---------------------------------------------------------------- Conformation message: Hello "autoresponder code here" Thank you for your interest in the . It is very important that you confirm your subscription so that we can start sending your messages. Please take a minute and click the link below to confirm. "confirmation link" We will send your first lesson as soon as we receive your conformation. Remember we value your privacy. We will never rent, share or sell your email address. "add your name here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Subject line: First Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hello "autoresponder code here", Welcome to the first lesson in the Running a Safe Online Business Crash Course. Each day for the next 7 days you will receive a lesson that will help you learn the basic information that you need to know to Running a Safe Online Business. In this first lesson let's have a little history lesson. In the last decade there has been an extraordinary amount of people that have started their own online business and there can be little doubt that this trend will continue as people seek out ways to control their own financial future. The total volume of spending that takes place online is similarly amazing. Most experts are talking in the range of something over a billion dollars a year. Many experts also believe that 40% of all retail sales will be made online by the year 2020, although others put this number still higher. There are several driving forces behind this explosion in online business. The first of these is a growing willingness of the consumer to buy and spend money online. At the same time, it is becoming easier and more secure for the consumer to make online purchases as many hundreds of well-established businesses set up their first sales enabled websites, and begin to accept credit card payments online. Having grown up with computers, these people are far more comfortable and relaxed about spending money online than some of their older peers, and this too has shifted the demographics of online business considerably. Alongside this explosive growth in the number of people who are willing and able to spend money online, there has been an equally phenomenal increase in the number of people who are supplying products and services online. Many of these new online product suppliers are established businesses that have finally decided that selling on the Internet is something that they should be doing, as it clearly opens up a new and potentially huge global marketplace to them. On the other hand, there are also thousands or perhaps even millions of new online businesses being started by private individuals who have had little or no previous business experience, but who have nevertheless decided to give Internet marketing a try. During the next few days we will be going over the risks that are associated with running an online business. Unfortunately, these risks are almost universal for any individual who decides to start their own online business. The main goal of this short course is to make you aware of the risks, involved and provide you with the basic information that you need to protect yourself, your business and your assets. We have a lot to go over in the next few days, so make sure you look for your next lesson tomorrow. We will start going over the basic steps that you need to take to ensure the safety of your online business. Thank you again for joining, "your first name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2 subject line: Second Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hello "autoresponder code here", It’s time for your second lesson. I hope you found lesson one informative. In this lesson we will start going over the steps you need to take to ensure the safety of your online business. I am guessing that, since you decided to sign up for this crash course, that you have already started your own online business or you are thinking about starting one soon. However, there are risks involved that you may not know about and there are things that you should do to protect yourself from losing everything that you are working so hard to achieve. Did you know that the courts are levying increasingly heavy fines on people who have been found guilty of online business crime? They don't care if you didn't realize you were doing anything wrong. They will still hunt you down and charge you. By not knowing the basic laws you could get yourself into trouble completely by accident. Although there is a wealth of reliable information online. The simple fact of the matter is when it comes to protecting your online business you shouldn't rely on second hand information or other online marketers for legal or accounting advice. One of the first things that you should do is find a good lawyer and accountant. If you can't afford a lawyer you may want to find a paralegal or check into an online service like legalzoom.com. Just be sure to check their credibility before you give them your money. When it comes to legal matters, in particular, you will need to look for a professional that understands the nature of running a business on the Internet. Because the laws that govern what you can and cannot do or say on any sales enabled websites that you create are generally going to be the laws of the country where you currently live. However, you are most probably going to transact business with customers from many different countries, and you need a lawyer who can handle any legal problems that arise from such international, cross-border transactions. You will also find that most lawyers are probably not familiar with how Internet businesses are run, and therefore you need to search for someone who can really help and protect you. Look for somebody who understands the nature of transacting business online and the ramifications of running a business that genuinely does not recognize international borders. The best place to start is online. Try doing a search for "lawyer Internet law" and you will find several resources that can help you track down a qualifyed professional. Do not be tempted to try to teach any lawyer that you approach how Internet business works, because the information that you provide to them will probably be based on what other people have told you, and we have already established that such information is often incorrect and inaccurate. Finding a suitable accountant, on the other hand, should not be a complex matter, because your business is essentially no different from any other, apart from the way that you accept payments. Unlike a ‘real world’ offline business, you are unlikely to issue invoices to your online customers, and therefore the ‘paper trail’ that would most commonly be associated with accepting payments is a little more complex and obscure than normal. Make sure that the accountant you engage is aware of this from the outset, and ask them what kind of documentation you need to keep for them. Taxation