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E-Business Secrets
Brian Livingston
How to improve your effective cost-per-click

In the Old Economy, businesses acquired customers by advertising. Each business was in control of the placement and timing of messages in Old Economy media (such as newspapers and TV), but had little proof of which ad placements produced the most orders.

The situation is reversed in the New Economy, argues Joel Gehman of the Affiliate Handbook. New Economy businesses, such as Web sites, control only the cost of converting a new visitor into a new customer. Web-based publishers control which advertisers' messages will appear when and where. But in return, advertisers get detailed information about which outlet produced results and the precise acquisition cost for each new customer.

Gehman gives the example of three Web-based advertisers. They spend 40 cents, 72 cents, and $1.36 for each lead that is generated by a Web publisher. The low-paying advertiser receives 10 purchase orders for each 1,000 leads, while the high-paying advertiser receives 34 purchase orders (and can therefore afford the higher run rate).

Web publishers will give better ad placement to the high-paying advertiser than the low-paying one. The twist is that Gehman says all three advertisers are the same company. By improving its Web site so visitors were more likely to become buyers, the advertiser was able to increase its bidding and thereby became even more successful in attracting new customers.

Performance Manifesto for Effective Cost-Per-Action Ads:

http://www.affiliatehandbook.com@54.vg/?3aa3

Livingston's e-business book review

Whether you need a job or need to hire someone, Jeffrey Fox's new book, "Don't Send a Resume," will teach you some killer tricks to use -- or some tricks to watch out for.

Fox says sending standard resumes to hundreds of companies is a waste of time for both job seekers and interviewers. Instead, he teaches that applicants must thoroughly research their target companies. Doing so can lead to new contacts being made and can also teach applicants how to custom-tailor an approach to each one. He also recommends looking for information in several unorthodox places:

1. Venture capitalists and leveraged buyout firms

2. Smaller companies, with revenues less than $25 million

3. Trust and estate bankers and lawyers

4. Commercial loan officers

5. Bankruptcy trustees (who know of new takeover teams)

When you must send a resume -- to answer a help-wanted ad, for example -- Fox recommends that you send a "resu-letter." This is a readable document with all the high points of your resume, but in a form that is warmer and has more credibility.

Despite his disdain for resumes, Fox is wild about sending thank-you notes and devotes a whole chapter to the subject. Fox's advice rings true and suggests that the prepared and well-researched job seeker will stand out as a genuine rarity among all the rest.

Don't Send A Resume: And Other Contrarian Rules

To Land A Great Job, by Jeffrey J. Fox (Hyperion)

http://www.amazon.com@54.vg/?0786865962

Livingston's Top 10 news picks o' the week

1. AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo are big winners in portal race

http://www.chicagotribune.com@a2.tc/?3f3

2. Mercedes-Benz and Monster.com exploit infomercials

http://www.business2.com@a6r.ms/?7db

3. What to watch out for in wireless marketing

http://www.wirelessadwatch.com@54.vg/?bc3

4. Desktop counterfeiting combated with Fed technology

http://www.wired.com@836.as/?fab

5. United States now only 36 percent of world Internet users

http://cyberatlas.internet.com@1c.to/?1393

6. What's 'ebXML'? The Webopedia unveils high-tech

http://www.webopedia.com@th.gs/?177b

7. Salon.com seeks a new $1.5 million from subscribers

http://www.siliconvalley.com@31.dk/?1b63

8. U.S. Tax Court is putting all tax rulings on the Web

http://www.accountingweb.com@e.la/?1f4b

9. 'Blogging' software revitalizes stagnant Web sites

http://washingtonpost.com@5a0.tc/?2333

10. And for those with too much time, a blogging game

http://www.notsosoft.com@a2.tc/?271b

E-business secrets: Our mission is to bring you such useful and thought-provoking information about the Web that you actually look forward to reading your e-mail.

About the author: E-Business Secrets is written by "InfoWorld" contributing editor Brian Livingston. Research Directors are Ben Livingston (no relation) and Eryn Paull. Brian has published 10 books, including:

Windows Me Secrets: http://www.amazon.com@54.vg/?34939

Windows 2000 Secrets: http://www.amazon.com@54.vg/?34130

Win a book free if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints. Send to mailto:tips@SecretsPro.com.



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