Sam Carrara's Marketing Education

Customer Service in Playa Del Carmen

Sam — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:51:51 +0000

We are on day five of our vacation, it is beautiful and relaxing. The day we arrived, we checked in and met our Guest Services Coordinator. She, Nelly, helped us arrange tours and a vacation membership preview tour (more about that in another post).

There are numerous people needed to make a resort like the Playacar Palace successful. Some mornings we would get up early enough to see a bus come to the hotel loaded with the hotel workers. These people include:

Check-in staff
Baggage handlers
Maids
Restaurant check-in
Cooks
Wait staff
Bar tenders
Pool staff
Maintenance
And many more…

All of the workers have customer service at the top of their mind, always have smile on their face and genuine interest in you. It is like they went to “Palace Resorts University,” they all are like this. Some asked “where are you from,” “how did you like…” and “how can we help you?”

There is a real difference between real customer service and “faking it.” Go to your local fast food restaurant employing a minimum wage employee, he/she just cares about doing the minimum to get a paycheck. There is a real difference between the Palace experience and minimum wage experience.

The other part is consistency. We have gone to four of the local Palace resorts and they are all the same high quality. Consistency is very important.

The two main lessons here are:

Genuine interest
Consistency

Above is just a shadow of the Great Customer Service provided by Palace employees.

Genuine Interest and Consistency,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
100% Guaranteed at: Easy Product Creator

Anniversary Vacation in Playa Del Carmen

Sam — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:24:18 +0000

A few months ago I booked a 10th Anniversary trip for my wife and I to Playacar Palace in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. We arrived yesterday and have enjoyed the experience thus far. This trip is a time to relax, recharge and reconnect. To see more about the Playacar Palace, visit the website:
http://www.palaceresorts.com/Resorts/PlayacarPalace/Index.asp

Over the next few days I’ll give a few highlights of the trip and maybe a few pictures, BUT this will be a relaxing trip. This area is known as the Mexican Riviera. Some of the topics I hope to cover about the trip are:

Customer Service
Sales
Exclusivity
Recharge

Mexican Vacation,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

You need to laugh- Bust a Gut at:PureLaugh.com

Social Bookmark List

Sam — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:01:58 +0000

Part of Web 2.0 is use of social bookmarks, I have included a partial list of social bookmarking sites below:

BlinkList
BlogMarks
Blue Dot
Buzka
Clipmarks
Cogenz
Connectbeam
CoReap
de.lirio.us
del.icio.us
Digg
Diigo
Feedmarker
Furl
Google Bookmarks
iloggo
Jots
Linkademic
Linkroll
LookLater
Lookmarks
ma.gnolia
MarkIt
Mr. Wong
Netvouz
pligg based sites
Raw Sugar
scuttle based sites
Shadows
Simpy
Spurl
Tagseasy
Yahoo! My Web
Zurpy

Get Social,
Sam Carrara

Please add your favorites to this list.

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
Triple-Your-Money-Back Guarantee at: Amazing Marketing

Web 2.0 Learning

Sam — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:24:12 +0000

I have not been blogging for awhile because I found some great learning material. Web 2.0 is very interesting and some people think it is confusing. It is rather simple when you get the right teacher.

I started listening to a podcast by Michael Campbell on http://www.internetmarketingsecrets.com

He breaks down what is Web 2.0, how to use it and how to profit from it. I would recommend that you read his blog and listen to his podcast.

Here is a short (partial) list of Web 2.0 properties:

Digg
Stumbleupon
Furl
Reddit
Slashdot
Mr Wong
Blip.tv
Technorati
And many more…

2.0 and Go,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Thriller- Cebu Provincial Detention

Sam — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:11:45 +0000

Today’s video is called: Thriller
They are performed and produced by 1,500 plus Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines. Enjoy the video and then I’ll discuss viral characteristics of it.

This video is already viral because: (15,622,475 views as of this post)

Entertain- You want to see how they will be able to adapt the original video by Michael Jackson. That many guys in orange as zombies is scary.
Controversial- At the beginning there is a scared “woman,” of course here it is a guy! This is a prison that uses positive reinforcement to create change in prisoners, most people think the opposite should happen in prison.
Slick or nor- The video is simple and zooms in and out at needed times. Not Hollywood quality, but a well rehearsed production.
Simple- They took the video and added some simple titles on top.

Some “take aways” from this video- Get it done and release it, it doesn’t have to be perfect. If people like it they will ask for more. They have produced more videos including songs- I Need A Hero, Hero, Do The Hustle and 24 videos total. And here’s a few words why they are doing this- “Some people really can’t believe that this prison dance actually is happening and it has proven to be an effective tool for transforming extremely negative people into positive individuals.”

This video I rate as Four Viral (out of five). This is a classic rework of the original that I watch every six months or so.

Thriller,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Don’t be BROkE, watch the video that will show you how to create your website.
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Threadless Lesson

Sam — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:30:07 +0000

In the June issue of Inc. magazine I read a great article about Threadless. Simply they are a t-shirt company, but they are much more! They have t-shirt design contests, people vote on their favorites and only the good ones get produced.

