Computer Information Systems Vocational Schools

Interested in attending a Computer Information Systems vocational school? Courses in computer information systems prepare students to gain entry-level positions in the information technology field. Instructing a broad array of in-depth courses, Computer information systems vocational schools often provide extensive coursework in e-commerce, desktop applications support; networking administration and web application development. Additionally, curriculums usually offer comprehensive education and training in software applications; programming language and other pertinent, but commonly-used office applications.

Vocational schools that offer courses in computer information systems afford students with basic education and training courses in computer programming, maintenance, service and repair; microcomputer applications; Internet technology; network applications; algebra and mathematics – to name just few.

Computer Information Systems vocational schools enable candidates to attain fascinating information technology careers such as programmers; network administrators; software application support technicians; and web system developers.

For those students who desire to enhance their career outlook, attending a computer information systems vocational school is a stepping stone to achieving that accomplishment. Students who have successfully completed comprehensive coursework in computer information systems at a vocational school, can further their educational potential by transferring their credits to a four-year college or university to achieve their Associates, Bachelors; or Doctorates degree.

If you are interested in the exciting and lucrative field of Computer Information Systems, apply to a computer information systems vocational school today!

So What is an Affiliate Program

Affiliate programs are a great way to make money on the Internet – one of the few ways, in fact, that has managed to stand the test of time. The web today is a very different place to what it was at the start of e-commerce, but the success of affiliate marketing programs has only increased. In an unstable market like the Internet, it makes sense to seize on proven strategies like this and put them to work for you.

So what is an affiliate program? Basically, the idea is that, instead of running your own e-commerce website, fulfilling orders and all that jazz, you just set up your website to drive customers to someone else’s. For example, if you’re running a website with DVD reviews, you might think that it would also make sense for you to sell the DVDs – so you just sign up to an affiliate program, and link through to a store that does using your affiliate code. In return for the referral, you get a commission as a percentage of the sale price, typically somewhere from 1% to 5%.

The most important choice you have to make is exactly which affiliate program to join. You can’t join too many, because your website will quickly become cluttered – and besides, many of the larger ones have rules that say you can’t do this.

If your site is anything to do with books, music or movies, you would almost certainly do best to go with Amazon’s affiliate program. This can work especially well if your site is quite narrowly targeted and focused. A site with comprehensive discographies for ‘70s glam rock bands, for example, will probably find that adding affiliate links next to the name of each CD will drive a lot of sales. This is because the more focused your site is, the easier it is for it to become an authority in its chosen area.

For non-media items, such as collectibles, eBay’s affiliate program can also be effective. It is a live-updated list of current eBay auctions on items relevant to your site that your visitors will then hopefully click on, rewarding you each time.

Ultimately, though, your site might not fit into one of the big affiliate programs. In this case, just do a search for whatever your site is about followed by the word ‘affiliate’, and see what turns up. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Loose Tea in the American Marketplace

The American tea market

Traditionally, the marketplace for tea drinkers in the United States has been limited.

Although loose tea was extremely popular in colonial times, the consumption of loose tea gradually changed and recently the American market for tea has been generally confined to iced tea and tea in bags.

Loose tea was introduced to America at the same time of introduction to Europe. As early as 1650 Dutch traders were active in the tea trade and Peter Stuyvesant, as an early governor of the New York colony, brought the first tea to New York. Loose tea was so popular in colonial New York that at one time the small colony consumed more loose tea than all of England. This popularity was equally evident in the other colonies.

Gradually however, the American tea market changed. America made two unique contributions to the tea world in the form of iced tea and the tea bag and both were invented in the early 1900’s. Presently, 80% of the tea consumed in the United States is iced tea and of the remaining 20% of tea consumption, most is consumed in the form of bagged tea.

There is growing resurgence of demand for loose tea in the United States however, driven by a greater awareness of the health benefits and quality of the loose tea experience. As demand increases, new opportunities arise for the entrepreneur who wishes to market and sell loose tea.

How do loose tea and tea bags compare?

Most experts compare loose tea and tea in bags in four ways:

1. Most of the tea that goes into bags in not high quality. Tea bags usually contain broken grades so infusion takes place quickly

2. Whole leaf loose teas come in a larger number of varieties than bagged tea and some higher quality teas are only found in loose offerings

3. Bags are semi-nonbiodegradable additions to biodegradable tea leaves with implications for the environment

4. Generally speaking, tea bags have historically offered greater convenience although e-commerce now offers tea drinkers the convenience of on line ordering and home delivery

Is loose tea more costly than tea bags?

Many advocates of bagged tea in believe that loose tea costs more than tea in bags. Actually, most good tea is not very expensive and can be very cost effective. When you buy tea in bags, most of what you pay for is the process of putting the teas in the bags, and the brand name advertising. Fancy tea is generally sold loose, and the price per cup is often lower than for commercial bagged tea.

Some truly fine teas retail in the United States retail for less than US$20 per pound, which means less than 10 cents per cup. When one considers that most loose teas support multiple infusions the prices drop dramatically. High quality loose leaf tea is typically not available in supermarkets; but a good mail order web site will accept and process orders rapidly and offer the convenience of home delivery.

