Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2007-2009 Hunter Waterhouse
With the increasing demand of high quality content on the web, finding original articles and carefully stylized content is a priority for companies to retain credibility. With today's fierce search engine ranking competition, a steady supply of original articles has become a necessity. Websites need to be designed to increase traffic, and sites updated regularly with fresh information are more likely to receive higher search engine placement than those updated less frequently. As a result, companies need to find sources of new and original content as often as possible. The challenge is finding human writers who can provide original articles with the right tone, voice, and quality that the company needs, and also at the right price.
Before the emergence of computer programs that could 'create' articles and pieces of web content, human writers were responsible for developing all the original content for websites. However, with the rise of blogs and websites for independent publishers, several applications are now available that simply churn out content made from a computer program. While these have the potential to create several articles on a given topic, they do have limitations. Semantics, sentence structure, meaning, and even punctuation are often overlooked with these content spinners and programs, and if they are caught by a search engine, the risk of website blacklisting runs high.
Human writers provide reliable, authentic, and original content on a regular basis. By making use of natural creative processes to develop and present an idea, they can develop a series of original articles for any website or company.
The Value of Authentic Content and Original Articles
All website and business owners know how valuable original content is for search engine placement, website validity, and credibility in their industry. Without a steady supply of original articles, it is difficult to keep visitors returning to the site and maintaining interest in the company. The increasing popularity of blogs is just one example of why 'content is king' still rings true on the web today. Human writers can develop articles and unique ideas far better than any computer software and application. Unfortunately, many companies choose applications that lead to poor quality content and a decrease in their credibility.
What Content Creating Software Does
Content creation software is designed to string words and sentences based on a topic and basic article. These programs run several variations of an article by substituting synonyms and words throughout the page, and reconstructing sentences to generate a 'new' or original article. Today's leading content duplication and content creation software programs include: Article Content Spinner, Jetspinner, SiteEqualizer, ArticlePro, and Article Output.
While these article and content spinner programs offer many promises of 'well-written' article and original content, they are not always accurate enough to catch duplicate sentences, and they often have trouble even putting together sentences that make sense. In many cases, their processes are considered to be forms of copyright theft, especially if the original article used as the input was not generated by the owner. Search engines that can find even one sentence duplicated from an article can bar the website from being listed on the rankings, and a single sentence 'stolen' in this way is at risk for copyright infringement.
Why Companies Need to Pursue Quality Human Writers
Google is the leading search engine on the internet, and specifically outlines its duplicate content policy in the user terms. Article spinners that help generate 'original articles' can create significant damage to a company's page ranking and credibility online, putting them at risk for copyright infringement and other penalties. Submitting just a single article to an article directory can be shared across multiple web pages and websites, but using a content spinner to create 'fresh' content from this very same article puts all of the content at risk.
Article marketing has become an industry in itself, but finding high quality human writers is the most efficient, and safe, method of generating valid clicks and increasing visitors to the site. Human writers can provide benefits beyond the limitations of article content creation services. These include completely original article batches, clear and consistent messages, an author's voice, powerful words and phrases that are easy to read by all visitors, and simply and efficiently provide unique and creative ideas in an original format. Human writers can often provide a fresh perspective on a topic or idea, something that cannot be achieved with automated article writing software packages.
About the Author:
Hunter Waterhouse has been involved in article ghost writing and building websites for a number of years. Over the last several years, Hunter has been employed by http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ To learn about the new WordPress plugin, which will enable you to receive targeted articles directly from The Phantom Writers Article Distribution Service, as they become available, please visit: http://www.backlinksmagnet.com/blog/
Read more Articles written by Hunter Waterhouse.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Debt, America's Greatest Failure at All Levels of Society
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Irene A. Majchrzak
Living in debt is one of the greatest failures at all levels of American society. Many people have discussed the importance of saving for retirement as early as possible, using the time value of money as the major factor in achieving success in retirement.
The truth is debt management cannot start early enough either. When your debt is minimal, for needs only, you can stop the bleeding from your bank account and investments by buying less. Begin to learn how your buying and spending habits contribute to your debt. Uncontrolled Debt has the most disastrous effect on your lifestyle and retirement.
Anyone living in debt will recognize how true this statement is for them. Everyday brings a fear of not meeting the months living expenses including the minimum payments on your credit cards. Checking caller ID to prevent yourself from answering a call from yet another collection service causes indigestion, or an upset stomach, because the calls always come at dinner time. Going to bed when you are ready to relax and sleep brings new nightmares of losing your job and losing everything you were working so hard to keep.
You will recognize your responsibility in preventing debt, because your lifestyle from this day forward depends on you... your ability to control your spending, learning where you will save money and the difference between good debt and bad debt.
You will not gain freedom to live worry-free or to retire without changing your debt habits. Using credit cards and loans expands your purchasing options and ultimately, your bad debt.
You must be careful that while spending cash, you are not falling into the category of "Bad Debt". Bad debt pertains to those things you want, but do not necessarily need. Bad debt may also encompass impulse buying or purchases discussed with your partner, decided upon, and bought without money to back them up.
Discretionary money is money that should be left over after you have covered your living expenses. How does spending available cash or debit/credit card purchases lend itself to bad debt? The first problem I am describing is spending until your discretionary money is gone each month. Many people feel that if there is money left over, they should be free to spend it and they do, until there is nothing left each month.
The second problem occurs when your expenses exceed your paycheck .... needing an extension to your cash flow to meet the operating costs of your home life. This is where the credit cards enter into the debt picture, literally, painting yourself into a corner.
Good debt is debt to cover necessities... the purchases that you need: a roof over your head, transportation to and from work, food, clothing, etc. It is responsible debt within your means and does not extend into credit card usage. It does extend into savings though, if necessary considering it a payment to yourself, each and every month.
You need to learn to live not only within your means but to find the money in your financial strategy to meet your contribution goals for IRA's, 401(k), etc. and make sure when you retire you will be fiscally capable of fulfilling your retirement dreams. Because being debt-free is the cornerstone of your current life and the basis of your future.
Good debt/bad debt: Confusion between your needs and wants are dispelled by asking yourself how your life will be affected if you do not have this item. This question is a very large factor in preventing the occurrence of debt.
You and your family need to be clear on this concept of needs and wants and learn to save for "wanted" purchases as well as emergencies. I would ask questions, such as "Do you have a rainy day fund in case you need to make important repairs or more importantly, if you do not have a cash reserve fund, how do you plan to pay the bill on your next repair?"
This is a major aspect of debt habits. Without a plan for emergency spending, you will enter into a debt spiral. A debt spiral causes your available cash to stay beneath the savings line, continuously circling downward into deeper debt, paying more and more in monthly fees, and consuming your discretionary income. Then the next emergency occurs and the spiral deepens, again.
You and your family need to know how to save and eventually, conquer this problem of increasing liability. Education remains the most important concept for you and your family to assimilate into your standard of living in order to recognize the issues that tend to destroy your investment savings and your family's lifestyle.
About the Author:
Irene A. Majchrzak helps people retire debt-free with a sense of well-being and the freedom to have the things they want. Get her free ebook, Debt Free to Retire, by going to http://debtfreetoretire.com
Read more Articles written by Irene A. Majchrzak.
Copyright © 2009 Irene A. Majchrzak
Living in debt is one of the greatest failures at all levels of American society. Many people have discussed the importance of saving for retirement as early as possible, using the time value of money as the major factor in achieving success in retirement.
The truth is debt management cannot start early enough either. When your debt is minimal, for needs only, you can stop the bleeding from your bank account and investments by buying less. Begin to learn how your buying and spending habits contribute to your debt. Uncontrolled Debt has the most disastrous effect on your lifestyle and retirement.
Anyone living in debt will recognize how true this statement is for them. Everyday brings a fear of not meeting the months living expenses including the minimum payments on your credit cards. Checking caller ID to prevent yourself from answering a call from yet another collection service causes indigestion, or an upset stomach, because the calls always come at dinner time. Going to bed when you are ready to relax and sleep brings new nightmares of losing your job and losing everything you were working so hard to keep.
You will recognize your responsibility in preventing debt, because your lifestyle from this day forward depends on you... your ability to control your spending, learning where you will save money and the difference between good debt and bad debt.
You will not gain freedom to live worry-free or to retire without changing your debt habits. Using credit cards and loans expands your purchasing options and ultimately, your bad debt.
You must be careful that while spending cash, you are not falling into the category of "Bad Debt". Bad debt pertains to those things you want, but do not necessarily need. Bad debt may also encompass impulse buying or purchases discussed with your partner, decided upon, and bought without money to back them up.
Discretionary money is money that should be left over after you have covered your living expenses. How does spending available cash or debit/credit card purchases lend itself to bad debt? The first problem I am describing is spending until your discretionary money is gone each month. Many people feel that if there is money left over, they should be free to spend it and they do, until there is nothing left each month.
The second problem occurs when your expenses exceed your paycheck .... needing an extension to your cash flow to meet the operating costs of your home life. This is where the credit cards enter into the debt picture, literally, painting yourself into a corner.
Good debt is debt to cover necessities... the purchases that you need: a roof over your head, transportation to and from work, food, clothing, etc. It is responsible debt within your means and does not extend into credit card usage. It does extend into savings though, if necessary considering it a payment to yourself, each and every month.
You need to learn to live not only within your means but to find the money in your financial strategy to meet your contribution goals for IRA's, 401(k), etc. and make sure when you retire you will be fiscally capable of fulfilling your retirement dreams. Because being debt-free is the cornerstone of your current life and the basis of your future.
Good debt/bad debt: Confusion between your needs and wants are dispelled by asking yourself how your life will be affected if you do not have this item. This question is a very large factor in preventing the occurrence of debt.
You and your family need to be clear on this concept of needs and wants and learn to save for "wanted" purchases as well as emergencies. I would ask questions, such as "Do you have a rainy day fund in case you need to make important repairs or more importantly, if you do not have a cash reserve fund, how do you plan to pay the bill on your next repair?"
This is a major aspect of debt habits. Without a plan for emergency spending, you will enter into a debt spiral. A debt spiral causes your available cash to stay beneath the savings line, continuously circling downward into deeper debt, paying more and more in monthly fees, and consuming your discretionary income. Then the next emergency occurs and the spiral deepens, again.
You and your family need to know how to save and eventually, conquer this problem of increasing liability. Education remains the most important concept for you and your family to assimilate into your standard of living in order to recognize the issues that tend to destroy your investment savings and your family's lifestyle.
About the Author:
Irene A. Majchrzak helps people retire debt-free with a sense of well-being and the freedom to have the things they want. Get her free ebook, Debt Free to Retire, by going to http://debtfreetoretire.com
Read more Articles written by Irene A. Majchrzak.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Money Making Tips with Your Expired Domains - Domain Parking
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Newbie expired domain traders keep searching for newer and innovative ways of making money out of their expired domain names. Expired domain trading is a vast industry, where almost every domain trader will be competing with others to sell their stock of domain names. What happens when an expired domain trader sits on a big pile of domain names without using them for any commercial purpose? The result could disastrous for the business, because the cost of retention and maintenance is always recurring and it can cut a big hole in the pocket.
Sitting on a big inventory of expired domains is a fruitless exercise that consume too much of your precious time as well as money. You must focus in deriving handsome income from your domain names so that you can cover the cost of retaining them with you. One of the simplest ways to earn money with your expired domains is to park them on specially designed and marketed domain parking web sites.
Domain parking offers you several advantages and benefits of not only earning money, but also maintain your expired domains in the most profitable manner. Some of these benefits are:
Enough revenues: Almost all domain-parking companies share a generous share of income with their clients. This income is enough to cover the expenses involved in maintaining your expired domains.
Very simple set up process: All domain-parking companies offer you a very simple set up process that does not take even five minutes. Signing up and running the account is also very simple.
Contractual obligations: You need not sign any agreements or contracts to stay with these firms. You can move away to another domain-parking company without any penalties or fines.
Global reach: Language and regions are no barriers to you. Most of the well-known domain-parking services provide the services in all major international languages. You can even use highly accomplished geo or regional targeting to drive visitors to your web site.
Efficient sales conversion: Domain parking is an efficient way to turn your domain into a cash machine. It also enhances the chances of domain auction or sales by over 100% because of the wide exposure and virtual advertisement.
Domain parking uses an advanced method of search. It takes the advantage of using type-in type of traffic that is when a web surfer simply types an address on to the search bar of the search engine in a hope that he or she will get the desired information from the search. Domain parking can add real-time value to your expired domain. When you see that your expired domain is increasing in its online value, then you can sell off your domain to the highest bidder.
With all its wonderful benefits and advantages, domain parking still has some pitfalls. Most of the time, some of your domains may never receive any traffic. In addition, the income generated by parking your expired domains may not be substantial. However, domain parking is a lucrative way to park your otherwise dead and expired domain; domain parking can resurrect your dead domain back in to life.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more Articles written by John Khu.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Newbie expired domain traders keep searching for newer and innovative ways of making money out of their expired domain names. Expired domain trading is a vast industry, where almost every domain trader will be competing with others to sell their stock of domain names. What happens when an expired domain trader sits on a big pile of domain names without using them for any commercial purpose? The result could disastrous for the business, because the cost of retention and maintenance is always recurring and it can cut a big hole in the pocket.
Sitting on a big inventory of expired domains is a fruitless exercise that consume too much of your precious time as well as money. You must focus in deriving handsome income from your domain names so that you can cover the cost of retaining them with you. One of the simplest ways to earn money with your expired domains is to park them on specially designed and marketed domain parking web sites.
Domain parking offers you several advantages and benefits of not only earning money, but also maintain your expired domains in the most profitable manner. Some of these benefits are:
Enough revenues: Almost all domain-parking companies share a generous share of income with their clients. This income is enough to cover the expenses involved in maintaining your expired domains.
Very simple set up process: All domain-parking companies offer you a very simple set up process that does not take even five minutes. Signing up and running the account is also very simple.
Contractual obligations: You need not sign any agreements or contracts to stay with these firms. You can move away to another domain-parking company without any penalties or fines.
Global reach: Language and regions are no barriers to you. Most of the well-known domain-parking services provide the services in all major international languages. You can even use highly accomplished geo or regional targeting to drive visitors to your web site.
Efficient sales conversion: Domain parking is an efficient way to turn your domain into a cash machine. It also enhances the chances of domain auction or sales by over 100% because of the wide exposure and virtual advertisement.
Domain parking uses an advanced method of search. It takes the advantage of using type-in type of traffic that is when a web surfer simply types an address on to the search bar of the search engine in a hope that he or she will get the desired information from the search. Domain parking can add real-time value to your expired domain. When you see that your expired domain is increasing in its online value, then you can sell off your domain to the highest bidder.
With all its wonderful benefits and advantages, domain parking still has some pitfalls. Most of the time, some of your domains may never receive any traffic. In addition, the income generated by parking your expired domains may not be substantial. However, domain parking is a lucrative way to park your otherwise dead and expired domain; domain parking can resurrect your dead domain back in to life.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more Articles written by John Khu.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Online Branding - the Basics
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The term "brand" has been around for many years and can be used to refer to a company name, a product name, an advertising campaign or a logo. Branding is used to create an emotional attachment to a product or company. It can also create a sense of perceived higher quality or value.
