Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Joyce C. Lock
If you knew you were going to stand before God, today (not in judgment, but meeting your very best friend) ... is there a gift you would like to present Him with? Do you plan to meet Him empty handed? Maybe you have a gift for God already. Perhaps, you never thought about it and would like to.
What would be the truest statement of your love? What type of service are you passionate about? Find the answer. Then, head in that direction. And if you still do not know, walk in the direction your heart leads and God will take you there.
It does not matter if God calls you to little or a lot. (Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it. Let the weak say, "I am strong," the most necessary part. He meant it!) What brings inner completeness is serving in the center of God's perfect will (Lu. 12:50), wherein there is joy in that He empowers us to do so much more.
Consider His promise ...
"And every one that hath forsaken houses (churches), or brethren (religion), or sisters (family), or father (leader), or mother (counselor), or wife (soul mate), or children (followers), or lands (positions), for my name's sake (when He calls you), shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matthew 19:29
Would you suffer persecution from those you love, if necessary, in order to follow God? Micah 7:6
God never promised it would be easy. Though, consider the price of such gods ... "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 16:25
Rewards for choosing God ...
"But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." Mark 10:30
Wouldn't you enjoy discovering the joys, blessings, and rewards in completing your race? It isn't too late.
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.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Vacations For Veterans: A Charity Worth Our Support
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
Vacations for Veterans is a nonprofit created to provide recently wounded veterans free lodging donated by a vacation home owner or a bed and breakfast proprietor.
Regardless of your views on our foreign policy, I think everyone can agree that what our veterans do for our country is incredible honorable and they are not recognized enough for their service.
As vacation rental owners, we are in a unique position to offer our homes up and to give our wounded veterans a brief respite when they need it most. If you do offer your vacation rental, you have the final say on what dates your unit will be available.
On a personal note, I had the opportunity to offer one of my beach condos to a veteran a few months ago. VFV does the work to verify the Purple Heart status of the veteran and, if you wish, will put you in contact with the veteran directly. It was immensely gratifying to not only offer my condo up to this veteran and his family, but to receive the thank you note from him and his wife after their trip.
This year, please think about giving back to this outstanding organization. http://www.FindVacationRentals.com, http://www.FindBnB.com, and http://www.VacationSpaces.com are proud corporate sponsors.
Please visit http://www.VacationsForVeterans.org for more information on this organization and to learn how you can help. And while VFV needs inventory, they also are in need of financial donations which go directly to support the travel expenses of those veterans in need of financial aid. This article originally published here.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates a Vacation Rentals by owner directory website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find discounted vacation rental deals on his website.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
Vacations for Veterans is a nonprofit created to provide recently wounded veterans free lodging donated by a vacation home owner or a bed and breakfast proprietor.
Regardless of your views on our foreign policy, I think everyone can agree that what our veterans do for our country is incredible honorable and they are not recognized enough for their service.
As vacation rental owners, we are in a unique position to offer our homes up and to give our wounded veterans a brief respite when they need it most. If you do offer your vacation rental, you have the final say on what dates your unit will be available.
On a personal note, I had the opportunity to offer one of my beach condos to a veteran a few months ago. VFV does the work to verify the Purple Heart status of the veteran and, if you wish, will put you in contact with the veteran directly. It was immensely gratifying to not only offer my condo up to this veteran and his family, but to receive the thank you note from him and his wife after their trip.
This year, please think about giving back to this outstanding organization. http://www.FindVacationRentals.com, http://www.FindBnB.com, and http://www.VacationSpaces.com are proud corporate sponsors.
Please visit http://www.VacationsForVeterans.org for more information on this organization and to learn how you can help. And while VFV needs inventory, they also are in need of financial donations which go directly to support the travel expenses of those veterans in need of financial aid. This article originally published here.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates a Vacation Rentals by owner directory website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find discounted vacation rental deals on his website.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Purchase Another Vacation Rental? Why Not
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
Fellow Vacation Rental Owners:
As a vacation home rental owner and operator of a vacation rentals by owner advertising website, I have been following the situation closely with regards to the recent sharp decline in both real estate prices (commercial and single family homes) and the stock market. Like a lot of investors out there that I have spoken with, I pulled my savings out of the stock market a few months ago (phew...) and have been wondering what to do with my investment capital.
I recently read an article on the RIS Media site. This was an interesting read - their main point was that housing prices in many markets have declined significantly in the last several months, making it a good time to consider investing in real estate. Based on my own experience, this is especially true in real estate markets where one tends to find a lot of vacation rentals. Those markets seem to be driven by speculation as opposed to serious longer term investors.
