AirTran tries to make money like an internet company

f they can't make money taking passengers from one place to another, maybe airlines can harness the power of eyeballs ... you know, the way the web does. If you get enough people passing by a particular spot -- physical or virtual -- it's possible to toss up a few ads and make some money. This is what AirTran has in mind. The airline is putting ads on the bottoms of seat-back tray tables. So, for takeoff and landing, at least, when this device is in its upright and locked position, passengers will be treated to prolonged exposure to the desires of advertisers.

AirTran plans to execute this across 138 planes within the next few weeks -- it's easy to pull the trigger when you stand to make some money by doing very little. The first ad partner,Mother Nature Network, is offering fliers the opportunity to win a cruise on Royal Caribbean. Future advertisers are expected to be travel-related, as well. The ads will be 2 ½ inches by 9 inches and will be easy to swap out, thanks to the plastic in which they will be encased. As planes are brought in for overnight service, they'll be set up for the ads.

There is precedent for this move. For several years, US Airways has put ads on tray tops, but the rollout has been limited to only a few planes. Likewise, the cash from in-flight advertising isn't all that high. US Airways pulls in $10 million a year from this, but it includes napkins, cups and some of the products carried onboard, not just the ads. Outside the United States, this practice is pretty common. Several airlines run ads to bring in a little extra money. Of course,Ryanair is among them, throwing ads on its overhead bins, tray tables and the outsides of the planes.

Will onboard advertising save the airline industry? It's doubtful. The five largest airlines in the United States lost an aggregate $3.2 billion through the first nine months of 2009. They've tried combating this with extra fees and extremely aggressive cost-cutting, but nothing has really been successful. After all, a company just can't cut its way to growth. The new advertising revenue could help, and it's a revenue stream that will persist (and possibly grow) after the recession has receded.

Quick Start Your Online Biz

There is no better time than at year-end to start planning for 2010...and your online business.

Having been an online entrepreneur since 1999, I learned (the hard way) how to get my business in front of the right people. I had no experience on the web or even in sales. Yet, in my first year of business, I made $165,000. All I did was offer my expertise to those who needed it.

Everyone has expertise in something. In only a few days, your dream, idea or passion can be an online business with a sellable product.

Sharing your wisdom, insight, and knowledge is the greatest opportunity you'll ever have to give back to the world. To ensure you get off on the right foot, visit my web site, www.QuickStartYourOnlineBiz.com, to request a F*R*E*E copy of my report, "The 5 Mistakes That Can & Will Keep Your Small Business from MAKING MONEY Online." If you have a question, you'll find my email in the report. Feel free to drop me a few lines and let's figure out the best way for you to achieve your goals.


How to Create Massive Wealth with Online Businesses

Can I create massive wealth today? This is the question faced by many as they struggle to pay for life's necessities. The answer to that question is thankfully very positive. Yes, you can achieve an income that will provide for your needs and your wants. But you must look beyond the traditional methods and seek new opportunities.

The evolution of the World Wide Web offers the greatest number of business opportunities that will enable you to create massive wealth. With the different programs and methods of money making available all around the net, you will have enough options to choose which one best fits you.
Moreover, with online programs, you will also have an eager, ready and wide audience where you can market your business. Though it is true that making business on internet works,
the whole process is not a magic. Online marketing is does create overnight millionaires. The process of how to create massive wealth takes planning and working.

Setting an optimistic mind is the first step of planning an online business. To start in a program with a completely negative outlook is useless. This will just put your plan on hold. Maintaining a positive view will motivate you to take risk and be productive. By having the thought that
things will work out, you will be able to do what you ought to do to ensure the success of your online business.

The internet offers a vast array of online opportunities. Many are legitimate money generating endeavors. But, alas,some are simply scams. Before joining, a careful examination of any opportunity is not only necessary but financially prudent. From examining the type of
compensation plan offered to evaluating reviews of the opportunity, a person seeking to enroll in an online opportunity must do his or her homework first. After joining the right program, you need to establish your online presence. Your visibility on the internet will enable you to reach your audience. However, a simple and flat promotion will not make you a marketing success. To
properly advertise yourself and your business, what you need is an effective marketing strategy. With this, you will not only attract and convince prospects but you will also be able to establish yourself as a professional and expert on how to create massive wealth.