In internet marketing, branding is more than logos and theme songs. Branding lets customers know who you are, what you do and how you do it. It's your promise of value. Effective branding will increase your potential customer base and more potential customers will always equal more sales opportunities.
In recent years, consumers have been spending more time and money on the internet. In addition to communicating with friends, they're comparison shopping and making more and more purchases online. It's imperative for a business to use the internet to make an impact.
Here are a few ways to define your online identity:
Describe Your Brand First - Start With What You Do
When they land on your website, your visitors should know immediately what your company does and how it can help them. Don't be ambiguous and don't try to be too cute. Build a unique shopping experience that a visitor will remember. With regard to graphics on your website, remember that images can convey more than words, and good ones can play a major part in online branding.
Find Your Target Market
The focus of a marketing campaign is people. Your goal is to reach a subset of the population who might be interested in your particular product - your target market.
The more you know about your target market, the more precisely you can develop a marketing strategy. Your branding efforts should focus on that target market. Your message should be clear and should appeal to your visitor and make them realize the benefits of visiting your website, your store and ultimately buying your products or services.
Humanize Your Website
What is your company's personality? The online world can be a cold and daunting place. Your branding efforts can be much more effective when you add a human element to your website. Brands are like people in that a strong one has personality, expresses opinions and elicits feelings. Your website and brand could and should do the same thing.
If you are the sole owner, put your name and photo on your site to take away the mystery and distrust of a cold, impersonal website. Take a good look at your site. Does your design scheme complement your identity? You should be working toward your site having its own identity, unique language and clear personality.
Take a look at some of the sites you enjoy visiting and see what makes them special and satisfying to you. Branding is not about making your site more corporate - it's about making it personal so that visitors want to come back.
Be Consistent
For effective branding on the web, you should be consistent in terms of your approach, your message and your language throughout your visitors' experience. Any gateway to your customers - website, blog, newsletter, emails - should have your consistent, unique personality.
Content, Content, Content
Just as location, location, location is crucial in real estate, having great content on your site is a major factor in getting customers to return. Useful, brand-related information coupled with your unique voice will help you gain fans and ultimately loyal customers.
With good content, your website becomes "sticky", that is, it's able to keep visitors on the site browsing and reading longer. When the content is what people are looking for, they are not only more likely to stay longer, they'll bookmark your site and maybe recommend it to others. They will learn that you are a reputable source of information and eventually go to your site for purchases.
Your branding goal should be to provide rich information on your site to build an expert reputation that will be recognized by both customers and search engines.
Have an Online Presence Outside of Your Site
Post regularly to online forums where people who might be interested in your brand are gathering. Use your expertise in your field to offer intelligent and useful information and include a link to your website in your signature.
With good online content, you can satisfy people's craving for suitable information and increase your linking strategy at the same time. For example, if you have a site that sells art and painting supplies, you could write a history article on Rembrandt to be published online. This page for history or art buffs will now link potential customers from your target market to your site, and will become part of your linking strategy.
On your website, offer a free newsletter or rss feed. This will allow you to build a database of potential customers who have gone out of their way to express interest in your brand. Your newsletter will then allow you to deliver your message to an interested audience with a controlled frequency that will further build your brand.
Customers are becoming savvy and more discriminating when it comes to online interactions, and retailers need to provide a consistent, positive marketing experience. Great websites put substance before flash and that's what branding is all about - your promise of value.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The term "brand" has been around for many years and can be used to refer to a company name, a product name, an advertising campaign or a logo. Branding is used to create an emotional attachment to a product or company. It can also create a sense of perceived higher quality or value.
In internet marketing, branding is more than logos and theme songs. Branding lets customers know who you are, what you do and how you do it. It's your promise of value. Effective branding will increase your potential customer base and more potential customers will always equal more sales opportunities.
In recent years, consumers have been spending more time and money on the internet. In addition to communicating with friends, they're comparison shopping and making more and more purchases online. It's imperative for a business to use the internet to make an impact.
Here are a few ways to define your online identity:
Describe Your Brand First - Start With What You Do
When they land on your website, your visitors should know immediately what your company does and how it can help them. Don't be ambiguous and don't try to be too cute. Build a unique shopping experience that a visitor will remember. With regard to graphics on your website, remember that images can convey more than words, and good ones can play a major part in online branding.
Find Your Target Market
The focus of a marketing campaign is people. Your goal is to reach a subset of the population who might be interested in your particular product - your target market.
The more you know about your target market, the more precisely you can develop a marketing strategy. Your branding efforts should focus on that target market. Your message should be clear and should appeal to your visitor and make them realize the benefits of visiting your website, your store and ultimately buying your products or services.
Humanize Your Website
What is your company's personality? The online world can be a cold and daunting place. Your branding efforts can be much more effective when you add a human element to your website. Brands are like people in that a strong one has personality, expresses opinions and elicits feelings. Your website and brand could and should do the same thing.
If you are the sole owner, put your name and photo on your site to take away the mystery and distrust of a cold, impersonal website. Take a good look at your site. Does your design scheme complement your identity? You should be working toward your site having its own identity, unique language and clear personality.
Take a look at some of the sites you enjoy visiting and see what makes them special and satisfying to you. Branding is not about making your site more corporate - it's about making it personal so that visitors want to come back.
Be Consistent
For effective branding on the web, you should be consistent in terms of your approach, your message and your language throughout your visitors' experience. Any gateway to your customers - website, blog, newsletter, emails - should have your consistent, unique personality.
Content, Content, Content
Just as location, location, location is crucial in real estate, having great content on your site is a major factor in getting customers to return. Useful, brand-related information coupled with your unique voice will help you gain fans and ultimately loyal customers.
With good content, your website becomes "sticky", that is, it's able to keep visitors on the site browsing and reading longer. When the content is what people are looking for, they are not only more likely to stay longer, they'll bookmark your site and maybe recommend it to others. They will learn that you are a reputable source of information and eventually go to your site for purchases.
Your branding goal should be to provide rich information on your site to build an expert reputation that will be recognized by both customers and search engines.
Have an Online Presence Outside of Your Site
Post regularly to online forums where people who might be interested in your brand are gathering. Use your expertise in your field to offer intelligent and useful information and include a link to your website in your signature.
With good online content, you can satisfy people's craving for suitable information and increase your linking strategy at the same time. For example, if you have a site that sells art and painting supplies, you could write a history article on Rembrandt to be published online. This page for history or art buffs will now link potential customers from your target market to your site, and will become part of your linking strategy.
On your website, offer a free newsletter or rss feed. This will allow you to build a database of potential customers who have gone out of their way to express interest in your brand. Your newsletter will then allow you to deliver your message to an interested audience with a controlled frequency that will further build your brand.
Customers are becoming savvy and more discriminating when it comes to online interactions, and retailers need to provide a consistent, positive marketing experience. Great websites put substance before flash and that's what branding is all about - your promise of value.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: http://www.Brandsplat.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I Was Quoted in the News, Now What? Publicity Dilemma 10
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Whether it was the Wall Street Journal or Hometown News Radio that quoted you last Monday, congratulate yourself. You have achieved a credibility-boosting distinction that many businesses never attain. And now let's figure out how you can derive lasting benefit from your media coverage.
As soon as possible, incorporate your media success into your marketing materials. "As featured in..." is a good all-purpose phrase that impresses people. Even better, there's no reason to ever remove this reference. Once featured on a TV or radio program or in a newspaper or magazine, you can always tout that having happened.
If you were highlighted in a publication or a broadcast that included web coverage, install a link from your site to their page about your company or you. Add a five-star media credential to your next set of business cards or print up labels about it to stick on your envelopes.
For print coverage, make nice-looking copies and mail them with a personal sticky note to current and past clients and folks trying to decide whether or not to do business with you. Include these copies in your media kit, and in any portfolio you use instead of or in addition to a brochure.
If you have an office where customers or clients come, frame clippings and hang them on the wall. If you have a storefront window, hang the clippings so passersby can read and detour in to do business with you. Whenever possible, mount clippings where they won't receive direct sunlight, and keep an eye on how faded your copy becomes. I've seen restaurants undermine the effect of a rave review because their clipping has faded to the color of parchment.
Watch out for a few no-no's. One business owner I interviewed for a Business 2.0 article excerpted long passages from my piece at his web site. When I pointed out that he was welcome to link to the article at Business 2.0's site but not to distort my work by cutting the portions that were not about him, he sheepishly (and wisely) complied.
Likewise, some publications want you to buy glossy reprints of the article in which you appeared from them rather than make your own. To stay on the right side of copyright regulations, you should do just that.
If you have loads of media mentions, create a list of the media entities that quoted or featured you and post that on your web site's About page. Include the list in your media kit, too. I've seen companies create attractive and impressive "Featured in..." displays using the media logos rather than just their names.
And suppose the media said negative things about you? It's okay to quote and attribute the positive phrases sprinkled there amidst criticism, as long as you preserve the meaning. From People Magazine having said, "Excellent dreck!" you cannot extract "'Excellent!' - People Magazine."
Finally, consider whether you can recycle the idea that earned you media coverage with a different news tie-in or an updated angle. Sometimes you can engineer a creative rerun. For instance, in 1990, when fax machines were new, I got quite a lot of media coverage for what I pitched as an "edit by fax" service. Five years later, I successfully repitched the service as "marketing upgrades," a low-cost alternative to the high cost of top-notch copywriters. A few years after that, I reformulated the same service as "copywriting on call," with a rewrite as close and convenient as one's Internet connection.
With at least a few of these steps, your media mentions will bring you long-lasting blessings!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Whether it was the Wall Street Journal or Hometown News Radio that quoted you last Monday, congratulate yourself. You have achieved a credibility-boosting distinction that many businesses never attain. And now let's figure out how you can derive lasting benefit from your media coverage.
As soon as possible, incorporate your media success into your marketing materials. "As featured in..." is a good all-purpose phrase that impresses people. Even better, there's no reason to ever remove this reference. Once featured on a TV or radio program or in a newspaper or magazine, you can always tout that having happened.
If you were highlighted in a publication or a broadcast that included web coverage, install a link from your site to their page about your company or you. Add a five-star media credential to your next set of business cards or print up labels about it to stick on your envelopes.
For print coverage, make nice-looking copies and mail them with a personal sticky note to current and past clients and folks trying to decide whether or not to do business with you. Include these copies in your media kit, and in any portfolio you use instead of or in addition to a brochure.
If you have an office where customers or clients come, frame clippings and hang them on the wall. If you have a storefront window, hang the clippings so passersby can read and detour in to do business with you. Whenever possible, mount clippings where they won't receive direct sunlight, and keep an eye on how faded your copy becomes. I've seen restaurants undermine the effect of a rave review because their clipping has faded to the color of parchment.
Watch out for a few no-no's. One business owner I interviewed for a Business 2.0 article excerpted long passages from my piece at his web site. When I pointed out that he was welcome to link to the article at Business 2.0's site but not to distort my work by cutting the portions that were not about him, he sheepishly (and wisely) complied.
Likewise, some publications want you to buy glossy reprints of the article in which you appeared from them rather than make your own. To stay on the right side of copyright regulations, you should do just that.
If you have loads of media mentions, create a list of the media entities that quoted or featured you and post that on your web site's About page. Include the list in your media kit, too. I've seen companies create attractive and impressive "Featured in..." displays using the media logos rather than just their names.
And suppose the media said negative things about you? It's okay to quote and attribute the positive phrases sprinkled there amidst criticism, as long as you preserve the meaning. From People Magazine having said, "Excellent dreck!" you cannot extract "'Excellent!' - People Magazine."
Finally, consider whether you can recycle the idea that earned you media coverage with a different news tie-in or an updated angle. Sometimes you can engineer a creative rerun. For instance, in 1990, when fax machines were new, I got quite a lot of media coverage for what I pitched as an "edit by fax" service. Five years later, I successfully repitched the service as "marketing upgrades," a low-cost alternative to the high cost of top-notch copywriters. A few years after that, I reformulated the same service as "copywriting on call," with a rewrite as close and convenient as one's Internet connection.
With at least a few of these steps, your media mentions will bring you long-lasting blessings!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
Let There Be Peace
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Joyce C. Lock
If we believe we are in the last days, we need to quit calling God's messengers 'false prophets' (Je.25:4). Hell, fire, and brimstone preaching is not a prophet's passion, but the result of other's unbelief. Prophets feel whatever God feels and are honor bound to warn unbelieving people they also love.
For fear of an antichrist or Jonestown type experience, leaders hush prophets by whatever means possible; all the while, feeling justified. And, people continue to believe whatever they are told.
"And (they) say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." Mt. 23:30
Most prophets dare not come out of the closet. 'If we talk to God, we are spiritual. If God talks to us, we are scitsophrenic.'
While many truly have a heart for God's people, they error in deciding when, who, and how people can serve (becoming Pharaohs, creating spiritual wounds) when all they would need do is to listen for the Spirit and let God sit on their throne. The Spirit cannot lie.
It makes no difference how one is qualified, as faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it. For, it is God who builds HIS church.
Instead, pride is placed upon one's knowledge and abilities; forgetting such will pass away. You might notice who Jesus would become angry with (not the spiritually weak, poor, sick, or lame) but leaders who kept them that way.
God will do whatever it takes to make sure those who are saved will be saved. When I asked how many prophecies have to come to pass, God answered, "As many as it takes."
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another," Mt. 24:7-10.
While people look to giant earthquakes, they are missing that the very foundation of their families are being shaken; the center of their world. The famine is spiritual, and they are starving for prophets to be allowed to show them the way, Re.22:6.
Prophecies are happening individually, everywhere, while the church sleeps on. We are Jews who worship in Spirit and truth, and adopted Israelites (Ro. 9:4).
With all the religions in the world, it is insulting God to think any have all the answers. There is only one omnipotent, all knowing God. Stop telling God what He believes. Do not believe everything you hear and let us not quench the Spirit before God has had a chance to speak.
If your life is not peace, it would be good to consider what is really going on. God wants His throne back. If you really want to see revival; Let My People Go, so they can serve God.
Perhaps peace begins once we realize we are all in the same boat and God gave us gifts to help each other find our way.
About the Author:
Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, columnist, and Senior Writer for the Storytime Tapestry Newsletter. Her latest adventures include her new website Glimpses of God http://iam.homewithGod.com/glimpsesofgod/ unveiling mysteries via scriptural methods of Bible study. Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other. Find fresh new articles, on a variety of topics, at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/recent/200/index.html
Read more of Joyce C. Lock's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Joyce C. Lock
If we believe we are in the last days, we need to quit calling God's messengers 'false prophets' (Je.25:4). Hell, fire, and brimstone preaching is not a prophet's passion, but the result of other's unbelief. Prophets feel whatever God feels and are honor bound to warn unbelieving people they also love.
For fear of an antichrist or Jonestown type experience, leaders hush prophets by whatever means possible; all the while, feeling justified. And, people continue to believe whatever they are told.
