The best way to keep your sales and profits up in a slow economy is to build solid relationships with your existing customers.

Take your e-mail marketing, for instance.

When you stay in touch with your regular customers – and regularly e-mail them valuable information – they’ll quickly come to view you as a credible resource, an expert in your field, and, most important, someone who’s watching out for their best interests.

And they’ll reward you with their loyalty (and continued purchases).

Having a smooth-running and reliable e-mail marketing program is one of the surest ways to keep your business humming, without having to invest a lot of money!

Fortunately,it’s easy to enjoy a high rate of deliverability with your e-mail, if you understand a few basic rules that ensure your messages don’t get tagged as spam:

Rule #1: Keep accurate records of each person who subscribes.

Rule #2: Track requests to opt out, and remove those people pronto!

Rule #3: Post your privacy policy on your website.

Rule #4: Make sure you’re using reputable service providers.

Rule #5: Provide easy instructions on how to unsubscribe.

Rule #6: Provide your valid physicaladdress.

Rule #7: Use a consistent “from” address.

Rule #8: Use an authentic, non-misleading subject line.

[Ed. Note: Get hundreds of proven strategies for your Internet business by signing up for Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl's Marketing Tips newsletter.

Interested in starting an Internet business but unsure where to start? With the Early to Rise Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition, you'll get ETR's very own "playbook" for getting an online business up and running - including easy-to-use website-building software, guides to writing sales copy for the Web, recommendations for product creation, and much more. Get all the details for making money online right here.]

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I am so sick of turning on the TV or opening a newspaper. All you get are media-inspired “doom and gloom” stories about the stinking recession.

Now I don’t mean to make light of a serious situation. I know that a lot of very big companies have been caught with their pants down, so to speak. And I know that many good, honest folks have lost a lot of money – or even their jobs – as a result of the current crisis, through absolutely no fault of their own.

But that doesn’t mean you should hide your head in the sand and wait for “the good times to roll” again before you embark on a new business venture. The truth is, NOW is the best time – especially on the Internet.

Businesses that are launched in hard times are better equipped to survive than those that grow bloated and fat during times of surplus spending. But in order to thrive during an economic slowdown, you need to know how to do things the smart way, and not waste money you don’t have on strategies that won’t work.

Today, I’d like to share with you four cheap and easy ways to create new streams of income with an Internet business.

Without further ado, here they are:

Business Turbo-Charger #1. Generate passive income with a niche website.

A niche-centered Internet business is the best way to profit from a downturn, because the cost of entry is so low… and the upside is enormous.

On top of that, an Internet business is very forgiving. You never have to “bet the farm” on an idea. You test it out, and if it isn’t working, you find out right away. Then, you can either fix it or move on to something better.

Business Turbo-Charger #2. Join an affiliate program that aligns with your current business model.

This is the fastest way to grow an existing Internet business, guaranteed.

Your customers are very likely to buy from you again and again – but how do you get them to do that if you have only one product? Easy. You offer them affiliate products.

All you need to do is conduct some research into your market and discover what products your audience is clamoring for (beyond what you already provide).

Then you find an affiliate program that offers such products, and sign up with them.

Then you simply e-mail your customers special offers for those products… mention them on your site, in your e-newsletter, and in your blog… and watch the orders come rushing in!

Business Turbo-Charger #3. Start a blog or e-newsletter to strengthen your relationship with your customers.

In turbulent times, the businesses that are truly successful go the extra mile to build a strong relationship with their customers and prove that they always have their customers’ best interests in mind.

Starting a blog or e-newsletter is a great way to do this. It helps you personalize your Internet business, and allows your customers to get a glimpse of the people behind the scenes. This goes a long way toward reassuring wary online shoppers that you’re someone they want to do business with.

Not only that… search engines absolutely love the fresh and frequently updated content in blogs and e-newsletters. And that means you’ll get a big boost in the search engine rankings and drive more qualified visitors to your site.

Business Turbo-Charger #4. Write helpful articles to boost your reputation.