is something that you need to talk to them about too and we will talk in more detail about that in your next lesson tomorrow! Again, I appreciate your joining me for this short ecourse. "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3 subject line: Third Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hi "autoresponder code here", It’s "your first name here", with your third lesson Today let's talk about taxes and your online business. The scary but simple truth is that the majority of Internet marketers who are working their online business part-time never give a moment’s thought to the fact that they should be declaring their online earnings and paying tax on them. This is a very big mistake to make, especially in jurisdictions like the USA, UK and Australia where the taxation authorities have almost unlimited powers that they can invoke against anybody who they suspect of tax evasion. Perhaps you have never thought that forgetting to pay a little bit of income tax on your on-the-side earnings is tax evasion, but that is exactly what it is, and the longer you allow the problem to run, the bigger the problem is going to get. Perhaps you believe that your online earnings are never going to be discovered anyway, but if that is your belief, then I am sorry to inform you that you are sadly mistaken. If, for example, you make sales as an affiliate for products that are promoted on a network site like Clickbank, and you are a US citizen, then there are two ways that the IRS can discover your part-time income very easily. First, Clickbank can be ordered by the IRS to produce all of their records at any time, and those records would show that they have been issuing checks to you. Those checks would have been presented by you to your own bank, which is the second place that the IRS can check. In a similar manner, if you are receiving payments through PayPal, they too would have to produce all of their records to the IRS whenever they were told to do so, and the exact same situation would apply. However you receive your income from your online activities, it is going to be extremely easy for the tax authorities to discover it if they ever decide to look into your financial affairs, and you would have little or no recourse should that happen. Keep in mind that tax laws differ from country to country so you need to know exactly what the rules are where you live. For example, citizens of some countries have to pay income tax on their earnings worldwide (in the USA, UK and Australia, for example) whereas in other jurisdictions, income tax is only paid on income that is either earned in that country, or actually brought in from overseas. No matter where you live, the bottom online is that, tax will almost certainly have to be paid on any earnings that you generate online at some point, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential the sums involved are. As we discussed in the last issue is important that you find an accountant that is well versed in online business laws, because your home-based business may have more tax advantages than you aware of. Whether you have an accountant or not, it is a good idea that you do your research, keep up on the current laws and keep track of your expenses and deductions yourself, to make tax time go as smoothly as possible. Here is an article that may help: http://www.business.gov/business-law/online-business/sales-tax/ Look for your next to lessons soon! We will be talking more about the legal side of running your online business. "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 subject line: Fourth Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hi again "autoresponder code here", I hope you are learning a lot from our Protecting Your Online Business. Today let's talk about the legal documentation that you should use on your website. To keep your online business safe you will need to have some basic legal documentation on your website. Chances are that you've been to many websites and seen these types of legal documents, but didn't realize that your website needs them too! Well, you do! As a matter of fact they are a very important part of your online business safety. If you are running a website without certain legal documents to protect yourself, you may be leaving yourself and your business open for more trouble than you ever bargained for. For example, if you are promoting a product that shows people how to make money online, then you will need to include an ‘Earnings Disclaimer’. This will say something to the effect that, while using the product that you are selling or promoting has made a certain amount of money for you, you are not claiming that everyone will get the same results. Be sure to never state that a person will make X amount of dollars in X amount of time because you may encounter legal problems if you do. If you are offering information you should include a basic "Disclaimer" that states the extent to which individuals may use the data on your website. It should state your lack of liability for any damages sustained by a visitor using or downloading any data on your website. Include a cautionary statement concerning potential viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, etc. that may be present in any material downloaded from the Internet. You might also want to state that your visitor should consult an attorney, accountant and/ or a medical authority before using any information on or downloaded from your site. You should also have a ‘Terms of Service’ page that details exactly how your business operates. It should advise your visitor of the terms for using your site and state who is legally allowed to use your site. You should always include an age statement. In the US, anyone under 13 years of age needs parental consent to use any website while in other countries, the minimum age is 18. If you include any adult information and/ or images be sure to state so and also state the site is not usable by anyone under the age of 18 no matter what country they reside in. Don't forget to include a "Privacy Policy" if you gather any information from your visitor even if it's only your visitor's name and email address for a newsletter subscription. This policy should spell out exactly why you are gathering the information and how you will use that information. Always tell your visitor if the information will be shared with or sold to a third party. You will also want to include copyright information at the bottom of each page of your website. Your copyright statement should include the word Copyright as well as the copyright symbol. You should also include the clause: All Right Reserved. If you sell products or services worldwide, use the clause: All Rights reserved Worldwide. A word of caution: Whatever you do, don't go to another website and copy their legal documentation and modify it for your own use. If they had the documents created especially for them you will be breaking the law by using their