Do You Know About “Toe-full”?

Have you ever heard of TOEFL? Pronounced “toe-full”, TOEFL is the acronym for “Test of English as a Foreign Language.” If English is not your native language and you are planning to attend school in the U.S., it’s important that you know about TOEFL. It is frequently required for admission into American institutes of higher education, and is, in fact, a requirement for entrance into IMTC for non-native English speakers.

Here’s what you need to know about TOEFL

  • TOEFL is a test that measures a student's ability to understand and use the English language in a classroom environment.
  • The test is administered worldwide by Educational Testing Services (ETS).
  • The exam is Internet-based (iBT), though paper-based tests (PBT) are used in some remote areas. IMTC requires that non-native English speaking students take the Internet-based (iBT) version.
  • The test cannot be taken more than once a week.

The test consists of four sections

  • Reading
  • Listening
  • Speaking
  • Writing

How to register for the test

  1. Download a copy of the TOEFL Information Bulletin from the TOELF website. http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/about/bulletin/
  2. Consult the bulletin to determine the closest testing location and when the test will be given.
  3. Carefully follow the instructions for completing and submitting the registration form as outlined in the TOEFL Information Bulletin.

If you are required to take TOELF for admittance into IMTC, register for the test as early as possible. This will help you avoid delays in the admittance process and allow you to begin your Internet marketing training as soon as you are ready.

To download a free career brochure, go to  http://imtcva.org/.

For Internet Marketers, a First-Rate Electronic Shopping Cart Is a Must

What comes to mind when you think of becoming an Internet marketer? Making lots of money? Selling your own products? Distributing your e-zine to thousands of subscribers? For each of these activities, a first-rate electronic shopping cart is a must and choosing one that makes it easy for your customer to do business with you is imperative.

What should you look for when choosing a shopping cart?
Think about what you want it to do. Here are some questions to get you started.

  • Will it calculate tax and shipping costs?
  • Can it handle both physical products and downloadable products?
  • Will it alert you when your product inventory is getting low?
  • Will it suggest related products to the shopper based on what they have already bought?

There is much more to evaluate when deciding which shopping cart to use. The subject of shopping carts  is covered in detail in IMTC's Internet Marketing 101 & 101-OL courses. To learn more, see http://imtcva.org/program/curriculum/

Social Networking – Buttons To Make Marketing Easier

What kind of buttons? These are the buttons you see all the time on people's websites saying “Digg This”, “Follow me on Twitter” and “Join Me On Facebook.”

Where do people get these buttons? How can they help your online business?

On most social networks, social bookmarking sites and microblogging sites like Twitter, you can find a link that will say “Tools and widgets.” On these pages the website provides the codes that you simply copy and paste into your website or blog. They will give you a number of options on what kind of graphics or button styles to choose from. These are direct links to your particular accounts that your friends and followers can visit in one click.

A widget is even better. It will show your tweets, facebook friends and updates and even your published articles on Ezinearticles.com in real time. As your social sites are updated, they refresh automatically. And they are not complicated to install. It is simply a code to copy and paste that the site provides for you.

If you want to get really fancy, you can create a graphic in Photoshop with your company logo, and just embed a link to your profile in the image. This is a lot easier than it sounds and helps with branding, especially with Facebook Fan Pages.

How can this help your business? Easy.

These widgets and buttons help drive traffic to your accounts. Your visitors can stay updated on all of your tweets, articles and videos in one glance. The Digg.com button helps you get valuable “diggs” on submitted websites. Your friends may not even be aware that you have an account at a particular service and now they can network with you further by clicking straight out to your profile and becoming friends. You can build up Twitter followers with your “follow me” button without having to search and follow other people first. These buttons are meant to make your social networking easier. Time is valuable. Use these fun applications to network with others without being online all the time.

Click on these to see how they work!

Distance Learning: Who Knew? Distance Education Is the New Green!

Have you ever noticed how traffic seems to triple when students return to school in the fall? More cars on the road, more congestion on the highways, more road rage and fender benders, more fuel consumed, more air pollution. Avoiding these is a just one more good reason to take classes online.