This is Web 2.0, having your customers telling you what they will buy. You can win $2,500 for having your shirt design picked. Read the article in print (June 2008) or online while it’s still there at:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080601/the-customer-is-the-company.html

Then searching around I saw a great video interview with Jake Nickell and Jeffrey Kalmikoff from Threadless. Simple questions, simple answers but insightful. Watch the video at:
http://www.horsepigcow.com/2008/05/06/the-whuffie-factor-threadless-interview

What is the Marketing Lesson here?

Ask your customer’s what they want, give it to them.
Repeat!

Web 2.Shirt,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
100% Guaranteed at: Easy Product Creator

Remember Me- Memorial Day

Sam — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:31:23 +0000

I post this in remembrance of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and other Servicemen and Women that have served in the United States Armed Forces both in the past, present and future. My wife and I have stood in your boots with service in the U.S. Army.

Yesterday was Memorial Day, but we should remember that they service not one day a year, but all year round. We may be sleeping, eating, driving to work, enjoying time with family and they are out there Serving.

The video below has over 24 million views because it is well done and reminds us to “Remember Me.”

Thank you,
Sam Carrara

p.s. Please thank a veteran or presently serving service member.

SC Marketing Education

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Enjoying the Weekend with Family

Sam — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:13:15 +0000

Did gas prices put a dent in your weekend travels? I figured we have the time let’s take a short trip and have fun as a family.

Before I get into what we did, here’s how to save a little money on your trip:

Traveling by Car- Use the more fuel efficient one for longer trips. Our Dodge Grand Caravan gets about 18 miles to the gallon and the Honda Civic gets around 34 to 35 miles to the gallon. The trunk space on the Civic is huge.
Hotel costs- You should get a AAA (Automobile Association of America) membership, or your local equivalent. Many hotels have special rates for AAA members that save you 10-15%. You can also get special rates as military, government (state and federal) and check the hotel websites for other online only specials
Museum and Zoo fees- Ask for a military or student discount if it applies to you. If you plan to go to the same place alot, some places have annual memberships which will also save you money.

Here’s what we did:
Friday night I looked at flying to Orlando for a short Disney trip. Just flights would be $317 per person each, let’s see what else. Busch Gardens Williamsburg looks good, but it is about five hours away, too long in the car for this short of a trip.

How about about a two day trip to Columbia, SC? It’s only one and a half hours away, sounds good. We slept in a little on Saturday and headed down to Columbia. We ate lunch and spent the afternoon at the Edventure Museum. (http://www.edventure.org)

Some of the exhibits at the Edventure Museum include:

A three story boy named Eddie, you can crawl inside him and see his spine, stomach with food inside, his brain, etc.
World of work- Be a farmer and milk a cow or pick peaches, put on a fireman’s jacket and ride in their truck, build at a construction site and more.
BodyWorks- Brush Eddie’s teeth, find out what food is good for you, play a large game of Operation, and see how your joints work.

There’s more, look at their website to see what else they have. On Sunday we went to the Riverbanks Zoo. (http://www.riverbanks.org/) It was a good Zoo for kids and had lots of animals. We were there about four hours and then headed for home. It was a good short trip and we have Monday to just relax around the house and at the community pool.

Take time with Family,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
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Together We Can

Sam — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:23:30 +0000

Mondays will be video clip day- specifically I’ll try to find one that could or may already be Viral. Today’s video is called: Together We Can
Enjoy the video and then I’ll discuss viral characteristics of it.

This video could become viral because:

Entertain- The video shows lots of smiling faces and some you may recognize. Some of the people in the video include goalkeeper David James, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, London’s new Mayor, Boris Johnson and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Controversial- This video is about affecting climate change. Together they have one message - little actions can make a big difference on climate change and together we can. It has a good message and is trying to appeal to a broad audience.
Slick or nor- This video uses classic cuts from one person to the next piecing together a message. It helps you see these are real people like you and me by towards the end people are laughing and showing clips that are almost like outtakes.
Simple- Create a script, ask people to say some of the lines and piece it together. No special effects were necessary, just real people wanting to raise national awareness about a Global issue- Climate Change.

This video I rate as Three Viral (out of five). The video has a good message, but there are more viral ones to come.

Together,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Viral Videos Staggering Statistics

Sam — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:42:08 +0000

What makes Viral Videos go “Viral?” Why do they get passed around and have so many views?

Here is a short partial list of characteristics of Viral Videos:

They entertain. It isn’t an in your face BUY ME! You may laugh, cry or just enjoy yourself. They don’t have to market a product or service, but they can.
They can be controversial. If it’s boring who wants to watch it and share with others. Many times they take a stand on an issue and some company or individuals strongly disagree with what is said. They also polarize people the other way by being advocates for spreading the video. Either way the video will spread because people will say the loved or hated the video.
They are not slick. If the video looks like it was professionally done by Hollywood, then people tend to think there is some big marketing agency behind it working to “psychologically” manipulate you.
They are simple. If you analyze what the video is about and how they produced it, you realized you could have done that in a few days.