copyrighted materials. They may also be running their business from a completely different legal jurisdiction to the one you operate in which means the legal documents may have little or no validity as far as your own business is concerned. Many marketers don't realize and pay very little or no attention to the legal documentation for their websites, but it is important that you take the time to have the proper notices drawn up by a knowledgeable lawyer, paralegal or at the very least invest in premade legal documents for your online business. It may cost you some money up front, but it could save you a lot more in the long run if legal complications arise. You should place links to your business and legal notices on every one of your web pages. Your legal notices should consist of your Copyright information, your Privacy Policy, your Terms of Service, your Disclaimer, and if applicable, an Earnings Disclaimer. While there is no guarantee that you'll never have any legal problems, incorporating these into your websites will significantly reduce your chances of encountering them. If you want to find out more about Running a Safe Online Business then you need to be aware of the rules and regulations. Business.gov provides information and links that will help you run your business properly. Click here to find out more: http://www.business.gov/business-law/online-business We'd love to hear from you! Please let us know what you think and be sure to look for your next lesson soon. We will be talking about knowing the products you sell before you start selling them. "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5 subject line: Fifth Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hello "autoresponder code here", Today, I want to talk to you about why it's important that you know the products you are selling before you start selling them. If you are serious about Running a Safe Online Business and your reputation, before offering any new product, you must make absolutely certain that it does exactly what you claim it can do on your sales page, and that if there is any part of your sales letter that is in the least bit questionable or debatable, that it is immediately removed. It is also very important that you are completely clear about what the product can and cannot do. Be sure state any special skills or knowledge that people may need to have in order to use the product in the way that it is implied on your sales page. I would also recommend that you completely honest and forthcoming especially if additional resources are needed in order to make your product or system work properly. Even if you are just offering a free gift in exchange for somebody subscribing to your mailing list, you should tell people that they are required to confirmed their subscription in order to get the free gift. It's important not exaggerate. No matter what particular aspect of your business you are talking about or focusing on, do not be tempted to exaggerate or tell lies. For example, if you have only been running an online business for a few months, then do not be tempted to suggest on your sales pages that you have been in business for years and have been extremely successful. Remember your reputation is at stake. If you want to include screen shots of your PayPal or Clickbank earnings on your sales page as evidence that the product or system that you are selling will make money, do not doctor or tamper with the screen shots in order to represent that your system is more successful than it really is. By misrepresenting the facts what you are really doing is trying to coerce money from your site visitors by fraudulent means. Some may say that such practices are nothing more than exercising a little poetic license, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Did you know that if you make over-exaggerated claims or tell blatant lies within your sales copy, then you are committing fraud? Not to mention the fact that it is unethical and you could suffer Legal action and possible prosecution. As we mentioned in the last lesson it is important that you know the specific rules and regulations. Some market niches are very heavily regulated, such as the online health industry. If you are working in a heavily regulated market, you must be aware of the specific regulations that are applied to that business. Make sure that any claims that you make for products you are promoting can be reliably proven, and that if you say a product can do a specific job, make certain that it can do so. Another important thing to remember is that using other people’s sales copy is not going to protect you if the FTC comes after you, so be sure that you are 100% comfortable with the claims being made in any pre-written copy that you are using or on any affiliate product page that you are promoting. . For example, there are many sites that make ridiculously outlandish claims for various diet pills and portions, stuff that any sane, sensible person would realize are totally unrealistic. If you are acting as an independent distributor or an affiliate for such a product, the temptation will be to use the standard, company issued sales copy, but unless you feel entirely comfortable with it, and know for a fact that all the claims being made are genuine, you should avoid using it. That's it for today's lesson. In tomorrows lesson we will talk about the importance of giving your customer a refund as soon as they request it. See you then, "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 6 subject line: Sixth Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hello "autoresponder code here", How are you? We're winding down to the end of this short course. But we still need to go over a few things. Today we are going to jump right into importance of giving your customer a refund as soon as they request it. It's an unfortunate aspect of running any online business, some of your customers will request a refund. How you handle that refund request will determine the success and safety of your business. Chances are you've noticed that most sales enabled websites carry a guarantee that offers the customers a no questions asked refund within a certain period of time. Until recently, this time period would very rarely be more than 14 or 30 days, but it is becoming increasingly common to see sites with guarantees that are valid for 60 or 90 days, and in some cases for the full lifetime of the product. Did you know that offering a longer guarantee period is a very effective sales tool? It strengthens the fact that you have complete faith and confidence in your product. This in turn should increase the number of visitors that become your customers. On the other hand, because most people who request a refund tend to do so within a few days of making the purchase, it is unlikely that increasing the validity of the guarantee will significantly decrease the number of refund requests you receive. The most important thing that you should remember about