Based on that, I did some research of my own to verify that was I suspected was true was actually true. I looked at some of the inventory on my vacation rentals advertising website, including the markets I am most familiar with. This included Kissimmee FL, Destin Beach, FL, Lake Tahoe, CA, Breckenridge, CO, and Las Vegas, Nevada. I looked at how many listings we had in each of those markets, and I looked at general real estate data showing foreclosures and overall pricing levels. What I found was that while our number of active listings in each of those markets either stayed about the same or increased in the past several months, those markets were extremely hard hit with the recent decline in overall real estate prices.
Assuming vacation rentals owners are rational, they will not continue to pay to advertise their vacation rentals if there is no demand for their vacation rentals by renters. In my own vacation rentals in Florida and Tennessee, I have seen farily steady demand. I have had to offer some discounts, but that is mostly because everyone that is traveling seems to think that it should be at a greatly reduced price due to the overall economy being where it is.
So, all that said, I have concluded the following:
I am still very nervous about re-investing in the stock market; real estate is looking pretty much like it is at a bottom right now.
The demand from renters for vacation rentals is still pretty strong.
By picking up vacation rentals investment properties for up to 40% less than what they sold for a year ago, my mortgage payment will be lower, which will increase my potential cashflow from the vacation rental.
I am going to look for some really good deals on properties in markets that have been hit pretty hard by sharp price declines due to the speculators getting flushed out of the market.
I am going to get creative on the discounting of my vacation rentals so if I do happen to pick one up in this buyer's market, I'll be sure to keep it as utilized as I can so I can cover my costs.
Best of luck to the rest of the owner community out there,
Jon Ludwig
This article originally published here with links.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find discounted vacation rental specials on his website.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
Fellow Vacation Rental Owners:
As a vacation home rental owner and operator of a vacation rentals by owner advertising website, I have been following the situation closely with regards to the recent sharp decline in both real estate prices (commercial and single family homes) and the stock market. Like a lot of investors out there that I have spoken with, I pulled my savings out of the stock market a few months ago (phew...) and have been wondering what to do with my investment capital.
I recently read an article on the RIS Media site. This was an interesting read - their main point was that housing prices in many markets have declined significantly in the last several months, making it a good time to consider investing in real estate. Based on my own experience, this is especially true in real estate markets where one tends to find a lot of vacation rentals. Those markets seem to be driven by speculation as opposed to serious longer term investors.
Based on that, I did some research of my own to verify that was I suspected was true was actually true. I looked at some of the inventory on my vacation rentals advertising website, including the markets I am most familiar with. This included Kissimmee FL, Destin Beach, FL, Lake Tahoe, CA, Breckenridge, CO, and Las Vegas, Nevada. I looked at how many listings we had in each of those markets, and I looked at general real estate data showing foreclosures and overall pricing levels. What I found was that while our number of active listings in each of those markets either stayed about the same or increased in the past several months, those markets were extremely hard hit with the recent decline in overall real estate prices.
Assuming vacation rentals owners are rational, they will not continue to pay to advertise their vacation rentals if there is no demand for their vacation rentals by renters. In my own vacation rentals in Florida and Tennessee, I have seen farily steady demand. I have had to offer some discounts, but that is mostly because everyone that is traveling seems to think that it should be at a greatly reduced price due to the overall economy being where it is.
So, all that said, I have concluded the following:
Best of luck to the rest of the owner community out there,
Jon Ludwig
This article originally published here with links.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ You can also find discounted vacation rental specials on his website.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Article Marketing Secret: How To Identify and Write For Your Target Market
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Many people question as to what topic they should choose to write their articles... Fortunately, the short answer is simple... Write articles that appeal to your target market. But what does that mean exactly?
I always pose this set of three questions, when I am talking to clients about what they should write about:
1. What do you sell?
2. Who is most likely to buy what you are selling?
3. How can you "answer a question" or "solve a problem" to help those people who are likely to buy what you are selling?
What Do You Sell?
Maybe you sell widgets, cell phones, car parts, or marketing services... It does not matter what you sell... There will always be a topic that you can write your articles about.
Do keep in mind that the point of article marketing is not to directly sell your products, but rather to educate, inform, or entertain your reading audience. So long as you stick to the idea of educating, informing, or entertaining your readers, you will never have a shortage of people who want to read the articles you write.
However, if you keep your focus on trying to overtly sell your products or services in your "article" copy, then it will be difficult to find publishers who WANT to publish what you have written.
