The hardest thing about writing articles is to know what to write about, so one must do some research to find a topic/niche which is hot and is worth writing articles on.
A great place to start looking for a topic/niche is to visit forums related to things you are already interested in, because it is always easier to write about something you already know something about and have a passion for then something you have no clue about.
In the forums look for popular problems you can answer within the articles you write and then share them with fellow members of the forum and tell them they can give the articles away for free or post them on their websites or blogs or even better send it out in a newsletter if they have one.
The reason why you would want to let fellow members of the forum give your articles away for free or to publish them on their blog or website is to drive visitors to products or services you will be linking to via the Author Bio section in the article.
The Author Bio section in the article is the second most important part of the article, the content of the article is the most important thing so make sure you get this part right, and if you answer the problem you are writing about in such away not to give the complete solution this will make the reader want to learn more about the answer to the problem and they will be more likely to click your link in the Author Bio section of the article.
Although there are plenty of other ways to make money promoting affiliate programs or services with other marketing techniques you will find article marketing to be one of the best and most effective ways with out spending any money.
Joining and promoting affiliate programs is one of the most profitable ways to make money online and combined with article marketing it can be your ticket to making a full time income and quitting your day job.
However, many people stop or quit altogether when they realize that writing articles is work and takes a continual effort in order to see results.. Therefore, do not stop writing or quit if you do not start making money right away, just keep writing as many articles as you can each day, and you will start seeing your hard work pay off.
I spend a lot of time now writing articles, and submitting them to article directories and posting them on my website, and I must say I wish I did it a lot sooner, so don't wait like I did start writing your articles and distributing them today.
As a consumer, when you check out of your local convenience store, you swipe your credit card through a point-of-sale device, and your gas, coffee, and donut are paid. But what if you are the retailer and your business is online? It's not like you have a card-swiping device at every customer's PC ? there has to be a way for you to process that information. Essentially, that's the job a payment gateway does for online retailers. Roy Banks, president of http://Authorize.net, a leader in the payment gateway industry, explains, "We basically function as the digital version of a hardware point-of-sale terminal.?
What a Payment Gateway Does
They allow online merchants, like eStore owners and auction sellers, to accept credit card payments over the Internet by taking steps to ensure the transactions are legitimate:
1. They authorize the cardholder's credit ? that is, they check to ensure that the customer has enough money on their credit card to cover the charges.
2. They place a hold on that amount, so the buyer can't turn around and spend that same money elsewhere before it gets transferred to the retailer's merchant account.
Says Banks, "A payment gateway is just the technology necessary to consummate a payment transaction.?
A Payment Gateway's Role in Your Total Payment Solution
Many people confuse payment gateways with merchant accounts, but they're two different things. They actually work in conjunction to get your profits into your account; but they play separate roles in your online payment solution.
Your payment gateway and your business bank account aren't linked directly; your merchant account services act, for the most part, as a liaison. When a customer orders a product from your online business, their card is processed via your payment gateway. The money is moved over to the merchant account service, who then transfers those newly captured funds into your business bank account.
3 Tips for choosing a Payment Gateway:
1. Is it PCI-compliant? That means that the company's security has been audited by a third party and found to be up to industry standards. Since payment gateways store all your customers? credit card information (sparing you the stress), it also means you can sleep better at night, knowing your customers? valuable info is safe and sound.
2. Good customer support. ?Nuff said.
3. Lastly, it's important that the payment gateway you choose be integrated to the third-party solutions you're planning to use. You want your storefront platforms and shopping carts to be compatible with your gateway.
Payment gateways not only allow you to collect the monies from your sales, many also offer an array of security features, to help you avoid becoming a victim of fraudulent orders. In the end, they make your eCommerce business a less-stressful, more pleasant experience ? for both you and your customers.
Both Tom Dahne & Chris Malta & Robin Cowie are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tom Dahne has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Marketing Tool and Internet Marketing. Written By: Tom DahneTom Dahne is the owner of the very successful link directory located at and invitesyou to submit your website for incl. Tom Dahne's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Chris Malta & Robin Cowie has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, Free Credit Report Score and Computers and The Internet. Product Sourcing Radio is Created and Hosted by Chris Malta and Rob Cowie of WorldwideBrands.com, Home of OneSource: The Internet's Largest Source of Genuine, Factory-Direct Wholesalers for online sellers.. Chris Malta & Robin Cowie's top article generates over 74000 views. to your Favourites.