To achieve success online you need to carefully examine your time. Whether you are a full time or part-time marketer, you must manage your time prudently. To waste your time on failed marketing efforts is not a path to online success. Examine each strategy you implement and
determine objectively as to its relative success or failure. You must allocate your time towards those strategies which are providing results and shy away from those which do not. Massive wealth creation can result from spending your precious time on only those marketing strategies which
actually work for you.

Prospects are the most important people in your online business. Changing them from prospect to customer will increase your income. Letting a prospect go is comparable to throwing away cash. To convince a prospect to patronize your product or service is to communicate and build a bond with him or her. Following up prospects by talking to them and guiding them will establish a sense of trust in your relationship as business associates.

To summarize, research, marketing, time management and converting prospects are the critical factors to consider. Follow through with each of these factors and you will be on your way to massive wealth creation through an online business.

timeforcake: Screensnapr, Summit Freecycle & biz tips

Online Tool of the Week: ScreenSnapr

ScreenSnapr was created for all of you who have, at one time or another, thought, “Geez, I wish there was an easy and FREE way of taking pictures of what's on my screen … and saving those pictures … and sharing them with my friends.”

Press two keys on your keyboard and you're instantly provided with an image that you can save to your computer and a website address that you can share with anyone you'd like.

Hop over to www.screensnapr.com and watch the little 30-second introductory video at the top of the homepage to learn more.

Online Resource of the Week: Summit Freecycle

Pssst. I have a little heads up to share with all you folks out there who calls yourselves Summit County locals but have never heard of Summit Freecycle.

Summit Freecycle is a free group you can join that allows you to send and receive email notifications with other Summit County folks pertaining to free stuff. Have an old sink sitting in your garage that you'd love to get rid of? Post it on Summit Freecycle. Receive a Freecycle notification from somebody looking to give away their queen-sized bed frame? Let them know you'd love to swing by and pick it up tomorrow. Looking for a high chair for your toddler? Post a notification on Summit Freecycle and see if anyone has one sitting around that you could take off their hands.

Give away stuff you no longer want. Pick up treasures that others call trash. And do your part to keep usable, valuable items out of our landfill. To learn more, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SummitFreecycle, and when you're ready to join, send an email to SummitFreecycle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and let the moderator know that you really do live in Summit County, and you'd like to join!

Business Website Tip of the Week: Ask Yourself If You're Giving Out TMI

Your company's website exists for a reason. Perhaps your website exists so that you can sell your products through an online store. Maybe you had your website developed for the sole purpose of encouraging potential customers to make reservations online instead of over the phone. Or perhaps you built your company website because you wanted a marketing tool to persuade people to swing by your showroom.

Think about the purpose(s) of your company website; then consider the types of people who visit it.

With these two things in mind, set aside a few minutes of time to read through your website's text. (I'm guessing you haven't given much thought to the text since your site was originally built. If this is the case — you're not alone.)

After reading through the text of each page, answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

Did I use industry-specific terms or acronyms that my site visitors won't understand?

Did I include too many details or specifics about our services and products ... to the point where the large amounts of content actually become distracting?

Did I include personal information or personal opinions that provide little to no value to our visitors? (Seriously. Do your potential clients really need to know that your niece plays the flute?)

Did you list features of your products or services that — while they're true and seem important to you — have little to no meaning to your site's visitors? (Yes, it's great that your crew uses the latest 320 KPM machines on the job, but that doesn't translate into meaningful value or benefits to potential customers visiting your site.)

Do your best to objectively analyze your pages' content. Make sure you're not including content that's simply taking up space and keeping your visitors from finding the information they're looking for. I'll be the first to admit that it can be quite difficult to remain objective when looking at your own text — so if you find yourself struggling to see your site's content through the eyes of a visitor ... simply ask for an outside, non-biased opinion or two. You'll likely be surprised by what you learn.

timeforcake: Screensnapr, Summit Freecycle & biz tips

Online Tool of the Week: ScreenSnapr

ScreenSnapr was created for all of you who have, at one time or another, thought, “Geez, I wish there was an easy and FREE way of taking pictures of what's on my screen … and saving those pictures … and sharing them with my friends.”