Here is an example of one Viral Video (The World’s First Bionic Burger):

Bionic Burger viral evaluation: (1,193,293 views as of this post)

Entertain- The story is easy to follow and has a recognizable of McDonalds. You are drawn to want to know what happens to the second burger. You will see web links on the video to find out more information about the burgers.
Controversial- Then you find out why it is called “Bionic.” This is something that McDonalds doesn’t want you to see. The burger is made of what??
Slick or not- The video isn’t crisp, but you get the main point about the burger.
Simple- This video was made with one actor and the director (who also acted). The main actor was a friend of the director. This video looks like it took a day or two to make.

This video I rate as Three Viral (out of five). It’s a good video, but there are more to come.

Go Viral,
Sam Carrara

p.s. I’ll be analyzing different Viral Videos to help you with marketing, stay tuned.

SC Marketing Education

Don’t be BROkE, watch the video that will show you how to create your website.
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Save 2 Cents by Driving 2 Miles

Sam — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:31:22 +0000

The average price of a gallon of gasoline for the United States of America on 5/12/08 was $3.722, that price has since increased during the week. That price is over 60 cents higher than a year ago and over 10 cents higher than one week ago. To see more about gas prices, visit:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/wrgp/mogas_home_page.html

What will the price look like on 5/19/2008 look like? It will probably be around $3.89 per gallon and continue to climb thru the Fourth of July weekend.

So what should we do to save a little money while the price is going up? A few options to save money include:

Reduce the number of trips you need to take. Only go to the grocery store once per week and stay home to eat your meals, this will also save money other than gas usage.
Ask your employer if you can work from home 1-2 days per week. Make sure to put together a work plan and report the positive results. This may allow you in the future to work more days from home, as long as you actually work.
Remove any unnecessary items from your car. Additional weight in your vehicle causes more gas to be used.
Car pool or take the bus to work. In the end run it may cost less and you may be able to get a little reading or work done while in transit.
Don’t leave your car idling while you stop to do an errand or other tasks. Turn it off if it will sit more than a minute (some people say 30 seconds).
Watch your speed, driving the speed limit rather than 5-10 miles per hour faster than the speed limit saves gas by the vehicle using the gas more efficiently.

All of these ways can save more than 2 cents from gas savings. Would you drive two miles to save two cents per gallon? If the gas station is along your route of travel then the additional drive is fine. But, if you have to go out of your way two miles, that two cents times twenty to thirty gallons (40-60 cents) is lost on the four mile round trip detour. Get started saving gas now!

Save Gas Money,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
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10th Wedding Anniversary

Sam — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:19:33 +0000

On Sunday my Wife and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We met in college and took about 95% of the same classes. So between dating and being married we have been together about 13-1/2 years.

To be clear, we do have arguments from time to time. And discussions can get heated, but they get worked out. The key is to get back up, grow and move forward.

We started celebrating by having dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was an Anniversary dinner plus two. The two are our kids. It was a great Italian dinner starting with fried mozzarella, Italian sodas, a garden salad, and then some huge entrees. The 7 layer lasagna and honey balsamic chicken were delicious, but we boxed up most of them for meals later during the weekend. For dessert we had Three-Berry Tiramisu, needless to say it was good too.

Then on Saturday night we got a baby sitter and went off to the movies. We went to see Iron Man. We thought it started at 8:00 PM but found out it changed to 7:45 PM. It was ok, because it saved us 15 minutes of watching movie previews.

What’s next? I am planning an Anniversary trip and would like suggestions. We are want to go away for about seven days and flying there. Post a comment and let me know where you suggest going.

Happily Married,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

You need to laugh- Bust a Gut at:PureLaugh.com

Brazil- Home in USA

Sam — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:12:00 +0000

We arrived home on Saturday safely. I didn’t realize we would be out so late each night, so I have delayed writing about the rest of the trip. I will be posting pictures and continue to detail what we did in São Paulo. I’m well rested now.

Look for it Soon,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
Triple-Your-Money-Back Guarantee at: Amazing Marketing

The Secret To Blogging Success

Sam — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:00:41 +0000

Guest Post by Keith Goodrum

Ask most bloggers what is the secret to blogging success and you will get many answers. Writing, posting, networking are several answers you will hear. Some even recognize that promotion is a huge factor to blogging success.

You will also hear specific tactics or strategies like commenting on other blogs, linking, deep linking, article writing, trackbacks, guest posting and many more…

Actually none of them are the secret to blogging success. And neither are any of the other answers people will come up with are the secret. OK so what is the secret? Well…

*There are no secrets!*

Yep, that’s right… nobody has any secrets squirreled away. Sure there is a period of time that a secret will remain hidden. But, eventually they all get out.

And there are a couple of reasons why.

1. There are too many blogs blogging about blogging - Hey, pretty much every method, process, tactic or strategy has been blogged about. Bloggers are so starved for original content that they will publish everything. Everybody wants to be the 1st blogger to blog about some newly discovered tip. All
the bases are covered.

2. Humans as a general rule… CAN’T keep secrets. The temptation is too great to spill the beans. Think about this; most people when they find out something new are busting at the seems to tell someone. They feel so smug that they’ve figured out a secret that it’s no fun keeping it to themselves. They have to tell someone.

