VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. VPS hosting gives you the advantages of a dedicated host at the price of shared webhosting.

I recently switch from semi-dedicated hosting to VPS hosting on the recommendation of my coder. My old host shut down some of my custom-written online software (how rude) because my members were using it so much. Plus my old host had a lot of downtime. I made the switch last week and so far so good. My site loads faster than ever and I've yet to experience a single glitch. The best part is my "server load" is barely noticeable (a reading of .01 — just checked)… sweet!

Many of my clients and subscribers make the mistake of going with shared hosting from companies like GoDaddy. That's great if you're running a hobby website that gets little traffic. But if you're running a real online business, shared hosting is a HUGE mistake…

… For example if one careless site owner runs a script that crashes the server, your site goes down too (even if you had nothing to do with it). Also, if a fellow site owner leaves some security holes open, your site might get hacked too – because with shared hosting, you're sharing the same hardware and software.

Whether your current web hosting setup is dedicated or shared, you might think about making the switch to VPS. By upgrading from shared hosting to VPS, you're going to see a significant speedup of your webpages (which is important for both SEO and a great visitor experience).

If you pay for dedicated hosting, you might reconsider that option, too. You might be paying way too much for your needs. It's kind of like getting an 8-cylinder turbo when 4 cylinders might fit the bill… and the bill is going to be significantly less each month. Dedicated hosting sets you back at least $120 monthly (and that's super cheap… it's more like $200+ each and every month). Reliable VPS hosting starts at $49.

Side-by-side comparisons of shared hosting vs. VPS hosting are typically biased. With shared hosting, you're "told" you get to store 50 or 100 gigabytes worth of data storage, where as VPS hosting currently offers you 20 to 30 gigabytes of web hosting space. Shared hosts offer this because they know most of their customers won't use even one gigabyte worth of space. On the other hand, a VPS actually allocates 20 to 30 gigabytes worth of space (depending on the plan you choose) whether you use it or not. It's always there for you. It allows you to grow without paying for dedicated hosting.

Here are the top 5 advantages of VPS server hosting vs. the lower-cost shared hosting:

Higher Security
VPS accounts are insulated from each other, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access from hackers as well as other customers. The isolation of your account also minimizes the risk of being impacted by a DoS attack that was intended for someone else.

Better performance
All resources are regulated in the VPS environment… so one customer can't "hijack" a large share of the resources. As a result, your service runs reliably and predictably.

"Bulletproof" email
Each VPS account has its own private mail server. This eliminates the risk that your mail service will be blacklisted due to abuses of others sharing the same mail service.

Install your own web software
WithVPS, you have your own partition and root access… this gives you the ability to install applications not offered as standard by your web host. Everything from forums to blogs to custom scripts are easy to install.

Easy to customize
Some applications require that certain ports and/or protocols be opened or closed in the firewall. With shared hosting, custom firewall configurations are not advisable for security reasons. But with VPS hosting, custom firewall configurations are allowed because each website is separated by a software partition.

Grow without hassle
Your entire website environment can be restored from backup to any physical server with no changes to your configuration. You can also easily downgrade or upgrade your service with no downtime.

With virtual private server web hosting, you get your own secure hosting environment… complete with root access (SSH) and the ability to install and configure whatever you desire within your environment. Although there is more than one virtual server on each machine, there is no way for other users to see your VPS (or even know that you’re there).

Think of hosting like an apartment building. If you have dedicated hosting, you own the entire building. With VPS server hosting, you rent a single apartment within the building. Each "unit" (Virtual Private Server) is identical in size, but they all share resources. It's like a co-op… everyone sharing electricity, RAM memory and disk space. Even the maintenance is done sharing a "superintendent" (like a maintenance man).

VPS hosting is really no different than semi-dedicated hosting. (In fact I have no idea what the difference is – it sounds like semantics to me quite frankly.) Popular programs such as mySQL and PHP is preloaded and ready to go.

Update: There is one negative about VPS hosting… say goodbye to catchall emails. You have to setup an email account for each email you have. At first, this annoyed me as I track my subscriptions to stuff… for example, if I registered with Amazon.com, I supplied amazon [at] marketing-ideas.org as my email… and the catchall would redirect to my main email address. But now that this feature isn't available with VPS, all of those worthless marketing pitches never reach me anymore — freeing up a boatload of time scanning my emails each morning.