This is important to note, in that publishers NEED content, but publishers tend to be very picky about the content that they want to share with their readers. In order for a publisher to become or remain profitable, he or she must always serve the desires of his or her readers. And readers do not want to be sold to, preached to, or criticized. Instead, readers want to improve their lot in this life and solve the problems that they face.
If you keep the needs of the publisher foremost in your mind, and the wants of the reader, then article marketing is a great tool that can help you to earn thousands of dollars.
If you lose focus of what publishers and readers want, then all you can hope for is a few links from your articles, from a few websites that very few people visit or read.
Who Is Most Likely To Buy What You Are Selling?
Just because you sell cars does not mean that anyone who has a drivers' license is in your target market. Let us put this statement in perspective.
If you sell $2000 cars, most of the people in your target market are the poor - including those in poverty and students.
If you sell $10,000 cars, your market is mostly families in middle-class America. Occasionally, you will find the college kid coming to your store to buy a car for college, and sometimes you will see a bunch of tire kickers who can only pray to get financed.
If you sell brand new cars, your target market will again differ by what kinds of vehicles you sell. A Cadillac-buyer is different from the SUV-buyer and the economy-car buyer.
There is not a car dealership anywhere in the world that tries to target its advertising to everybody with a pulse and a drivers' license. It just does not happen. Either the dealership talks about its available cars and the benefits of owning a specific car, or the dealership points out that they can finance anyone.
Once you understand who is most likely to buy what you are selling, then figuring out what to write about has been made much easier.
Help Your Readers Solve A Problem
Before you start writing your article, you should try to get into the heads of the people most likely to buy what are selling. Those people as a general rule have common problems for which they seek solutions.
One way to get a handle on what those problems might be is to review the email correspondence and phone calls you have taken from your clients. If you read that email all at the same time, certain questions will be asked over and again. In fact, you might even have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that you can reference at this point in the brainstorming session.
Your email and phone correspondence and the FAQ page on your website can lead you to a better understanding of the kinds of questions your customers are always needing to be answered for them.
Once you have achieved the understanding of what problems your customers seek to have solved for them, then you have to come to the magic formula for writing articles that find wide publication and a large readership.
In your article, present your readers with the questions that people have, and then present answers to the questions and show people how to solve their problems.
In doing so, publishers who have heard the same questions you have heard will be strongly inclined to publish your articles. And when publishers agree to publish your articles, you will be able to reach the publishers' readers and a huge network of already targeted people who are very likely to buy what you are selling.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Article Marketing
When you write your articles, it is important to remember a few key points while writing the articles. Those key points are:
The title serves to get your article opened, so it needs to be good.
The body of the article answers questions and sells readers on your credibility in the marketplace.
The article should be easy to read, and it should easily carry the reader to your About The Author information at the end of the article.
Once at your Resource Box (About the Author information), the role of the Resource Box is not to sell your products or services, but to get the reader to visit your website, where the real selling will take place.
Using the formula that I have outlined here, you are sure to find success with your article marketing endeavors.
Sure, I know some people might be thinking that the only reason for article marketing is building links, so all this extra effort would be unnecessary. But let me tell you something that I learn from time-to-time...
Did you know that if you write an article that gets published in a large newsletter that you can in fact earn $10,000 plus in sales from that single article? This is a lesson that I have learned more times than I can count. And to be honest, it is a lesson I like to learn.
Consider this... You can spend a few dollars and very little time to create an article that will generate a few back links, hopefully helping you to rank in the search engines for your target keywords. Or, you can spend a few more dollars and a little more time and create an article that could generate back links for the search engines AND find a wider audience for your article in newsletters - newsletters that could potentially deliver thousands of visitors to your website and generate thousands of dollars in sales in the next couple weeks. Which strategy makes more sense to you?
If you are wondering if I practice what I preach, then read this article again and then see my resource box below. I provide article distribution services to my customers, and my customers frequently ask me what they should write about in their articles and how to best construct those articles to reach a wider audience, and more specifically, their target audience. If I have answered these questions to your satisfaction, then visit my website and let me help you to promote your articles too.
This article was originally published here.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has been writing about article marketing and SEO for a number of years. If you have written an article that you feel is good enough to get publication in a major newsletter or website, then you owe it to yourself to use Bill's article distribution service at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ If you are interested in learning about coop article marketing, then visit Bill's newest website: http://www.sponsorarticles.com/
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Many people question as to what topic they should choose to write their articles... Fortunately, the short answer is simple... Write articles that appeal to your target market. But what does that mean exactly?