3. A blogger starts to achieve great success, and people take notice. What happens next is people want to know what this particular blogger is doing. They will reverse engineer the blog to figure out the secret. It becomes a challenge to “crack the code”

*So, while some “secrets” appear to be kept*

They really aren’t kept. It’s just taking longer for that information to get spread around. Information spreads at different speeds. That’s one of the reasons why some information appears to be a secret. It’s spreading at a much slower rate.

*The real secret to blogging…*

It’s sitting right under your nose, and is come disguised as work. The key to building a blog is taking action. Stop looking around for that magic bullet. Get started today.

So, what do ya say… want to share one of your blogging secrets? Oh, wait… if you did that, then it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.

SC Marketing Education

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Brazil- Day Two Part 2

Sam — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 03:12:20 +0000

In the afternoon of Day Two (Sunday) we went out to a beautiful camp that Nathan Fray has purchased to use for summer camps. It is 12 acres with five houses, a pool and 1100 feet of lake frontage.

Surprisingly this location is considered part of the City, but is far removed from the noise and number of people. One great thing for the camp is that it is accessible by city bus ($1.50 fare) and the final two kilometers the campers can walk in or be shuttled in cars or a bus.

On one side the land is owned by the government and across the lake is owned by the utility. Both sections of land will probably never be developed. Future plans are to add a dock for water sports, a soccer field, a volleyball field, a sandy beach and a lot more. This property is beautiful.

Instead of working at the church at Morales Prado, I and three other men will be working to fix up the camp. After viewing the camp we went to the second church they built called Jardim Mirna. These services were also very enjoyable.

Wonderful Camp,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Brazil- Day One and Two

Sam — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:34:48 +0000

Why am I in Brazil? Why do you work hard and then invest time in others? Because we are called to be Servants to one another. It really isn’t all about us!

Day One
On Saturday morning we landed in São Paulo. We were met by David Huffman, one of the missionaries we support, and took a bus to the houses we were to stay at for the week. We changed into work clothes and went right to the church. This church is called Morales Prado and is the third church that David and co-missionary David Fray (and families) have built in the Southern part of São Paulo.

After eating lunch there we started work. I helped with door framing, while others starting laying out floor tile, varnishing wood tables and cabinets, put in electrical wires, and cleaned the outside of the church walls. For many of the men on this trip this was their fourth time in Brazil and 18th or 19th time on a mission trip. There were a few men that this was their first time. It was my first time to Brazil, but 2nd mission trip, my last one was to Peru.

After about five hours we stopped for dinner. After the first two meals I knew we were going to eat well the whole time. The food was delicious. After dinner we headed back to the houses to get some showers and some much needed sleep. I believe I only slept about three hours on the plane, so I was tired.

Day Two
On Sunday morning we had pineapple, apples, bananas and bread with jelly for breakfast. Then we headed off to Morales Prado for morning Sunday School and then Church Service. I enjoyed meeting new people and the services. We sang songs like Santo! Santo! Santo! (Holy! Holy! Holy!) and Estou Seguindo a Jesus Cristo (I Have Decided to Follow Jesus).

All day I have been writing notes down on a sheet of paper and other people ask why? I like languages and have started learning a little Portuguese. In Spanish to say “Hello” you would say “Hola” in Portuguese it is “Hoy.” There are many similarities between the two languages, but some differences. Some words I wrote translating from English to Portuguese include: (may not be spelled correctly, but they tell me how to pronounce them)
Obrigado = Thank you
Deus = God
Bon jer = Good morning
Lucas = Luke
Felice = Happy
Perdone = Forgiveness

After services we went to a local family’s house (Andreia and kids), ate lunch and talked. It is so easy to see how richly blessed (and spoiled) we are after seeing what they have. We have more “junk” in our garages than they have possessions in their whole house (three small rooms). For lunch we ate fried chicken (no breading and marinated in garlic), beans and white rice, sheppard’s pie type dish, and noodles with tomato sauce. Family members who lived nearby helped prepare the meal for us. I felt a little guilty going for seconds. It was so good and they wanted us to feel welcome. I must have folded 10 paper airplanes for the kids, they loved them.

For dessert we had passion fruit pudding, the whole meal was delicious. At all meals we drank Coca-Cola, Fanta Uva (Grape) and other local sodas. You had to becafeful not to drink the local water and get sick. And there was a lot more we did on day two, I’ll save that for my next post.

Time To Give Back,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
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Brazil Bound

Sam — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:13:37 +0000

I’m presently in the Atlanta Airport waiting for my 12 9 hour flight to Brazil. The Delta Airlines 767-400 plane will be full and I’ll want to run around. I’ll try to post some pictures here in a few days. I’m told the area is beautiful.