"And (they) say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." Mt. 23:30
Most prophets dare not come out of the closet. 'If we talk to God, we are spiritual. If God talks to us, we are scitsophrenic.'
While many truly have a heart for God's people, they error in deciding when, who, and how people can serve (becoming Pharaohs, creating spiritual wounds) when all they would need do is to listen for the Spirit and let God sit on their throne. The Spirit cannot lie.
It makes no difference how one is qualified, as faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it. For, it is God who builds HIS church.
Instead, pride is placed upon one's knowledge and abilities; forgetting such will pass away. You might notice who Jesus would become angry with (not the spiritually weak, poor, sick, or lame) but leaders who kept them that way.
God will do whatever it takes to make sure those who are saved will be saved. When I asked how many prophecies have to come to pass, God answered, "As many as it takes."
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another," Mt. 24:7-10.
While people look to giant earthquakes, they are missing that the very foundation of their families are being shaken; the center of their world. The famine is spiritual, and they are starving for prophets to be allowed to show them the way, Re.22:6.
Prophecies are happening individually, everywhere, while the church sleeps on. We are Jews who worship in Spirit and truth, and adopted Israelites (Ro. 9:4).
With all the religions in the world, it is insulting God to think any have all the answers. There is only one omnipotent, all knowing God. Stop telling God what He believes. Do not believe everything you hear and let us not quench the Spirit before God has had a chance to speak.
If your life is not peace, it would be good to consider what is really going on. God wants His throne back. If you really want to see revival; Let My People Go, so they can serve God.
Perhaps peace begins once we realize we are all in the same boat and God gave us gifts to help each other find our way.
About the Author:
Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, columnist, and Senior Writer for the Storytime Tapestry Newsletter. Her latest adventures include her new website Glimpses of God http://iam.homewithGod.com/glimpsesofgod/ unveiling mysteries via scriptural methods of Bible study. Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other. Find fresh new articles, on a variety of topics, at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/recent/200/index.html
Read more of Joyce C. Lock's articles.
Seven Tips That Could Add Hundreds Of Dollars To Your Monthly Budget
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
Today's economy is especially hard on middle-class families and others who basically live week-to-week. Without careful budgeting and tending to finances, it's getting easier and easier to end up short of money at the end of each month. Ironically, it seems the tighter your money gets, the more expensive necessities such as utilities and food become.
In this article, we offer seven tips that if used can help the average American family reduce their living expenses by at least $100 per month.
Reduce Food Expenses, Without Giving Up Good Food
Fortunately, with a little discipline and work, there are ways to decrease your spending without sacrificing too much. Having said that, there is one area where most people can dramatically cut down on their expenses, and that is eating out. "Eating out" includes eating in restaurants, grabbing food from the fast-food drive-throughs, or ordering take-out food to eat at home. Even a simple fast-food meal for a family of four costs twice as much as eating at home.
Buy A Sunday Newspaper: Shop The Grocery Ads and Clip The Coupons
To get started on saving on your food bill, you need a little organization. Start by carefully reading your grocery store's weekly ad in the newspaper or online and making note of which items are on sale. Many stores seem to be having a lot of buy one/get one free sales, and you should take advantage of these items. What you don't use this week, you can use in the coming weeks.
In this way, you can also build up a store of extra items so that you are never caught without food for a meal. If certain meats are on sale, buy double portions and freeze half.
Another sure-fire way to save money at the grocery store is coupons! If you don't get a newspaper on Sunday, you should start. You will save a lot more money by the coupons you can clip than the paper will cost. Cut only the coupons for items you actually use or can substitute for your usual brands.
Plan Your Meals In Advance and Reap The Savings
The next step takes the most time but brings the highest rewards: make a meal plan for the week, with an eye on the sale items at the grocery store and the items for which you have coupons. If your family eats breakfast, make a list of the items you will need to provide seven breakfasts. If you or your family eat lunch at home or pack a lunch for school or work, list what will be needed to provide seven lunches - be sure to include the weekends.
This is a good area to begin eliminating eating out. It is much more economical to take a lunch that to eat out.
Good lunch ideas include sandwiches, fruit or salads. If your workplace has a microwave available, consider taking leftovers from dinner rather than the more expensive microwave meals. This is also a good chance to reduce excess calories and junk foods from your diet.
For your dinner meals, try to plan items that can be used for two dinners or for leftovers for lunch. Some good dinner ideas include a roast beef (two meals and lunch leftovers), oven-baked or fried chicken and stews. You can also make a large portion of dishes like lasagna and have enough for one or two dinners. A good alternative is to freeze half of the amount you make for a quick dinner another night.
When planning your dinner menus, it is important to plan one or two dinners that can be prepared quickly. This is where the frozen portions come in handy. They can be easily thawed and require no work or planning. Everyone has nights when they are too tired after work to cook, and that is where the temptation to eat out or order take-out food can ruin the budget. Be sure to always have food available for quick and easy meals when you don't have the time or energy for cooking.
If you have frozen a portion of another meal, such as lasagna or a stew, just pop it in a dish, microwave it and you can put dinner on the table in a matter of minutes. Once you have made your menu planner, make a list of everything you need for each meal. Also list all household non-food items that you need or that are on sale.
Make A Grocery List and Skip The Impulse Items
Try to get everything you will need for the entire week or month in a single trip to the grocery store. It is best to limit your trips to the grocery store to once a week or less. Most people pick up one or more "impulse items" each time they go to the store, so the less often you go, the better.
Stick to your list - unless it's something you actually forgot and will need for one of your planned meals, don't buy it!
A good way not to forget anything that you use on a regular basis is to put a small piece of paper on the fridge with a magnet - when you are getting low on something you use often (salt, coffee, sugar, detergent, etc.), jot it on the list and add these items to your weekly shopping list. Be sure to stock up on freezer and storage bags so that you will always be able to easily store your leftovers. A lot of food that could easily be frozen and used for another meal is lost by being shoved to the back of the refrigerator and sitting there until it goes bad.
Several small portions of various frozen leftover dinners can be combined to give your family a "pot luck" dinner.
Count Your Savings To Justify The Discipline
These methods of meal planning and shopping can save you 25% to 35% off your weekly grocery bill. If it seems like a lot of work, put a dollar amount on it. A savings of $40.00 means that you are earning $20.00 an hour if you spend two hours cutting coupons, reading grocery ads, planning your menu and making a shopping list.
Reduce Your Electric Bill
Another big expenditure each month is the electric bill! There are small things you can do to cut down, such as turning out lights in rooms that aren't being used, turning off power strips to eliminate the "energy vampires" that constantly suck power to recharge phones, batteries, etc., and turning off your computer each night.
Manage Your Hot Water Supply
However, to really save money, look to your hot water heater! These are a tremendous consumer of electricity. Go to your circuit breaker and find the switch that controls the hot water heater. Modern hot water heaters heat up very quickly - you simply do not need to have it running all day, keeping the water at a constant hot temperature when no one is home or using hot water. Turn the hot water heater on when you get home from work and let it run until bedtime. There will be more than enough hot water for dishes, showers and the washing machine.
If you need to do laundry during the day, turn it on for about 15 minutes - while you're waiting for it to heat up, you can run a cold water load. Let the hot water heater run while you are using hot water, and then turn it off. And speaking of the hot water heater, invest in an inexpensive hot water heater wrap to keep the water in there hot, and check the temperature setting. There is never a need to have your hot water heater set higher than 125 degrees.
Follow These Seven Tips To Save Hundreds Of Dollars Yearly...
Following the tips in the article could easily help the average American family save anywhere from a hunred to a few hundred dollars a month. Take these tips to heart, and you will be able to live a richer life as a result.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance loans industry. To learn more about these cash advance loan products, we recommend reading the following overview of the payday loan concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Read more of Fred Vanhoosen's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
Today's economy is especially hard on middle-class families and others who basically live week-to-week. Without careful budgeting and tending to finances, it's getting easier and easier to end up short of money at the end of each month. Ironically, it seems the tighter your money gets, the more expensive necessities such as utilities and food become.
In this article, we offer seven tips that if used can help the average American family reduce their living expenses by at least $100 per month.
Reduce Food Expenses, Without Giving Up Good Food
Fortunately, with a little discipline and work, there are ways to decrease your spending without sacrificing too much. Having said that, there is one area where most people can dramatically cut down on their expenses, and that is eating out. "Eating out" includes eating in restaurants, grabbing food from the fast-food drive-throughs, or ordering take-out food to eat at home. Even a simple fast-food meal for a family of four costs twice as much as eating at home.
Buy A Sunday Newspaper: Shop The Grocery Ads and Clip The Coupons
To get started on saving on your food bill, you need a little organization. Start by carefully reading your grocery store's weekly ad in the newspaper or online and making note of which items are on sale. Many stores seem to be having a lot of buy one/get one free sales, and you should take advantage of these items. What you don't use this week, you can use in the coming weeks.
In this way, you can also build up a store of extra items so that you are never caught without food for a meal. If certain meats are on sale, buy double portions and freeze half.
Another sure-fire way to save money at the grocery store is coupons! If you don't get a newspaper on Sunday, you should start. You will save a lot more money by the coupons you can clip than the paper will cost. Cut only the coupons for items you actually use or can substitute for your usual brands.
Plan Your Meals In Advance and Reap The Savings
The next step takes the most time but brings the highest rewards: make a meal plan for the week, with an eye on the sale items at the grocery store and the items for which you have coupons. If your family eats breakfast, make a list of the items you will need to provide seven breakfasts. If you or your family eat lunch at home or pack a lunch for school or work, list what will be needed to provide seven lunches - be sure to include the weekends.
This is a good area to begin eliminating eating out. It is much more economical to take a lunch that to eat out.
Good lunch ideas include sandwiches, fruit or salads. If your workplace has a microwave available, consider taking leftovers from dinner rather than the more expensive microwave meals. This is also a good chance to reduce excess calories and junk foods from your diet.
For your dinner meals, try to plan items that can be used for two dinners or for leftovers for lunch. Some good dinner ideas include a roast beef (two meals and lunch leftovers), oven-baked or fried chicken and stews. You can also make a large portion of dishes like lasagna and have enough for one or two dinners. A good alternative is to freeze half of the amount you make for a quick dinner another night.
When planning your dinner menus, it is important to plan one or two dinners that can be prepared quickly. This is where the frozen portions come in handy. They can be easily thawed and require no work or planning. Everyone has nights when they are too tired after work to cook, and that is where the temptation to eat out or order take-out food can ruin the budget. Be sure to always have food available for quick and easy meals when you don't have the time or energy for cooking.
If you have frozen a portion of another meal, such as lasagna or a stew, just pop it in a dish, microwave it and you can put dinner on the table in a matter of minutes. Once you have made your menu planner, make a list of everything you need for each meal. Also list all household non-food items that you need or that are on sale.
Make A Grocery List and Skip The Impulse Items
Try to get everything you will need for the entire week or month in a single trip to the grocery store. It is best to limit your trips to the grocery store to once a week or less. Most people pick up one or more "impulse items" each time they go to the store, so the less often you go, the better.
Stick to your list - unless it's something you actually forgot and will need for one of your planned meals, don't buy it!
A good way not to forget anything that you use on a regular basis is to put a small piece of paper on the fridge with a magnet - when you are getting low on something you use often (salt, coffee, sugar, detergent, etc.), jot it on the list and add these items to your weekly shopping list. Be sure to stock up on freezer and storage bags so that you will always be able to easily store your leftovers. A lot of food that could easily be frozen and used for another meal is lost by being shoved to the back of the refrigerator and sitting there until it goes bad.
Several small portions of various frozen leftover dinners can be combined to give your family a "pot luck" dinner.
Count Your Savings To Justify The Discipline
These methods of meal planning and shopping can save you 25% to 35% off your weekly grocery bill. If it seems like a lot of work, put a dollar amount on it. A savings of $40.00 means that you are earning $20.00 an hour if you spend two hours cutting coupons, reading grocery ads, planning your menu and making a shopping list.
Reduce Your Electric Bill
Another big expenditure each month is the electric bill! There are small things you can do to cut down, such as turning out lights in rooms that aren't being used, turning off power strips to eliminate the "energy vampires" that constantly suck power to recharge phones, batteries, etc., and turning off your computer each night.
Manage Your Hot Water Supply
However, to really save money, look to your hot water heater! These are a tremendous consumer of electricity. Go to your circuit breaker and find the switch that controls the hot water heater. Modern hot water heaters heat up very quickly - you simply do not need to have it running all day, keeping the water at a constant hot temperature when no one is home or using hot water. Turn the hot water heater on when you get home from work and let it run until bedtime. There will be more than enough hot water for dishes, showers and the washing machine.
If you need to do laundry during the day, turn it on for about 15 minutes - while you're waiting for it to heat up, you can run a cold water load. Let the hot water heater run while you are using hot water, and then turn it off. And speaking of the hot water heater, invest in an inexpensive hot water heater wrap to keep the water in there hot, and check the temperature setting. There is never a need to have your hot water heater set higher than 125 degrees.
Follow These Seven Tips To Save Hundreds Of Dollars Yearly...
Following the tips in the article could easily help the average American family save anywhere from a hunred to a few hundred dollars a month. Take these tips to heart, and you will be able to live a richer life as a result.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance loans industry. To learn more about these cash advance loan products, we recommend reading the following overview of the payday loan concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Read more of Fred Vanhoosen's articles.
Monday, May 18, 2009
When Pennies Count, These Budgeting Tips Could Save You Hundreds of Dollars Per Month
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
The current state of the economy has been a wake-up call for many people and it's causing them to get serious about saving money and eliminating debt now.
In order to increase your savings, pay off debt, or just stop living paycheck to paycheck you have to do one of two things. You can either earn more money or spend less.
For many of us, it will take a while to earn more, but we can start spending less right now.
Track Every Dime Spent
The best way to start living on a budget is to start tracking everything you spend for a couple months. Carry a small notepad with you and log every purchase. If you have a spouse make sure he or she does the same. Soon you will have a good idea of your spending habits, and you can start trying to find items on your list that can be eliminated or reduced.
Once you add up how much you spend each month, compare it to your monthly income. Hopefully you earn more than you spend. If not, you must be using credit to get some things paid. If this is the case, you need to start making cuts in your spending, so that you don't have to borrow to finance your spending.
Here Are Some Budgeting Tips That You May Consider:
You may find that you are paying too much for telephones, internet, and television.
Your cell phone provider may offer a cheaper plan that still offers you enough minutes to get through the month.
Do you still use your land based phone line? Many people are getting rid of their land line and going with cell phones only for their communication needs in order to save money each month. You might even try that new Magic Jack phone service. We just switched to Magic Jack and it works great. And best of all, we are saving about $920 per year on phone services, now that we have switched phone providers.
Many internet providers offer different prices for plans based on the speed of the service. Maybe slowing it down would be worth the money saved.
If you are subscribing to cable or satellite television, you can probably find a cheaper package by reducing the number of channels you receive.