I always pose this set of three questions, when I am talking to clients about what they should write about:
1. What do you sell?
2. Who is most likely to buy what you are selling?
3. How can you "answer a question" or "solve a problem" to help those people who are likely to buy what you are selling?
What Do You Sell?
Maybe you sell widgets, cell phones, car parts, or marketing services... It does not matter what you sell... There will always be a topic that you can write your articles about.
Do keep in mind that the point of article marketing is not to directly sell your products, but rather to educate, inform, or entertain your reading audience. So long as you stick to the idea of educating, informing, or entertaining your readers, you will never have a shortage of people who want to read the articles you write.
However, if you keep your focus on trying to overtly sell your products or services in your "article" copy, then it will be difficult to find publishers who WANT to publish what you have written.
This is important to note, in that publishers NEED content, but publishers tend to be very picky about the content that they want to share with their readers. In order for a publisher to become or remain profitable, he or she must always serve the desires of his or her readers. And readers do not want to be sold to, preached to, or criticized. Instead, readers want to improve their lot in this life and solve the problems that they face.
If you keep the needs of the publisher foremost in your mind, and the wants of the reader, then article marketing is a great tool that can help you to earn thousands of dollars.
If you lose focus of what publishers and readers want, then all you can hope for is a few links from your articles, from a few websites that very few people visit or read.
Who Is Most Likely To Buy What You Are Selling?
Just because you sell cars does not mean that anyone who has a drivers' license is in your target market. Let us put this statement in perspective.
There is not a car dealership anywhere in the world that tries to target its advertising to everybody with a pulse and a drivers' license. It just does not happen. Either the dealership talks about its available cars and the benefits of owning a specific car, or the dealership points out that they can finance anyone.
Once you understand who is most likely to buy what you are selling, then figuring out what to write about has been made much easier.
Help Your Readers Solve A Problem
Before you start writing your article, you should try to get into the heads of the people most likely to buy what are selling. Those people as a general rule have common problems for which they seek solutions.
One way to get a handle on what those problems might be is to review the email correspondence and phone calls you have taken from your clients. If you read that email all at the same time, certain questions will be asked over and again. In fact, you might even have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that you can reference at this point in the brainstorming session.
Your email and phone correspondence and the FAQ page on your website can lead you to a better understanding of the kinds of questions your customers are always needing to be answered for them.
Once you have achieved the understanding of what problems your customers seek to have solved for them, then you have to come to the magic formula for writing articles that find wide publication and a large readership.
In your article, present your readers with the questions that people have, and then present answers to the questions and show people how to solve their problems.
In doing so, publishers who have heard the same questions you have heard will be strongly inclined to publish your articles. And when publishers agree to publish your articles, you will be able to reach the publishers' readers and a huge network of already targeted people who are very likely to buy what you are selling.
Understanding The Mechanics Of Article Marketing
When you write your articles, it is important to remember a few key points while writing the articles. Those key points are:
Using the formula that I have outlined here, you are sure to find success with your article marketing endeavors.
Sure, I know some people might be thinking that the only reason for article marketing is building links, so all this extra effort would be unnecessary. But let me tell you something that I learn from time-to-time...
Did you know that if you write an article that gets published in a large newsletter that you can in fact earn $10,000 plus in sales from that single article? This is a lesson that I have learned more times than I can count. And to be honest, it is a lesson I like to learn.
Consider this... You can spend a few dollars and very little time to create an article that will generate a few back links, hopefully helping you to rank in the search engines for your target keywords. Or, you can spend a few more dollars and a little more time and create an article that could generate back links for the search engines AND find a wider audience for your article in newsletters - newsletters that could potentially deliver thousands of visitors to your website and generate thousands of dollars in sales in the next couple weeks. Which strategy makes more sense to you?
If you are wondering if I practice what I preach, then read this article again and then see my resource box below. I provide article distribution services to my customers, and my customers frequently ask me what they should write about in their articles and how to best construct those articles to reach a wider audience, and more specifically, their target audience. If I have answered these questions to your satisfaction, then visit my website and let me help you to promote your articles too.
This article was originally published here.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has been writing about article marketing and SEO for a number of years. If you have written an article that you feel is good enough to get publication in a major newsletter or website, then you owe it to yourself to use Bill's article distribution service at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ If you are interested in learning about coop article marketing, then visit Bill's newest website: http://www.sponsorarticles.com/
Read more Articles written by Bill Platt.
The Three C's of Vacation Home Marketing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
As both vacation rental property owners and vacation rental advertising website operators, we have often had other vacation rental owners as well as online and offline publications ask us what really drives the vacation rentals by owner market. After a lot of thought and a lot of years of experience, we've distilled it down to what we call the "three C's" of vacation rental marketing: cost, comfort, and convenience. On our own vacation rentals by owner advertising website we posted a page on this topic in our owner's section, but thought that this was something worth exploring on the blog to get some additional feedback from the owner community.
Why "cost", "comfort", and "convenience"? Cost is a pretty simple argument. A typical family of four planning a vacation is probably going to require two hotel rooms, one for mom and dad, and one for the kids. A decent hotel room generally costs $150/night, depending on the location. In the high season in many hot vacation destinations, hotels can cost up to $300 or more a night. If you multiply that times two for two rooms, you are looking at $300 to $600 or more per night. In most cases, that same family of four can find a great vacation rental property with far more amenities than a boring hotel room for half of that price.
The other important aspect to the cost argument for vacation rentals versus hotels is the fact that almost 100% of vacation rental properties have kitchens with a complete set of appliances and cutlery. This gives a family on a vacation the option of cooking meals in, which can save a tremendous amount of money. A family of four would probably be looking at a budget of at least $150 a day in food if they had to eat every meal out, whereas utilizing the kitchen in an average vacation rental would allow them to save at least half of that figure by cooking a few meals in.
Comfort is a very important draw for a vacation rental versus a hotel. Since many vacation rentals are individually owned and represent a families second residence, they typically have comfortable furniture, DVD players, music systems, nice kitchens, and comfortable beds in the bedrooms. A hotel room exists to make money for its owners. It is a safe bet that these owners have never spent a night in the hotel, and never will. Typically, any comfort items in a hotel are looked upon by its owners as expenses that need to be minimized, not as items that the owner might themselves use from time to time. This difference in philosophy creates a more comfortable atmosphere for the renter of a vacation rental; you are truly staying in someone's home, and that is generally a far more comfortable experience than the clearly temporary surroundings offered by the average hotel room.
The convenience features of a vacation rental are often overlooked by the owners when they advertise their vacation rentals online. For example, if you owned a vacation rental near the beach in Destin, Florida, it would likely come stocked with rafts, beach towels, children's beach play equipment, a DVD player, a decent television, and a variety of specialty appliances in the kitchen, including everything from coffee makers to can-openers. The average hotel has none of these things, so a family would have to go out an buy rafts, beach towels, beach toys, etc, they would have to haul it all along with them, or they would have to go without. It is much more convenient for the traveling family to have these things available as part of the vacation rental's standard amenities.
Being in the vacation rentals by owner advertising business, we have looked at a lot of advertisements that owners have posted for vacation rentals. While many of them are good descriptions of the basic features of the property, it is too easy to lose site of the advantages that your vacation rental provides for the traveling family when you are trying to distill your vacation rental down to a basic set of features. We suggest that you focus the text of your advertisements on the "Three C's" advantages your rental has. If it has a closet full of rafts, snorkeling equipment or beach gear that the renter can use, make sure to state that. If it has a heated garage space for ski equipment so the renters boots will be warm and dry the next day, that's important to mention.
It's important to remember that your primary competition in the vacation rental business is not really other vacation rentals; it is hotels. Yes, hotels are easier to book than vacation rentals. Yes, they are less risky than vacation rentals. But, they cannot compete when it comes to the "three C's", and we suggest that you push those advantages of your vacation rental in all your online advertisements.
This article originally published here.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ Click here if you want to see the newest vacation rental listings.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Copyright © 2009 Jon Ludwig
As both vacation rental property owners and vacation rental advertising website operators, we have often had other vacation rental owners as well as online and offline publications ask us what really drives the vacation rentals by owner market. After a lot of thought and a lot of years of experience, we've distilled it down to what we call the "three C's" of vacation rental marketing: cost, comfort, and convenience. On our own vacation rentals by owner advertising website we posted a page on this topic in our owner's section, but thought that this was something worth exploring on the blog to get some additional feedback from the owner community.
Why "cost", "comfort", and "convenience"? Cost is a pretty simple argument. A typical family of four planning a vacation is probably going to require two hotel rooms, one for mom and dad, and one for the kids. A decent hotel room generally costs $150/night, depending on the location. In the high season in many hot vacation destinations, hotels can cost up to $300 or more a night. If you multiply that times two for two rooms, you are looking at $300 to $600 or more per night. In most cases, that same family of four can find a great vacation rental property with far more amenities than a boring hotel room for half of that price.
The other important aspect to the cost argument for vacation rentals versus hotels is the fact that almost 100% of vacation rental properties have kitchens with a complete set of appliances and cutlery. This gives a family on a vacation the option of cooking meals in, which can save a tremendous amount of money. A family of four would probably be looking at a budget of at least $150 a day in food if they had to eat every meal out, whereas utilizing the kitchen in an average vacation rental would allow them to save at least half of that figure by cooking a few meals in.
Comfort is a very important draw for a vacation rental versus a hotel. Since many vacation rentals are individually owned and represent a families second residence, they typically have comfortable furniture, DVD players, music systems, nice kitchens, and comfortable beds in the bedrooms. A hotel room exists to make money for its owners. It is a safe bet that these owners have never spent a night in the hotel, and never will. Typically, any comfort items in a hotel are looked upon by its owners as expenses that need to be minimized, not as items that the owner might themselves use from time to time. This difference in philosophy creates a more comfortable atmosphere for the renter of a vacation rental; you are truly staying in someone's home, and that is generally a far more comfortable experience than the clearly temporary surroundings offered by the average hotel room.
The convenience features of a vacation rental are often overlooked by the owners when they advertise their vacation rentals online. For example, if you owned a vacation rental near the beach in Destin, Florida, it would likely come stocked with rafts, beach towels, children's beach play equipment, a DVD player, a decent television, and a variety of specialty appliances in the kitchen, including everything from coffee makers to can-openers. The average hotel has none of these things, so a family would have to go out an buy rafts, beach towels, beach toys, etc, they would have to haul it all along with them, or they would have to go without. It is much more convenient for the traveling family to have these things available as part of the vacation rental's standard amenities.
Being in the vacation rentals by owner advertising business, we have looked at a lot of advertisements that owners have posted for vacation rentals. While many of them are good descriptions of the basic features of the property, it is too easy to lose site of the advantages that your vacation rental provides for the traveling family when you are trying to distill your vacation rental down to a basic set of features. We suggest that you focus the text of your advertisements on the "Three C's" advantages your rental has. If it has a closet full of rafts, snorkeling equipment or beach gear that the renter can use, make sure to state that. If it has a heated garage space for ski equipment so the renters boots will be warm and dry the next day, that's important to mention.
It's important to remember that your primary competition in the vacation rental business is not really other vacation rentals; it is hotels. Yes, hotels are easier to book than vacation rentals. Yes, they are less risky than vacation rentals. But, they cannot compete when it comes to the "three C's", and we suggest that you push those advantages of your vacation rental in all your online advertisements.
This article originally published here.
About the Author:
Jon Ludwig owns and operates the Find Vacation Rentals website, located at: http://www.findvacationrentals.com/ Click here if you want to see the newest vacation rental listings.
Read more Articles written by Jon Ludwig.
Monday, April 27, 2009
How Can I Take Advantage of Breaking News? Publicity Dilemma 9
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Marcia Yudkin
If a news story breaks that relates to the services or products you sell, become alert, find an interesting way to make the connection, and take action as soon as possible. This is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to earn media coverage that captures attention in the marketplace.
The news you use as a hook might be front-page stuff or much more obscure. It could be national, international or local.
Let's say you're a plumber and you learn that the price of copper, which has been sky-high for the last year, suddenly dropped. The connection is that homeowners will soon have an opportunity to undertake kitchen or bath renovations for less because the price of copper pipes will be lower.
Or an earthquake occurs halfway around the world, killing thousands, in a city thought to have a low risk of quakes. You own an insurance company. You now have an opening to offer advice on whether or not those living in your locale should have earthquake coverage.
Or a celebrity's young daughter gets kidnapped, ransomed and returned home unharmed. Your firm manufactures bracelets that also secretly function as location devices. Had the daughter been wearing one of your bracelets, the police would have been able to find her within an hour.
Got the idea?
In the first two of these situations, the business seeking publicity serves local customers only, so they should direct their publicity tie-in efforts to local newspapers, TV and radio. In the third situation, the company should aim at national publicity first, since their customers live anywhere.
The simplest way to jump into action with your breaking news connection is to call a media outlet you have reason to believe would consider your story relevant and track down the reporter or editor who handles the subject matter. This is much easier than it sounds. You see, tips are the lifeblood of news organizations, so that unlike companies that shield employees from the public, they have to have a system of channeling story suggestions to the proper person.