As more people have become aware of the impact cars and other gas-burning vehicles have on our environment, our nation’s population is looking for ways to conserve our national resources. Has it occurred to you that distance education is a step in the right direction?

Consider these “Green” benefits of online training:

A student participating in online courses doesn’t need a dorm room, a library, a cafeteria or seven different classrooms in order to learn. There is no huge sprawling campus burning hundreds of lights, using mega watts of electricity and dumping gallons of water down the drain. In addition, no wildlife is displaced to make way for new buildings and campuses.

An distance learner doesn’t have to depend on vehicles to participate in classes. No car, no bus, no commuting, thereby eliminating exhaust and fuel consumption.

Instructors and students generally communicate through email, so no trees are sacrificed to make paper for lessons and handouts. In addition, the learners don’t have to print their assignments so they are not adding ink cartridges to the landfill.

Distance education pays off for the individual in many ways. Helping the planet while educating yourself is a bonus. That is just one more reason to take online courses. It’s convenient, it’s accessible 24-7, and it’s the new green.

Social Media Revolution – Youtube Channels

Youtube is the fastest growing video hosting site in the world. The channels that Youtube provides its users can be a powerful marketing tool to show off your brand and help sell your products and services. Channels can easily be customized with special background images of yourself or your logos. You can use the channel to store all of your videos in one place where everyone can see them, make friends, build subscribers and collect comments.

Youtube channels provide clickable links to websites to help drive traffic to your websites from the millions of Youtube visitors each and every day. Businesses large and small are taking advantage of the power of Youtube and of online video. Some brands, such as the floundering Old Spice brand, found new life in comedy skits produced just for Youtube. The videos were so unique and funny that they went “viral,” meaning that people spread them and shared them around like wildfire, resulting in re-vitalized sales and market share for the brand.

Now as a result, many businesses are re-thinking their social networking strategies. And they are looking for people like you. People who know how to make huge strides in online marketing without costing too much. Where do you learn to be a Youtube marketing expert? Right here at the Internet Marketing Training Center. We can teach you to master your dreams….

Distance Learning: What Does It Take to Succeed in Distance Education?

You gave it a lot of thought and did a lot of research, but you finally took the plunge and signed up for a distance education course. This is a very exciting time for you because you have high expectations that your studies will lead to a lucrative new career. Now it is time to focus on what it will take for you to succeed and how to approach distance education.

Below are some pointers to help you adapt to online learning and reach your goals:

  • Commit to learning the lessons.
    Make every effort to understand the material covered in each lesson as it is presented. Definitely avoid waiting until the last minute to look at the lesson because you will have to rush through the material, which will make it difficult to absorb and learn.
  • Manage your time.
    We all have family and other obligations to balance with our day-to day activities. Make sure you set specific times to devote to your studies with as few interruptions as possible. When you are a new student, you may find that, at first, family members don’t take your desire to learn as seriously as you do. Be persistent and protect your study time. You may be pleasantly surprised when your family eventually takes on more responsibilities to free you of your tasks so you can concentrate on the courses.
  • Start with a clean slate and a clear mind.
    A cluttered space makes for a cluttered mind.  Set up a learning environment for yourself wherever you can find the peace and quiet to concentrate. It may be at a kitchen table, it may be at your office, it may even be in the neighborhood coffee shop or local library.
  • Arrange the supplies and equipment you need before you begin.
    Work in a well-lit space and place everything you will need nearby. This may be your laptop, a recorder, pencil and paper or a printer, as well as a comfortable chair and surface to work on. Some students like to play music as they study so you may want to load your favorite tunes on a CD or MP3 player before you begin to study. The objective is to set the stage for learning.

You have already invested your hopes and money in preparing for a new career. Invest your time and efforts, as well, to ensure you reach your objectives for a better future.