If you don't want to cut out any of these services, maybe you can buy them all from one company and save by bundling them all together.
Utilizing The Envelope System
Once you have your list of your usual spending, start working on a budget. Some people find it works best to assign every dollar they make in a month to a certain category.
One method that a lot of people use to try to stay within a budget is to use an envelope system. You get an envelope for different items on your budget and place the amount of money you expect to spend that month in the envelope. Once you spend all the allotted money, you can't spend any more in that category.
Some people make an envelope for several categories like groceries, eating out, gas, clothing and entertainment. Some people don't need to make envelopes for every expense. Maybe they find the thing that is making them spend too much each month is that they eat out too often. Making an envelope for eating out would help them keep track of how much they spend at restaurants and let them know when they are at their monthly limit.
The main goal of most budgets is to lower spending so that there is more money to put toward savings. The amount you intend to save should be included in the budget so that it is not neglected. Treat savings as you would any other expense in the budget. Also, remember that if you end up spending less than the budget, you should apply that extra money to savings or paying off debt.
Handling The Management Of Infrequent Expenses
The thing that probably gives people the most problems when it comes to making a budget is that a lot of expense don't occur on a monthly basis. Homeowners insurance and property taxes are often due once a year. Auto insurance is usually due every six months. Auto maintenance fees are often unpredictable, but the oil changes and tires are fairly predictable.
You might not buy clothing every month, but if you keep track of your spending you'll soon figure out roughly how much you spend per year for new clothing. For the expenses that don't happen every month, just calculate how much you spend on those categories each year and divide by twelve. This will give you a monthly amount that you can budget. If you save that amount every month you'll have the cash to pay those bills when the time arrives.
Some financial experts even suggest opening a separate bank account for these types of expenses. You might not feel that is necessary, but you'll want to keep track of these categories with either a notebook or a spreadsheet.
Never Get Angry or Give Up
The last thing to remember is that you shouldn't get upset if you can't stay within the budget the first month. It takes a while to get the budget adjusted to match what you need to buy. Just keep making a little progress each month and you'll be much better off than those who follow no budget at all.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the cash advance loans / cash advance loan industry. To learn more about these payday loan products, we recommend reading the following overview of the cash advance concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Read more Articles written by Fred Vanhoosen.
Copyright © 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
The current state of the economy has been a wake-up call for many people and it's causing them to get serious about saving money and eliminating debt now.
In order to increase your savings, pay off debt, or just stop living paycheck to paycheck you have to do one of two things. You can either earn more money or spend less.
For many of us, it will take a while to earn more, but we can start spending less right now.
Track Every Dime Spent
The best way to start living on a budget is to start tracking everything you spend for a couple months. Carry a small notepad with you and log every purchase. If you have a spouse make sure he or she does the same. Soon you will have a good idea of your spending habits, and you can start trying to find items on your list that can be eliminated or reduced.
Once you add up how much you spend each month, compare it to your monthly income. Hopefully you earn more than you spend. If not, you must be using credit to get some things paid. If this is the case, you need to start making cuts in your spending, so that you don't have to borrow to finance your spending.
Here Are Some Budgeting Tips That You May Consider:
Utilizing The Envelope System
Once you have your list of your usual spending, start working on a budget. Some people find it works best to assign every dollar they make in a month to a certain category.
One method that a lot of people use to try to stay within a budget is to use an envelope system. You get an envelope for different items on your budget and place the amount of money you expect to spend that month in the envelope. Once you spend all the allotted money, you can't spend any more in that category.
Some people make an envelope for several categories like groceries, eating out, gas, clothing and entertainment. Some people don't need to make envelopes for every expense. Maybe they find the thing that is making them spend too much each month is that they eat out too often. Making an envelope for eating out would help them keep track of how much they spend at restaurants and let them know when they are at their monthly limit.
The main goal of most budgets is to lower spending so that there is more money to put toward savings. The amount you intend to save should be included in the budget so that it is not neglected. Treat savings as you would any other expense in the budget. Also, remember that if you end up spending less than the budget, you should apply that extra money to savings or paying off debt.
Handling The Management Of Infrequent Expenses
The thing that probably gives people the most problems when it comes to making a budget is that a lot of expense don't occur on a monthly basis. Homeowners insurance and property taxes are often due once a year. Auto insurance is usually due every six months. Auto maintenance fees are often unpredictable, but the oil changes and tires are fairly predictable.
You might not buy clothing every month, but if you keep track of your spending you'll soon figure out roughly how much you spend per year for new clothing. For the expenses that don't happen every month, just calculate how much you spend on those categories each year and divide by twelve. This will give you a monthly amount that you can budget. If you save that amount every month you'll have the cash to pay those bills when the time arrives.
Some financial experts even suggest opening a separate bank account for these types of expenses. You might not feel that is necessary, but you'll want to keep track of these categories with either a notebook or a spreadsheet.
Never Get Angry or Give Up
The last thing to remember is that you shouldn't get upset if you can't stay within the budget the first month. It takes a while to get the budget adjusted to match what you need to buy. Just keep making a little progress each month and you'll be much better off than those who follow no budget at all.
About the Author:
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the cash advance loans / cash advance loan industry. To learn more about these payday loan products, we recommend reading the following overview of the cash advance concept. Learn more at: http://www.fastcash4all.net/
Read more Articles written by Fred Vanhoosen.
Online Gambling Addiction - The Facts And Solutions
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Skyler Ace
Online gambling is great fun. Many people across the globe indulge in it and love to win. It is considered as a recreation and gambling enthusiasts love to take out time from their work and other activities to enjoy their favorite. Age group is no barrier. From adults to children, the old and teenagers love to sit conveniently at home and enjoy the excitement of playing casino online.
However, what most people are not aware about is the problem that's associated with gambling. There are several problems that can arise such as addiction; low self esteem, loss of money and a lot more.
One of the most common problems associated with online gambling is addiction. Yes, gambling can lead to addiction that can be categorized in to the following:
Pathological gambling
Compulsive gambling
Some people have a stigma attached to gambling resulting in to problems. However, it is very important to identify it as an emotional problem so as to over come the stigma.
Yes, problem gambling or online gambling addiction is similar to any type of emotional problem. Hence, it is not advisable to ignore it hoping it to go away on its own.
There are several symptoms of problem gambling that help you recognize addiction in an individual. Mentioned below are the symptoms you need to look for in an individual suffering from Online gambling addiction. These symptoms may not appear to be directly related to gambling in the beginning. However, as the problem tends to worsen, you would start to observe relation between these symptoms:
Symptoms of Online gambling addiction:
Excessive borrowing
Secretive behavior
Bills going unpaid
Stealing
Selling off valued personal possessions to assist gambling.
Depression
Defensiveness about gambling
Excess time spent on gambling
Excess money spent on gambling
In case, you observe any of the above-mentioned symptoms it is important to seek professional advice before it is too late. Another crucial thing to do is to carefully note down certain unusual habits such as lying about hiding gambling habits, refusing to talk about gambling, frequent and obsessive thoughts related to gambling, preferring gambling as a favorite activity in social or family activities and excess hope of winning to change financial situation etc.
In order to over come the problem of Online gambling addiction, it is necessary to understand it thoroughly. There are four phases of Online gambling addiction. People with this problem tend to go through these four phases. An individual starts gambling as a recreational activity then reach to a stage of problem gambling and finally to addiction to gambling. Each phase of problem gambling may last from a few months to years.
The four phases of Internet gambling addiction:
a) Winning phase:
This phase usually begins from a huge win. Thereafter, it leads to a lot of excitement and optimism related to online gambling. People start believing that they possess a special talent and can win all the games further. This makes them spend a lot of time on gambling.
b) Losing phase:
Problem gambles tend to get preoccupied with online gambling. This leads to secret gambling, gambling alone and other problem such as gambling alone, skipping work, borrowing money, lying to family and a lot of defaults on debts. They also start playing even after continues loss in order to win back the lost money.
c) Desperation phase:
Online gambling addiction leads to losing all control over their gambling. People do feel guilty about their gambling behavior but are unable to do anything. This results in stealing and cheating for money.
d) Hopeless phase:
This is the fourth and final phase of problem gambling. Here, problem gamblers tend to hit the peak and stop caring about what people will say. They do not care about the consequences and may also end up abusing alcohol and drugs in order to numb the pain. Many people also tend to attempt suicide.
Online gambling is fun and a great recreational sport only if not taken too seriously. One needs to understand the difference between fun and addiction.
About the Author:
This article was written by gambling pro Skyler Ace. Warning: Do Not Gamble Another Dollar Online Until You Read This. Free Consumer Awareness Guide Reveals The Seven Deadly Mistakes All Gamblers Make: http://www.jobsource20-23.com/casclok.html Also feel free to visit our gambling blog for tons of winning tips: http://onlinegambling23.blogspot.com/
Read more of Skyler Ace's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Skyler Ace
Online gambling is great fun. Many people across the globe indulge in it and love to win. It is considered as a recreation and gambling enthusiasts love to take out time from their work and other activities to enjoy their favorite. Age group is no barrier. From adults to children, the old and teenagers love to sit conveniently at home and enjoy the excitement of playing casino online.
However, what most people are not aware about is the problem that's associated with gambling. There are several problems that can arise such as addiction; low self esteem, loss of money and a lot more.
One of the most common problems associated with online gambling is addiction. Yes, gambling can lead to addiction that can be categorized in to the following:
Some people have a stigma attached to gambling resulting in to problems. However, it is very important to identify it as an emotional problem so as to over come the stigma.
Yes, problem gambling or online gambling addiction is similar to any type of emotional problem. Hence, it is not advisable to ignore it hoping it to go away on its own.
There are several symptoms of problem gambling that help you recognize addiction in an individual. Mentioned below are the symptoms you need to look for in an individual suffering from Online gambling addiction. These symptoms may not appear to be directly related to gambling in the beginning. However, as the problem tends to worsen, you would start to observe relation between these symptoms:
Symptoms of Online gambling addiction:
In case, you observe any of the above-mentioned symptoms it is important to seek professional advice before it is too late. Another crucial thing to do is to carefully note down certain unusual habits such as lying about hiding gambling habits, refusing to talk about gambling, frequent and obsessive thoughts related to gambling, preferring gambling as a favorite activity in social or family activities and excess hope of winning to change financial situation etc.
In order to over come the problem of Online gambling addiction, it is necessary to understand it thoroughly. There are four phases of Online gambling addiction. People with this problem tend to go through these four phases. An individual starts gambling as a recreational activity then reach to a stage of problem gambling and finally to addiction to gambling. Each phase of problem gambling may last from a few months to years.
The four phases of Internet gambling addiction:
a) Winning phase:
This phase usually begins from a huge win. Thereafter, it leads to a lot of excitement and optimism related to online gambling. People start believing that they possess a special talent and can win all the games further. This makes them spend a lot of time on gambling.
b) Losing phase:
Problem gambles tend to get preoccupied with online gambling. This leads to secret gambling, gambling alone and other problem such as gambling alone, skipping work, borrowing money, lying to family and a lot of defaults on debts. They also start playing even after continues loss in order to win back the lost money.
c) Desperation phase:
Online gambling addiction leads to losing all control over their gambling. People do feel guilty about their gambling behavior but are unable to do anything. This results in stealing and cheating for money.
d) Hopeless phase:
This is the fourth and final phase of problem gambling. Here, problem gamblers tend to hit the peak and stop caring about what people will say. They do not care about the consequences and may also end up abusing alcohol and drugs in order to numb the pain. Many people also tend to attempt suicide.
Online gambling is fun and a great recreational sport only if not taken too seriously. One needs to understand the difference between fun and addiction.
About the Author:
This article was written by gambling pro Skyler Ace. Warning: Do Not Gamble Another Dollar Online Until You Read This. Free Consumer Awareness Guide Reveals The Seven Deadly Mistakes All Gamblers Make: http://www.jobsource20-23.com/casclok.html Also feel free to visit our gambling blog for tons of winning tips: http://onlinegambling23.blogspot.com/
Read more of Skyler Ace's articles.
The Roller Coaster Of Link Popularity
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2007-2009 Bill Platt
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intent purposes, building link popularity will be an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there is not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/), then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/) interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flex as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007)
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has offered article distribution services at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ since 2001. If you are more interested in performanced based SEO services, then Bill's team can help you with that as well. If you have questions that only Bill can answer, give him a call at (405) 385-7038, between 9am-6pm CST, Monday through Friday.
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Copyright © 2007-2009 Bill Platt
Most webmasters are in a constant state of confusion about how to create link popularity and how to rank well in the search engine results. Three of the top four search engines, Google, Yahoo and MSN calculate link popularity as one part of their search algorithms. So, for all intent purposes, building link popularity will be an important part of getting recognition and strong placement in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
Link popularity, in essence, is a count of how many web pages point to one of your web pages.
The Google PageRank Version of Link Popularity
PageRank (PR) is a Google tool that expands on the simplest link popularity calculation. PageRank is a value given to every web page on the Internet, with 12 possible rankings.
* The Gray Bar in the PageRank tool indicates that a web page has not been added to the Google PageRank database, or Google has banned the website. (If any page on a particular domain has its own PageRank, or if any pages are shown in the Google search results when someone searches "site:www.yourdomainurl.com", then the website in question has not been banned by Google.)
* PR0 to PR10. PR0 indicates that the web page has been added to the Google database, but it does not yet have any PageRank assigned to it, generally because there is not any PR value pages that link to it at this time.
If one is tracking PageRank from the Google toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/), then it needs to be understood that the database that stores PageRank values is only updated about once every 3-4 months.
While Google does use links to a web page to determine the web page's PR value, it is impossible these days to utilize Google to find what links are directed to your pages. Even the Google webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/) interface will not show you all of the links Google is counting towards your own Link Popularity or PR value.
Playing Follow-The-Leader
In earlier years, Yahoo and MSN did not employ a link popularity calculation in their search algorithms. But, when one competitor is thoroughly kicking their competition, then the underdog competitor must respond, if they have any desire to remain relevant.
So, after years of lagging behind the Google powerhouse, Yahoo and MSN decided it was time to work a link popularity calculation into their search algorithms.
Both Yahoo and MSN are still struggling to find a way to retake some market share from Google. Even with Yahoo's Project Panama rollout and MSN's Live Search rollout, both are still finding Google to be a difficult 800-pound gorilla to conquer.
Building Link Popularity
In essence, even if search engines did not include link popularity as a portion of their ranking procedures, one would still want to develop links to his or her websites.
Links are the roadways that keep Internet users moving from one website to another. Before the search engines became the all-powerful providers of Internet traffic, the role of Internet promotion was to establish links on pages where a website's target audience is already going.
The goal of course is to get the person reading the page to click the link to the target website. With every visitor to a website being a potential customer, it makes good sense to get as many visitors to the website as possible, and that requires getting as many links as possible pointing to a website.
Google PageRank 101
Since Google drives the largest portion of search traffic on the Internet, I am only going to focus on their link popularity system.
All web pages on the Internet have been assigned a PageRank value by Google, according to the value of the web pages that link to them. This number is always in flex as links are made, lost or change value.
In short, the pages linking to your pages have their own Google PageRank value, according to who links to them, and the value of the pages that are linking to their web page. As the web pages linking to your web pages gain value, then your pages will also gain value in the Google PageRank algorithms.
As a Webmaster, it should be your goal to create as many links to your website, as you can muster. Eventually, most of the web pages with real value will gain their own PageRank, and they will pass some of their PR value to your web pages.
But, I Tried That Once...
Whatever link building strategy one might recommend, there will be someone else saying, "But, I tried that once and it did not work." Some may go a bit further and say that they tried it once and received initial good results in Google's SERP's, but then those results shortly dissipated and the previous high placement in Google evaporated.
A common story I hear is that "we tried" a specific link building process. Shortly after doing so, our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results. These people often conclude that the link building process used was not effective.
They make this statement because they do not understand the inner-workings of what is happening to their link popularity and search engine placements.
Several Factors Drive the Roller Coaster
With press releases, it is easy to comprehend the how and why of the climb and fall. Press Releases are treated as news stories, and as such, they are more important in real time than they will be in a month or so. That is why press releases can generate big results quickly, and it also explains why those results quickly fade away.
With article marketing, it is common for a new article placement to help any website mentioned within the article and its accompanying resource box (about the author information) to rise in the search rankings early, then to drop away for a time, and perhaps rise in value again later.
Let me explain how this process works, and it will make more sense to you.
Google's Main Index and Supplemental Listings
In order for the referenced website to get the PageRank it needs to climb in the search results, the web pages linking to it must have their own PageRank. As a single web page gains in link popularity and PageRank, the web page will also improve in the search results.
When a new article is placed for the first time, it is always placed on a "brand new" page on the Internet. New pages on the Internet, by their very nature, do not have any external links pointing to them and therefore, they do not have any established PageRank.
In recognition of this "brand new" status, Google is giving a pass to those new web pages. As far as the Google algorithm is concerned, these "brand new" pages might have value, but that value cannot yet be determined based on the number of links pointing to the page.
At the end of Google's "pass window", Google checks to see if this new page has developed any of its own inbound links and PageRank value. If the new web page has not developed any value of its own after a window of 30-45 days, then the new page will be moved from Google's main index to Google's Supplemental listings. If the new page has developed PageRank, then the page will remain in Google's main index.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Guy, "Having urls in the supplemental results doesn't mean that you have some sort of penalty at all; the main determinant of whether a url is in our main web index or in the supplemental index is PageRank." (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/infrastructure-status-january-2007)
Many web pages that have slipped into the Supplement listings will gain their own PageRank over the long term, and as such, those pages may return to Google's main index in the future. If articles are valuable resources to their readers, then many placements of those articles will be given their own inbound links and therefore PageRank, but it takes time.
As a general rule, it appears that the average web page will gain a measure of PageRank somewhere in the range of 90 to 180 days from the day the web page was created. While not all pages will receive inbound links and PageRank, enough of them do to make the whole process worthwhile.
You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play
As a Webmaster, your website will never gain link popularity if you do not take actions to increase the number of links pointing to your website. If the web page never accrues any link popularity, it will not gain PageRank, and it will not rise in the search engine rankings.
You are in the driver's seat, so if you fail to accomplish link popularity and search placement, then it will have been the fault of your inaction.
Do you remember my sample scenario above, "Shortly after (completing a link building campaign), our website went from result 300 in Google's results to page two or three of the search results. Then a month later, our website dropped to around 100 in the search results as the link page slipped into Google's Supplemental results."
These people frequently conclude that a specific link building activity produced no results, because they did not stay on page two or three of the results. Surprisingly, these people tell us that they started out at #300 and ended up at #100, and yet they claim that the process did not work in their case. How so? They climbed 200 places in the search results. How is that an ineffective link building campaign?
So, the next time you hear someone crying about the link popularity roller coaster, think back on this article, and you might be able to help him or her to clear the fog of confusion.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has offered article distribution services at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ since 2001. If you are more interested in performanced based SEO services, then Bill's team can help you with that as well. If you have questions that only Bill can answer, give him a call at (405) 385-7038, between 9am-6pm CST, Monday through Friday.
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Just Think
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Joyce C. Lock
If you are a salesperson (not only because it is your job but, you actually happen to be good at it), just think. How many sales did you make last year? Last month? Last week? A lot? Probably, you would have sold more in a better economy. Though still, you likely sold way more than you can readily remember. Was that 100 customers? 1,000? 100,000? More?
Imagine if you were to use that same great charm to sell Jesus? Wow, what an impact!!! Now, multiply that by a few years and that is really a lot of changed lives!!!
Ok, so maybe you are not a salesperson. How are you at advertising? Isn't it fun to continually have more ideas of ways to reach just one more customer and often thousands!? Just think how the world would view differently if you were to use all that creativity to say ... advertise God.
Can't you just see it, now, a neon light in every public restroom? Oh, we could have so much fun! Soon, the idea would catch on and God's name would be on every pair of tennis shoes, on every bath robe. There is no place people couldn't go without being reminded of God and, wherever He's included, that is that much less room for Satan.
Is that too active for you? Ok, let us say you are a writer, an artist, a musician. You have wares to share, so do it. If you haven't been discovered already, odds are that you are not going to win the Mr. or Miss America pageant by keeping your gift hidden. Just think of the thousands and hundred thousands your gift could already be ministering to. And, when you give to God, He gives you more! Why not go for the world title!?
What is your gift? I am about certain that you have at least one. So, your health isn't cooperating. That is pretty common, these days. In fact, the devil must get his jollies at the ways he convinces us that we can not serve. Are you not about tired of it, too?
You do have a telephone, don't you? How about a computer? And, there is, still, the old fashioned snail mail. Ask God to show you something you can do. That will teach the old fart a lesson!
If you use the gift God gives you, He will give you another one, too! Then, when you use both gifts for the Lord, He will double it again, and again! There is no longer any reason to whine about how others are more gifted than you. Get going! One gift is a good place to start; at just your speed. How do you think I ended up with so many different gifts!? It really works!
And, do you know what else? Now, this is really cool! If you make just one person smile, they will feel happier and will, in turn, make at least a couple more people smile. Then, you have two new people smiling who will, in turn, make two more people smile. You started with one smile, which was yours. And now, that seed has already multiplied seven times, when all you did was smile!
The same is true in sharing joys of the Lord. Each time you minister to someone, they will find opportunity to share it again. It's kind of like the Energizer bunny. It keeps going and going. Some seed multiplies a little, some up to a hundred fold. It could even be more!
Thank God that we don't have to count how much our seed gets multiplied. All we have to do is offer the seed and God will take it from there.
I, often, wonder if the person who led Billy Graham to the Lord had any idea what they had done. One seed multiplied more times than anyone but God can count. Have you ever thought to realize it could be your seed that will reach the next Billy Graham?
Just think of all the good we could accomplish were we to quit letting others tell us that we can't. Why, we could change the world ... if we would just think.
About the Author:
Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, columnist, and Senior Writer for the Storytime Tapestry Newsletter. Her latest adventures include her new website Glimpses of God http://iam.homewithGod.com/glimpsesofgod/ unveiling mysteries via scriptural methods of Bible study. Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other. Find fresh new articles, on a variety of topics, at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/recent/200/index.html
Read more Articles written by Joyce C. Lock.
Copyright © 2009 Joyce C. Lock
If you are a salesperson (not only because it is your job but, you actually happen to be good at it), just think. How many sales did you make last year? Last month? Last week? A lot? Probably, you would have sold more in a better economy. Though still, you likely sold way more than you can readily remember. Was that 100 customers? 1,000? 100,000? More?
Imagine if you were to use that same great charm to sell Jesus? Wow, what an impact!!! Now, multiply that by a few years and that is really a lot of changed lives!!!
Ok, so maybe you are not a salesperson. How are you at advertising? Isn't it fun to continually have more ideas of ways to reach just one more customer and often thousands!? Just think how the world would view differently if you were to use all that creativity to say ... advertise God.
Can't you just see it, now, a neon light in every public restroom? Oh, we could have so much fun! Soon, the idea would catch on and God's name would be on every pair of tennis shoes, on every bath robe. There is no place people couldn't go without being reminded of God and, wherever He's included, that is that much less room for Satan.
Is that too active for you? Ok, let us say you are a writer, an artist, a musician. You have wares to share, so do it. If you haven't been discovered already, odds are that you are not going to win the Mr. or Miss America pageant by keeping your gift hidden. Just think of the thousands and hundred thousands your gift could already be ministering to. And, when you give to God, He gives you more! Why not go for the world title!?
What is your gift? I am about certain that you have at least one. So, your health isn't cooperating. That is pretty common, these days. In fact, the devil must get his jollies at the ways he convinces us that we can not serve. Are you not about tired of it, too?
You do have a telephone, don't you? How about a computer? And, there is, still, the old fashioned snail mail. Ask God to show you something you can do. That will teach the old fart a lesson!
If you use the gift God gives you, He will give you another one, too! Then, when you use both gifts for the Lord, He will double it again, and again! There is no longer any reason to whine about how others are more gifted than you. Get going! One gift is a good place to start; at just your speed. How do you think I ended up with so many different gifts!? It really works!
And, do you know what else? Now, this is really cool! If you make just one person smile, they will feel happier and will, in turn, make at least a couple more people smile. Then, you have two new people smiling who will, in turn, make two more people smile. You started with one smile, which was yours. And now, that seed has already multiplied seven times, when all you did was smile!
The same is true in sharing joys of the Lord. Each time you minister to someone, they will find opportunity to share it again. It's kind of like the Energizer bunny. It keeps going and going. Some seed multiplies a little, some up to a hundred fold. It could even be more!
Thank God that we don't have to count how much our seed gets multiplied. All we have to do is offer the seed and God will take it from there.
I, often, wonder if the person who led Billy Graham to the Lord had any idea what they had done. One seed multiplied more times than anyone but God can count. Have you ever thought to realize it could be your seed that will reach the next Billy Graham?
Just think of all the good we could accomplish were we to quit letting others tell us that we can't. Why, we could change the world ... if we would just think.
About the Author:
Joyce C. Lock is a published author, poet, columnist, and Senior Writer for the Storytime Tapestry Newsletter. Her latest adventures include her new website Glimpses of God http://iam.homewithGod.com/glimpsesofgod/ unveiling mysteries via scriptural methods of Bible study. Joyce's writings encourage us in our relationship with God and each other. Find fresh new articles, on a variety of topics, at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/recent/200/index.html
Read more Articles written by Joyce C. Lock.
Coop Advertising Enables Advertisers To Get More Promotion With Fewer Dollars
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Trey Pennewell
Co-op advertising has been around for as long as there has been print advertising, and it continues strong even in today's digital world of television and online advertising. Read this article to learn more about cooperative advertising and how you can use it to accelerate the growth of your offline or online business.
Examples Of Modern Coop Advertising
Co-op advertising is a standard advertising practice utilized by manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers or distributors to get their products highlighted in regional and local advertising.
Probably the most common form of Coop Advertising that you will be personally familiar is with amusement park advertising. Nearly every amusement park across the country does a lot of coop advertising campaigns with the soft drink companies or snack food companies.
If you think about the local amusement park in your part of the country, you will realize that the amusement park in your area frequently suggests that you can save $5 on the ticket price of the park - IF you bring in a Coca-Cola or Pepsi can.
The soft drink companies enjoy the endorsement of their products by the amusement park companies and the amusement companies get extra special pricing on product purchases. But more importantly, since the advertising specifically mentions both the amusement park and the soft drink product, the soft drink company will help offset the cost of the advertising campaign by jointly paying for the advertising with the amusement park company.
Grocery Store ads are another great example of co-op advertising at work. Whenever you open the grocery store ad in your local newspaper and see specific name-brand products featured in the ad, chances are very good that the manufacturer paid part of the cost of the newspaper advertisement or insert to have its product featured in the ad by name.
Extend Your Advertising Reach
As a small business owner, one of the most important keys to success will be the advertising put forward to promote your business. But when looking at the real cost of some advertising, it might seem that your business does not have enough money available to bring the advertisements to life.
But, if you take the time and make the effort to discover the scope of available coop advertising, you will soon realize that you can frequently get up to half of your advertising bill paid by third-party companies.
Honestly - manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers and distributors set aside billions of dollars every year to help promote their products through coop advertising programs. In fact, depending on the coop advertiser, funds are available for television, radio, print, and online advertising, up to and including display listings in phone directories.
Think about your local tire store. Often times, the tire store will highlight a specific "brand" of tires in its advertising, such as Firestone, Michelin or another brand. The tire company benefits handsomely in brand recognition and overall sales of their product line, when the local tire shops highlight its brand over another in its local advertising.
If you want to explore the multitude of available opportunities in coop advertising, we recommend "The Co-op Advertising Programs Sourcebook (tm)", which is the definitive source of (4,000+) companies that have co-op advertising programs available. At $619, the cost is a bit on the high side, but a single advertising co-op deal could easily compensate you for the cost of this book, which can be found at: http://www.co-opsourcebook.com
How Co-op Advertising Works
As with any type of advertising, there are always advantages and disadvantages in using it.
The advantages of coop advertising include:
You can use the coop money to either reduce the cost of your advertising or to extend the amount of advertising you can employ for the promotion of your business.
You can use the coop money to improve the quality or design of your advertising - for example, full-color ads or inserts in your local newspaper.
You can extend your reach and advertise in mediums that you may never have considered previously, such as telephone directories or television ads.
The disadvantages of coop advertising include:
Often, the co-op advertiser will have certain restrictions that must be met in order for you to qualify for the co-op money. For example, you might have to restrict your advertisement to their product only, or you might have to use their creative copy in your display advertising.
You may find time restrictions in relation to the advertising window in which the co-op advertiser might be willing to pay. For example, the coop advertiser may only support ads in the Sunday newspaper, but not mid-week advertising.
Often, you will need to pay for the advertising in advance and be reimbursed by the co-op advertiser for their portion of the advertising cost at a later date. Many advertising co-op programs require that you send them a copy of the print advertising for verification, before they will issue a check for their portion of your advertising bill.
Even with the disadvantages associated with co-op advertising, the disadvantages are usually so small as to make them non-consequential in your decision to use co-op advertising. After all, if the other guy is paying up to half of your advertising bill, then the other guy's restrictions seem a small price to pay to have him help you advertise your business.
Online Co-op Advertising
Offline businesses have been slow to adopt many online advertising methods, simply because it is more difficult for them to measure the direct impact of their advertising dollars.
One could speculate that perhaps I should be able to get some co-op advertising dollars for having written this article, since I mentioned Firestone and Michelin tires, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola by name. But the truth is that co-op advertising has not been available on scale in the article marketing industry until just recently.
With the recent launch of http://www.SponsorArticles.com a system that provides a method to join advertisers in co-op article marketing has been made possible.
The system put forward by Sponsor Articles is unique in that it permits article writers to submit articles for free, and then it permits Sponsors to bid for the right to sponsor the cost of article distribution through several article distribution companies, in exchange for shared advertising within the articles' resource box.
