« Older Entries

Best Way To Invest In Gold

If you have been thinking of investing in gold, congratulations. Why? It shows you think long-term. The truth is that gold has always been a ‘safe refuge’ for investors during times of economic uncertainty. As awesome as global stock markets have been performing lately, the old saying of ‘what comes up must come down’ definitely applies not just to the physical and natural worlds but also to the finance world. Stocks often go through boom and bust cycles. Inflation is always lurking in the background threatening to reduce the value of your hard-earned cash. Governments are not immune from devaluation. These are the key risks investing in gold protects against. You would do well to diversify your investment portfolio by investing in gold. With that said, there are so many ways to invest in gold and precious metals, for that matter, out there. How do you pick the ‘best’ way to invest in gold.

The problem with defining ‘the best’

Let’s face it, ‘the best’ is a very subjective and slippery term. Maybe this is why salesmen love using the phrase ‘the best.’ Hearing ‘the best’ makes you feel good but chances are you’re just letting your impressions and assumptions regarding the meaning of this overused and abused phrase get the best of you. The sad reality is that what is ‘best’ for your might turn out to be a disaster for someone else. And vice-versa. Moreover, you can’t base your investment decision on what is ‘best’ for a salesperson trying to get you to invest in a particular gold investment option. The good news is that there is a powerful way to define what is ‘the best’ when it comes to your gold investment options: focus on your needs. That’s right-by focusing on what your particular investment needs are, your risk profile, the amount of time and management you’re willing to put into your gold investments, and other factors, you can come up with the best range of options when it comes to owning gold. Keep your needs in mind when examining the different gold investment options listed below.

Direct ownership: Physical gold

There is a certain psychological benefit to being able to physically handle the gold you are investing in. Unlike stocks which give you a legal share in a corporation, when you buy direct physical gold, you get to handle the gold. You get to touch it. You get to see it. There is a psychological benefit to this. You simply and directly feel you own something valuable. So far so good, right? Well, the downside with owning gold directly is that you have to worry about robbers. If you think your gold bullion is valuable to you, it is doubly more valuable to people who want to rip it away from you. You have to invest in a home safe or pay to have your gold stored somewhere. Also, you have to get the proper insurance for your gold bullion investment. When it comes time to sell, you would need to pay assay fees so the company (most people usually sell to a company that buys and sells gold when they liquidate) can be sure that you’re selling real pure gold bullion. Keep these details in mind. They definitely add to your cost. Also, there is a psychological price to having physical gold in your home-you can lose sleep due to the risk of crime.

Direct ownership: Gold coins

The great thing about owning gold coins is that you get to play two investments in one. First, you’re obviously investing in the gold market. At the very least, your gold coins will be worth the price of the gold they contain. Gold prices can change dramatically and you can definitely play the gold market by buying gold coins. The second market you’re investing in when you buy gold coins is the collectible coin market. Gold coins get their value from two sources: the amount of gold they contain and the premium collectors pay for the coins. This is a serious consideration. Why? When you buy your gold coins, you actually pay the base gold value and a premium for the coin. This can be a serious headache when you try to unload your gold coin collection. You might end up losing money if the price of gold remains stable or the same and the collector premium of your coins don’t go up.

Gold ETF

Investing in gold exchange traded funds is the safest way to invest in gold bullion. Imagine getting into physical gold without having to worry about burglars or paying all sorts of fees for the storage and insurance of your gold holdings. Exchange traded funds work like mutual funds. They are traded based on net asset value (NAV). Gold ETFs only have one asset and one asset alone: a fixed amount of gold bullion. You basically buy the Gold ETF and play it like a stock investment: buy low and sell high. The advantage to this way of owning gold is that it is very liquid. You can easily buy to get in and sell to get out. The biggest advantage to ETFs is that they make investing in gold very easy. The downside is that you don’t get to physically handle your gold investments. Another downside is that the price of the ETF is tied to the price of gold solely.

Gold mining stocks

One of the most interesting ways to play the gold market is to invest in gold mining stocks. You get rid of the headaches of physical and ETF gold investments by investing in gold mining stocks. Your stock might go up higher than the appreciation of gold prices. Why? Your stock might enjoy a ‘market premium.’ This is the extra value placed by the market for hot stocks. With gold mining stocks you essentially get the benefits of playing in the gold and stock markets. The downside, just like with playing the stock market in general, is picking the right company to invest in.

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

Tags:

A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.

Tags: