What is new is the ability to track and use marketing videos on the World Wide Web to do our advertising. Yes, video has been available on the Web for a number of years, but it’s only been recently that they’ve factored into our marketing abilities and are becoming widely used.

Marketing Video Successes

Consider the success of television. Just forty short years ago, you had two to eight channels to choose from, depending on where you lived. Then HBO and cable came along and now there are hundreds of channels to choose from. People like their television and movies because it introduces a visual element to education, discovery, and enjoyment.

Commercials are an essential part of every station’s programming. Companies pay millions of dollars to use it as an advertising venue. Why? Because it provides a visual way to market their products and services to a lot of people.

Now, consider places like YouTube and Google Video. It’s been less than a decade for these venues, and they are one of the most popular places to visit on the internet. Stuff is passed around like juicy gossip and gets noticed.

Marketing Video Now
You can use marketing videos for your general business and individual products. Using marketing videos to add to your advertising arsenal can help your conversions grow up to forty percent. And it cost pennies compared to television advertisements.

What is a Merchant Account?
Simply put, a merchant account is a specialized bank account extended to merchants that allows them to accept online payments in the form of credit or debit cards.  It also serves as a contractual agreement between the merchant, the bank, and a payment processor for the settlement of credit/debit card transactions.

What Costs are Involved Using  a Merchant Account?
Regardless of the amount of an individual transaction, there are likely fixed fees that apply in order to process the transaction.  These include (but are not limited to):

• Application Fee – Typically a one-time cost, application fees are charged for processing the initial merchant account application and setting it up.  Not all service providers charge an application fee.
• Monthly Fees – Most (if not all) service providers will charge a flat, fixed monthly fee to use their services.
• Annual Fees – In addition, many providers also charge an annual flat fee paid once a year for their services.
• Transaction Fees – Each transaction processed will likely have its own fee, the amount dependent upon the overall transaction amount.
• Cancellation Fee -  A service provider may require a cancellation fee should you choose to terminate the contract prematurely.  Most providers require a contract between one to three years.

What’s the First Step to Set Up a Merchant Account?
Merchant accounts are available through a handful of financial institutions including banks and ISO’s, or independent sales organizations (also commonly known as third-party merchant account providers).   Merchant service providers (which can often be banks and ISO’s as well) also provide merchant accounts and other credit card processing services.

Click here to learn more about merchant accounts and what you need to know to get started!

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And among its many features (customized SEO tasks, how-to guides, step-by-step instructions, etc.) and perhaps best of all, it’s affordable. At only $99/month, it’s music  to the ears of small business owners trying to ride out the crap economy that’s now…well, in the crapper. Visit LotusJump.com for more info.