Greetings Family,(Contact Information At Bottom Of Page)It's your friendly neighborhood "Digital Drummer" again (smile)As stated earlier this week, I've been reviewing the Archives of my Yahoogroup "The City Lights Reporter" (see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_City_Lights_Reporter/). It has truly been an inspiring experience...There is so much good information there.So this week I'm reposting some of the articles and info that I think is still relevant, timely, and empowering. The article below was submitted by LaNisha Rene (see http://www.myspace.com/lanisharene) an Atlanta area, model, entrepreneur, and radio personality. I originally picked up this message from Rene's Yahoogroup (see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LaNishaRene). Here is another model that is changing the game. She has made cross-promotional deals with relative online companies, such as RightLace.com to sell products and services to her members at a discount. This allows her to utilize her fan base to Create New Products, Develop New Markets, Generate New Sources of Revenue...You Go Girl!Remember; We Must Share The Knowledge ( NETWORK ), To Share The Dollars.Peace and Gods Blessings,Jim Neusom***************(Advertisement)*********************Need some great ideas for corporate or personal gift-giving?Then go to City Lights Software(http://www.citylightssoftware.com )and see some of the most unique afrocentric gifts available online!We Deliver ONLINE - Direct To Your Desktop for just $14.95Please take the time to purchase one our afrocentric screen savers TODAY!Don't Just Talk the Talk...Let Your Dollars Walk the WalkIf you have any problems with purchasing online contact me direct at sales@citylightssoftware.com or call (213) 944-4176******************************************************What Makes A Great Model Website~Just A Little Insite For The Modelshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_City_Lights_Reporter/message/2213Posted by: "LaNisha Rene" lanisha_rene@yahoo.com Tue Aug 8, 2006 6:51 pm (PST)Models, photographer and webmasters have been trying to createsuccessful paysites of years now! I've been observing this Internetmodel phenomena since early 2001. Just going through my old favoriteslist is a reality check of how fickle this 'net modeling businessreally is! Link after link is a dead one, often after 4 months orless. In my opinion, it is more useful to focus on what causes thosefew websites to be successful rather than what causes most to fail.There are five keys to having a successful modeling website in myopinion. Those are; Talent, Consistency, Involvement, BusinessEthics, and Networking.TALENT;Attractiveness is subjective. One can look physicallyattractive, yet it's not enough if critical areas which make thewhole package are lacking. Talent is much more than looking good!Talent means playing up your strongest features and having a knackfor getting your personality across in your images, writing, videos,and sometimes in personal appearances. Just looking good does notcomplete the whole picture. It takes talent to visualize your websiteand make it something that attracts people to you! That takestalent!Certain "looks" might be more popular, but the people who buysubscriptions to model websites and online publications are verydiverse. So there is room for models of many shapes, sizes, ages, andethnicities. It really depends on imagination and targeting thecorrect market for ones look. Being able to act, dance or haveartistic ability can greatly help a model. It is the combination ofones look, ability, knowledge and creative energy that bring togetherthe talent needed to succeed.CONSISTENCY;Do things in a timely manner. Updates should be done asscheduled on the website. Customer service should also be consistentand timely. Customers do expect things to be there when scheduled orelse they may grow impatient and move on.The sets of photos, videos, and any other product offered should beat a certain quality level that customers can expect to be consistentwith the website. If quality fluctuates, then the customers willhave doubts as to the worth of the site. Certainly the quality shouldbe kept at the highest level of production in which the websiteproduction team can stay at. So set a quality level and schedule thenstick to it!INVOLVEMENT;Most people who are going to join model websites don'tcare about the photographer, or the process of creating the content.They are there for the models! Any model website must haveinvolvement from the model to be successful. The more involved themodel is in the website, the closer the customers feel to thatmodel. In other words, personality counts!There is no need to give personal information on the website, buthaving a message board or forum in which the model drops in to poston a regular basis helps. Giving the members some information as tohobbies, likes, and dislikes can also help. Some members would liketo send birthday greetings or buy presents. However models do need totake precautions against stalkers or scary obsessive people. Setlimits of involvement and stick to it.BUSINESS ETHICS;Run the website like a business! So many websitesare started by models, photographers and webmasters with stars intheir eyes. They think it's a "get rich quick and easy" sort ofscheme, but it's not. They give up after a few months because theydidn't realize how much hard work it takes to build and keep asuccessful website going.Don't outright lie to the customers. They will not be happy aboutbeing lied to and will not come back! Don't start in this modelwebsite business unless the commitment is strong. It takescommitment and business sense to keep the website going longer than 6months. If the honesty and commitment are not there, then thebusiness ethics wont be there either.NETWORKING;It is absolutely critical to network and market! It ishow the members or fan base is built. Doing banner exchanges withother sites, getting in affiliate programs, and feeding the searchengines with meta tags are important to the success of a website.Advertising and person to person promotions are also a part ofnetworking too!It's important to have a business plan on paper or at least in mindwith web hosting and billing worked out. The web server and billingare also a component of the networking. Without good hosting, thewebsite might crash or not be online all the time like it should.Without reliable billing, then the money might not be there. It'sbetter to have a business plan that includes the leasing or purchaseof servers, but at least get a strong hosting plan. Get a merchantaccount if possible. Third party billers can be very expensive!Bring this all together with careful planning and that is what makesa successful model paysite! One that can last for years running asa legitimate business!***************(Advertisement)*********************Looking For More Exposure, Want To Help A Good Cause, Need Money???Come on over to www.freshfaces2u.com and register to win $10,000 dollars CASH!At Fresh Faces2u it's NOT about how you look...But Who You Are!Join us in our mission to change the image of women in the mediaSign Up Today At Fresh Faces2u.com******************************************************This Online Journal was brought to you by InterServe Networks. Feel Free To Forward To Your Network Of Online FriendsWe Practice Responsible E-Commerce Marketing and Privacy Policies. We do not indulge in or encourage Spamming. We never send unsolicited emails. You are receiving this message as part of our opt-in subscriber mailing list or you are a member of an affiliated newsgroup.For comments or suggestions please contact us at the following;Jim Neusom (jneusom@yahoo.com)Executive Director/PublisherInterServe Networks/City Lights Software, Inc.www.citylightssoftware.comwww.freshfaces2u.comwww.myspace.com/jimneusomwww.myspace.com/freshfaces2uTo subscribe to our opt-in mailing list simply send an email to; The_City_Lights_Reporter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ( on Myspace go to http://blog.myspace.com/jimneusom )
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