E-commerce and affiliate programs

Opportunities for sale of loose tea are particularly attractive when combined with effective e-commerce through affiliate programs.

The affiliate arrangement is a way for a company to sell its products by signing up individuals or companies ("affiliates") who market the company's products for a commission.

Affiliate programs afford a small entrepreneur the ability to leverage the website of the tea manufacturer through their own affiliate site. Through this technique the affiliate can minimize their investment and maximize their return. An affiliate relationship is established by agreement between the affiliate and the manufacturer whereby each party benefits.

There is more to an affiliate relationship than a simple agreement however. The affiliate must be provided with marketing support, account feedback and prompt payment of earned commissions. Most good affiliate programs share a number of characteristics:

• Real-time reporting statistics

• Real-time email alerts upon each sale

• Payment on a consistent monthly basis for initial and repeat orders

• High price-point products that are easy to sell and allow for substantial affiliate commissions

• A comprehensive package of rich content articles and banner advertising that the affiliate can reprint and use for marketing

Of special note for marketing support is the availability of banner ads that are high quality and effective. These are particularly useful affiliate marketing tools.

The customer service issue:

Tea drinkers are very loyal but demand high quality products and premium customer service. As a result, customer service in the form of rapid and correct order processing and fulfillment, notification of orders and shipments, proper pricing and an emphasis on customer satisfaction is a necessary part of the affiliate relationship.

If customer service is inadequate then this will severely impact affiliate business and the affiliate reputation. Conversely, if customer satisfaction is high, a steady stream of repeat orders will be ensured and the affiliate will share in the additional revenue.

Choose a loose tea supplier that has a rich affiliate program, a reputation for consistent high quality products, an e-commerce site that is powerful and allows easy ordering and a company with a reputation for excellent customer service.

How To Save A Small eCommerce Business From Being Killed By The Mega Retailers

Remember the last time you bought an electronic item such as a DVD player or VCR? Where did you go to buy it? If you are like most consumers, you wanted the best possible price. You might have also been brand conscious by purchasing an item with a recognized manufacturer's name synonymous with quality. Like most consumers, you probably did not want to wait forever to get it.

You might have also been brand conscious by purchasing an item with a recognized manufacturer's name synonymous with quality. Like most consumers, you probably did not want to wait forever to get it. You might have hopped in the car and headed to the local mega retailer and bought the item.

Everyone loves great deal. A good brand with quality. A low price...and the ability to take it home right now! Does this sound like you or a least someone you know? Trust is important to us as consumers. We want to make sure no one takes us for a rip-off ride. We want to avoid the embarrassment and not look like the dumb shopper that bought a piece of junk for a high price. As a result, we have conditioned ourselves to certain buying habits. One of those habits is shopping for a name brand that is well known and trusted. Consequently, many folks start their own online e-commerce retail sites feeling these are often the types of product they need to carry. They think the well know brands can inherently bring some of the consumer trust (and sales) to their product offerings. While that might be true to a certain extent, this does not always result in a stable online business with healthy margins. Thus, they have fallen victim to the "brand name myth" in online retail.

The Brand Name Myth Unveiled

What is the brand name myth? We have already started to describe it, but here is a brief description of the brand name myth -- There are countless start-up online retail businesses who have been led to believe they should sell big brand name products as a core product offering for their retail website. After all, most consumers are familiar with big brand names (i.e. Kodak, Adidas, Sony...etc.) and have grown to trust and follow their favorite brand name products. In fact some of the largest and most successful retail businesses in the world sell the big brands. So, the popular way of thinking suggests that big brand name products are what a new online business should sell. Why? Again, the big brand name products are popular, well known, trusted and carry a name of quality. Unfortunately, this has often resulted in a losing battle for numerous small online businesses. How? In a few words...intense competition, brutal price wars and extreme market saturation. These businesses basically entered into the commodity business without knowing what hit them! Many of them are no longer in business. Would you like to avoid this situation...Certainly!

Press Release Paralysis

There is one other limiting factor about big brand name products you should know about. The ability to press release a business is greatly limited with big brand name products. That's right. Suppose a small start-up online business plans on selling the latest big brand name cameras as part of their online store. They would like to advertise their new product offering to the world, and get the word out about their online business. A press release is great way of doing this without spending a bunch of money. However, they quickly find no editor willing to publish their press release. There might be a couple of reasons for the rejection:

1) The camera manufacturer might not allow press releases of their licensed name by other parties, or if they do allow a release

2) The product has already been press released many times by other companies. As a result, the product press release is no longer news worthy.

Being the smart online business owner, do you want to avoid these situations?...If so, let's look at how to get started on the right foot.

How Can I Avoid The Brand Name Myth?

The Internet retail world presents a much different level of retail challenge versus the traditional brick and mortar retail business. Customers can do comparative shopping on the internet with just a few clicks of the mouse rather than driving around from store to store in their car. So, this means within seconds they can be at a competing retail site looking for similar products at a cheaper price. As an Internet retailer, you want a business that gives you some immunity to these scenarios.