I already have one guest blogger setup for next week. If you would like to have a post here next week follow the procedure on my post at:
http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/traveling-to-sao-paulo/

Brazil Bound,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Learn About the Most Reliable, Easiest, Cost Effective Tool to Capture Visitor Sign Ups
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Traveling to São Paulo

Sam — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:31:25 +0000

I’ve been a little busy lately with final exams (working on an MBA) and getting ready to travel to São Paulo tomorrow. So here are a few tidbits to absorb:

São Paulo is the capital of Brazil and has over ten million people (10,000,000). See more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo

I’ll be there to help finish building a church. Some of the jobs that need to be done to complete this church include some electrical wiring, door hanging, painting and laying tile. The tile won’t be fun, but it needs to get done. This is the third of 10 churches that the Missionaries we support plan to build in São Paulo. Please pray for safe travels, we will be there for about a week.

If you would like to be a guest blog poster while I’m gone, post on your blog (with a link to this post) and trackback to this post. I’ll contact you to receive the post info.

I’ll still post a few times and will be checking my comments.

Almost São Paulo Bound,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
Triple-Your-Money-Back Guarantee at: Amazing Marketing

24 Hour Special- Top Search Terms

Sam — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:45:05 +0000

Have you ever wondered what people are looking for on the Internet? I did, then I found places to find this information out.

I have recorded myself investigating these areas to find Top Search Terms using Camtasia and have put them on DVD. You can watch it on your computer or DVD player for your TV.

~~Until noon tomorrow (EST which is GMT -5) you can get Top Search Terms for $35. After this 24 hour special the price will go up to $100.~~
Update: This DVD is now listed at $50, order now before I remove it and only offer to coaching clients.

Here is the URL to order the DVD (opens in a new browser window or tab)…

http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00NYZROT

This DVD also goes into what you can do with Top Search Terms.

Here’s an example of some recent top search terms:

1. tyreke evans
2. ellen simonetti
3. democratic debate
4. presidential debate
5. clinton obama debate
6. abc debate
7. maria shriver
8. pennsylvania debate
9. american idol april 16
10. ali vincent
11. travis ford
12. craig zolezzi
13. battle hymn of the republic
14. how old is mariah carey
15. tricia walsh smith
16. american idol top 6
17. whiskey river
18. sharpe james
19. ordway colorado
20. democratic debate april 16

Top Search,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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24 Hour Special Tomorrow

Sam — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:16:35 +0000

Just a reminder, tomorrow (Friday) I release a DVD that will show you… You’ll see tomorrow!

Don’t miss it. The price will go up after 24 hours.

Until then check out:

http://www.keithgoodrum.com/the-irs-tax-deadline-is-a-great-marketing-lesson/

And

http://www.skelliewag.org/how-to-get-piles-of-links-subscribers-and-comments-273.htm

DVD Coming Soon,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Don’t be BROkE, watch the video that will show you how to create your website.
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About to Break 200K in Alexa

Sam — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:00:59 +0000

As I write this post, this blog has an Alexa Rating of 205,159. Just a few months ago it was around 8,000,000 (Eight Million).

Good movement, but I’m not done yet. I’m doing a big push now to move to 150,000.

I’m asking for a little help.
Go to the post below and come to my site over the next few days:
http://www.samcarrara.com/marketing/more-traffic-download-the-alexa-toolbar/

Thank you for your help.

Also, this Friday I have a product being released that you won’t want to miss, it will have over 60% savings for only 24 hours. After that time period, the price goes up.

Keep watching here each day, next week I release the Alexa Secrets that has propelled my blog and others using this method.

Stay Tuned,
Sam Carrara

p.s. Download the Alexa Toolbar now- http://www.alexa.com/site/download

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
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Staying at The Atlantis

Sam — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 02:10:28 +0000

Last night I spent the night in The Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno. I had some work to do nearby and my company has a corporate discount there. The discount made the room price low compared to anywhere else in the country, under $50. The view of The Atlantis from the outside was amazing.

I checked in and expected a regular room like everyone else and was told my room was on the 26th floor. Thinking nothing of it, I went on my journey to the third set of elevators to the top floors. After walking past rows upon rows of slot machines (one-arm bandits), I had to ask someone working the floor where the “hidden” elevators were.

Finally I found the elevators and I had to swipe my key in order for the elevator to let me up to my floor. (It still hadn’t hit me yet!) Going that many floors up quickly was a little disheartening since it had a glass front and OH do I love heights! I got off the elevator, went to my room and had a shocking discovery…

It was a Suite! It had a Hot Tub, Huge Comfy Bed, Marble Bathroom and more. The Hot Tub was big and looked like it could fit two people comfortably. The hot water and bubbles can really relax you after a long day. The white robes with slippers were great. I almost thought of keeping one, but there was a little note that said they were available for purchase in the Logo shop.

The dark wood bed had about 10 pillows, some of them traditional white ones and other big black soft ones. The bed was comfortable and the black blanket was soft. The spindles on this bed were artistic. It was great.

The bathroom had white marble (probably Carrara marble). The shower was spacious and the double sinks really gave a lot of room to put your toiletries. There was two types of soap, both hand (milk and honey) and body soaps. I forgot to take a picture of the bathroom. In the morning I noticed that the windows of my room were pink (look at the picture above and see the pink window areas).