All you have to do is call the main telephone number of the media outlet, ask for the "news desk" and then ask who you should contact about a real estate (for our first example), business (for the second) or child safety (for the third) story. When you reach the person covering your topic, explain your news connection in four sentences or less. If you're leaving a voice mail message, end with your call-back number. If you're talking to someone live, finish your pitch, shut up and wait for their response.
You can make this sort of pitch by email also, if you have a reliable email address for a reporter, tip line or topical editor. Keep it brief and to the point and include a phone number as well as your email address for a reply.
When you're trying to interest national media in your story, pitching media outlets one by one takes too much time. If you have a particular media outlet you think would be a likely match for your publicity angle, contact them as described above. For example, the child safety bracelet story would be perfect for morning TV news shows like "Today" or "CBS This Morning." Otherwise, writing and distributing a press release is the way to go.
A press release presents your news tie-in in a specific journalistic-style format. (Google "sample press release" to find models to follow.) Normally these are 400 words or less - a page or so - in length. Use a press release distribution service such as PR Newswire, PRWeb or Emailwire to get your release in front or media people and the public.
Above all, do not delay. What's hot and exciting today may evoke no interest at all tomorrow or next week. Inform yourself now about all the steps described here so that when news breaks that can launch you into the public eye, you're prepared to jump right into action.
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
If a news story breaks that relates to the services or products you sell, become alert, find an interesting way to make the connection, and take action as soon as possible. This is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to earn media coverage that captures attention in the marketplace.
The news you use as a hook might be front-page stuff or much more obscure. It could be national, international or local.
Let's say you're a plumber and you learn that the price of copper, which has been sky-high for the last year, suddenly dropped. The connection is that homeowners will soon have an opportunity to undertake kitchen or bath renovations for less because the price of copper pipes will be lower.
Or an earthquake occurs halfway around the world, killing thousands, in a city thought to have a low risk of quakes. You own an insurance company. You now have an opening to offer advice on whether or not those living in your locale should have earthquake coverage.
Or a celebrity's young daughter gets kidnapped, ransomed and returned home unharmed. Your firm manufactures bracelets that also secretly function as location devices. Had the daughter been wearing one of your bracelets, the police would have been able to find her within an hour.
Got the idea?
In the first two of these situations, the business seeking publicity serves local customers only, so they should direct their publicity tie-in efforts to local newspapers, TV and radio. In the third situation, the company should aim at national publicity first, since their customers live anywhere.
The simplest way to jump into action with your breaking news connection is to call a media outlet you have reason to believe would consider your story relevant and track down the reporter or editor who handles the subject matter. This is much easier than it sounds. You see, tips are the lifeblood of news organizations, so that unlike companies that shield employees from the public, they have to have a system of channeling story suggestions to the proper person.
All you have to do is call the main telephone number of the media outlet, ask for the "news desk" and then ask who you should contact about a real estate (for our first example), business (for the second) or child safety (for the third) story. When you reach the person covering your topic, explain your news connection in four sentences or less. If you're leaving a voice mail message, end with your call-back number. If you're talking to someone live, finish your pitch, shut up and wait for their response.
You can make this sort of pitch by email also, if you have a reliable email address for a reporter, tip line or topical editor. Keep it brief and to the point and include a phone number as well as your email address for a reply.
When you're trying to interest national media in your story, pitching media outlets one by one takes too much time. If you have a particular media outlet you think would be a likely match for your publicity angle, contact them as described above. For example, the child safety bracelet story would be perfect for morning TV news shows like "Today" or "CBS This Morning." Otherwise, writing and distributing a press release is the way to go.
A press release presents your news tie-in in a specific journalistic-style format. (Google "sample press release" to find models to follow.) Normally these are 400 words or less - a page or so - in length. Use a press release distribution service such as PR Newswire, PRWeb or Emailwire to get your release in front or media people and the public.
Above all, do not delay. What's hot and exciting today may evoke no interest at all tomorrow or next week. Inform yourself now about all the steps described here so that when news breaks that can launch you into the public eye, you're prepared to jump right into action.
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.
Fax To Email Can Be Easily Done With Online Fax
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
Many business owners and ordinary individuals often wonder how you can use your email system to send a fax? Especially now that more and more companies are switching over to this new way of faxing and countless people are using online fax to handle all their faxing requirements.
But just how do you send a "Fax to Email" or vice versa "Email to Fax?"
