The Daily Stumble

Is Your Hard Drive Crash Proof?

2013-07-12T00:13:00.000+05:30

Its just a matter of time before you experience a hard drive problem. Are you prepared to loose your data? If your hard drive crashed right now do you have an action plan to follow?

Most people only think of backing up their data after they experience a problem. Don't set yourself up for a data loss disaster.

Your data integrity action plan should consist of the following:

1) How often you will back up your data

2) What data you will back up

3) What back up procedure you will use

How often you back up your data can only be determined by how important you feel it is. Answer this question "If my hard drive crashed right now, I would be alright if I had the data from at least (time) ago".

Of course you would want everything but if you could have the data from 1 month, or 6 months ago would that be sufficient? Whatever time is sufficient mark it on your calendar both a hard copy and set up a meeting on your PC to remind you.

You change your smoke detector batteries when you turn your clock back and when you turn it ahead right? Well back up your data then too.

If you don't change your clocks then pick some holidays or special dates that happen close to the timeframe you want to back up your data so you won't forget.

What data you back up depends on how you use your PC. Some of the key directories, if you are using Windows, are the My Documents, Favorites and Desktop directories.

Remember if you are using multiple profiles on your PC then the three directories above can be different for each profile and each one would need to be backed up.

You will also want to include your email data. Don't forget to write down the email accounts you have. You should also write down any username and passwords so they are not lost. You should look at every directory to see if it has information that you would need.

Make a list of all the software programs you are using. If you have the physical CDs put them all together in a safe location.

Don't forget the CDs for your peripherals like your scanner, digital camera, PDA etc… Collecting these CDs may remind you of additional data that you need to back up.

If you are running software that you installed from downloaded files, burn them to a CD-R and add it to your collection. If you use a CD-R or DVD-R you can update it as you download and install new applications.

What procedure you use to back up your data can be determined by the amount of data you want to back up. Your data might fit onto a CD or DVD in which case you just need to burn it and you're done.

If it spans multiple DVDs then you might want to consider getting a second hard drive to copy your data onto. If you are not comfortable with adding a second internal hard drive or you are using a laptop then you can purchase an external hard drive to back up your data.

The information you have on your hard drive could disappear in a flash. If you don't want to spend up to $3,000 to have a data recovery company retrieve what information they can from your hard drive, then take a few minutes right now and create your back up action plan.

If you ever have a data emergency your action plan will be your insurance policy. If you adhere to it, your valuable data will adhere to you!

How Does VOIP Work

2013-07-12T00:09:00.000+05:30

VoIP was originally developed to provide voice communication between computer users in different locations. Although it still has this application, it has been further developed into a telephone network in its own right. People using VoIP can call any telephone anywhere in the world and can receive calls on telephone sets connected to the Internet or Local Area Network (LAN).

Background

It all started back in 1995 when Israeli computer enthusiasts made the first computer to computer voice connection. In the same year this technology was developed into a software package called Internet Phone Software. All that was needed to talk to another computer user was a modem, sound card, speakers, and a microphone.

The software digitized and compressed the audio signal before sending it over the Internet in data packets. These voice connections could only occur between computers which had the software installed. The sound quality was very poor -- nowhere near the quality of standard telephone connections.

The technology continued to be developed and by 1998 gateways had been established to allow PC-to-phone connections. Later that same year phone-to-phone connections that used the Internet for voice transmission were set in place. These phone-to-phone connections still required a computer to initiate the call, but once the connection was established, the callers could use a regular phone set.

VoIP Today

There are currently many VoIP services available for residential and commercial use. Some of these still rely on PC-to-PC connections but may offer other services such as PC-to-phone and phone-to-phone.

Internet phones are available that plug into the sound card or USB port of a computer. These phones may have number pads and ringers that allow you to use them the same as traditional telephones. The computer can be bypassed completely by connecting a phone directly to a broadband modem (either DSL or cable).

How Does It Work?

The first step in using VoIP is converting your voice into digital data. This is done by 'sampling' your voice -- dividing the analog sound signal into discrete steps that can be assigned a number value. Once your voice is digitized, the data can be compressed.

This compressed digital data is split up into 'packets' of about 1500 bytes that can be transferred over the Internet. As well as the voice data, the packets contain information about their origin, their destination, and a timestamp that allows them to be reconstructed in the correct order. Once they arrive at their destination, they are reassembled and converted from digital back into analog so that the receiving party can hear your voice.