I also used the internet there which was only $9.99 per day. It was a small price to pay for getting a lot done. Overall it was a great stay. Oh! I forgot about eating breakfast there. Toucan Charlie’s Buffet and Grille was delicious. I love food and could have gone for multiple trips, but I was trying to be good.

I started with orange juice and water to drink. When I headed for the buffet, I expected breakfast only food. I ended up getting- eggs, corned beef hash, a taco, an enchilada and more. They also had omelets, a Mongolian Grill, fruits, and lots of other yummies. On the way out I almost got a few treats from their bakery because they looked so good. I think I need to exercise more so I can indulge on some more treats.

There were also spa treatments, a beautiful pool and many other well done services that I would have taken advantage of if I had more time.

What a great stay, Thank You Atlantis!

Living It Up,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

You need to laugh- Bust a Gut at:PureLaugh.com

How To Solve The Airline Mess?

Sam — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:07:52 +0000

This may not be a popular or welcome post, but I feel I need to state some facts (or my opinion). How do you solve the Airline mess? RAISE PRICES on airline tickets.

Recent Problems

American Airlines grounds 100 MD-80 twin jets on Wednesday April 9th, 2008 for immediate maintenance inspections. Each MD-80 can hold 100 passengers and this action cancels 1,094 flights.
ATA, Aloha and Skybus Airlines closed for business last week. ATA may come back after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to financial problems, but it may take awhile. They have been in business since 1973. Aloha had been in business for 61 years and recently had to lower fares to compete with Mesa Air Group’s inter island passenger flights.

Why

Rising jet fuel costs- You thought the $50 you spent at the gas pump filling your car was high. Imagine hundreds of gallons of fuel for each flight. Each cent increase of fuel costs is huge to the airline industry.
Slowing economy- All over people are seeing the slow down and deciding to hold off on some purchases. Instead of taking a long distance trip, they will take a local one and save money. More companies are using teleconferences and webinars to get business done, rather than pay for the flights, hotels, meals and included costs of face to face communication.

Other Issues

Workers pay- Month after month you see another part of the airline industry “in talks” or on strike to improve their compensation, be it dollars or benefits. The three main groups I see are Airline Pilots, Mechanics and Airline Attendants (the term keeps changing).
Pension plans- Very closely related to pay, most of these plans are underfunded. How many plans need to be taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Do you know what money is used by PBGC to makeup the difference in funding for pension plans? Taxes!

These are just a few of the issues about Airline woes. Rising ticket prices would solve some of these problems. Although raising prices would decrease the number of people flying, I think in the long run it is needed. On the short term due to the price elasticity of demand for airline tickets will hurt for a little bit. (I can explain price elasticity of demand in another post.)

This is always a big marketing question that is often overlooked-
Am I charging to little for my product or service?
You don’t know unless you do some testing.

More posts to read about this Debacle:
http://timeshareownersblog.sellmytimesharenow.com/2008/04/10/how-airline-closings-effect-timeshare-vacations-and-timeshare-resales/

http://michelemiller.blogs.com/marketing_to_women/2008/04/i-am-a-dividend.html

http://www.freightdawg.com/2008/04/ata-bankruptcy.html

Check Your Prices,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
Triple-Your-Money-Back Guarantee at: Amazing Marketing

Save Time with LeechBlock

Sam — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:49:50 +0000

I found another good way to reclaim your time in the form of a FireFox extension/plugin. LeechBlock lets you set times and domains to block to help you get more accomplished.

Really it helps you to avoid looking at the newest Anime episode when you should be working.

To read the whole review see it at LifeHacker-
http://lifehacker.com/374812/save-yourself-from-time-sinks-online-with-leechblock

Save Time,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Save Money at the Supermarket

Sam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:16:20 +0000

Have you ever looked at how much money you spend each week at the supermarket? It’s hundreds of dollars each month and adds up to alot over the year. I think I’ll stop eating, that will solve it. Who’s with me?

I know I need to eat and it can be less expensive in the long run to cook my own food, rather than going to a restaurant. So if you must buy at the supermarket, buy smart! Just an example of one item that we like to eat is Kashi Go Lean Cereal. Each box is 14.1 ounces, has 13 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber and only 1 gram of fat (or as they say “1g of lowfat”).

I like the cereal and decided to do a price comparison between different places selling the cereal. I looked at Target, Lowes Foods and Bloom (Food Lion offshoot). I could have also included Harris Teeter, BiLo and a few more in the area (Charlotte, NC). The results are:

Target- $3.34 per box

Lowes- $3.69 per box

Bloom- $3.71 per box

The clear winner is Target that is 35 to 37 cents lower than the other two. Is this a good metric to decide all of my food buying? I would say not. This Target is farther away than the other supermarkets, so there is a gas cost. (Soon I’ll have a Super Target near me )

Here’s my plan and homework-

I am putting all of my food receipts on top of my microwave for a month.
Then I will determine the top 20-30 items my family buys during the month. Milk, orange juice, eggs, cereals, pasta, etc.
I will do a total price comparison with this frequently bought list to figure out where to but our groceries. In it I will include mileage to determine that cost.
I’ll post the results here. If there is enough interest I’ll create a spreadsheet to help you save money on your grocery shopping.

Supermarket Savings,
Sam Carrara

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote this cereal or any of the companies listed, nor do I earn any affiliate commissions off this post.

SC Marketing Education

Don’t be BROkE, watch the video that will show you how to create your website.
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My Six Figure Affiliate Check

Sam — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:31:26 +0000

I wanted to show you my six-figure affiliate income check from last month, but the following things prevented me from doing this:

I forgot to pickup the mail
My dog ate it (I don’t have a dog)
My scanner isn’t working
I can no longer upload pictures
It’s a special day in April, being the 1st

Although I have not received this check yet… I plan to. I am taking action and working on multiple methods of traffic and improving my marketing to reach that point. That check and others will be mine by this time next year, without any April Fools jokes.

I’ll reveal a few of the methods I’ll use to accomplish this:

Articles- Many sites want new content and will take your articles to build up their website size. In the last paragraph of your article your have a resource box that talks a little about you and a link to get more information on the topic. The link will point to a lead generation page, an affiliate offer or one of many other methods in the arsenal.
Audios- Just take the article and speak the words into a microphone. Add a little editing and maybe some music and you have a podcast.
Video- Take the audio and add pictures and upload it to your favorite video site (YouTube, Myspace, Google, etc.).
Blogs- Place this information on blogs and tweak it slightly to not run into duplicate content (even though this is a myth or urban legend).
There’s more, stay tuned as I unleash those methods in more details.

I’m using the above procedures for building up traffic to one niche I’m working on right now. I’m also realizing that the first time I do this it takes a little longer to do, each subsequent time is quicker because I have templates and procedures in place. More for later…

Have you figured out what the new plugin is yet that I’m testing? Look at this and the previous two posts, it might help you comment below.

Happy April Fools Day,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
100% Guaranteed at: Easy Product Creator

Remember to File Taxes

Sam — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:01:25 +0000

It’s that time of year again to file for taxes, at least in the United States. Have you filed yet? The deadline is April 15th, unless you file for an extension. The date is coming very soon.

You have a few ways to file:

Use the IRS Free File service at: (http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html) This applies if your adjusted gross income was $54,000 or less in 2007.
Use H&R Block (http://www.hrblock.com/ - not an affiliate link) both in person at an office or by using one of their software packages. Can be limited due to the software might not include all of the special deductions you may want to take.
Use a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to prepare your return. They are more knowledgeable than someone that does taxes a few months out of the year and only had a four hour training class.
There are other ways to file including a paper return done yourself, Liberty Tax Service, Jackson Hewitt and a myriad of online websites.

Why file? When Jesus was asked if it is right to pay taxes, he said “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what is God’s.” And because the taxes help pay for:

The roads you drive on
Police and law enforcement (to include the judicial system).
Firefighters and medics
Recreation areas and national parks
Military- even if you don’t agree with everything they are ordered to do.
And a lot of other services- I don’t agree with them all either, but I vote to try and have my voice heard. You should vote too.

Remember to include all your methods of income:

W2s from jobs you worked
1099s or K1s from being an independent contractor or any business entities (affiliate income included)
Interest income on savings and checking accounts
Any other income- Ebay, etc.

List of common deductions:

Charity- Church, Boy Scouts, Red Cross and all the other tax deductible organizations that you donated to during the year. I don’t give to the charities to get a tax deduction; I do it because it’s right. Some people would say it is socially responsible.
Education- Right from the IRS webpage at: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc605.html “There are two education tax credits available, the Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit. The credits are based on education expenses paid for you, your spouse, or your dependents. During any particular year, you can claim only one of the credits for each student.”
House Interest- Most of the money you pay each month to the mortgage company is going toward interest, not principal. Get this big deduction; just make sure you have the statement showing how much the interest was for the year from them.
Medical costs- This only affects you if it becomes over 7.5% of your income. (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#d0e294) Otherwise it is smart to use a healthcare savings account during the year if your employer has one.
There’s a lot more, some will apply and others won’t.

For more information visit the IRS website at:
http://www.irs.gov/index.html

In Spanish or Español:
http://www.irs.gov/espanol/index.html

Taxes Due Soon,
Sam Carrara

Disclaimer: I do not work for the IRS, so refer to their website for rules and regulations. I wanted to post the above information to help people be more knowledgeable about options available. I don’t recommend or dis-recommend any of the services above due to not having recent experiences with them (I prefer to use a CPA).

SC Marketing Education

Learn About the Most Reliable, Easiest, Cost Effective Tool to Capture Visitor Sign Ups
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Plugin Testing

Sam — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:33:16 +0000

I’m testing a plugin that I recently had made. How do you increase comments in your blog?

Do you know who posted the first comment below? I’ll give you more information when I have completed testing.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be giving it out for free soon.

Plugin Testing,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Discover The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy
Triple-Your-Money-Back Guarantee at: Amazing Marketing

Barbie- Island Princess

Sam — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:19:47 +0000

I can’t believe I have anything Barbie in my house. Both my wife and I refused to allow anything with that name into the house. Then little by little they crept in as gifts from friends and family.

