Making Money Online -How to network without saying a word by Janelle Nanosword

For some schmoozers, networking is the art of working the room, glad-handling folks while oozing charm. But much of networking depends on what you don't say. Often, getting ahead in the game means knowing what messages you're sending before you open your mouth.
The key to networking without words is realizing what you're communicating at all times. "We tend to forget that silence speaks," says Patrick Miller, author of Body Language on the Job. "It's a matter of paying attention and being cognizant of what you're doing nonverbally. Everything you're doing is being watched."
And the watching begins the first second you meet. In Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling book Blink, he spends 288 pages describing the two-second period in which snap judgments are made. This "rapid cognition" about body language, clothing and appearance can help determine whether someone thinks you're a competent candidate or a criminal. "In an interview situation, research shows that positive or negative impressions are made very early on," says Tim Butler, the director of career development programs at Harvard Business School. "Often, the rest of the interview is to confirm the initial impression."

More from Forbes.com:• Slideshow: How to Network Without Saying a Word• Slideshow: The Best Places to Network• Slideshow: Elite Membership
So when networking, it's best to err on the side of formality, says Dr. David Givens, the director of the Center for Nonverbal Studies in Spokane, Wash. It may seem like motherly advice, but Givens insists there's science behind the adage that you should stand up straight and wear a suit. "There are animal vibes [in the business world], and you need to show you're strong," he says. "Fortunately, there are certain optical illusions built into a jacket that make you think a person is bigger and stronger than he or she really is."
A suit's sleeves make arms appear thicker and more intimidating, and padding in the shoulders masks subconscious shrugging that might make you look weak. "The slightest shrug will be seen and decoded unconsciously that you're not 100% sure of what you're doing," Givens says.
Then there's the added benefit of the flare of the lapel--up and out--which gives the appearance of puffing out your chest, also conveying strength. "That's why the suit jacket has survived," he says. "It has these messages built in."
And the tie? It serves its animalistic purpose as well, creating a vertical line down the chest, making one appear taller and covering the notch below the Adam's apple that's instinctively seen as a weak point (as in "go for the jugular").
And despite endless analysis of the red "power tie," it's actually best to choose one that's a pastel shade, says Givens, who has found that adding white to a strong color helps to make you seem more approachable on first glance. "You're more likable in lighter colors, as you let a sense of purity and trust show through," he says.
Hand gestures are a decisive way to make a nonverbal impression (as anyone who has ever been cut off on the highway will tell you). But there are far better ways to use your hands. "Avoid looking at your watch, rubbing your nose and arranging your hair," says Miller. "All these unconscious grooming habits collectively paint a picture that you're uncomfortable."
Instead, use your hands to your advantage by keeping them on the table, Givens suggests, since it makes you appear more actively engaged in the discussion. The same connection can be made while dropping off a memo by pausing momentarily and placing your hand on the person's desk. "It shows that you're confident by getting into their territory in an assertive way," says Givens. "It sends a subtle message that you've been closer to them, and that little gesture can sometimes make a difference and stick in the memory, giving you an edge over someone else."
When meeting someone for the first time, a good handshake is vital, says Kevin Ferrazzi, professional development consultant and author of Never Eat Alone. He suggests a pair of techniques often used by Bill Clinton that can help you stand out: The two-handed handshake, which shows your enthusiasm, and the quick grab of the elbow, which draws people in. "The ability to extend your hand and pull people in is a powerful way to connect with someone," he says.
And don't forget to look them in the eye. "I cannot overemphasize the importance of eye contact," says Ferrazzi. "There is nothing worse that the smarmy eye-darter who's consistently looking around the room for someone more important to talk to."
"In America, the expectation for eye contact is extraordinarily high, somewhere north of 90%," says Butler. "Looking away and breaking off contact is often interpreted as a lack of self-confidence or uncertainty." He often has to teach international students to let go of their cultural habits of looking away in deference and allow their eyes to linger.
But it's also important to share attention when listening in a group setting. "A mistake that people often make is to give excessive eye contact to the dominant individual," says Butler. "Zeroing in on the power brokers is obvious behavior. It's not only bad manners, but you're really ignoring people who are important. You need to sweep [your vision] and ensure that you're including everybody. Decisions aren't made just by the boss--they're made by groups."
Most of all, the experts stress, it's important to appear authentic. Actively listen to people while they're talking to you, and extend an open palm in their direction to show you understand what they're saying, says Givens. Try to know who you'll be talking to before you're introduced, and carry a pen and paper to jot down notes on their family, job and interests that you can use later. And don't pull out your business card too quickly, Ferrazzi warns, or you risk pushing your credentials onto someone who might actually be more interested in you as a person, thereby ruining the beginning of a beautiful network.
Copyrighted, Forbes.com. All rights reserved.
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HOW TO PICK PROFITABLE AFFILIATE PROGRAMS by Olakitan Wellington