To put this in perspective, a small business owner who writes articles for the promotion of his or her website will submit articles to the system, knowing full well that a sponsor can add a link to the resource box, in exchange for paying the costs associated with the mass distribution of the article.
As with any co-op advertising system, costs are shared between two advertisers. In the case of the Sponsor Articles system, the small business owner will cover the time or cost investment of creating an article to promote his or her small business. And then the Article Sponsor will cover the costs of distributing the article through a number of article distribution services.
Both parties will benefit from the expanded reach of the article, with links in the resource box that point to their respective websites.
In Conclusion
Co-op advertising is alive and well for Main Street businesses, and there are programs available online that brings the power of co-op advertising to the online marketing environment as well.
For those who participate in co-op advertising, the process offers a powerful win for both parties. Both parties are able to double their advertising exposure with the same amount of advertising budget.
If you have never participated in a co-op advertising campaign before, you at least owe it to your business to explore the possibility. Some of the most successful businesses on the planet have a co-op advertising budget in place, and that available money could help accelerate the growth of your business as well.
Author's Note: This article originally published here: http://article-blog.thephantomwriters.com/coop-advertising/2009/03/31/
About the Author:
Trey Pennewell has been involved in the SEO and article marketing industries since 2005. You can learn more about pay for performance SEO at http://www.linksandtraffic.com/ or article marketing at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/
Read more Articles written by Trey Pennewell.
Copyright © 2009 Trey Pennewell
Co-op advertising has been around for as long as there has been print advertising, and it continues strong even in today's digital world of television and online advertising. Read this article to learn more about cooperative advertising and how you can use it to accelerate the growth of your offline or online business.
Examples Of Modern Coop Advertising
Co-op advertising is a standard advertising practice utilized by manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers or distributors to get their products highlighted in regional and local advertising.
Probably the most common form of Coop Advertising that you will be personally familiar is with amusement park advertising. Nearly every amusement park across the country does a lot of coop advertising campaigns with the soft drink companies or snack food companies.
If you think about the local amusement park in your part of the country, you will realize that the amusement park in your area frequently suggests that you can save $5 on the ticket price of the park - IF you bring in a Coca-Cola or Pepsi can.
The soft drink companies enjoy the endorsement of their products by the amusement park companies and the amusement companies get extra special pricing on product purchases. But more importantly, since the advertising specifically mentions both the amusement park and the soft drink product, the soft drink company will help offset the cost of the advertising campaign by jointly paying for the advertising with the amusement park company.
Grocery Store ads are another great example of co-op advertising at work. Whenever you open the grocery store ad in your local newspaper and see specific name-brand products featured in the ad, chances are very good that the manufacturer paid part of the cost of the newspaper advertisement or insert to have its product featured in the ad by name.
Extend Your Advertising Reach
As a small business owner, one of the most important keys to success will be the advertising put forward to promote your business. But when looking at the real cost of some advertising, it might seem that your business does not have enough money available to bring the advertisements to life.
But, if you take the time and make the effort to discover the scope of available coop advertising, you will soon realize that you can frequently get up to half of your advertising bill paid by third-party companies.
Honestly - manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers and distributors set aside billions of dollars every year to help promote their products through coop advertising programs. In fact, depending on the coop advertiser, funds are available for television, radio, print, and online advertising, up to and including display listings in phone directories.
Think about your local tire store. Often times, the tire store will highlight a specific "brand" of tires in its advertising, such as Firestone, Michelin or another brand. The tire company benefits handsomely in brand recognition and overall sales of their product line, when the local tire shops highlight its brand over another in its local advertising.
If you want to explore the multitude of available opportunities in coop advertising, we recommend "The Co-op Advertising Programs Sourcebook (tm)", which is the definitive source of (4,000+) companies that have co-op advertising programs available. At $619, the cost is a bit on the high side, but a single advertising co-op deal could easily compensate you for the cost of this book, which can be found at: http://www.co-opsourcebook.com
How Co-op Advertising Works
As with any type of advertising, there are always advantages and disadvantages in using it.
The advantages of coop advertising include:
The disadvantages of coop advertising include:
Even with the disadvantages associated with co-op advertising, the disadvantages are usually so small as to make them non-consequential in your decision to use co-op advertising. After all, if the other guy is paying up to half of your advertising bill, then the other guy's restrictions seem a small price to pay to have him help you advertise your business.
Online Co-op Advertising
Offline businesses have been slow to adopt many online advertising methods, simply because it is more difficult for them to measure the direct impact of their advertising dollars.
One could speculate that perhaps I should be able to get some co-op advertising dollars for having written this article, since I mentioned Firestone and Michelin tires, and Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola by name. But the truth is that co-op advertising has not been available on scale in the article marketing industry until just recently.
With the recent launch of http://www.SponsorArticles.com a system that provides a method to join advertisers in co-op article marketing has been made possible.
The system put forward by Sponsor Articles is unique in that it permits article writers to submit articles for free, and then it permits Sponsors to bid for the right to sponsor the cost of article distribution through several article distribution companies, in exchange for shared advertising within the articles' resource box.
To put this in perspective, a small business owner who writes articles for the promotion of his or her website will submit articles to the system, knowing full well that a sponsor can add a link to the resource box, in exchange for paying the costs associated with the mass distribution of the article.
As with any co-op advertising system, costs are shared between two advertisers. In the case of the Sponsor Articles system, the small business owner will cover the time or cost investment of creating an article to promote his or her small business. And then the Article Sponsor will cover the costs of distributing the article through a number of article distribution services.
Both parties will benefit from the expanded reach of the article, with links in the resource box that point to their respective websites.
In Conclusion
Co-op advertising is alive and well for Main Street businesses, and there are programs available online that brings the power of co-op advertising to the online marketing environment as well.
For those who participate in co-op advertising, the process offers a powerful win for both parties. Both parties are able to double their advertising exposure with the same amount of advertising budget.
If you have never participated in a co-op advertising campaign before, you at least owe it to your business to explore the possibility. Some of the most successful businesses on the planet have a co-op advertising budget in place, and that available money could help accelerate the growth of your business as well.
Author's Note: This article originally published here: http://article-blog.thephantomwriters.com/coop-advertising/2009/03/31/
About the Author:
Trey Pennewell has been involved in the SEO and article marketing industries since 2005. You can learn more about pay for performance SEO at http://www.linksandtraffic.com/ or article marketing at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/
Read more Articles written by Trey Pennewell.
Will Global Financial Crisis Result in Benefits to Expired Domain Market?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
The year 2009 seems to be a year of uncertainties and imponderables. Now that this year is in front of us, most people are under tremendous tension and stress with looming job losses and depreciation of cash assets. With so much doubts lingering about their abilities to make a decent living, people may start looking for alternative sources of income that is just enough to sustain their living. When the money deposits are no safer in a bank, how does an investor plan to keep his or her money? It might be quite difficult for anyone to protect their investments from emerging inflation as well as big companies facing bankruptcy.
There is one possible answer to all these emerging problems. Expired domain names could be the real answer for today's investment problems. You can quote a number of reasons for this possibility:
Expired domains are a big global community. Most general impression is that internet can never fall because of its true universal appeal and makeup. In spite of global recession, internet is growing at a satisfactory pace that is likely to remain so for the next decade or so.
Expired domains are stable and this unique factor makes it a very good candidate for a lucrative business.
Domain names expiring are immune from economic recession and pending debts.
Expired domain is fit enough to face any unstable economic situations.
Expired domains are those profitable virtual assets that are intangible and inexpensive to own and manage
The cost to hold your expired domain is very less when compared to other businesses
The growth potential for expired domains is still very good though the big hype around it is coming down over the years.
Internet is still the cheapest and cost effective medium that anyone can access very easily. Domains provide an easy way for people to acquire knowledge and perform business activities.
Expired domains provide a perfect opportunity to maintain them as hedge; this unique factor makes them as viable instruments of profitability.
In spite of visible threats like cyber terror, cyber attacks, virus threats and spam, expired domain business remains the most desirable business in the world of internet commerce. The average price for domain registration is coming down very drastically while the cost of owning a very good expired domain seems to be somewhat constant. Internet is a very stable medium and people still believe that it will weather and encounter any type of problems including global recession.
In an unstable period like today, the likelihood of expired domain buyers holding on to the old domains and buying news ones at the same time, may increase at an astonishing pace. People who saw the age-old days of dot com collapse are too wise to part with their precious expired domains. As a result, domains expiring are still the preferred mode of investment for thousands of domain traders; most of them are still doing their business as if nothing serious is happening around them!
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more of John Khu's articles.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
The year 2009 seems to be a year of uncertainties and imponderables. Now that this year is in front of us, most people are under tremendous tension and stress with looming job losses and depreciation of cash assets. With so much doubts lingering about their abilities to make a decent living, people may start looking for alternative sources of income that is just enough to sustain their living. When the money deposits are no safer in a bank, how does an investor plan to keep his or her money? It might be quite difficult for anyone to protect their investments from emerging inflation as well as big companies facing bankruptcy.
There is one possible answer to all these emerging problems. Expired domain names could be the real answer for today's investment problems. You can quote a number of reasons for this possibility:
Expired domains provide a perfect opportunity to maintain them as hedge; this unique factor makes them as viable instruments of profitability.
In spite of visible threats like cyber terror, cyber attacks, virus threats and spam, expired domain business remains the most desirable business in the world of internet commerce. The average price for domain registration is coming down very drastically while the cost of owning a very good expired domain seems to be somewhat constant. Internet is a very stable medium and people still believe that it will weather and encounter any type of problems including global recession.
In an unstable period like today, the likelihood of expired domain buyers holding on to the old domains and buying news ones at the same time, may increase at an astonishing pace. People who saw the age-old days of dot com collapse are too wise to part with their precious expired domains. As a result, domains expiring are still the preferred mode of investment for thousands of domain traders; most of them are still doing their business as if nothing serious is happening around them!
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more of John Khu's articles.
Schmooze To Sell
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Paul Barton
Schmooze.
Why schmooze? Because schmoozing is how to sell.
To schmooze, according to one dictionary definition, is to: Talk casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or to make a social connection.
In the world of selling or business, you could translate that definition this way.
SCHMOOZE: CRITICAL 1ST STEP IN MAKING SALES
To schmooze is a critical first step in making a sale or getting a referral.
Why is schmoozing critical?
Because it's a proven fact people prefer to buy from and do business with people they know, like and trust.
And schmoozing (conversation and small talk) is the main way to accomplish this.
CONVERSATION PAVES THE WAY
That's because conversation and small talk pave the way to creating rapport and building a relationship.
Rapport and relationships are often built by establishing "common ground" with the customer -- about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the product or service you're trying to sell.
A good case in point was the experience of a coaching client of mine, a home improvements salesman.
SCHMOOZING SALESMAN SUCCEEDS
He made a sales call on a homeowner to sell roofing and siding.
It turned out the homeowner had previous sales calls from other companies seeking to sell him roofing and siding.
Since the salesman did not know the homeowner, he decided to break the ice with a compliment to the homeowner about his landscaping . . . a subject the salesman, himself, was interested in.
The customer was delighted . . . both by the compliment and the fact the salesman was into landscaping, too.
They proceeded to talk about landscaping for the next 30 minutes, never mentioning the roofing and siding -- the purpose of the sales call.
DEALING WITH A FRIEND, NOT A SALESMAN
When the salesman introduced that subject, the homeowner was no longer dealing with just a salesman.
No, the customer was now dealing with a human being he had something in common with.
He was dealing with someone he knew, someone he liked, someone with whom he had rapport.
The result:
The homeowner gladly signed the order on the spot -- an order costing $7,000 more than he had originally planned to spend.
Schmoozing worked for this salesman.
PRACTICING WHAT I PREACH
It has also worked for me -- many times.
One of the most memorable came when I was attempting to sell my marketing consulting services to a manager from a major corporation.
I had not known him, so I asked him to lunch . . . just a get-acquainted lunch because I had no particular project or service in mind since I knew nothing about his needs.
At lunch, we chatted for about an hour and quickly established a common ground -- because he was a marketer, too, and, I found, he was a golfer, like I am.
The result: He did not have a current need for my services, so no sale resulted . . . at least not then. However, a month later I got a call from him and he told me a colleague of his out of state might be able to use my services.
The result: Over the next year, I did $50,000 worth of business with his colleague, and later, did several thousand dollars worth of business with him, too.
All because I took the trouble to schmooze.
Sometimes in the business world, you're not necessarily trying to make a sale, but, rather, gain the cooperation of someone.
One of the best examples of the power of schmoozing in this area comes from a story in a national business publication about an attempt to locate and close down illegal moonshine stills in Kentucky.
The Federal government had sent in a series of agents, but could get no information from the locals to help them locate the stills.
THE PERSUASIVE PEDDLER
At length, they decided to send in an agent in disguise as a fish peddler, asking him to make friends with the locals by schmoozing with them at every opportunity.
In short order, the agent had gathered information from the locals leading to the closing of more than 100 stills.
The moral of this story?
Your ability to make conversation -- to schmooze -- to build rapport and relationships with people -- is one of your most powerful selling tools.
So, when you're selling, think of it this way:
Schmooze or lose.
About the Author:
Copyright (c) 2009 Paul Barton
Paul Barton is a marketing consultant and conversation coach, and author of several books, including: How To Be GREAT!!! In Conversation, How To Build Rapport And Relationships and How To Make People WANT!!! To Buy From You.
http://www.howtomakeconversation.com/
Read more Articles written by Paul Barton.
Copyright © 2009 Paul Barton
Schmooze.
Why schmooze? Because schmoozing is how to sell.
To schmooze, according to one dictionary definition, is to: Talk casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or to make a social connection.
In the world of selling or business, you could translate that definition this way.
SCHMOOZE: CRITICAL 1ST STEP IN MAKING SALES
To schmooze is a critical first step in making a sale or getting a referral.
Why is schmoozing critical?
Because it's a proven fact people prefer to buy from and do business with people they know, like and trust.
And schmoozing (conversation and small talk) is the main way to accomplish this.
CONVERSATION PAVES THE WAY
That's because conversation and small talk pave the way to creating rapport and building a relationship.
Rapport and relationships are often built by establishing "common ground" with the customer -- about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the product or service you're trying to sell.
A good case in point was the experience of a coaching client of mine, a home improvements salesman.
SCHMOOZING SALESMAN SUCCEEDS
He made a sales call on a homeowner to sell roofing and siding.
It turned out the homeowner had previous sales calls from other companies seeking to sell him roofing and siding.
Since the salesman did not know the homeowner, he decided to break the ice with a compliment to the homeowner about his landscaping . . . a subject the salesman, himself, was interested in.
The customer was delighted . . . both by the compliment and the fact the salesman was into landscaping, too.
They proceeded to talk about landscaping for the next 30 minutes, never mentioning the roofing and siding -- the purpose of the sales call.
DEALING WITH A FRIEND, NOT A SALESMAN
When the salesman introduced that subject, the homeowner was no longer dealing with just a salesman.
No, the customer was now dealing with a human being he had something in common with.
He was dealing with someone he knew, someone he liked, someone with whom he had rapport.
The result:
The homeowner gladly signed the order on the spot -- an order costing $7,000 more than he had originally planned to spend.
Schmoozing worked for this salesman.
PRACTICING WHAT I PREACH
It has also worked for me -- many times.
One of the most memorable came when I was attempting to sell my marketing consulting services to a manager from a major corporation.
I had not known him, so I asked him to lunch . . . just a get-acquainted lunch because I had no particular project or service in mind since I knew nothing about his needs.
At lunch, we chatted for about an hour and quickly established a common ground -- because he was a marketer, too, and, I found, he was a golfer, like I am.
The result: He did not have a current need for my services, so no sale resulted . . . at least not then. However, a month later I got a call from him and he told me a colleague of his out of state might be able to use my services.
The result: Over the next year, I did $50,000 worth of business with his colleague, and later, did several thousand dollars worth of business with him, too.
All because I took the trouble to schmooze.
Sometimes in the business world, you're not necessarily trying to make a sale, but, rather, gain the cooperation of someone.
One of the best examples of the power of schmoozing in this area comes from a story in a national business publication about an attempt to locate and close down illegal moonshine stills in Kentucky.
The Federal government had sent in a series of agents, but could get no information from the locals to help them locate the stills.
THE PERSUASIVE PEDDLER
At length, they decided to send in an agent in disguise as a fish peddler, asking him to make friends with the locals by schmoozing with them at every opportunity.
In short order, the agent had gathered information from the locals leading to the closing of more than 100 stills.
The moral of this story?
Your ability to make conversation -- to schmooze -- to build rapport and relationships with people -- is one of your most powerful selling tools.
So, when you're selling, think of it this way:
Schmooze or lose.
About the Author:
Copyright (c) 2009 Paul Barton
Paul Barton is a marketing consultant and conversation coach, and author of several books, including: How To Be GREAT!!! In Conversation, How To Build Rapport And Relationships and How To Make People WANT!!! To Buy From You.
http://www.howtomakeconversation.com/
Read more Articles written by Paul Barton.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Hotels Cost 300% More Per Person Per Day Than Vacation Rentals: I'll Prove It!
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
The verdict on the true cost of spending your vacation in a hotel versus staying in a vacation rental is in, and I have the proof. For a family on a vacation, a vacation rental provides great accommodations for far less money. I just had a very unique personal experience that allowed me to test this: my own marriage two weeks ago in Maui, Hawaii, with friends and family in attendance.
We had a whole bunch of folks that came in from different parts of the globe to celebrate the event with us. Being the owner of a vacation rentals by owner website, I asked most of them where they were staying so I could compare notes. Our extended family stayed in a nice vacation rental right on the beach, a few stayed at resorts, and a few stayed at local hotels.
Here's the hard data on the major expense items for the trip, excluding rental car and airfare:
Hotel / Resort (Standard Hotel Room, Queen Bed, 1 Bathroom):
Maximum Occupants: 2
Per Person, Per Night Rate: $175.00
Per Day, Per Person Average Food: $125.00
Per Day "Resort Fee": $25.00
Per Day Parking: $20.00
Total Cost Per Person, Per Day: $322.50
Vacation Rental (2 BR / 2 BA Condominium on the Beach with Queen Sleeper Pull Out):
Maximum Occupants: 6
Per Person, Per Night Rate: $28.00
Per Day, Per Person Average Food: $65.00
Per Day "Resort Fee": $0.00
Per Day Parking: $0.00
Total Cost Per Person, Per Day: $93.00
The vacation rental was extremely economical for three reasons:
1) It could accommodate a lot more people. A family of 5 could all fit into one place that cost on average $140.00 per night. That averages out to only $28.00 per person, per night. The Hotel and Resorts that others stayed in cost around $350.00 per night, and it could only fit two people in it, so it ran $175.00 per person, per night. That is a huge difference.
2) Most resort hotels charged huge daily fees for parking and resort fees, which were non-negotiable. That added another $50/night in most cases. Most of my wedding guests found out about that as they were checking in (they neglect to tell you stuff like this when you make the reservation). It was too late then to re-book. No such issues with the vacation rental.
3) Having meals in with the family was a very nice break from eating every meal out. It was a heck of a lot more economical as well.
And, last, the other major expense item was the amount spent on food per day. My extended family took a short trip to the grocery store and had breakfast, lunch and a couple of dinners in over the course of the week that we were there. They went out for nice dinners a couple of times, but in a place like Maui where a basic entree can often cost $50.00 or more, eating some meals in for a family of five really starts to make some sense.
As my fellow vacation rental owners are speaking with prospective renters that are having trouble deciding between your rental or a hotel, make sure you remind them about ALL of the costs associated with your typical resort hotel. Advising your renters as to the true cost of staying in a hotel may keep them with you at your vacation rental. Not to mention the many other benefits that we all know about!
This article was originally published on Jon's blog.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find vacation rental specials on his website.
Read more of Jon Ludwig's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
The verdict on the true cost of spending your vacation in a hotel versus staying in a vacation rental is in, and I have the proof. For a family on a vacation, a vacation rental provides great accommodations for far less money. I just had a very unique personal experience that allowed me to test this: my own marriage two weeks ago in Maui, Hawaii, with friends and family in attendance.
We had a whole bunch of folks that came in from different parts of the globe to celebrate the event with us. Being the owner of a vacation rentals by owner website, I asked most of them where they were staying so I could compare notes. Our extended family stayed in a nice vacation rental right on the beach, a few stayed at resorts, and a few stayed at local hotels.
Here's the hard data on the major expense items for the trip, excluding rental car and airfare:
Hotel / Resort (Standard Hotel Room, Queen Bed, 1 Bathroom):
Vacation Rental (2 BR / 2 BA Condominium on the Beach with Queen Sleeper Pull Out):
The vacation rental was extremely economical for three reasons:
1) It could accommodate a lot more people. A family of 5 could all fit into one place that cost on average $140.00 per night. That averages out to only $28.00 per person, per night. The Hotel and Resorts that others stayed in cost around $350.00 per night, and it could only fit two people in it, so it ran $175.00 per person, per night. That is a huge difference.
2) Most resort hotels charged huge daily fees for parking and resort fees, which were non-negotiable. That added another $50/night in most cases. Most of my wedding guests found out about that as they were checking in (they neglect to tell you stuff like this when you make the reservation). It was too late then to re-book. No such issues with the vacation rental.
3) Having meals in with the family was a very nice break from eating every meal out. It was a heck of a lot more economical as well.
And, last, the other major expense item was the amount spent on food per day. My extended family took a short trip to the grocery store and had breakfast, lunch and a couple of dinners in over the course of the week that we were there. They went out for nice dinners a couple of times, but in a place like Maui where a basic entree can often cost $50.00 or more, eating some meals in for a family of five really starts to make some sense.
As my fellow vacation rental owners are speaking with prospective renters that are having trouble deciding between your rental or a hotel, make sure you remind them about ALL of the costs associated with your typical resort hotel. Advising your renters as to the true cost of staying in a hotel may keep them with you at your vacation rental. Not to mention the many other benefits that we all know about!
This article was originally published on Jon's blog.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find vacation rental specials on his website.
Read more of Jon Ludwig's articles.
Friday, May 8, 2009
How Information Products Help Customers Say Yes Faster
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we're in currently, is spending slows down.
If you're a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:
1. Some prospects and customers who might have said "yes" in the past are now saying no because they simply don't have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes
This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that's a big "ouch" for your bottom line.
=======================================
Oh the Irony of It All!
=======================================
What's funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer MORE THAN EVER!
Why? Because we're all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.
But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there's no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.
Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don't feel safe.
If you're having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I'm suggesting it isn't that they don't need what you're selling--it's because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.
=======================================
Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products
=======================================
To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I'm partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.
Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:
1. It's easier to say "yes" to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.
This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.
=======================================
Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell
=======================================
How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it's easy for your prospects to see the value they'll get.
How-to guides teach them how to do something they've always wanted to do; step by step
Tips sheets tell them how to do something better and get better results
The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they're easy to create because all you're really doing is answering a common question you get from customers.
=======================================
Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product
=======================================
Amy is a coach who works with what she called the corporate "walking wounded"; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.
Amy's core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.
Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said "yes" to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,
"I'm just happy to have a job."
"What if I get laid off, I'll need that $600"
"What if I work with you and you don't help me?"
And they're putting off the possibility of working with her.
Amy asked herself "If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?"
She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous.
So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.
She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.
Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.
The results:
Amy reduced the perceived risk of her services and has helped 50 prospective customers who otherwise would have put off working with her
In addition, two prospects who otherwise may not have hired her, felt confident enough about what she had to offer that they signed up and became one-on-one coaching clients.
=======================================
Bottom Line
=======================================
During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to commit their time and money -- especially when it comes to buying new products and services.
If you aren't currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business AND to help more customers sooner than later. My best to you and your business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Read more Articles written by Judy Murdoch.
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
An unfortunate side effect of an economic slowdown like the one we're in currently, is spending slows down.
If you're a small business owner the slowdown in spending shows up in two ways:
1. Some prospects and customers who might have said "yes" in the past are now saying no because they simply don't have the resources to pay you
2. Those who DO have the resources are take longer to say yes
This means less revenue coming in and if you own a small business, that's a big "ouch" for your bottom line.
=======================================
Oh the Irony of It All!
=======================================
What's funny about this situation in a not-so-funny way is that during economic downturns, your clients and customers need what you offer MORE THAN EVER!
Why? Because we're all in business to solve problems people have, right? Recessions typically multiply problems and amplify the pain we feel from those problems.
But we also become hyper-aware of the downside of our actions and we feel there's no wiggle room for error. We become extremely Risk Averse.
Whether or not their fear is founded in reality, customers step back and become less willing to do anything that is new or risky because they don't feel safe.
If you're having doubts whether you are offering something customers really need because your sales have slowed down, I'm suggesting it isn't that they don't need what you're selling--it's because these scary times are making them unusually risk averse and less willing to take chances.
=======================================
Reducing Perceived Risk Using Information Products
=======================================
To help your prospects and customers feel safer to spend, you need to reduce their perceived risk of working with you. There are many ways to do this including lowering your prices, doing one-day sales, etc. But I'm partial to creating information products because the benefits extend far beyond the immediate revenue streams they provide.
Information products reduce perceived risk for prospects and customers in two important ways:
1. It's easier to say "yes" to buying a $19 how-to guide than a six-month $4,000 consulting engagement.
2. When customers get results using your information products they develop confidence in your ability to deliver what you promise.
This makes it easy for your customers to feel good about buying your more expensive products and services.
=======================================
Two Easy Information Products Small Business Owners Can Create and Sell
=======================================
How-to guides and tip sheets are my favorite low cost information products to offer because it's easy for your prospects to see the value they'll get.
The other thing I love about how to guides and tip sheets is they're easy to create because all you're really doing is answering a common question you get from customers.
=======================================
Example: Using a How-to Guide as a Low Cost Information Product
=======================================
Amy is a coach who works with what she called the corporate "walking wounded"; typically high level managers who have successful corporate careers but are tired of the cost to their personal lives.
Amy's core service is one on one coaching; typically clients work with her for six month intervals at $600 per month.
Amy has noticed that even though stress levels are higher than ever, people who once would have said "yes" to becoming one-on-one clients are now saying things like,
And they're putting off the possibility of working with her.
Amy asked herself "If there were just one thing I could do to help these folks what would that thing be?"
She realized that for busy, stressed out professionals, taking on something new would require very small, simple steps. Small to the point of being ridiculous.
So she did some brainstorming around small but significant changes her clients made and came up with over 100 small actions. She edited the steps down to 101 and created a booklet: 101 Ways to Have More Fun and Less Stress at Work.
She sells it on her website and brings a dozen hard copies to sell at networking events.
Amy is very clear that this booklet is not a substitute for her coaching services. However people who buy the booklet get some substantive help and a percentage of those who buy the booklet like what Amy has to say enough to eventually become one-on-one clients.
The results:
=======================================
Bottom Line
=======================================
During challenging times such as our current economic uncertainty, your customers become very sensitive to perceived risk and less willing to commit their time and money -- especially when it comes to buying new products and services.
If you aren't currently selling information products that enable prospects to get a small but significant taste of what you can do for them, you are missing an opportunity to bring more revenue to your business AND to help more customers sooner than later. My best to you and your business.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Read more Articles written by Judy Murdoch.
Can a Press Release Be Controversial? Publicity Dilemma 7
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Recently a client asked me whether she might be able to get media coverage for a procedure she'd invented and tested that circumvented established practices in her industry. "Companies are spending money on steps that they no longer have to take, because they aren't aware there's an alternative," she told me. "But consultants who think they have a lock on the market are going to cry foul and accuse me of all kinds of things when I go public with what I'm doing."
Go for it, I told her. Controversy gets attention.
From the standpoint of publicity, the best kind of controversy is a position or practice that goes against a habit or belief shared by the public, a profession or a niche population, yet has a solid rationale in its favor. For example, an organization like Victim Families Against the Death Penalty comes across as controversial and publicity worthy because most people believe those who lost family members to criminal violence should be in favor of executing those responsible. Yet they are able to explain why putting murderers to death merely perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Why does controversy get attention? First, it contains the power of surprise. The media want to stir up conversation and get people talking. This has always been true, but takes on added significance where radio shows hope to get people calling in, magazines try to sell more issues and subscriptions, and newspapers want to inspire readers to comment on their blogs. If something goes against what most people believe, many will be expressing disbelief or disagreement, despite what they read or heard in the media story.
Second, journalists are trained to find two sides to every story, even going to great lengths to create a pro and a con position where they are not obvious. For instance, a hardware store owner in Massachusetts once got publicity because he would feed the parking meters up and down Main Street to encourage shoppers to keep coming downtown. While this seemed like an altruistic act, the newspaper that reported it injected controversy into the story by finding someone who criticized the store owner for depriving the city of revenue from parking tickets.
When you put out a controversial press release, this spares reporters the effort of creating another side to the story. The accepted position is super-easy for them to document and the counterpoint comes from you.
Controversy for the sake of controversy works less well because it lacks the twist that explains why, contrary to first impressions, the crazy idea makes sense. So make sure you have documentation, experience, evidence or some solid reasoning on your side along with your surprising statement.
Three wrinkles in a controversial publicity angle can doom it, however. First, beware of trying to get publicity for an accusation that might be considered libelous - that is, that damages the reputation of a person or an organization. Mainstream media often set a high standard of proof for such charges, and press release distribution services usually refuse to transmit publicity materials that they consider libelous. For instance, when a client of mine wrote a press release headline predicting the death of a popular social media network, the distribution service I submitted the release to said that was defamatory and refused to circulate it.
Second, if it looks like your controversial claim is a result of a grudge, the media usually take a pass on reporting it. An obvious example would be where you got fired and then you tried to rally the community to shut down the company that fired you, unless you could credibly claim you were fired for blowing the whistle on the company's misbehavior or polluting activities.