To learn more about distance learning, visit http://imtcva.org/program/distance-learning/

Video Marketing – Leveling The Playing Field For Small Businesses

Video has become so easy and so inexpensive to produce for the web, small companies now have the advantage that used to only belong to large corporations in terms of exposure to the public. Not long ago, before the web, you only saw video media on television. Television advertising is so expensive that only the big companies had the money to make commercials. That left out millions of small businesses that could have made an impact of the public if only they had the budget. A great commercial or promotional campaign could have been the turning point for many of these small businesses in growth and profitability. It was a game they could not afford to play….

But no longer.The Internet has opened up the possibilities and access to the public like never before. Online video is the key to small business success on the Internet. In fact, online video is reaching more people than even television due to mobile devices… people can watch their favorite shows, commercials and all, while they are doing other things. A small pizza shop now has just as much access to the general public as a major company. In this regard, small businesses are looking for staff that can manage their online video needs.

At the Internet Marketing Training Center, you can learn everything you need to know about online video, hosting, sharing, web page design and social networking skills to take any company to the next level of business, whether it's your company or someone else's. Find out how easy it can be to get started!

It is time for a change

Are you struggling in this tough economy?  Are you stuck at a dead end job?  Do you want to become more valuable to your current employer?  Do you want the financial and lifestyle freedom that you have always dreamed about?

Internet Marketing Training Center is the answer.  We have created an awesome Internet marketing school, the first ever in the world.  All course material is under the strict guidelines of Internet marketing master Tom Antion.  Go ahead, Google him, you will see!

This is a great time of year to make a change.  The Internet is everywhere.  With the right training you could be on your way to a better life for you and your family.  Look into IMTC!

Free Internet Traffic For Your Websites

Getting free traffic to your website is easier than you might think! There are so many avenues to traffic that it can feel like your standing in the middle of the highway… the information superhighway that is.

Let's go over just a few of ways that you can get traffic to website without spending a dime.

* Social networking – we all have heard about this by now. Major sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter provide profiles that are searchable all over the Internet and can contain a number of valuable links to your websites. Over half a billion people are now members of social networking sites and the potential traffic stream is endless.

* Article sites – writing articles not only builds you and your business as the expert, the links you leave in the author's profile or resource box can help drive heavy traffic to your website from all over the Internet.

* Videos – free hosting sites such as YouTube and Revver not only let your searchers meet you face to face, leaving a link to your website in the profiles and even in the video itself as a watermark can help send valuable prospects your way.

* Leaving your URL in the comments boxes of other peoples blogs, social networking profiles and forums will let people easily click on your site to see what your business is all about.

* Discussion boards – There are hundreds of discussion boards on every subject under the sun all over the Internet. This is a great place not only to leave a link to your site, but also engage other readers and ask or answer questions about a subject that makes you the expert!

* Traffic exchanges – an exchange is a service that lets you click on a certain number of URLs in exchange for others clicking on yours. You can earn credits just by clicking on sites and trade them in for free ad space.

* Free classifieds – search for these free classifieds and you'll find amazingly that there are quite a few you can utilize. A site like Craigslist is an example.

In the old days of the Internet, you had to rely on getting good search positioning to get any traffic at all. But using these short cuts to driving traffic to your site will accelerate visits and make big potential money.

E-commerce Systems: How To Use A Shopping Cart

Besides the website and product images, there is a core set of processes to an e-commerce system: the shopping cart, the merchant account, and the payment gateway. A good shopping cart will integrate these elements seamlessly for a trouble free selling experience.  The shopping cart takes the orders, the merchant account processes the credit cards and payments and the gateway connects the two together. The shopping cart produces the code for the selling buttons that are placed under each product on the website.

A general understanding of e-commerce will go a long way in ensuring that you will always be ready to go with any new products you develop. It's not that hard to get a working knowledge of the shopping cart system so you can add and remove products, change prices and descriptions. Shopping carts also have the ability to create upsells, discount coupons, ad tracking and automatically process shipping and handling. To truly reap big profits, your e-commerce system needs to run on automatic… freeing you up to run your business and all the daily tasks you have. Learn to run an e-commerce system of your own…