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A recent research study from Rubicon Consulting found some very interesting facts and trends about how people use the Internet and online communities.  Especially important to note for a Hypnosis business is the first bullet point about the influence of online reviews and comments.

  • Online reviews and comments are second only to word-of-mouth when it comes to consumer buying decisions
  • The Web is the #2 resource for customer support information, after user
    manuals.  It ranks ahead of calling the manufacturer or asking a dealer.
  • Website categories that get the most daily usage are search, social
    communities such as MySpace and Facebook, general news websites like
    CNN.com and NYTimes.com, and online banking.
  • The websites that Americans value most are (in order), Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Facebook.
  • Although Yahoo’s financial challenges have generated a lot of press
    attention, it continues to have a very large and loyal following.
  • Young people (age 22 and under) account for about half of all the content and comments
    posted online.
  • Facebook appears to be ahead of MySpace in terms of number of users in the US, and perceived value of the site.
  • A person’s age makes a difference in the types of online
    information they are influenced by. However, across all age groups, the
    web has a significant influence on the purchase of consumer electronics.
  • About a quarter of web users say they have dated someone they first met online.

Key Point: Online information is important in the purchase-decision process, but the most influential information is user-generated.

This is just one of many studies showing the growing usage of the Internet.  You can no longer ignore marketing on the Internet or your business will suffer.

About the survey: In September of 2008, Rubicon Consulting’s
web strategy practice surveyed 3,036 web users age 13+ in the United
States. The survey was conducted online, using respondents sourced from
a national sampling company, and should be projectable to the US
web-using population, or about 75% of US residents.  The white paper, “Online Communities and Their Impact on Business: Ignore at Your
Peril,”
is free and available for download.

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I would like to know if you know anyone that has a fulfillment company they use they absolutely love. I have used 2 of them so far and am very unimpressed.

One I was working with I had it set up for them to go into my shopping cart, take the orders, and make the product in small batches when needed. It was very cool, except their billing was off and I believe they overcharged me often after I did an audit.

The other one i use is only for when I buy the product and stock it at their warehouse. Problem with that is it’s a lot of money up front. I’m looking to create some new products.

This is an ongoing problem. I’ve yet to find anyone who is thrilled with their fulfillment company. But I do know some who feel the one they use does a good job as long as they have a contact person to work with on a regular basis. I’ll list some below that a majority of the info marketers and Internet Marketers are satisfied with.

Since I don’t know your exact needs, you’ll need to contact them to see if it’s what you want as they each serve a different type of business need.

  1. Speaker Fulfillment Services

    They got their start handling orders for professional speakers who were on the road a lot. As their reputation grew, the info marketers started using them. They are reliable and fairly priced. They do both print on demand and storage of pre-made materials.

    The biggest problems seem to be upfront when you start. Request a contact person you can develop a relationship with and be patient as they get you into their system.

    My experience with them (working for my client accounts) is once they get used to how you do business they are solid. But the first few months you need to watch them very closely to iron out mistakes.

    Note:  If you have a big launch they need a ton of lead time.

  2.  Fulfillment Central

    These guys are strictly print-on-demand. Probably the best choice if you do smaller amounts. Definately the best choice for people new to selling products. Downside is higher cost per unit, but you carry no inventory.

    The also provide a free consultation  877-745-9343 – free consulation

  3.  Direct Marketing Solutions

    I’ve no experience with them, but the leader of my Mastermind Group uses them and he is very selective about his vendors. The comments below are from my notes on what was said about them.

    Rich Selby – Founder (minimum batch sizes, 5 units) I use him currently, the service is good, but billing is often wrong.

  4. Disk.com

    One of the most successful Internet Marketers I know of uses these guys, so they must be on the ball. Next time I need a fulfillment company they are on my short list to talk to.

All of these are full service fulfillment houses, meaning they print, assemble, ship, and take returns.  There are others who only pack and ship.  You have to provide them completed products and you handle returns.  For myself and my clients, the time savings of the full service fulfillment is worth paying a little extra.Technorati Tags: , ,

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PRWeb.com is now charging $80 for a release. Do you know of any other sites for free web press releases?.


Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, PRweb can be worth the $80.  I use it all the time for my clients.

You not only get guaranteed injection into Google News & Yahoo News, it gets promoted to the blog-o-sphere and depending on how many pick it up, can provide a lot of links back to your site.

And they do some SEO work behind the scenes to optimize your release for maximum web exposure.

Plus, they have a list of media people who get notices from PRWeb.

That said, if you just want to get the release out on the web and into Google & Yahoo, there are a few services you can use:

(these are from my Quick & Easy Guide To Getting Your Press Release Out)

1. PressMethod.com

They have both free and paid release services.  For $20 they will put your release in Google news.

2. www.PR.com

I notice that many press releases from this service end up in my Google news feed.

They also format the releases nicely and have an option for PDF output.

They seem to be getting the majority of the free press releases since PRweb stopped their free service, and PR.com looks to be a very high quality service.

3. www.PR-USA.net

I’m not too excited about these guys, but it might be worth a shot after you have used some of the better services.

4. www.OpenPR.com

This site appears to be using a Content Management System to host press releases.  Not sure if they do much more than that.  But if you are looking for back links, they have a page rank of 5.

5. www.OpenPR.de

Same folks as above but this is their German language press release site.

6. www.FreePressReleases.co.uk

For Hypnotists in the UK, this is another option.

7. PressMediaWire.com (Newly Added)

This is a new addition since I first wrote this post. They have become the favorite of some friends of mine who do online PR.  I haven’t used them yet, but in looking over the site they seem pretty solid.  Good page rank and good Alexa ratings.  I would definitely put them in your short list.

My Recommendation: Of these my choice would be to use is www.PR.com

Note: PRLeap.com no longer offers a free press release service.  In past articles I recommended them as my #1 choice.

And, since it is FREE to send a press release online, every hypnotist on this list should send at least one a month.

Why should you send out press releases?  How about this…

While I was teaching my workshops at the National Guild of Hypnotists conference this year, Tim Shurr told me he wrote and sent out a press release as I taught on the teleseminar earlier this year and the story netted him $30,000 in sales!

If this isn’t motivation to send out a release, check your pulse.

You can hear another teleseminar I did with Elsom Eldridge on here on the blog. You can find it here:

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