap that we could use to primarily filter our Japanese traffic through and, as we expected, very little of the traffic actually purchased memberships to these sites that were supposedly made specifically for Japanese surfers instead, all but 2 sales came from sites outside of this ‘Asian’ specific hub.

    Ebony.

    By far our best converting niche on Japanese traffic, the sales figures we saw from a join perspective were enough to warrant that we altered the rest of our hub site to ensure maximum exposure of the Ebony niche sites we were using to get them in front of the Japanese surfer as quickly as possible.

    Anime / Hentai / Toon.

    Again another surprise, the sales we saw on these niche paysites were lower overall when compared to sites in completely different niches what was also surprising about this is that the vast majority of adult webmasters will actively push their Japanese traffic to sites in this niche.

    Bukakke.

    Finding a Japanese Bukakke sponsors was impossible for us, instead, we opted to send the traffic to a US only paysite and, as expected, we had no sales for this niche on the Japanese traffic we saw flowing through our sites. As mentioned above with the Anime niche, this is often the first type of site adult webmasters will send their Japanese speaking traffic too and, as we thought, this is wrong.

    Teen.

    The teen niche converted really well for us, not as well as the ebony niche did but non the less, we received a steady amount of signups each month, this steady signup rate was also added to by recurring incomes from the previous months signups towards the end of our three month test period.

    Gay.

    As with the Bukakke niche paysite we received absolutely no sales to the Japanese gay paysite we used in our hub site this was surprising as even with the other international traffic we had gotten at least one sale a month but, alas, it seems the vast majority of Japanese surfers do not want to see naked men online.

    Amateur.

    Specifically amateur web cam sites converted for us on our Japanese traffic and again, this was good because of the rebills at the end of the month in fact, we still have some rebills continuing now some 5 months after our test period ended.

    Japanese Adult Surfers – An Overview.

    As expected at the start of the test period, Japanese adult surfers are not primarily interested in Bukakke and Anime sites in fact, it would appear they were primarily interested in the Ebony paysites we had to offer them. This is interesting in itself because, when offered ‘Asian’ niche paysites we only achieved 2 sales a month compared to the vast amount of sales to the Ebony niche, I think it might be worthwhile re-visiting Japanese traffic at a later date so we can evaluate exactly what preferences they have over time.

    One other thing we discovered when testing the Japanese traffic was that, as we have been saying for a long time, Japanese surfers do hold credit / debit cards and, will use them online if their needs can be matched. This is good as if, like us, you use recurring sponsors on this type of traffic you will see some good long term residual income.

    Article written by Lee

  • Formatting HTML Text Using Tags

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: WebDesign | Response: 0

    Formatting HTML Text Using Tags.

    As we know there are many elements to a website from graphics to text. In this article we are going to have a closer look at text and, more importantly how we format the text to look like we want it to.

    The text of the HTML pages we create, as you already know goes inside the <body> tag of our HTML pages but, unless you are using a WYSIWYG editor you can not just click a button and make it appear bold or italic therefore we need to get to know some of the text property tags that can be used to enhance our HTML text. Lets take a look at some of these now.

    <b> Any text inside these two tags will appear bold on our page</b>
    <i> Any text inside these two tags will appear in italic on our page</i>
    <u> Any text inside these two tags will appear to be underlined on our page</u>
    <big> Any text inside these two tags will appear BIG on our page</big>
    <small> Any text inside these two tags will appear small on our page</small>
    <sub> Any text inside these two tags will appear subscript on our page</sub>
    <sup> Any text inside these two tags will appear as superscript on our page</sup>

    There are also things called ‘heading tags’ these will work the same as the formatting tags mentioned above however there are only six of them and they look like this <hx> with the x being replaced by a number from 1-6 the lower this number is in the tag the LARGER our text will become so for example:

    <h1> Will be the largest heading text</h1>
    <h2> Will be the next smallest heading tag</h2>
    <h3> Will be smaller again </h3>
    <h4> Will be one size smaller again</h4>
    <h5> Will be the second to smallest heading size</h5>
    <h6> Is the smallest of the heading tags</h6>

    Also, you should remember that it *IS* possible to use more than one of the text tags in any single line of portion of text on our web page so for example, if i wanted to have bold underlined italic text my tags for the text would look like this:

    <b><i><u>This text is bold, in italics, and underlined</u></i></b>

    You will notice from the above example that the tags were opened and closed in the same order they were created this doesn’t have to be done like this but, in the long run, it is easier for you as a webmaster to code your pages this way.

    Hopefully this article has given you a further understanding on how we can format out text and you will be bale to put this into practice on the next site you build.

    Article written by Lee

  • Writing A Business Plan – The First Step To Success

    Date: 2011.02.21 | Category: Forms & Contracts, Writing | Response: 0

    Regardless of what type of business you want to run be it a bakery, a funeral home or an online marketing empire the one thing that you will require is a business plan however, having never taken any business basics 101 classes what do you need to have and, what is required in your business plan?

    That is what we will touch on in this brief article from the basics to the not-so-basics by using a few simple steps you can be sure your business plan will contain all the information you need to make it up the ladder of success.

    Information Summary.

    As the name suggest this is a simple summary of what you are hoping to achieve from the name of your business, the goals, the concept and your plans. This should actually be no longer than two pages so that you can fill the needed information out clearly and concisely.

    Business Details.

    This will be the founding information of your business again you need to mention your business name, what type of business you will be running (Sole Trader, Partnership, Corporation, etc) in addition you will also need to include details of who the company owners are, whether it be yourself alone or a list of your business partners, this information will be invaluable to you at a later date you also need to include a brief history of the business whether you have been running it already for a number of days, weeks, month or, years.

    Products And Services.

    Basically, you need to write what exactly it is you will be selling. Are you going to be selling baked goods, marketing services or custom solutions. Keep this section simple, if you need to go into depth then do so at the end of your business plan by way of an appendices. Once you have listed several of the products or services you will be selling you should also list the features and benefits (Marketing points) of the products and services in addition, why do you think your business idea will succeed, what do you offer your clients that no-one else currently does? In addition you also need to have a basic pricing structure planned out, this will assist you in the future as, from your initial plans you can see what, if anything needs to be changed.

    Marketing.

    A business is more than just an idea. You need to have good pricing, affordable suppliers and a great marketing plan. This is what is also needed in your overall business plan. You should include details of your competitors products and how they compare to your own or, if applicable why your product will be a benefit to the market place should it not already be readily available. In addition the marketing section of your business plan should include a list of advantages as well as some of the pitfalls you are likely to see. You also need to include a section detailing your specific marketing strategies regarding your overall and individual products and services.

    Industry Economics.

    This area should detail some of the more specific areas of the industry you are going to be working in for example, what type of industry are you entering, how does the future for this industry look and, more importantly, how many existing companies work this industry as well as how do you successfully launch yourself into the industry. Parts of this area you may have covered in the marketing and previous section non the less, go over them again here in more detail.

    Target Market.

    We have detailed the business ideas and products and services but, what about your potential clients? What does your product offer then that they need which no other company does? What is your target client base? How will you reach your customers? All of this and more needs to be addressed in this area of your business plan.

    Competing Companies.

    What do your competitors do and, more importantly, who are they? Make a list of your potential competitors and address their weaknesses and strengths ensure that you leave no stone unturned when getting this information together often, you will realize that there are things your competition is doing that you can do much better then they.

    Don’t forget to address their marketing, what are they doing right and, more importantly to you, what are they doing wrong? How can you capitalize on this and make their errors benefit your long term business plans.

    Location, Location, Location.

    Location is everything and, this is particularly true in business for example, will you be working from an office, from your home or even your garage, do you require any special permits to operate your business? Can your customers reach you easily? All of these items and more need to be considered when writing this area of your business plan. By addressing any and all of these items you will find yourself with a much clearer picture of what is needed of you and your business.