First, you have to understand one of the best ways to do this is to sign-up to an online fax service provider, where you will be given a local or Toll-Free fax number, which you can use to send and receive all your faxes. Your online fax provider acts as your intermediary to handle and process all your faxes.
Keep in mind, Internet faxing is simply using your email system and the Internet to send and receive your faxes. Because it is web-based, your faxes are available anytime, anywhere, as long as you have Internet access. Most providers will supply you with an online site (interface) where your faxes are stored. You can also send and receive your faxes from your login site.
Basically, you can send a fax to your online faxing service and they will forward it to the recipient in an email, your fax will be an attachment - usually in PDF or TIFF format. Likewise, you can use your email to send a fax, most companies will give you exact directions on how to do this. In most cases, to send a fax thru your email you simply enter the fax number you want dialed as a prefix in an email to your Fax Provider account - i.e. recipient's faxnumber@yourfaxcompany.com and attach your fax document.
Again, your online service provider acts as your intermediary on your behalf to process your faxes. That way you can still use email fax to send a fax to a traditional fax machine and vice versa. So you're not limited in any way by using an Internet Faxing service.
As mentioned before, in order to start using Internet faxing you have to sign-up to an online fax provider. There are numerous different faxing companies you can use but remember this is usually a long term service so do your homework now and you can save yourself some serious cash over the long haul. Your main goal is to find a service that meets your specific needs or requirements.
Monthly charges usually runs around $10 a month but there are cheaper options if your faxing requirements are very minimum. Some services offer a "pay-as-you-go" plan or have a yearly fee of around $20. So it does indeed pay to shop around.
Online faxing has many advantages over the traditional way of faxing; mainly it is paperless, inkless, more convenient, more secure and you don't need a fax machine or an extra phone line. Besides, it is totally mobile, compatible with laptops, PDAs, cell phones... and available anywhere you have the Internet.
Regardless of what you call it online fax, Internet fax, web fax... this is one service that will be here to stay.
Are you using it?
About the Author:
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: online fax service Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services.
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more Articles written by Titus Hoskins.
Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins
Many business owners and ordinary individuals often wonder how you can use your email system to send a fax? Especially now that more and more companies are switching over to this new way of faxing and countless people are using online fax to handle all their faxing requirements.
But just how do you send a "Fax to Email" or vice versa "Email to Fax?"
First, you have to understand one of the best ways to do this is to sign-up to an online fax service provider, where you will be given a local or Toll-Free fax number, which you can use to send and receive all your faxes. Your online fax provider acts as your intermediary to handle and process all your faxes.
Keep in mind, Internet faxing is simply using your email system and the Internet to send and receive your faxes. Because it is web-based, your faxes are available anytime, anywhere, as long as you have Internet access. Most providers will supply you with an online site (interface) where your faxes are stored. You can also send and receive your faxes from your login site.
Basically, you can send a fax to your online faxing service and they will forward it to the recipient in an email, your fax will be an attachment - usually in PDF or TIFF format. Likewise, you can use your email to send a fax, most companies will give you exact directions on how to do this. In most cases, to send a fax thru your email you simply enter the fax number you want dialed as a prefix in an email to your Fax Provider account - i.e. recipient's faxnumber@yourfaxcompany.com and attach your fax document.
Again, your online service provider acts as your intermediary on your behalf to process your faxes. That way you can still use email fax to send a fax to a traditional fax machine and vice versa. So you're not limited in any way by using an Internet Faxing service.
As mentioned before, in order to start using Internet faxing you have to sign-up to an online fax provider. There are numerous different faxing companies you can use but remember this is usually a long term service so do your homework now and you can save yourself some serious cash over the long haul. Your main goal is to find a service that meets your specific needs or requirements.
Monthly charges usually runs around $10 a month but there are cheaper options if your faxing requirements are very minimum. Some services offer a "pay-as-you-go" plan or have a yearly fee of around $20. So it does indeed pay to shop around.
Online faxing has many advantages over the traditional way of faxing; mainly it is paperless, inkless, more convenient, more secure and you don't need a fax machine or an extra phone line. Besides, it is totally mobile, compatible with laptops, PDAs, cell phones... and available anywhere you have the Internet.
Regardless of what you call it online fax, Internet fax, web fax... this is one service that will be here to stay.
Are you using it?
About the Author:
For more information on Internet Fax Services use this handy online Comparison Guide to get your own: online fax service Or if you want more detailed information on Internet Faxing try here: internet fax services.
Copyright (c) 2009 Titus Hoskins. http://www.bizwaremagic.com This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more Articles written by Titus Hoskins.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)