If you're looking for a recommendation for a VPS host, I currently use InMotion Hosting in Marina Del Ray, California. They were rated the #1 host by HostJury and I'm so far impressed with them… my calls into tech support were amazingly fast… even the sales rep are technically savvy (I'm not used to this). I say "so far" because if things go downhill, I'll revoke my recommendation here.

Feel free to call my contact there (his name is Matt) – the call is free at 888-321-4678. Once you call, press the number 9, followed by Matt's direct extension of 859. Mention my name (Markus Allen) and Matt upgrades extra memory to your VPS free. By the way, I don't make a single penny endorsing InMotion.

• Stop prospects from price shopping
• Convert more prospects to customers
• Pre-empt your competition

You'd want to know about it right?

It gets even better. Because you don't have to be a great writer… or even a great marketer… to put this strategy to work in your business.

Just so you know how powerful this particular strategy is, let me tell you a story…

Before I became a freelance copywriter, I was the sole copywriter and online marketer for a well-known home schooling company.

I'd been mulling over how to use this strategy in the business. One morning, it clicked.

I spent 4 hours writing 8 brief emails. I plugged them into our email system, posted the opt-in form on the web site, and waited to see what would happen.

The results?

Nearly 20,000 subscribers the first year and $115,168.09 in revenue.

The email series continued to produce revenue the second year, the third year, and on and on. All from less than a day's work. Pretty amazing, huh?

The strategy I used is called:

"Setting the Buying Criteria"

A clearer way to say it is: setting the criteria by which your prospects make a buying decision.

In a nutshell, here is how it works. In your marketing material (emails, brochures, web sites, sales letters, etc.), you want to define what makes a good buying decision. And in your defining, you want to make sure that your company, product, or service is the only one that fits the definition.

This is setting the buying criteria.

When you set the criteria, you always want to do it in such a way that it excludes your competitors. They should not be able to qualify based on the criteria you've set.

This is why the criteria you use should always be exclusive to a greater or lesser degree.

Let me give you a quick example…

Assume for a moment you're a car manufacturer who specializes in sports cars. One of your criteria might read like this:

"Whatever sports car you choose, make sure it has at least 250 horsepower. Any less and you'll be sacrificing speed, acceleration, and performance, all of which are critical to the pleasure you'll get from your new sports car."

You'll notice I set the criterion (250 horsepower) high enough that it eliminated some cars, but not so high that it eliminated all cars. No matter. The important thing is, I've narrowed the field.

As we move on, we layer additional buying criteria:

"Once you've found a sports car that has at least 250 horsepower, you'll also want to make sure it has a 6-speed manual transmission. At least half the pleasure of a sports car is being in total control. An automatic transmission just won't cut it.

"Rear-wheel drive is a must for a true sports car. It gives you the best cornering power possible, without feeling like you're going to run off the road (as you might feel with a front-wheel drive vehicle).

"Also look for fully independent suspension, so you get the best road feel. Each wheel will move on its own, independent from the other wheels, giving you maximum traction and performance.

"Lastly, be picky about the kind of engine your sports car is equipped with. The best sports car engine is a boxer engine. It's perfectly balanced and produces no vibration. You can set a quarter directly on the engine while it is running and it will not fall off. Plus, boxer engines sit low to the ground and provide a lower center of gravity. Boxer engines can be found in flat-4, flat-6, and flat-12 configurations."

By shrewdly selecting these and possibly one or two additional criteria, I can make my sports car the only logical choice in a crowded market.

It's the same with your product. If you shrewdly define the criteria for buying, you'll create a scenario where your product is the only one that can possibly qualify. All competitive products will fall short.

Why Setting the Buying Criteria Works

Setting the buying criteria works for 3 powerful reasons:

1. You're seen as someone who can be trusted.

By telling your prospects what they should look for when they make a purchase–or conversely, telling them what to watch out for–you become a trusted advisor.

Your prospects believe you have their best interests at heart (and you do), so they are more likely to buy your product instead of the competition's.

2. You're letting your prospects come to their own conclusions.

When you set the buying criteria, you're not saying, "Buy my product because it's got X, Y, and Z."