An effective way to spread the word about your business and boost your reputation as an “expert” is to write free articles on topics related to your industry, and then submit them to the Internet’s top article directories.

The benefits of doing this are twofold…

1. Your target audience will become familiar with your name, and will be far more likely to buy your products.

2. The links you’ll get from the articles that point back to your site will give you a nice boost in your search engine rankings.

The bottom line is that every little thing counts. You have to do what you can to separate yourself from the pack and stand out from your competitors. And you have to keep your eyes open for every opportunity to add new streams of income to your business.

This is especially important during an economic slowdown. If one or more income streams dry up, your business will continue to thrive.

With an Internet business, you never have to worry. As long as you build the business on a solid niche, and are always looking for ways to diversify your income streams, you’ll be able to keep afloat… even when others around you are drowning.

[Ed. Note: To help keep the recession at bay, you can join ETR's affiliate program - at no cost to you - right now. 

Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl has helped thousands of people grow online businesses that generate $100,000 a year, and often much more! Let Derek help put you in a moneymaking Internet business that you're passionate about, by ELIMINATING all of the confusion and hurdles that have been blocking your path to success until now. Get the details right here.] 

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Think your FAQ is one of those “admin” pages that just sit there on your website, quietly chugging along?

Nope!

Your FAQ page can actively attract traffic to your site, establish your credibility, and make sales for you. Here’s how…

1. Lure traffic to your site with your FAQ page.

Think about it. This is the perfect place to use your keywords. In fact, you can use those keywords in both the questions AND the answers to make the search engines really sit up and take notice.

2. Make visitors trust you so they’ll stick around to buy.

When you give visitors high-quality information, that tells them you’re both helpful and knowledgeable. Include questions and answers that show off your specialized knowledge so they will view you as an expert.

3. Ask your own questions.

Ask the questions you WISH people would ask – and then answer them in the same helpful, informative way you’ve answered all the others.

In your answers, quote legitimate product reviews whenever possible. Show quantifiable results. And, most important, explain the benefits of each feature you talk about.

4. Save time.

A well-written FAQ will save you countless hours answering individual questions.

With so many benefits, isn’t it time you took another look at your FAQ?

[Ed. Note: Get more expert advice about how to set up your website, make it attractive to customers and search engines alike, and start making sales as a member of ETR's Internet Money Club. Get the details here.

Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl has helped thousands of people grow online businesses that generate $100,000 a year, and often much more! Find out if you have the personality to create extraordinary wealth online - for free - right here.]

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I’ve been getting lots of e-mails and calls from people who don’t actually have websites up and running yet. And they’re all concerned about the same thing: “Sure, your strategies are good for people who are already making money online… but what about those of us who are still thinking about starting an Internet business? Isn’t this the worst time to launch a new website?“

Believe me, I understand your fears…

With the past year full of talk about failing banks, collapsing real estate markets, and imploding stocks, I wouldn’t blame you if, right about now, you feel like taking every spare penny you have, stuffing it in your mattress, and waiting for this entire mess to blow over.

But the truth is, starting an Internet business is something you should consider, no matter what the economy looks like. Here’s why…

First, online sales have never been stronger. In fact, a recent report published by comScore Inc. indicates that, despite the ailing economy, online spending between January and October of 2008 rose 9 percent to $102 billion – up from $94 billion in 2007.

Second, remember that, unlike local brick-and-mortar businesses that are typically at the mercy of the local economy,you have access to an entire global market. So even if U.S. shoppers are feeling pinched, you’ll still have plenty of other customers to turn to.

Next, consider the start-up costs of an Internet business. Unlike traditional businesses, you can get your website running for less than the cost of a couple of nights out on the town. So you don’t need to tie up your “emergency” cash – or go into debt – to get started.

And speaking of debt, with such low initial costs, you won’t have to worry about trying to qualify for a start-up loan, something that’s likely to get much tougher during the current credit crunch.

Finally, remember that you can start your Internet business even while you’re working your “day” job, so you can continue to enjoy a regular source of income while you work on making your site successful. Try that with a brick-and-mortar business.