Press two keys on your keyboard and you're instantly provided with an image that you can save to your computer and a website address that you can share with anyone you'd like.

Hop over to www.screensnapr.com and watch the little 30-second introductory video at the top of the homepage to learn more.

Online Resource of the Week: Summit Freecycle

Pssst. I have a little heads up to share with all you folks out there who calls yourselves Summit County locals but have never heard of Summit Freecycle.

Summit Freecycle is a free group you can join that allows you to send and receive email notifications with other Summit County folks pertaining to free stuff. Have an old sink sitting in your garage that you'd love to get rid of? Post it on Summit Freecycle. Receive a Freecycle notification from somebody looking to give away their queen-sized bed frame? Let them know you'd love to swing by and pick it up tomorrow. Looking for a high chair for your toddler? Post a notification on Summit Freecycle and see if anyone has one sitting around that you could take off their hands.

Give away stuff you no longer want. Pick up treasures that others call trash. And do your part to keep usable, valuable items out of our landfill. To learn more, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SummitFreecycle, and when you're ready to join, send an email to SummitFreecycle-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and let the moderator know that you really do live in Summit County, and you'd like to join!

Business Website Tip of the Week: Ask Yourself If You're Giving Out TMI

Your company's website exists for a reason. Perhaps your website exists so that you can sell your products through an online store. Maybe you had your website developed for the sole purpose of encouraging potential customers to make reservations online instead of over the phone. Or perhaps you built your company website because you wanted a marketing tool to persuade people to swing by your showroom.

Think about the purpose(s) of your company website; then consider the types of people who visit it.

With these two things in mind, set aside a few minutes of time to read through your website's text. (I'm guessing you haven't given much thought to the text since your site was originally built. If this is the case — you're not alone.)

After reading through the text of each page, answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

Did I use industry-specific terms or acronyms that my site visitors won't understand?

Did I include too many details or specifics about our services and products ... to the point where the large amounts of content actually become distracting?

Did I include personal information or personal opinions that provide little to no value to our visitors? (Seriously. Do your potential clients really need to know that your niece plays the flute?)

Did you list features of your products or services that — while they're true and seem important to you — have little to no meaning to your site's visitors? (Yes, it's great that your crew uses the latest 320 KPM machines on the job, but that doesn't translate into meaningful value or benefits to potential customers visiting your site.)

Do your best to objectively analyze your pages' content. Make sure you're not including content that's simply taking up space and keeping your visitors from finding the information they're looking for. I'll be the first to admit that it can be quite difficult to remain objective when looking at your own text — so if you find yourself struggling to see your site's content through the eyes of a visitor ... simply ask for an outside, non-biased opinion or two. You'll likely be surprised by what you learn.

How to Find Data Entry Jobs Online

Step 1 Search for different work-at-home websites. ‘WAHM,’ 'WorkPlaceLikeHome' and 'Whydowork' where you can find a list data entry jobs.

Step2 Visit classified or job-related sites such as 'Backpage', 'Craigslist' or 'Indeed' to find data entry work. Keep in mind there might be huge responses received to employers so make the best impression, not only stating your interest but explain why you will be a good candidate and your experience. This can possibly lead you as front-runner for the job.

Step3 Research companies in your local area. Some data entry services are open to hiring people to work from their home although for some companies, it might be a requirement to work onsite for a month before doing work online. You can also look in the yellow pages to search for local businesses that hire independent contractors- offering your services are an excellent way to build clients.