Instead, you're indirectly guiding your prospects to the conclusion you want them to reach. You're saying, "When you make a purchase of this kind, make sure you get one with these things…"

Your prospects run down the checklist you've created and decide–on their own–that your product is the best choice.

3. You're doing something different.

If you examine your competition, you will be lucky if you find even one business taking advantage of this strategy. That makes it easy for you to stand out.

When your prospects see that you're looking out for them… and none of your competitors are… then it becomes exceptionally easy for you to turn them into customers. Prospects will be drawn to you, and will gladly give you their business.

More Examples To Illustrate Buying Criteria

I don't know what your product is, so I'm going to use a few more examples to illustrate this process. So let's assume you're selling a high-end ski jacket.

Your criteria might look like this: zippered pockets, hood, removable liner, snow skirt, goggle pouch, season pass window, and a new proprietary waterproof/breathable fabric.

As you look at your competition, you find that nearly every single ski jacket on the market has "zippered pockets," and yet this is a feature that many skiers are looking for. "Zippered pockets" alone will not set you apart, so you go further.

Now you add the "hood" to your buying criteria. There are fewer ski jackets with both zippered pockets and a hood, but there are still many.

As you layer each additional feature of your high-end ski jacket, you notice there are fewer and fewer jackets that meet all the criteria you've defined.

By the time you add your proprietary waterproof/breathable fabric to the mix, there is only one ski jacket still in the running. It just so happens that it's the one you sell.

Is this starting to make sense?

If you run an accounting practice, your criteria may be: monthly statements (including P&L, trial balance, assets & liabilities, itemized expense reports, etc.), quarterly tax filing, daily backups to prevent lost data, and free tax planning twice a year.

If you sell a cleaning product, your criteria may be: kills bacteria in under 30 seconds, uses all-natural environmentally friendly ingredients, makes everything smell fresh, is packaged in an easy-to-use ergonomic container, and comes with a 90-day full money-back guarantee.

You may need more criteria; you may need less. Only you will know for your particular niche.

How to Define Your Buying Criteria

To begin defining your buying criteria, list all of the features of your product or service. Do it quickly without thinking too much. Simply write down all the different features that come to mind.

After you've captured all the features you can think of, review your list. Circle some of the core features that are always expected with a product or service like yours. Also circle the features that are the most unique.

Now you have the raw material you need to create a marketing piece that sets the buying criteria. The next step is in how you position these features–how you present them to your market.

This is a very important step. Position your criteria the wrong way and people will ignore you. Position your criteria the right way and new customers will flock to you.

How to Position Your Criteria

When you set the buying criteria, there are a number of ways to position them. How you position them is important, and one may work better than another for your business.

The email series I wrote for the home schooling company was positioned like this: "The 7 Essentials That Will Inspire Your Children to Learn."

Many people (nearly 20,000 of them in the first year) subscribed purely out of curiosity. They wanted to know what the "7 Essentials" were.

With another client, I used a similar approach and wound up with "The 7 Essentials of Any Ecommerce System." If you're in the market for an ecommerce system, you'll want to find out what the "7 Essentials" are. After you're done reading, my client's system will be your only choice.

With my copywriting services, I position the criteria inside the sales letter. As you scroll down the site, you'll see a subhead that says, "The One Thing Your Copywriter Must Have."

In this case, the one thing is so rare, I don't feel the need to have a laundry list of criteria. Just the one is sufficient.

Another way to position your criteria is as a warning: "Don't Even Think About Buying _______ Until You Read This…" or "How to Buy a ______ Without Losing Your Shirt."

A warning is a more direct approach because it often acknowledges the prospects' desire to purchase a particular item, but the approach can still work very well.

Joe Polish is famous in part for his method of setting the buying criteria in Consumer Awareness Guides. These little guides educate consumers about what they should look out for when they hire a carpet cleaner and other service professionals.

The possibilities for positioning your criteria are virtually limitless. Once you fully understand this strategy, you will begin to think of many ways to position your criteria.

But remember this: the most effective way to position your criteria will always be from an angle that educates and protects the consumer. You cannot say, "5 Reasons To Buy My Product."

Yawn.

Your prospect doesn't care about you or your product. At least not yet.