At the end of the day, starting your own Internet business during a recession (or whatever they’re calling it) is an excellent form of job security.

But before you jump in and start your website… remember that there’s one big (and I do mean BIG) newbie mistake you must avoid if you hope to build a successful online business in this turbulent economy.

To start a truly successful online business, you must first identify a “niche market.”

No matter how often I talk about it, I still see many well-intentioned people getting this wrong. (Lots of established site owners are getting it wrong, too.) When I chat with people at industry events, when I read the questions from members of my Internet Entrepreneur Club, when I look at comments on my blog, I hear and see the same things all the time:

“My niche market is young business professionals.”

“My niche market is women over 40 who are interested in their health.”

“My niche market is people who like to garden.”

These are NOT niche markets!!

These are huge and undefined groups of people who all have different goals, interests, and experiences. And trying to sell effectively to a diverse group like that is going to be an exercise in failure.

You’ll likely find yourself competing directly with the likes of Walmart, eBay, or Amazon (or all three)… and something tells me their marketing budgets are just a tiny bit bigger than yours, right?

But that’s the beauty of marketing to a true niche. It’s a much smaller, more defined target, so you can figure out exactly what everyone who visits your site wants… know where they hang out online… understand precisely how to speak to them… and offer the specific products that will make a difference in their lives.

At the same time, you can really concentrate on becoming a recognized expert in your chosen market, so you’ll be able to build really strong relationships of trust with your visitors.

Best of all, these smaller markets are often virtually ignored by the big guys, so you end up with much less competition. Then, even though you’re selling to far fewer people, you’ll actually end up making more sales.

Make sense so far?

So, if “parents over 35″ or “balding men” aren’t niche markets, what is? Well, let’s look at some examples. These are actual niches that real people are getting wealthy in right now:

• Spanish-speaking architects looking for software, training, and resources
• People who want to make crafts with dried poppies
• Heavy-metal bands looking for sponsorship and branded clothing and accessories

See the difference? A niche market is super-specific and caters to a group of people who are all looking for the solution to a common problem.

If you’re worried that narrowing your market this much will limit your sales, consider this:

In a typical town, a business selling nothing but organic parrot food would likely struggle. Even the local pet store couldn’t sell enough of it to make it worthwhile. There just wouldn’t be enough demand.

But with over 1.3 billion people worldwide on the Internet, even if only one or two people in every town want that specific, hard-to-find product, that’s more than enough to make a market for a profitable business.

So start that website now, even though it may seem like the timing is bad. Just make sure you do your homework first.

By identifying a solid, tightly defined niche market, and then building your site and products around the problem your market is trying to solve, you’ll be taking the first giant step toward profits… and avoiding the kinds of disasters that small business start-ups can experience during uncertain economic times.

And that’s what I call job security!

[Ed. Note: As Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl says, this is the perfect time to start an Internet business. Find a niche, set up a business, and you could make it out of the recession completely unscathed. Derek has helped thousands of people grow online businesses that generate $100,000 a year, and often much more! Find out if you have the personality to create extraordinary wealth online - for free - right here.

And for targeted advice on building your own blockbuster Internet business from world-class Internet marketing masters, check out ETR's exclusive Internet Money Club. You'll discover a rock-solid blueprint for creating a business from scratch. Learn more here.]  

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Imagine: After months of hard work, your website is finally live. You’ve officially been open for business an entire week. And yet you haven’t made any sales.

Not. One. Single. Sale.

Argh!

Don’t despair. We’ve all been there. In fact, this is one of the most common problems new Internet entrepreneurs ask me to solve for them.

Here’s something that’ll help ease the pain of turning a “dud” site into one that rakes in the profits: Derek Gehl’s surefire “My Website Ain’t Making Money!” troubleshooting checklist.

If you recently launched a website and aren’t getting the results you expected, you need to ask yourself every single question on the list below, starting with number one. Once you can answer “yes” to all 10 questions, I guarantee the sales will come rolling in.