Offline Data Entry Work – Save up to 60% Cost

If the speed and accuracy value is what you most trust your, offline data entry work with projects ITMatchOnline. ITMatchOnline is a B2B portal with headquarters in India, branch office in USA and its successful solutions for offline data entry jobs and offline data entry work. We can help you to deliver high quality offline data entry jobs and offline data conversion job work at low cost. Submit your project requirement on info@itmatchonline.us.Get accurate and affordable offline data entry service providers from India, USA, UK, Canada, Australia and all over worlds. We have 6000+ data entry service providers having expertise in following fields.• E-books Offline Data Entry• Business Cards Offline Data Entry• Offline Insurance Claim Entry• Offline Form Processing• Offline Data Collection• Offline Data Capture• Offline Data Entry for Surveys• Offline Data Entry for Credit CardsOffline data entry service providers assist you to achieve great success in business. Here at ITMatchOnline, outsource your offline data entry jobs work requirement and skilled offline data entry jobs work service providers contact you. If you have specific requirements that you need region based service providers like offline data entry service providers from USA, UK, Canada, Australia etc. Don’t worry. We have offline data entry service providers from across the world. Get offline data entry jobs, offline data entry work, offline data conversion jobs, offline data entry services, online data entry services, image entry services according to your needs, without compromising with quality. All data entry projects forwarded to you through a process of high security. Post your Offline Data Entry Work on info@itmatchonline.us and get competitive quotes.

How to find Free Online Jobs

Nowadays, everybody can earn some really good money via doing free online jobs. The term Free, here means that you can get these online jobs without paying anything from your pocket. When we talk about online money making, the first thing that comes to one’s mind are the money making Scams on the internet. This really is a serious problem. How can you start to make money online without paying anything from your pocket? Is it even possible?
In order to avoid all scams, just remember one little but very important thing which is to never give any money or any of your personal information to anyone on the internet. If you see an online money making opportunity where you are promised to earn lot of money, but in order to start earning cash, you first have to pay some fee. Never believe in such scam, money making opportunities.
So how are you going to find scam free place to do online jobs? A place where you can start making money without paying anything from your pocket? The answer is very simple; you only have to get register at free to join Freelance Sites. Freelance sites are the place where you can easily find hundreds of online jobs that you do at home. These online jobs include simple typing jobs, online form filling jobs, Flash, PHP related work and many other type of jobs are available at freelance sites.
Remember to join only the freelance sites where you do not have to pay any membership fee in order to apply for the jobs. There are many free to join freelance sites where you can start to earn cash without investing any money. First of all; get register at these sites, then start to look for any job that you can do. Incase you cannot do any programming or other technical jobs, then I suggest you start doing data entry jobs. No experience is needed to do data entry work therefore everyone can do this work.

On-line job fair scheduled for later this month

Hope-nwa.com, is holding a free online job fair to assist those in the community seeking employment. Set to launch Thursday, April 16th, the job fair will run through Thursday, April 23.
The service is also free to businesses, which can begin posting their job openings today by logging onto hopenwa.com; businesses will be able to post openings until 3 p.m. April 15. "We really encourage businesses to take advantage of this event," said Jessica Eldred Hope-NWA Strategist. "Their participation will not only help fill a need for their company, but will also meet a need that is very real for many Northwest Arkansas families right now."
The on-line job fair provides many benefits for businesses including: 1) Participation is free saving employers hundred of dollars in booth rent. 2) Job openings are still seen by a large audience, yet a company employee does not have to commit a day away from the office as in traditional job fairs. 3) On-line postings allow companies to stream line candidates and select only those that best fit the company.
The on-line fair is also beneficial to applicants allowing them to look through a catalog of company's openings ranging from clerical to specialized fields. Eldred further stated, "We have worked to make sure the site is easy to use. Applicants can select the job postings that pertain to their interest and skills and easily send resumes to the potential employer."
Any business that has a question about participating in the job fair can go on-line to Hope-NWA.com or contact Jessica Eldred at 640-6564.
"A community of hope giving our community hope" is the foundational thought fueling the new Hope-NWA.com initiative. The Hope-NWA website officially launched on Friday, Feb. 20. Designed to address the ever emerging needs of NWA, the site is a common ground for the people of NWA to come together and offer others hope and help. The site and all of its resources and seminars are completely free and hosted by Grace Point Church of Bentonville, Ark. No faith affiliation is expected just the opportunity to lend others a hand