Although it has been said that affiliate marketing is a simple way of making residual income from the comfort of your home, you should not plunge into any affiliate program without carrying out your due diligence.
You need to ask a lot of questions before you choose which affiliate program to join. This foundational stage is very crucial to your success in affiliate marketing and you should not joke with it. What are the questions you need to be asking? I have a few suggestions below.
Are you going to pay any money to join the affiliate program? If yes, drop it like hot potato. Almost all affiliate programs are free to join, and rightly so. After all, you will be making money for them; plus you increase the profit turn over the affiliate master will make on his product. It is in the interest of the affiliate master to sign you on free because he does not pay you a red cent until you make sales from your affiliate link.
How much does the product sell for? It is important that you are not wasting your time promoting products that sell for pennies. As an affiliate, your commission is paid by percentage. That simply means the higher the cost of the product, the more money you make. Do not forget that you will spend valuable time and money promoting the product; hence the commission you get on it must be reasonable enough to pay your bills and give you a comfortable profit.
What percentage of sales price are you getting as commission? Generally affiliate programs pay at least 50% commission, some even 75%. If the affiliate master knows his onions well, he will give attractive commissions so that the affiliate marketers will be inspired to really promote his products and make him money.
How popular is the product? Go to related marketing forums and ask about the product. See what people are saying about it and form an opinion. Do a Google search on the product and see how many people are selling it. If it is a product that everybody's uncle and grandmother is selling, please keep away from it. It will be all over the net and might be difficult to sell.
What type of affiliate program is being offered here? Is it a one tier affiliate or a two tier affiliate? Of course, the two tier affiliate will make you more money. This is because when you get people on your list to promote the product, you make money from their efforts as you are paid commission on every sale they make. How do you get paid? What are the terms of payment? When do you get your commission check? This is different from program to program. Some programs will pay you once a month, some (very few) will pay your commission weekly while some might even pay quarterly. I don't like this type of program because it holds on too long to your money.
Who is the creator/owner of the product? What is his reputation online? Again you can find this out from forums and discussion boards. The gold fish has no hiding place. If he is a credible, reliable person you will know. If otherwise, people will also let you know. If there is any hint of you not getting paid what is due to you, look for another program.
How good is the affiliate track system? It is quite important that your chosen program should be able to track every single sale made by you so that you get truly paid on your efforts. How long does your referral remain in the system? If they buy 90 days after you sponsored them, will you still get paid your commission?
Although there are a few more questions which you may ask, but the above are the crucial ones. Once you are satisfied with the results you get on the above questions, take immediate action steps to start your business.
As you can see, affiliate marketing is a serious business and should be so handled if you want to make maximum money from it. Sure, it is possible to become extremely wealthy marketing affiliate products and that is why you should be prudent about it.
About the Author
Would you like a free training on how to become wealthy working from home? Olakitan Wellington is a seasoned Internet Marketer with a passion to helping people get started quickly to make money online. Visit her site, http://www.cool-internet-cash.com to gain free access to ideas and resources on every aspect of building an online business that will give you steady passive income and financial freedom

Why Your Blog Could Be Your Secret Code To A Vault Stashed With Gold and by Michael L. Roache

You know, I was surprised recently to discover that the blogosphere was such MASSIVE online community and was fascinated to find out that 57 million American adults,or 39% of the online population, are active blog readers, according to Pew Internet. No wonder why the Battlestar Gallactica Blog became so popular.
Now look at what Edelman found out about their reading pattern:
A staggering 27% or 15 million of American readers read blogs at least once per week,compared with 74% of Japanese readers, 43% in South Korea, 23% in the UK and 22% in France. Then I turned to Internet World Stat for a helping hand to determine how many persons these percentages reflect and came up with a mind boggling 110 million blog readers per week!
That's huge!
I get pretty excited when looking at survey data like these because it's like navigating the globe in minutes via something like Google Earth.
As I scrutinized the Pew survey more carefully, I noticed that the number one reason why 76% of bloggers blogged was to share their life experiences. But while this is so, only 7% blog to make money online while 28% blog to entertain their readers and this I find a bit disturbing. Why? Because according to Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight Entertainment and Media, there is an enormous appetite for content by video-on-demand users.
Here's what their stats reveal. 39% of VoD (Video-on-Demand) users said they were interested in watching video online, to which 28% of movie-goers and 26% of in-store video renters agreed. Let's do a close analysis of these data. As I said in previous paragraph, only 28% of bloggers present entertainment content and 7% blog to make money, making the total 35%, right?
Ok, now when we add the percentages of those who are interested to watch online video, we get 93% and if my basic business knowledge is right, that means demand exceeds supply and that for me spells opportunity.
Battlestar Gallactica Blog, authored by George Christodoulou, provides a cool TV guide for his readership seeking to access TV episodes in a structured and funny manner. Battlestar Gallactica seems to be the favourite of many.
No kidding, bloggers spend a lot of money online too. You'll be surprised to know that of the 17,159 blog readers surveyed by Blogads, 50% spend more than $50 on ebooks; 67% clicked on a blog ad; 47% spent more than $500 online for plane tickets; 50% have contributed more than $50 to a cause or candidate online and 22.3% indicated that they purchased a product or service.
My final thoughts on the subject is that the blogosphere is a minefield with the potential to impact the entertainment, political, journalistic and business landscapes after only coming into mainstream a couple years ago. It is pretty young as well in terms of the age of bloggers as 54% are under 30 years (Pew) and the statistical parity between men and women is 54/46% respectively.
These bloggers are high income earners too, because according to Blogads, 40% have an annual household income of $90,000 or higher, while 75% earn over $45,000, and as I said earlier, 47% of bloggers spend over $500.
I'm sure that looking at the above stats, especially the aspect that shows just how willing bloggers and blog readers are to spend money online, you might be asking how you could capitalize on this enormous opportunity.
I would recommend that you take a close look at Blogging For Dollars put together by Derek Gehl and the Internet Market Center. The easy-to-follow guide will show you just how you can get free traffic hits and gain qualified leads using your blog and gain the kind of popularity that Battlestar Gallactica Blog enjoys.
(Please feel free to use this article leaving the biography and byline as is in your ezines, email campaigns etc,. Please put yourself 'in the other man's shoes' and observe Copright© protocols)
About the Author
Michael Roache is an ordinary guy committed to home based business success and currently helping ordinary people to get their internet based home business from ground zero using a 100% tested and proven system that pulls traffic in the thousands daily. To get more cutting edge info on how you can start attracting swarms of free traffic hits click here