refunds is that under no circumstances should you ever refuse a refund or delay when giving the customer their money back, no matter how ridiculous the reason they gave you when they asked for one. If you say on your website that you are not going to ask questions of anyone who requests a refund, then do not do so. Give them their money back promptly and politely, and thank them for taking the time to look at your product. Admittedly, in some circumstances, it is extremely annoying to have to send people their money back. For example, if they purchase an e-book from you and then request a refund, they still have your e-book, and can continue to use it for free even though you returned their money. Once you have been in business for some time, you may find that certain people come back to your business to purchase from you multiple times and then request a refund. These are serial refunders. They will automatically request a refund whether or not they think your product is good. It is entirely up to you whether you choose to do business with them again or not, but be aware that these people are commonly the ones who will complain the loudest and the longest when they don't get what they want. Which most of the time is your product for free! What happen most of the time is that they will post derogatory comments about your business practices on some of the most prominent forum websites, and this can be damaging for your reputation, irrespective of whether what they are saying is the truth or not. For this reason alone I would suggest you keep an up-to- date list of everybody who has requested a refund from you in the past, and give very careful consideration to whether you want to do business with them again in the future. The bottom line is that there is little or nothing that you can do about people who ask for refunds, so just accept it as an integral part of doing business online and move on. I hope today's lesson was helpful to you. Don't forget to check your mail tomorrow. We will be talking about risk management in your final lesson. "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ---------------------------------------------------------------- 7 subject line: Seventh Lesson - Running a Safe Online Business Hello "autoresponder code here", Well we have come to the final lesson in the Running a Safe Online Business Crash Course. That is way in today's lesson we are going to talk about risk management. It not just for huge company's. Did you know that over 95% of online businesses fail within the first two years? That means that around one in twenty new businesses will be a success and turn a tidy profit and that there is massive potential to make large amounts of money online. There is, however, an increasingly serious risks of making the kind of mistakes that could see your business closed down overnight and perhaps even worse. That is why I highly recommend that you engage professionals to help you is to minimize the risks that you are taking every day while running your online business. Risk management has never been more critical than it is today, and you can be certain that it is going to become increasingly important as the Internet matures as a place for doing business. It does not really matter whether you conduct your business online or in the offline business world, there are always risks involved in everything that you do. Risk management is the process of gauging or assessing risk and developing strategies to manage it. It is the process of prioritizing risk with the greatest loss and the greatest probability of occurrence. It is important that your business has a good risk management plan. Developing an effective Risk Management Plan is an important part of any project. Unfortunately, this step is often skipped with the high hopes that everything goes smoothly. But normally, issues do arise and without a well developed plan, even small issues can become big problems. For instance, there is the initial risk that your business might not be successful, but even when you become a success story and the money starts rolling in, that is not the end of the risks. It simply means that the nature of the risks that you are taking will change. Then, you must assess and analyze what the risks are that attach themselves to each of those ‘what if’ scenarios, and how you can eradicate or at least minimize your exposure to that risk, so that you don't put yourself in a position where you or your business is carrying a risk that you cannot control in some way. If you assess the risk and feel that a particular product or business model has too much of a potential downside and that you cannot mitigate that inherent danger, then it would be better for you to find another product or business model that does not place you in an unsafe situation. The basis of sensible risk management in any type of business is to acknowledge the risks of what you are doing, before you do it and then finding ways that you can to reduce those risks to such a level where they become acceptable. If you want to know more about developing your own risk management plan you may fin this article helpful: http://www.wikihow.com/Develop-a-Risk-Management-Plan Just a few years ago the risks of doing business online were pretty minimal, but they are far more significant now, and will continue to grow as more people come online to start their own business. Even if you are only working your online business part-time, you still need to make sure that you know what risks you are taking by doing so, and to protect yourself as much as you can from those risks. So, as we come to the end of this crash course I would suggest go and read all of the sales letters that you are using to promote any products that you are working with right now, and run an online search for a lawyer and an accountant in your town that you can talk to if you don’t already have the necessary professional advisers in place. The key to running a safe online business is to know what your are up against, keep current on the laws and take the proper steps to protect yourself and your business. I sincerely hope that you have learned a lot for this crash course and that your online business is a huge success, "add your name here" "your email address" "your URL here" ========================================== Legal Notice The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this course, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet. The Publisher will not be responsible for any losses or damages of any kind incurred by the reader whether directly or indirectly arising from the use of the information found in this course. This course is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field. No guarantees of income are made. Reader assumes responsibility for use of information contained herein. The author reserves the right to make changes without notice. The Publisher assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of the reader of this course.