Microsoft Faces Branding Problem In Effort to Top Google

A stark sign of the challenge Yusuf Mehdi faces as a point man for Microsoft in the company’s battle with Google comes from the company’s own research into the habits of consumers online.
During regular “blind taste tests,” in which Microsoft asks randomly-selected consumers to score the quality of results from various Internet search engines, the quality of Microsoft’s search results have so improved that people can’t tell the difference between Microsoft and Google search results, says Mr. Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s online audience business group. But when Microsoft slaps the Google brand name on the results from Microsoft’s own search engine during another portion of its tests, users invariably score them highest.
“Just by putting the name up, people think it’s more relevant,” he says.
Mr. Mehdi discussed the Google “brand pop” and other hurdles for Microsoft on Tuesday in an interview in his office in a verdant patch of Microsoft’s campus in the Seattle suburbs. The interview was part of a plan to begin talking more publicly about its Internet search business prior to a re-launch of its search engine in the coming months–a project that bears the code-name Kiev. People familiar with the matter say Microsoft has hired ad agency JWT, a unit of London-based WPP Plc, to develop a major advertising campaign for its new search engine, though Mr. Mehdi declined to comment on that topic.
Microsoft has been relatively quiet in recent months about its Internet search business as it regrouped following a string of setbacks. Last year, the company abandoned an effort to acquire Yahoo Inc. for nearly $50 billion and the head of its online business, Kevin Johnson, left to become CEO of Juniper Networks in July. More recently, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said he’s interested in acquiring Yahoo’s search business, a deal that could create a stronger rival to Google, though Yahoo‘s new CEO Carol Bartz has shown little interest in taking him up on the offer anytime soon.
Microsoft’s search group has stabilized since the company hired a former Yahoo search executive, Qi Lu, late last year to lead its online services business and recruited several other managers from Yahoo. Microsoft continues to invest heavily in its search business even as it makes cutbacks elsewhere in the company because of the weak economy. Even though Microsoft still finds itself in a distant third-place position in its share of the online search market behind Google and Yahoo, with just over 8% of searches by U.S. users, Mr. Mehdi says the mood in the search group is upbeat.
“It’s a very visceral feeling in the hallways,” he says.
Mr. Mehdi was cagey about discussing Kiev in depth ahead of its launch, but he offered a quick demonstration of one concept the company is testing as part of the project–a search engine it dubs Kumo.com that is currently only available to Microsoft employees. If a user conducts a search, say, on the name of a popular musician, Kumo groups together results in helpful categories like “songs,” “lyrics,” “videos” and “images.” Moves like that are part of a Microsoft focus on shaving the time it takes users to complete Internet searches.
Although improving its search technology has been a top priority, Mr. Mehdi concedes that another big problem for Microsoft has been a confusing jumble of brand names for its search efforts. The company’s search engine, available at Live.com, is called Live Search, though the brand is muddied by the plethora of other Microsoft Internet services such as Xbox Live and Windows Live. Mr. Mehdi says the company is looking for ways to “clarify” the brand for its search engine.
Even if it does that, Microsoft still faces the problem of the strong association in consumers’ minds between Google and Internet search. In theory, it’s far easier for a consumer to switch Internet search engines than it is for them to switch other forms of software. But Mr. Mehdi–a veteran of the Web browser wars of the late 90s in which Microsoft managed to overtake the pioneer in the category, Netscape Communications–says in reality it’s very hard to convince consumers to change their search behavior.
“Consumers are creatures of habit,” he says. “Habits are hard to break."

Home Business May Solve Personal Economic Crisis

Internet entrepreneur Nnamdi Onwuka may have a solution to any personal economic crisis: www.SuccessFinanceSolutions.com, a website showcasing the best home business opportunities.Now could be the best time to start a home business, Nnamdi says. Even those who are not personally affected by the bad economy can benefit by starting a home business and bringing in extra money.
The site features the best home businesses found on the internet today. Each of the businesses was developed by an internet marketing expert and has undergone an intense screening process to ensure they are legitimate. With more and more scams showing up on-line, people have to use extra caution, Nnambi says, which is why it is so important that entrepreneurs invest only in legitimate businesses.
“Most of the businesses featured on my site involve affiliate marketing,” Nnambi states. “These are not get rich schemes, but good, solid businesses that have been making ordinary people money for years. They are business that will work if the entrepreneurs work hard to make them a success.”
The businesses include a free traffic-generating website that can be up and ready to bring in several streams of income in just 24 hours. Nnambi urges anyone looking to invest in an online business to be careful and not believe anyone who says you can get rich doing nothing.
Education is the key, he says, which is why he is offering several free educational resources on his site to help the entrepreneur make the most of their new business. Nnambi is offering visitors to the site a free subscription to his daily newsletter, Home Business Tips. The newsletter, a $147 value, comes via e-mail for a year and is packed with the latest tips and strategies for making your home business a success.
Also available for free is the 325-page e-book, “Dotcomology – The Science of Making Money Online” by Home Biz Guy Stone Evans, a well-known internet marketing expert. The book is filled with informative articles to help anyone make money on-line.