Fortunately, there are many techniques and best practices that can be used to keep consumers on your site. One of these best practices involves creating a niche business. You can get the benefits of a niche business by carrying things that are unique to the marketplace. Having an online business with the "You can only find it here" advantage gives you some immunity to the competition. Selling the big brand names you find at mega retailers does not provide you with the business uniqueness you need. You can do this by creating your own product. However, not everybody wants to go down that path. Rather, another option would be finding a wholesale drop shipper with a unique product offering that has not saturated the market. Where can you find a wholesale drop shipper of unique products that are simply not found at all the mega retailers? The Hienote Drop Ship List Directory is a great starting place. At Hienote Inc., our focus has been on finding wholesalers with unique products that can be drop shipped in single item quantities. We offer an online directory of the drop shippers, found by our research staff. The drop shippers in the directory is always changing as we add new one every week. You can get immediate access to the products that can help you carve a niche for your online business. In niche marketing, you focus on traits that make your business unique. Likewise, we have placed a similar focus on creating a directory of drop shippers with unique, unusual and fresh product offerings.

By avoiding the commodity big brand names, you can be in a position to do as many product press releases as you want. This will allow you to get more focused buyers to your site and can result in more sales. Getting free publicity for your products is one of the key ways to getting the needed advertising without spending any money upfront. With brand name items you simply cannot do this, which severely paralyzes your marketing efforts. This is why many online business experts have recommended selling niche based products vs. the commodity big brand name products.

E-Commerce Fulfillment

E-commerce or electronic commerce can be defined as the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. For proper implementation of e-commerce it is of immense importance to have an e-commerce site where one can get involve with the buying and selling of goods and services. To be successful, E-commerce site should contain a shopping cart system and a payment processing system.
Timely delivery is one aspect that requires careful attention. In fact, timely delivery is one of the three main dimensions of competitiveness, the others being quality and cost. Timely delivery is also dependent, like quality and cost, on productivity, managerial effectiveness and infrastructural support. Delays have been part and parcel of the economic system for the ages, hindering the progress of an organization. Delays in delivery occur due to a variety of reasons. Delays in manufacturing, shipping delays and delays in transporting the manufactured products to the ports upset the delivery schedules. E-commerce is the one way which can minimize these delays.
For e-commerce fulfillment, the use of high-class communication technologies is vital. If companies have to achieve global industrial competitiveness, in the first place it is essential for them to bridge the technology gap in industrial production. The companies should produce what the overseas markets need and produce them to their technological specifications and standards. Upgrading technology is also the durable route for price competitiveness and quality improvement. The companies have to do their bit by opting for the latest technology, adapting it, working out technology tie-ups and by committing higher investment for technology upgradation. Even in the post-liberalization era, technology upgradation has been the missing ingredient. But thanks to its all-time availability, global reach, and interaction and information delivery capabilities, the Internet is rapidly becoming a multi-billion dollar source of revenue for business across the globe.

The Advantage of Going After A Nook On The Web

Focusing on a nook to the exclusion of everything else is a tremendous way to make money.

The Advantage of Going After A Nook On The Web

When we talk about a nook, we are merely focusing on a specific area of a service or product sector. Think of nooks and crannies in a room. A simple, but clear, example of a nook would be Lasik eye surgery. It is a nook within the larger field of eye care and much larger field of medical services. The key to making money in your particular area is to focus on a specific nook that provides either a large volume of business or small volume with lucrative profit margins.

One of the biggest nook advantages is the ability to quickly become a dominant player in the area in question. By definition, there is almost always a limited pool of competitors in the market area, either for the area itself or the geographic limitation. Assume you are offering Lasik eye services. There are a limited number of medical professionals in your area offering the same thing. This means you have an outstanding opportunity to become the dominant personality. You can go get appearances on the local television and radio shows, publish articles in the paper and so on. News outlets are desperate for such quality content.

On the web, the same concept applies with a slightly different orientation. You want to focus on your nook to the exclusion of everything else. This sounds simple, but can be difficult to implement. There is an incredible temptation to expand a site beyond the nook in question. The motivation, of course, is greed. We all tend to think that if we offer tour services to London, our clientele would obviously be interested in buying soccer shirts for the professional teams in London. Wrong. Define your nook and stick to it. Even if you sell a few shirts, you risk distracting your prospects from purchasing a tour.

The web also provides unique advantages found in no other business medium. One of the dominant ways to market any business is to write content for periodicals. I am talking about informative articles, not advertisements. If you wrote an article for the local paper and they included it in their Sunday edition, how would you be viewed? It would be a lot more effective than an advertisement and, over time, you would become a trusted source for most readers. Whenever they thought of your area of expertise, they would come to you or your business. Talk about a goldmine!

On the web, you can take this example to the extreme. There are numerous sites known as article directories. These sites collect articles for an interesting audience. Websites, blogs and online newsletters need content all of the time. They use article directories to find the content. You should submit articles to the directories under the category applicable to your business. If you make the articles informative, you will quickly become a credible source and they will use your articles again and again. It is like being published in your local paper and a few hundred papers in other cities.