First it was a doll or two; they sneak it in by giving Disney Barbie dolls of Belle, Cinderella and the like. Next it was a VW bug Barbie car and a dog (Tanner) that “poops.” Well the poop was thrown away, even if she had a trash can for it.

The new animation of Barbie videos is great. But animation isn’t everything, you also need a good story line. My wife, kids and I found a Barbie video that is addictive- Barbie as The Island Princess.

It’s about a girl named Ro that as a child fell off a ship and lived with animal friends on an island in the South Seas. Her friends- Sagi, Tika and Azul helped raise her and travel to civilization with her when a handsome Prince Antonio happens by the Island in search of adventure.

Of course they fall in love, but the Prince is betrothed (what a large word) to another girl. His Father (who looks like the Burger King) says she has to marry a princess. I don’t want to spoil the best parts so you have to see it for yourself.

We also purchased the Island Princess CD and can’t get the songs out of our heads. It’s good clean fun, and catchy tunes for the family. One song about rats working to earn cheese is hilarious. I can’t get the words, “Oh can you taste it” out of my head.

Island Princess Fun,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

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Joined Ads4Dough CPA Program

Sam — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:34:33 +0000

A few days ago I joined the Ads4Dough program (www.adsfordough.com). I’ve started to explore the promotions they offer and some look like good money makers.

They are a CPA website that joins Merchants/Advertisers and Affiliates/Publishers.
CPA stands for “Cost-Per-Action“, and is a form of advertising model. The idea is that an advertiser pays a specific amount for each successful sale or lead.

Merchants want more traffic to their product offers, program leads and other dollar generation areas. Some of the programs I saw include:

Mesothelioma- If you do Adsense, this is a high paying keyword. Mesothelioma is cancer caused by asbestos. Lawyers want to get as many clients as possible for these high dollar cases.
Premium Cigars- If you’re in for a good smoke, try it out.
Disney Book Club- Who doesn’t love Disney? We’ve gotten the Disney books before for our kids.
Find Your College- If you are even remotely looking to increase your education try this free service. You will be able to find many quality online and offline (traditional) programs from around the country.
Netflix- You can get a free 2 week trial to check out their service. Now you don’t have to wait for the disks to arrive in the mail, the movies can be downloaded. Think about no due dates and no late fees.

I’ve started promotions on a number of these and others. Check out Ads4Dough for yourself, see what niches you know and market to those people.

Start Your Promotions,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Don’t be BROkE, watch the video that will show you how to create your website.
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Sell It By Ebay Auction

Sam — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:32:14 +0000

A few days ago I encouraged you to unclutter your house. The third way was to sell it. Here is a little more about selling your items on Ebay. (Hint- The shortcut is at the bottom of this post.)

Steps to take for a successful sale:

Setup an account with Ebay. Take a few minutes to decide on a username that people will see when you sell items. Many people use a name close to the type of items they will sell (ie. dart boards would be dartman). Even if you’re not ready to sell, buy a few items to see how the process works. It will also help you gain positive feedback, no feedback makes buyers wary of buying from you.
List all the items you want to sell and start taking pictures of them. I recommend putting a bed sheet or single color background behind them. There are alot of listings that have so much going on in the background, that it gets confusing.
Search around the site to determine what other people are buying similar items for. There is an art to pricing. You would be surprised to find that you want to start with a low listing price to get a high price sold in the end. you want to get them committed to the item and then they will want to win it no matter what.
Write the description, include all the features, what it includes, condition (used, new, etc.), shipping costs, returns, etc. There is alot of information you will want to give.
Finally get down to putting the listing on Ebay. Pay the fees and determine how long you want the auction to last.
Sell it, take payment and ship it. Paypal seems to be the easiest way to accept the money.
Get feedback- this helps future buyers have more confidence in you.
Rinse & repeat- keep the money flowing.

This whole process can be very complex. The list above really just glazes over what you need to do. Put a system in place to maximize your profits, best way to do this is take advantage of a Free Ebay course at: Auction Success. All you have to pay is shipping, which is $4.95. That link is:
http://www.samcarrara.com/auctionsuccess

Sell It By Auction,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

Introducing the First Point and Click System for Creating Your Own Products That Sell Like Crazy!
100% Guaranteed at: Easy Product Creator

Get Back Up

Sam — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:45:10 +0000

How many times have you tried something and failed at it? For me it’s numerous times. There are a few good quotes to encourage you to fail again.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. (Thomas Edison) This was in response to all the ways to create a light bulb that didn’t work. What if we gave up on the 147th try? You may be in the dark.

Fall down seven, Get up eight. In Japanese it is translated nana korobi ya oki. No matter the number of times you fall, get back up.

Some people fall and refuse to try again. Don’t be one of those people. Pick yourself up and try again. LEARN from your mistakes. Push past failure to success.

See what Keith Goodrum had to say about getting back up:
http://www.keithgoodrum.com/help-ive-fallen-i-refuse-to-get-back-up/

Get Back Up,
Sam Carrara

SC Marketing Education

You need to laugh- Bust a Gut at:PureLaugh.com