Website Features Best On-line Home Business Ideas

Anyone looking to start an online home business should first go to www.CMBWealth.com to see which businesses are truly the best options for them.
Why? According to website developer and home business expert C. Mark Babcock, it’s because only his website lists the best internet-based businesses available today.
“People don’t have money to throw away nowadays, which is why it is so important to do your homework before investing in any on-line business,” Mark states. “I’ve put together a website that, quite simply, lists the only businesses that I’ve found out there that really make money.”
All the businesses featured on the site have been developed by some of the best marketing and business minds in the industry. They’ve all been put through an intense screening process to ensure they not only are legitimate business opportunities, but also will make money. All the businesses on the site have been making ordinary people money for years.
One of the keys is a traffic-generating website that is free with the businesses and is completely customizable. In just 24 hours, anyone can have their own website up and running and ready to bring in several streams of income. Many of the businesses involve affiliate marketing, one of the easiest and best ways to make money on-line.
In addition to the proven businesses listed on the site, Mark also has several educational resources, many of which are free to visitors to the site. One such educational resource is “Dotcomology – The Science of Making Money Online” by Home Biz Guy Stone Evans. The 325-page e-book is free to download from the site and is an excellent guide to home professionals at any level of expertise.
Mark also has a daily newsletter, Home Business Tips, which is free to subscribers. The newsletter, a $147 value, comes via e-mail for a year and is packed with the latest tips and strategies for making money on-line.

11 tips on starting an online business

By:Sunil

1. Pick and register a domain name:

Choose a simple name - perhaps your company's name - to identify your business. Decide if you want the name to end with .com, .com.sg or .sg extension.


The latter two identify your business as a local one. If you want a global audience, pick .com

You can also choose to register all three permutations to deter cyber-squatting, where someone can take your company's name and register it.

Registration fees vary and there is an annual fee for maintaining the name. To find out more about domain-name registration, visit the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) at www.sgnic.sg

2. Design a website: This allows you to hook and interact with customers with appealing images, spiffy text and user-friendly navigation.

Hire a photographer to shoot products if you are planning a retail store, or yield profile shots for those offering services.

Have a rough idea of what the website should look like and hire a company to custom-design it.

Look into having a shopping cart that allows you to secure customer information. Add a chat interface for immediate online communication instead of sending e-mail and waiting for replies.

Depending on the number of webpages your site has, and the use of animation and music, be prepared to spend $1,000 to $4,000 to create one.

3. Find a Web-hosting company: You need to store your webpage content on servers rented out by Web-hosting companies. They will transmit your webpages over the Internet when someone types in your domain name.

The SGNIC site has a list of partners offering such services but there are also international ones.

Rates can start from $8 a month and go up to $99, depending on the amount of storage and bandwidth space, e-mail accounts, security and support levels. Some firms offer Web-hosting plans bundled with free domain-name registration and e-mail accounts, so shop around for a good deal.

If you are targeting the Singapore market, a local Web host means your page will load faster here as data is not sent across the world from an international server.

4. Blogshop: Alternatively, go small and think about setting up a small blogshop on free blog sites like LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com).

It may not be the most professional-looking, as all you do is post a picture or thread, and hope to have visitors, but you can always upgrade to a proper website when things take off.

While it is possible to host your own website using a home broadband connection, the bandwidth may not be able to support high visitor traffic.

A Web-hosting company also provides dedicated technical support in case your website cannot be accessed due to technical faults.

5. Use free software: Save money by using free software. Consider G-mail or any free e-mail service instead of paying for one from local telcos.