In order for voice data to be transmitted without noticeable delays, a broadband Internet connection is necessary. Many households and businesses are already using broadband (either DSL or cable) so adding VoIP is relatively simple.

Why You should Adopt Data Visualization

2013-07-12T00:07:00.000+05:30

1. Bar Charts

There is more to bar charts than meets the eye with data visualization. Bar charts is just one example of many visual tools which can be used to convey information in the most effective way. Bar charts, bar graphs, pie charts, or other charts and graphs are one of the most common methods of displaying information of various kinds. Everyone from children to adults use them in school, study, and business. Data visualization works with bar charts to create informational displays to reach virtually any kind of audience.

2. Interactive Map

In addition to bar charts, other informational tools become interactive with data visualization. An interactive map allows information to be displayed on various levels by clicking on the part of the map about which one may want more information. This is called “drilling down.” The interactive map is a method of data visualization used by many business, government, and community programs. Many airlines proved an interactive map of the plane interior so that travelers can choose their own seating. Many governments or communities create interactive maps of their countries, states, and cities. To learn more about a specific area, all on has to do is click on it. Information interacts with a user’s needs.

3. Reporting Tool

This article has already covered examples of how data visualization conveys information to various types of users for travel or education, but data visualization can also be used as a reporting tool. Imagine making a presentation for school or business come alive with an interactive map or bar charts. Information is presented in a helpful and meaningful way, often simplifying complex levels of information to become digestible to those to whom the presentation is given.

4. Convert HTML to PDF

A presentation is one thing, a handout or file copy is another. By far, one of the biggest challenges with data visualization in the past has been printing HTML information without getting it cut off on one of the margins. In the past HTML format did not automatically format itself for computer printout. Data visualization software can create PDF images of HTML displays for others to follow during the presentation or to file after.

5. Data Mapping

Research, geographical data, and other information can be effectively conveyed using data mapping. Data visualization provides a method for mapping data in a simple display, assisting the presenter in his or her ability to make important data understandable.

6. Business Mapping

Sometimes data mapping involves visual diagrams of business departments. Data visualization helps with business mapping. One example of business mapping is the creation of a department map for the shipping department of a business. Real-time information is available for inventory management and location, including inbound and outbound shipping information. Everything going on in the warehouse is visualized on a computer screen.

7. Executive Dashboard

Though information can be compiled into state of the art data visualization, the information still needs to be managed somehow. Data visualization would be incomplete without an executive dashboard with which executives can customize and manage all data visualization displays and reports.

8. Flash Graphs

Using flash technology, information can also be displayed in a state of the art format. Dashboards and data visualization displays are unencumbered by too much information all smattered on the charts and graphs. Flash chart, flash graphs, and flash maps display only what one needs when one needs it by responding to a mouse or cursor moving over it. As the mouse finds its target, information and options are immediately displayed. Web site are presented in a tidy and manageable way.

9..Net Technology

.Net technology, including .net graphs, .net charts, and .net maps is internet technology interfacing other pages on the internet with anchored text on a report or other data visualization display. In addition to .net, perl graphs, perl charts, and perl maps, as well as coldfusion charts, coldfusion graphs, and coldfusion maps, are useful tools employed as part of data visualization. These technologies can also be used in .net PDF attachments.

10. 508 Compliance

Data visualization has also made itself accessible to those with disabilities complying with section 508 which requires government and public information to be viewable by those with disabilities. Data visualization is still capable of catering to the needs of its users.

Business, communities, and educational programs throughout the country are adopting data visualization to serve the need of the Information Age. Information is now available at a new level of simplicity, even at the most detailed and complex levels.

How to Buy a New Computer

2013-07-12T00:05:00.000+05:30

Looking to purchase a new computer? Overwhelmed by all of the options available to you? Stressed by the high cost of computers today?

For most people, purchaseing a new computer does not have to be as stressful as purchaseing a new car. Nor does it have to be as expensive. If you’re like most people, and you have a limited budget for purchaseing a computer, then you need to try to get as much computer for your money as possible. Here are 3 simple ways anyone can save money when purchaseing a new computer:

1) Shop around for best deal.

Sounds pretty obvious. But many people don’t realize they don’t need the fastest, most expensive computer with the most “extras”. In fact, if you are already using an older computer, even the least expensive new computer will be a big upgrade. If you don’t know a lot about computers, you can learn a lot by shopping around. Ask lots of questions, compare prices, compare features, then find the best price. Shop at your local electronics store, and look for the best deals online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping around!