    Stock + Supplies.

    Often overlooked in business plans the one thing you NEED to have is a list of potential suppliers and sub-contractors who can provide you with your products and services. What materials (if any) do you need? How much will these cost you? Where will you find your stock and supplies? By getting this information available now you will have a better idea once your business plan is laid out as to what you are able to offer easily and also it will enable you to lay your pricing structure out more concisely.

    Labor.

    So you have this great business idea all laid out but, who will be running this for you? Do you need additional staff or are you going it alone? Do you need to setup accountants, lawyers, insurance companies, consultants, bank accounts etc etc? All of these aspects of your business need to be laid out here.

    Capital.

    Money, as they say, makes the world go round. Your business is no different, how much financial outlay do you require to get your business off the ground? Do you need to ask for a loan from your banking facility to help you out? How much income are you planning on making within the next 6 to 12 months? How much of this income needs to be invested back into the business? All of these ‘financial’ question need to be answered in this area of your business plan only then will you begin to see the bigger picture of your business idea.

    Hopefully this article has given you some solid advice and information regarding planning for your new business and, once you have all of the above laid out you should be able to see whether you will succeed or fail in your new idea.

    Also, by planning now for the future of your business you should hopefully be able to avoid any hidden costs which can often push a company to the edge.

    Article written by Lee

  • Direct Debit Payment Explained

    Date: 2011.02.22 | Category: Billing Solutions | Response: 0

    Something that is very rarely spoken about as a means of payment is Direct Debit, this is a popular payment method across Europe and, especially in the United Kingdom. Direct Debit can offer your surfers a cost effective, easy way to pay for products and services from your site especially, if they have a ‘recurring’ cost associated with them.

    Direct Debit – What Is It?

    Direct Debit is quite possibly one of the simplest ways to collect funds from your surfers basically, a form is filled out by the surfer, where they enter their bank payment details, account number, name, sort code. Then, the form is signed either electronically or, in person by the customer, in this case, electronically by the surfer.

    Once you have the direct form filled in by your surfer, you may continue to deduct funds from the bank account on the Direct Debit form until such a time whereas the surfer cancels the Direct Debit agreement.

    At the present time, around 45% of the population in the UK currently choose to pay their utility bills online by Direct Debit and, around 75% of the total population in the UK have used Direct Debit at least once in addition Direct Debit is also an alternative method of payment in the vast majority of European countries and, it is also used (although not as much) in Australia.

    Direct Debit – What Are The Cost?

    Direct Debit payments cost around $0.5 for you as a merchant to process, however, this charge, rather than happening on the processors side of the transaction, happens when the Direct Debit request hits your banking account.

    This in itself is god news after all, you now ensure that if a membership or product costs $35 per month, you will get virtually the full cost of that membership until such a time when the surfer cancels the direct debit at their bank.

    Direct Debit – An Overview.

    All in all, Direct Debit is probably one of the only payment solutions that allow you to collect the full price from your surfer at the point of sale and, furthermore, because the Direct Debit method of payment is trusted, this offers your surfers something that no other form of payment can – Peace of mind. There is however one major drawback to this method of payment, it is very hard to find processors that will allow you to utilize Direct Debit on your sites in fact, to date, the main use for the Direct Debit payment method has been payments of utility bills, Gas, Electricity, Water Supply, etc however, many financial institutes will let you pay for goods and services using Direct Debit on ‘credit’ terms which can vary from 1 day to a year interest free or, not as the case so often is.

    I strongly feel that within the next 12 months this method of payment could become advantageous to the adult webmaster however, the current online payment processors need to be pushed in order for this to become as widespread as credit and debit card processing is. That said, there are a few online adult companies already accepting Direct Debit as a form of payment so, at least the ‘DD’ revolution has already started.

    Article written by Lee

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