Another free offering is Open Office (www.openoffice.org) to create documents and spreadsheets.

Use Internet phone services like Skype for cheap overseas calls.

6. Payment methods: Look into Internet payment options like Pay-Pal (www.paypal.com.sg). For monthly sales under $5,000, it charges 3.4 per cent plus $0.50 per transaction. Rates fall as the amount increases.

Otherwise, use online banking where customers can deposit money directly into your local bank account, even if both of you use different banks.

Setting up credit-card payments is worth considering if payment for your services and items is high and you need secure transactions.

7. Have a physical presence: Consider working with a retailer to showcase your products in a store. Or rent a booth to display items.

For $60 a month, you can rent one from Toy Outpost. Of the 200 booths at its Plaza Singapura shop, half are used by non-toy-related online businesses. About 10 online businesses rent booths solely to deposit items for collection by customers who bought online.

8. Getting funding: Media Development Authority (MDA): The MDA's i.JAM (IDM Jump-start and Mentor) initiative supports research and development efforts in the interactive and digital media sector. Be it Web applications or software learning tools, a qualifying project can get up to $50,000.

Companies must be in R&D and technology (creative, social or business model) and the team should have at least one full-time founder, who holds at least 20 per cent of the project's stake. Visit www.idm.sg/support/support-for-startups/

9. Getting funding: Infocomm Development Authority: To help companies go online, the SME Infocomm Package (SIP) is a bundled package offering hardware applications, website development solutions and broadband support.

The SIP subsidy is available to 5,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on a first-come- first-served basis. As of last month, more than 1,000 SMEs have applied for it.

The subsidy applies to any SME with at least 30 per cent local ownership, fewer than 200 employees, less than $15 million in fixed assets and no website. Taking on an SIP means your company must develop a website for the business.

For more information, visit www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm%20Adoption/20070618182747.aspx

10. Getting funding: Spring Singapore: Spring Singapore has two schemes for start-ups.

Companies developing innovative products or processes for a global audience can qualify for the Spring Startup Enterprise Development Scheme (Seeds) equity investment, which matches dollar for dollar what an investor puts into your business, up to $1 million.

Spring Seeds Capital, a subsidiary of Spring Singapore, will also take an equity stake in your company. For more information, visit www.spring.gov.sg/SEEDS.aspx

Under YES! Startups, or Young Entrepreneurs Scheme for Startups, Spring will contribute $4 for every $1 raised by applicants aged 26 and under for their businesses. The maximum grant is $50,000.

Spring will evaluate business proposals based on innovation, feasibility and potential market opportunity. For more information, visit www.spring.gov.sg/yesstartups/

11. Getting funding: Microsoft BizSpark: For IT-related start-ups, Microsoft will provide free software tools. They include Microsoft Visual Studio, used to create graphical user interface applications for websites, and the Microsoft .NET Framework, a programing software for writing applications.

To be eligible, start-ups have to be in the business of software development, be privately held, be in business for less than three years and have less than US$1 million (S$1.5 million) in annual revenue.

Nonprofits Worldwide Find Free Online Help for Donation Thank You Letters

Day or night, nonprofit organizations from Minnesota to Tasmania can now find out how to write better donation thank you letters, and see actual before-and-after samples, free, as online copywriting clinic hosted by US-based donor communications specialist Lisa Sargent goes 'live' on website SOFII.

Stafford Springs, CT (PRWEB) April 7, 2009 -- In a move to help nonprofit organizations worldwide, donor communications specialist Lisa Sargent recently teamed with The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration to host a free copywriting clinic on donation thank you letters for nonprofits--the results of which are now 'live' on SOFII's website as an online showcase of fully annotated, before-and-after thank you letter samples.

"Getting donation thank you letters right represents a huge opportunity for any nonprofit looking to improve donor retention rates," says Sargent. "And donor retention, or keeping your donors, isn't just an issue for charities. It's a growing, global concern for hospitals, universities, charities, foundations, everyone. Here in the U.S., for example, it's estimated that for every six new donors a nonprofit attracts, five current donors stop giving. And since donor loyalty means keeping your donors connected and giving, hopefully for a lifetime, then sending effective, engaging thank you letters is a critical part of that process."