That's why you need to speak to your prospects with care and concern, as a trusted advisor to a dear friend. This is how you reach them. So make sure that you position your criteria with this in mind.

Make Sure You Give a Reason Why

Before I turn you loose, I believe it's important for you to understand one more thing… that is, the importance of giving your prospects a reason why.

When you list out your criteria and position them in way that appeals to your prospects, you still need to make sure–with each and every criterion–that you are giving your prospects a believable reason why it's so important.

In my sports car illustration, I listed a reason why each criterion was important for the consumer to consider when choosing a sports car. I explained how the fully independent suspension was necessary for "maximum traction and performance." I mentioned that a 6-speed manual transmission was important because it gives you "total control."

If I had not given any reasons why these criteria are important for the consumer to consider, my case would have been very weak. The same holds true in real life. You must give your prospects a strong reason why.

Review your criteria. If you list a criterion for which there is no good reason why you've mentioned it, then it shouldn't be included. Get rid of it or find another criterion to replace it with.

Evaluate Your Marketing

As you evaluate your marketing, ask yourself this question: Am I setting the criteria by which my prospects make a buying decision?

If you are not, it is time for you to seriously consider how you might use this strategy in your business. It takes very little time to do and it is highly effective.

Once you implement it, you will stop prospects from price shopping, convert more prospects to customers, and–best of all–pre-empt your competition so you become the one and only logical choice, even if you're competing in a crowded market.

Ryan Healy is an accomplished direct response copywriter and marketing strategist. You can learn more about his work at http://www.RyanHealy.com.

While the steps involved in email list building – namely creating an opt-in page, signing up for an autoresponder service, and following up with your subscribers, may seem easy tasks, but, in order to have successful list building campaigns, you need to do them right – Starting from how you create your opt-in page.

In the next few sections, I'm going to share with you 3 list building tips that will allow you to have successful list building campaigns just like any other Internet Marketing gurus.

Give Them Enough Reason To Sign Up

I'm sure most of your visitors, prior to visiting your website (where you have your opt-in page is) are already subscribers of other marketers' mailing lists, and their emails are flooded with messages from these marketers every single day.

Unless you give them enough reason why they should sign up for your list, they will not do so.

Therefore, what you should do is to offer them something that is of high value in exchange for their first name and email address. It should be something that they can receive immediately after they have sign up – such as a short report, audio/video course, email tutorial series, etc.

To increase your opt-in page's opt-in rate, what you can do is to offer something that contain solutions to nail-biting problems that your visitors may have (you can find out pressing problems that your niche market have by conducting some simple research through forums).

What you also need to do is that, in your opt-in page, you will want to highlight that upon signing up, they will be able to get instant solutions to nail-biting problems that they have (and you will need list down the problems.

By doing so, you will be able to grab your visitors by the eyeballs and they'll be more inclined to enter their first name and email address as they want solutions to these nail-biting problems.

Choosing A Reliable Autoresponder Service

Your autoresponder is the heart of your all list building campaigns.

Therefore, you must choose one that is not only reliable, but also one that has excellent customer service, where you can get help from instantly whenever you bump into any problems.

The reason is because you want your email messages to be able to reach all your subscribers. Imagine if you are using an unreliable autoresponder service, and whenever you send out promotional emails, it only gets sent out to 50% of your list subscribers. You'll tend to lose out on lots of income as a result, and it's not even your fault!

Therefore, I would strongly recommend that you sign up for a reliable autoresponder service. There are 3 autoresponder services that I would highly recommend, and they are ImnicaMail, Aweber and GetResponse.

Structuring Your Email Content

You should structure your email content according – such that it is neither 100% promotional-based nor 100% free information.

The reason is because if your email content is 100% promotional-based, you will start to see your subscribers gradually unsubscribing from your list as most people hate to being sold to.

On the flip side, if your email content is 100% free information, then it is obvious that you will not be able to generate any profits from it your list building campaigns.

What I would recommend is to have a mix of free information and promotional-based content – In that you can send out 4 emails that contains free information for your subscribers, and 2 emails that contain information where you review a product/service.

So, there you have it – The above are 3 list building tips that, if you follow them, will help you build successful list campaigns.