1. Is there actually a market for your product?

By that I mean, are you POSITIVE you’re selling a product or solution people are actively looking for online – and not finding? That’s the formula for a successful Internet business. And that’s the first question you should answer… even before you set up a website.

The best way to do that is with keyword research. (Our favorite keyword research tools are Keyword Discovery (keyworddiscovery.com) and BeBiz (bebiz.com).)  

2. Are you getting enough traffic?

If you’ve had only 100 visitors and haven’t made a sale, be patient. Before you can begin to assess your website’s effectiveness, you need to have had at least 1,000 unique visitors (not page views).

3. Are you getting targeted traffic?

If you’ve had 1,000+ visitors to your website and you still haven’t made a sale, find out where your visitor traffic is coming from.

The best way to get top-quality traffic to your site is by bidding on extremely targeted keywords for your pay-per-click (PPC) ads. (By “targeted,” I mean keywords that speak directly to the people who are most likely to buy your product.)

If you drive 1,000 visitors to your site – using targeted keywords in your PPC ads – and you still don’t make a sale, then you know the problem isn’t the quality of the traffic you’re getting.

It’s your website.

So let’s take a look at that next…

4. Is your headline effective?

If the page you’re driving traffic to with your PPC ad doesn’t have a compelling headline that clearly communicates a powerful benefit, your potential customers aren’t going to stick around for your offer.

Writing a better headline is typically the easiest way to fix a floundering website. If you get more people to stay on your site and read your offer, more people will buy your product.

5. Are you distracting your visitors from your main sales message?

You need to get rid of everything that doesn’t keep your visitors focused on your main offer. This includes links to other websites, Google AdSense ads, banner ads for other products, free articles that don’t support the sale… the list goes on.

6. Are you using testimonials effectively?

Testimonials are one of your most powerful selling tools. Nothing says “Buy it now!” like an unbiased third-party recommendation.

If you don’t yet have any testimonials, give your product to a few friends and ask them to provide you with testimonials on how well it worked for them.

7. Does your guarantee take away the risk of buying?

A good guarantee is essential – especially when you’re selling on the Internet.

Unless you’re a major brand that your customers already trust (like Sony, Wal-Mart, Pepsi), you need to let them know you’ll stand behind your product. So reassure them that if they’re not 100 percent satisfied, they can send it right back for a full refund. And remember, a longer guarantee usually results in more sales – and fewer refunds.

8. Is your price too high? Or too low?

Most people know that if you price your product too high, you’ll hurt your sales. But this can also be true if your price is too low.

People get suspicious when the price is far below what they were expecting. They think it’s probably “too good to be true” – and, as a result, they don’t feel confident making a purchase.

9. Is your ordering system easy to use?

Just because you can figure out how to navigate through your ordering process, that doesn’t mean your average customer can.

To make sure your ordering system is “user-friendly,” find a few friends who aren’t very Internet savvy and get them to order your product. Watch over their shoulders and take notes. Where did they get stuck?

Fix whatever problems they encountered – immediately – because your potential customers are encountering them too.

10. Do you have good sales copy?

If you aren’t using well-written sales copy to sell your product, you’ll never achieve online success. It’s that simple. Your product isn’t going to sell itself! You need to have the right words to do the job.

So there they are… the 10 questions I ask whenever I look at a website that’s not turning visitors into sales. Once I’m able to answer “yes” to all 10 questions, I always see a substantial improvement in the site’s conversion rate.

[Ed. Note: Follow Internet marketing expert Derek Gehl's suggestions, and you could see a major boost in your online sales. Derek has helped thousands of people grow online businesses that generate $100,000 a year - and often much more! Find out if you have the personality to create extraordinary wealth online for free right here.

And for targeted advice from world-class Internet marketing masters, pick up ETR's 2008 Information Marketing Bootcamp "Home Edition" DVD Library. You'll discover a rock-solid blueprint for earning an extra $100,000 to $1 million (or more!) over the next 12 months. Learn more here.]

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