And last, watch out for the possibility that publicity seeking exposes you to prosecution for illegal activities. Although this sounds stupid and self-sabotaging beyond belief, we often hear in the news about someone celebrating a huge lottery win one day and then being arrested for delinquent child support the next, or winning a reality show or pageant and then being exposed for bigamy or tax evasion. In such instances, what gets doomed during your publicity seeking is not the publicity but you!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
Recently a client asked me whether she might be able to get media coverage for a procedure she'd invented and tested that circumvented established practices in her industry. "Companies are spending money on steps that they no longer have to take, because they aren't aware there's an alternative," she told me. "But consultants who think they have a lock on the market are going to cry foul and accuse me of all kinds of things when I go public with what I'm doing."
Go for it, I told her. Controversy gets attention.
From the standpoint of publicity, the best kind of controversy is a position or practice that goes against a habit or belief shared by the public, a profession or a niche population, yet has a solid rationale in its favor. For example, an organization like Victim Families Against the Death Penalty comes across as controversial and publicity worthy because most people believe those who lost family members to criminal violence should be in favor of executing those responsible. Yet they are able to explain why putting murderers to death merely perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Why does controversy get attention? First, it contains the power of surprise. The media want to stir up conversation and get people talking. This has always been true, but takes on added significance where radio shows hope to get people calling in, magazines try to sell more issues and subscriptions, and newspapers want to inspire readers to comment on their blogs. If something goes against what most people believe, many will be expressing disbelief or disagreement, despite what they read or heard in the media story.
Second, journalists are trained to find two sides to every story, even going to great lengths to create a pro and a con position where they are not obvious. For instance, a hardware store owner in Massachusetts once got publicity because he would feed the parking meters up and down Main Street to encourage shoppers to keep coming downtown. While this seemed like an altruistic act, the newspaper that reported it injected controversy into the story by finding someone who criticized the store owner for depriving the city of revenue from parking tickets.
When you put out a controversial press release, this spares reporters the effort of creating another side to the story. The accepted position is super-easy for them to document and the counterpoint comes from you.
Controversy for the sake of controversy works less well because it lacks the twist that explains why, contrary to first impressions, the crazy idea makes sense. So make sure you have documentation, experience, evidence or some solid reasoning on your side along with your surprising statement.
Three wrinkles in a controversial publicity angle can doom it, however. First, beware of trying to get publicity for an accusation that might be considered libelous - that is, that damages the reputation of a person or an organization. Mainstream media often set a high standard of proof for such charges, and press release distribution services usually refuse to transmit publicity materials that they consider libelous. For instance, when a client of mine wrote a press release headline predicting the death of a popular social media network, the distribution service I submitted the release to said that was defamatory and refused to circulate it.
Second, if it looks like your controversial claim is a result of a grudge, the media usually take a pass on reporting it. An obvious example would be where you got fired and then you tried to rally the community to shut down the company that fired you, unless you could credibly claim you were fired for blowing the whistle on the company's misbehavior or polluting activities.
And last, watch out for the possibility that publicity seeking exposes you to prosecution for illegal activities. Although this sounds stupid and self-sabotaging beyond belief, we often hear in the news about someone celebrating a huge lottery win one day and then being arrested for delinquent child support the next, or winning a reality show or pageant and then being exposed for bigamy or tax evasion. In such instances, what gets doomed during your publicity seeking is not the publicity but you!
About the Author:
Publicity expert Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity, Persuading on Paper, Web Site Marketing Makeover and eight other books. She has engineered coverage for herself or her company in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Success, Women in Business and dozens of newspapers around the world. Get free access to a one-hour audio recording in which she answers the most common questions about getting media coverage at http://www.yudkin.com/publicityideas.htm
Read more Articles written by Marcia Yudkin.
List Building - 10 Super Fast Ways To Build Your Opt-in List
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
Keywords are ground zero. They are essential to your online success. You must get your keywords right or it's game over before you even get started. Mainly because keywords are the most important element of your online marketing.
It can't be emphasized enough, especially to beginning online webmasters or marketers, choosing the right profitable keywords will largely determine whether or not you succeed with your online endeavors. You simply must get this element right or your marketing will be in big trouble.
What Are Keywords?
Lets start at the very beginning, keywords are the exact words someone types into a search engine to find what they're looking for on the web. Some keywords are valuable/profitable, while others are virtually worthless.
Profitable keywords are the ones that convert into a sale, a lead or potential client/customer for your company or product. These are the words someone is searching in order to buy a product or hire a service. Someone searching for "honeymoon vacation packages" is probably in the market to book a honeymoon vacation and could turn out to be very profitable for the right website or business.
Profitable keywords are the ones where the searcher is in the right "mind-set" or frame of mind to buy what they're searching for on the web. Tailor your online marketing to target these profitable keywords and it can spell success.
So what's the whole process for finding or choosing profitable keywords to use in your marketing? Lets look at some ways to proceed...
Number of Keyword Searches Made?
You need to find out how many searches are made for your chosen keywords each month. Simply use WordTracker or a site like SEOBook. These will give you a preliminary number of searches made each month for your keyword. Highly popular, well-searched keywords with hundreds of thousands of searches each month will be extremely hard to rank for because you will have stiff competition from major companies with limitless resources.
I like to pick less popular keywords that get only a couple of hundred of searches each day because my chances of getting on the first page greatly increases. But don't get fixated on the number of searches, some keyword phrases that only get four or five searches daily, can still be very profitable.
For serious keyword research in a particular niche market I like to use Brad Callen's Keyword Elite which is professionally designed software that makes all your keyword research so much easier. But there are plenty of free keyword tools you can use. One handy keyword tool is Google Adwords external suggestion tool which will help you find valuable keywords.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Commercial Intent of Keywords?
But how do you know if a keyword is profitable? Well, one convenient tool is from MSN which helps you with "Detecting Online Commercial Intention" of keywords. Just type in a keyword and it will give you a percentage or probability your keyword query has commercial benefit or intent.
http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx
Conversion Rate of Keywords?
Once you have your chosen keywords in place, next you want to have a landing page that converts those keywords or traffic from those keywords into buyers or leads for your online business. This is another crucial element of your online marketing - you must have a landing page or content/site that converts into a sale or you obviously won't make any revenue.
Keep in mind, if you're into affiliate marketing, you main goal is not to sell but to "pre-sell" your products or services. One effective way I have found to do this is to give potential customers/clients valuable information they can use in making their final purchasing choice. Comparison sites do well, as do review sites, top ten sites... potential customers use the Internet and keywords to not only find products but more so, to find information on those products. Your goal should be to provide this valuable information to make their task a little bit easier for them and they will reward you with a sale.
What are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-Tail keywords are simply that: long three or four word phrases that searchers use to find what they're looking for on the web. Because they are highly specific, long-tail keywords have proven to have better conversion rates than general keywords. This is also just common sense, someone searching for a "2005 ford mustang convertible" may just be in the right mind-set to buy such a vehicle; as compared to someone searching for a more general keyword phrase such as "sports cars."
Study your website traffic logs religiously to find long-tail keywords that turn into a sale. Target these long-tail keywords in your marketing. Even buy PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising in the three major search engines - Google Adwords, Yahoo! Marketing and MicroSoft AdCenter - for these valuable/profitable keywords.
And build higher rankings in organic search for these long-tail keyword phrases. It's really not that difficult for long phrases, especially if they're related to your site; many times you can reach the top spot in a matter of days, especially in Google.
How To Rank High For Your Chosen Profitable Keywords?
Of course, the million dollar question is: HOW do you rank in the top spot for your chosen keywords? I believe the key to ranking high in the search engines (especially Google) is to be persistent in building your rankings for your keywords. Take a long-term view or approach, sometimes it may take months, even years, to rank in the top Five for your highly competitive keywords.
The best strategy is to "stick to it" and keep building relevant links to your keyword landing page. Create related blogs with valuable content linking back to your keywords. Write keyword related articles and distribute them all over the web. Create Google Alerts for your keywords and them place comments/links in the newly formed pages on the web that Google is indexing.
Be pro-active, download the SEOQuake toolbar and find your main keyword competitors. Check out their links and then go out and get the same links. Write better higher quality content than your main competitors because Google always rewards great content. Plus, use the free http://www.Addthis.com button and let your visitors bookmark your great content in all the social bookmark sites and build your keyword links for you.
Do keyworded Press Releases with your embedded links and spread them all over the web. Get these Press Releases into Google news and other important places on the web. http://www.PRWeb.com is really a great place for your press releases since you can embed your keywords in your links.
If you can try to get your most important keywords in your domain name. Many SEO experts argue the merits of this but from my own experience and marketing - it is much easier to rank high for your keywords if you have them in the domain name. Again, it is just common sense, if you have your main keyword in the domain, this keyword is obviously telling the search engines this is what your site is all about. I have even bought domains and created sites specifically around certain keywords just to rank high.
Always remember, you have to be persistent, I have been fighting some keyword battles for over four or five years! For really profitable keywords, it can be a constant struggle to remain on the first page, but the trick is not to give up, just keep fighting away at your competitors. Persistence usually pays off in the end and those profitable keywords will have your links in the top spot. Make ranking high for those profitable keywords your number one marketing strategy. Concentrate all your marketing efforts towards getting plenty of quality traffic for those keywords and you will succeed online.
About the Author:
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: Marketing Tools. If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7-Day Marketing Course here: Internet Marketing Tools
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
More new articles.
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
Keywords are ground zero. They are essential to your online success. You must get your keywords right or it's game over before you even get started. Mainly because keywords are the most important element of your online marketing.
It can't be emphasized enough, especially to beginning online webmasters or marketers, choosing the right profitable keywords will largely determine whether or not you succeed with your online endeavors. You simply must get this element right or your marketing will be in big trouble.
What Are Keywords?
Lets start at the very beginning, keywords are the exact words someone types into a search engine to find what they're looking for on the web. Some keywords are valuable/profitable, while others are virtually worthless.
Profitable keywords are the ones that convert into a sale, a lead or potential client/customer for your company or product. These are the words someone is searching in order to buy a product or hire a service. Someone searching for "honeymoon vacation packages" is probably in the market to book a honeymoon vacation and could turn out to be very profitable for the right website or business.
Profitable keywords are the ones where the searcher is in the right "mind-set" or frame of mind to buy what they're searching for on the web. Tailor your online marketing to target these profitable keywords and it can spell success.
So what's the whole process for finding or choosing profitable keywords to use in your marketing? Lets look at some ways to proceed...
Number of Keyword Searches Made?
You need to find out how many searches are made for your chosen keywords each month. Simply use WordTracker or a site like SEOBook. These will give you a preliminary number of searches made each month for your keyword. Highly popular, well-searched keywords with hundreds of thousands of searches each month will be extremely hard to rank for because you will have stiff competition from major companies with limitless resources.
I like to pick less popular keywords that get only a couple of hundred of searches each day because my chances of getting on the first page greatly increases. But don't get fixated on the number of searches, some keyword phrases that only get four or five searches daily, can still be very profitable.
For serious keyword research in a particular niche market I like to use Brad Callen's Keyword Elite which is professionally designed software that makes all your keyword research so much easier. But there are plenty of free keyword tools you can use. One handy keyword tool is Google Adwords external suggestion tool which will help you find valuable keywords.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Commercial Intent of Keywords?
But how do you know if a keyword is profitable? Well, one convenient tool is from MSN which helps you with "Detecting Online Commercial Intention" of keywords. Just type in a keyword and it will give you a percentage or probability your keyword query has commercial benefit or intent.
http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx
Conversion Rate of Keywords?
Once you have your chosen keywords in place, next you want to have a landing page that converts those keywords or traffic from those keywords into buyers or leads for your online business. This is another crucial element of your online marketing - you must have a landing page or content/site that converts into a sale or you obviously won't make any revenue.
Keep in mind, if you're into affiliate marketing, you main goal is not to sell but to "pre-sell" your products or services. One effective way I have found to do this is to give potential customers/clients valuable information they can use in making their final purchasing choice. Comparison sites do well, as do review sites, top ten sites... potential customers use the Internet and keywords to not only find products but more so, to find information on those products. Your goal should be to provide this valuable information to make their task a little bit easier for them and they will reward you with a sale.
What are Long-Tail Keywords?
Long-Tail keywords are simply that: long three or four word phrases that searchers use to find what they're looking for on the web. Because they are highly specific, long-tail keywords have proven to have better conversion rates than general keywords. This is also just common sense, someone searching for a "2005 ford mustang convertible" may just be in the right mind-set to buy such a vehicle; as compared to someone searching for a more general keyword phrase such as "sports cars."
Study your website traffic logs religiously to find long-tail keywords that turn into a sale. Target these long-tail keywords in your marketing. Even buy PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising in the three major search engines - Google Adwords, Yahoo! Marketing and MicroSoft AdCenter - for these valuable/profitable keywords.
And build higher rankings in organic search for these long-tail keyword phrases. It's really not that difficult for long phrases, especially if they're related to your site; many times you can reach the top spot in a matter of days, especially in Google.
How To Rank High For Your Chosen Profitable Keywords?
Of course, the million dollar question is: HOW do you rank in the top spot for your chosen keywords? I believe the key to ranking high in the search engines (especially Google) is to be persistent in building your rankings for your keywords. Take a long-term view or approach, sometimes it may take months, even years, to rank in the top Five for your highly competitive keywords.
The best strategy is to "stick to it" and keep building relevant links to your keyword landing page. Create related blogs with valuable content linking back to your keywords. Write keyword related articles and distribute them all over the web. Create Google Alerts for your keywords and them place comments/links in the newly formed pages on the web that Google is indexing.
Be pro-active, download the SEOQuake toolbar and find your main keyword competitors. Check out their links and then go out and get the same links. Write better higher quality content than your main competitors because Google always rewards great content. Plus, use the free http://www.Addthis.com button and let your visitors bookmark your great content in all the social bookmark sites and build your keyword links for you.
Do keyworded Press Releases with your embedded links and spread them all over the web. Get these Press Releases into Google news and other important places on the web. http://www.PRWeb.com is really a great place for your press releases since you can embed your keywords in your links.
If you can try to get your most important keywords in your domain name. Many SEO experts argue the merits of this but from my own experience and marketing - it is much easier to rank high for your keywords if you have them in the domain name. Again, it is just common sense, if you have your main keyword in the domain, this keyword is obviously telling the search engines this is what your site is all about. I have even bought domains and created sites specifically around certain keywords just to rank high.
Always remember, you have to be persistent, I have been fighting some keyword battles for over four or five years! For really profitable keywords, it can be a constant struggle to remain on the first page, but the trick is not to give up, just keep fighting away at your competitors. Persistence usually pays off in the end and those profitable keywords will have your links in the top spot. Make ranking high for those profitable keywords your number one marketing strategy. Concentrate all your marketing efforts towards getting plenty of quality traffic for those keywords and you will succeed online.
About the Author:
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous websites. For the latest web marketing tools try: Marketing Tools. If you liked the article above, why not try this Free 7-Day Marketing Course here: Internet Marketing Tools
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
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