Jun Yuan Lim is a full-time Internet Marketer who is dedicated in helping newbies generate their first dollar on the Internet. Visit his website at http://www.junyuanlim.com to discover proven strategies on how you can generate a massive income on the Internet. Jun Yuan has also created a website to provide top-quality Internet Marketing guides at hugely affordable prices. To find out more, visit http://www.internetprofitmachines.com now.

Here are a few reasons people have unsubscribed from my email list this year and last year.

******

I am unsubscribing because of the most recent post and your saying that we should not have responded to 9/11. Thank you.

(I suggested forgiveness as an alternative to revenge. So this guy unsubscribed. Go figure. -RMH)

******

It’s just a lot of e-mail to add to already too much e-mail received daily, especially when I never explicitly opted in to receive these e-mails

(To this woman’s credit, I checked my opt-in page and realized I wasn’t saying subscribers would get email updates. So I changed this. -RMH)

******

I just have signed up for too many blogs. I’m on information overload.

******

I am sorry.But you have no value or you do not give any free e-book guides,software,cource,etc,.

******

Very good and valuable information but have to decrease the amount of email coming in… hard decision but will have to unsubscribe at this time. Thanks for all you do!

******

internet marketing is a huge scam and nobody honestly makes a living online

******

Tired of being sold things instead of given useful content.

(This one surprised me. In the month of April 2010, I’ve published 8 posts. Four of them have had soft sales pitches. Not a single pure sales message — and this person still freaked out. -RMH)

******

To many newsletters, I need to focus on the most relevant ones to my industry. I think you do good stuff. Except the references to your religion, then, I better not say anything.

******

I love your writing, I just don’t have the time to read everything in my inbox

******

I am an Obama supporter and DO NOT appreciate you posting such negative remarks about him…I no longer want to hear from you. You are entitled to your opinion and I am also entitled to mine. I did not like this post.

p.s. I WAS really a big fan and follower of you and your IM work. Not anymore.

(Amazing how radically a political difference of opinion can polarize people. This response proves it. -RMH)

******

Believe it or not, I’m actually happy when I get passionate reasons why people unsubscribe. It tells me that I’m bonding with people who are on the the other side of a particular viewpoint.

It also tells me that I’m standing up for something.

The only way you’ll ever develop a loyal following is by standing up for a particular point of view. This allows other people to identify and bond with you.

You can’t be all things to all people, so this is a good thing. Embrace that you’re never going to please everybody. Just do your best at being who you are — and writing to the white hot core of your fan base.

-Ryan M. Healy

Some affiliates are very successful in earning commissions from niche marketing while others fail to make money online.

What separates winners from losers in earning huge affiliate commissions from niche marketing. This article presents six important tips that any affiliate can use to earn huge commissions:

1. Build your own mini site where you promote several affiliate programs for your niche. By focusing your site on one niche, you can offer several affiliate products that you can hand pick from that niche. This gives your website visitors options to buy any of your products, and this also boosts the sales you can make and the commissions you earn.

2. Publish your own e-zine and build a big list of subscribers. By doing this, you can then promote your affiliate products to your list on a regular basis.

3. Establish a marketing budget and the tools you will use to advertise your affiliate products. It is also important for you to test and track your ads and promotions for your affiliate programs to see which ones are the most effective.

4. Carry out product reviews of the affiliate products you promote, indicating which programs have paid you most, and outline their attractive features. This will inform your customers about your products, and will also help to drive traffic to your website. You can also recommend your affiliate programs on your website or in your e-zine, or on your blog. You can also recommend your affiliate programs to your visitors by having a section on your website and you list your favorite affiliate programs along with descriptions of their products or services. It is important that you make sure that your affiliate product reviews honest.

5. Give away freebies that have your affiliate links in them. This can involve giving away short reports, e-books or an e-course with your affiliate links in them. You can also invite your website visitors to give away your reports and e-books to their own friends or distribute to their lists.

6.Create a directory, and this directory can be for articles, e-zines, e-books or affiliate programs. You can add your affiliate links in your directories, which will in turn boost your commissions.

Some affiliates are very successful in earning commissions from niche marketing while others fail to make money online. These six steps can help you dramatically increase your affiliate income. Follow them and you will soon see a major boost to your affiliate commissions.

More about affiliate marketing and how you can earn through it , plus to get an amazing affiliate marketing bonuses
Article Source