As our site grows every day we want to share some information with you on the way we are operating the project. We call this section «Business Blog» as it is similar to doing a log book where data is recorded in a chronological order. «Blogging» is gaining popularity with more and more people picking up the habit of publishing their experiences and thoughts on the Internet. Our Blog covers various topics — from TOEFL, TOEIC, MBA, GMAT, ESL/EFL test preperation to cultural traditions and current political events.
There will also be some Internet marketing terminology and if you have any questions regarding the information simply let us know.

The Business Blog is written by Torsten Daerr and edited by Alan Townend.

2004 — June 11
«Generating traffic» might sound like music to the ears of the internet marketing professional, yet it sounds rather strange when you use it in your daily conversations with ordinary people. I have been reading quite a number of so called e-books (documents in PDF) on the subject of internet business and online promotion and I have noticed two things:

• Although those books are written by different people, much of the contents is the same or very similar to say the least.
• Many of the authors are rather vague in their descriptions and very often you will search in vain for useful facts and relevant information.

Writing an ebook is easy. Writing an ebook that contains everything you need to establish a successful business on the internet is not because it requires the author(s) actually to experience for themselves what they are talking about. It is a fact that more than 90% of all websites available worldwide will never generate any profits. Only a tiny fraction of 2-3% of all websites can be called «an online business». This doesn't mean that the rest of all the many webpages are useless. Far from it. Those are places where you will find information on any topic for free, where you can meet and talk to others, get inspiration, have fun or simply «hang out» for a while. The internet enables anybody with basic computer skills to create and host their own virtual home. And it's good that only a very tiny number of those «homes» successfully collect money from their visitors.

2004 — June 10
One of the many trends in online communication is blogging. Here is how Wordspy.com defines the word blog: «A web page consisting of frequently updated, chronological entries on a particular topic». So, what's so special about it? After all, there are more than 4 million people currently running their own blogs and this number is estimated to reach 10 million by the end of 2004. Google has bought «Blogger.com» — one OF the largest blog providers worldwide. Let's take a look at the reasons why people and businesses are «blogging up»:

• Blogs make it very easy to publish on the web — you simply type your text, press submit and your entry is online.
• Blogs are a very cost-effective way to publish information — once the system has been established you can create and edit your entries.
• Blogging is immediate — as soon as you send your text to your blog, it appears on your site.
• Blogs are a very powerful tool to increase your site's search engine ranking. Google in particular rewards web pages that are updated on a regular basis. Provided your pages have reached a certain degree of exposure through Google — their severs will visit them more frequently and the number of search strings generating traffic will increase.
• Companies can use blogs to distribute information within their organization — access to a blog can be administered easily.

Apart from all that blogging has another great advantage: It can be an ideal vehicle for you to organize your ideas and keep them flowing. Have you ever asked yourself why there are only a very small number of people who establish their own businesses and live the lifestyle they want? You think it's just luck? Or intelligence? No, there is one single ingredient to achieving your goals: Consistency. Many successful business people keep diaries to store ideas and information. A blog is just like an electronic diary that allows you to share your thoughts with virtually anybody who wants to read your entries.

2004 — June 07
When it comes to internet marketing and online promotion — two terms that are very similar to each other —- one device stands out: email. Many people think that the world wide web is the most important online marketing tool - yet, if you analyze the way we communicate, you will find that email has quite a number of advantages over the web. First of all, email is much more personal and direct than a website. You can address someone by their name via email and deliver a message right into their mailbox. Most internet users rely on email as their daily communication channel and programs like Outlook serve as organization tools because of their high functionality. A website is an ideal place to attract attention, provide interactivity and all kinds of information. However, long term relationships are built through email. That's why email based newsletters and e-zines should be a vital part of any online marketing strategy. When you run an education related website like ours, the newsletter or e-zine will become the major platform promotion activities for your users. One of the largest and most popular email based publications is the famous «A Word A Day» newsletter by Anu Garg. His free list, which started with about 200 subscribers in March 1994 has now ballooned to more than 500,000 coming from 204 countries.

2004 — June 01
Here is a letter the President of «eslemployment.com» sent us yesterday and of course we will look into a possible collaboration:

«Hi Torsten and Alan,

My name is Jacob Peebles and I am the President of ESL employment www.eslemployment.com. I am writing in regards to the possibility of cooperation between our site and yours, english-test.net.

To give you a little background on ESL employment our site was started in 1999 to allow ESL employers a simple, cost effective way to locate qualified candidates around the world. We now have over 39,000 registered ESL professionals and are growing by the day.

Our job seekers have been asking for more teacher focused materials, teaching tips and general classroom resources. I have been researching various sites and ESL content pages and yours appears to be one of the most impressive I have found.

Would you be interested in contributing some material to our weekly newsletter (The ESL / EFL Job Finder)? We have found this is an effective way for us to provide valuable industry insight to our subscribers while highlighting the authors program, site and materials. What I have in mind is tips and tricks, focused articles, lesson plan ideas, and short stories which would be published in our weekly newsletter as well posted on our site (in our ESL News area — www.eslemployment.com/esl-articles.htm) for future reference and residual traffic.

In short this would provide a great resource for our subscribers and direct targeted traffic back to you.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Regards,

Jake Peebles
President
ESL Employment
www.eslemployment.com»