2) Install your own “extras”

Many computers you will find in a store have a lot of extra software already installed. While this is convenient, it is not always the best way for you to save money. Also, while many of these extras sound good, you don’t always need them. You can often find better deals by shopping around separately for your own software extras (such as a word processor, anti-virus, popup blocker, spyware removal, games, etc). And some of these you can get for free. So before you purchase the “fully loaded” computer, ask yourself if you really need all the extras, then shop around to see if you can purchase a scaled down computer - and get the extras yourself for much less or Free!

3) Don’t purchase extended warranty

If you are not a computer “techie”, the extended warranties offered by the computer retailers often sound like a good idea. After all, who wants to be bothered paying for service on a computer after you purchase it. But keep in mind that most computers come with a warranty, and most computer problems will either happen at the beginning (when you still have the warranty in effect) or much later (when it might be cheaper to purchase a new computer). Technology changes very quickly these days. So consider whether or not it’s worth the inflated price of the extended warranty. And, if you really feel you need the extended warranty, then ask to purchase it at a lower price. Not all retailers will negotiate on the warranty, but some will. And whether you purchase the extended warranty or not, make sure you back up all your files periodically, just in case!

If you have an unlimited budget, consider yourself lucky. And if you do business on the computer, make sure you get what you need, while trying to keep the price down. At any price, purchasing something that does not fit your needs is not a good deal.

Hope you find these tips helpful, and happy computer shopping!

How to tap the riches that Cyber Space Promises

2013-07-11T23:58:00.000+05:30

Everyone from industrial giants to corner flower shops currently wants to stake a profitable claim in cyberspace.

The lure of low startup costs compared to brick-and-mortar operations and the promise of high rewards draws an ever-swelling crowd of merchants to the online marketplace.

Yet despite the optimism statistics tell us that 80% of these "e" businesses will fail within their first 12 months of operation.

People from all over the country ask me what it takes to succeed in the e-commerce world once they've completed the basic steps for getting online.

The following three keys virtually *guarantee success* for any online enterprise.

The First Key:

A Quality product or service with highly evident and readily understood benefits for consumers.

If your product or service does not represent the highest quality and value possible, and if consumers don't understand exactly why they should purchase from you, the speed of the Internet will just expose your shortcomings to the marketplace that much quicker.

In the offline world a product's benefits, not the features, cause consumers to make purchaseing decisions.

A man doesn't purchase a car with a 5 liter engine because of the horsepower, he purchases it for the feeling of supremacy and control he thinks it will give him.

Kids don't want a 3000mHz computer with a Nvidia or AMD card for computing power in doing homework, they want to play the latest games. The Internet magnifies this "what's in it for me" benefits- driven evaluation by consumers.

Products or services presented with readily understood, self-serving benefits for consumers sell best online (and off).

The Second Key:

An excellent website that loads fast, provides pertinent information to targeted consumers, and allows them to make online purchases quickly and securely.

Your website should: · Load fast by making conservative use of graphics. (Go to yahoo.com for an excellent example.)

· Provide exactly the information your potential customers want and need.

· Make it extremely easy for surfers to navigate your site and find exactly what they want by paying attention to navigation menu layout.

The Third Key:

Consistent, targeted website traffic by consumers capable of purchasing your product or service.

Imagine purchaseing a 50 foot billboard and, instead of putting it out by the highway, you hid it in your basement. Nobody would see it!

The same thing happens if you don't actively and continuously promote your website to attract visitors.

With its incredible speed and communications power, the Internet acts as a magnifying glass for any organization's strengths and weaknesses. E-commerce, e-mail, and a website won't do the job of marketing, selling, and customer service for any company.

They will, however, help every organization perform all of those business functions better, faster, and less expensively with the real and tangible result of "striking it rich" in cyberspace!

Triple Your Adsense Earnings in 60 Minutes!

2013-07-11T12:56:00.000+05:30

Google's Adsense is one of the most powerful weapons in website publisher's arsenal. It enables you to monetize your sites easily and if used properly can generate a very healthy income. However, if you're not using it properly and maximizing the income you squeeze from it, your leaving money on the table – something we all hate doing.

Boosting your return from Adsense can be done very easily and quickly, and you'll be amazed by the results.

I ran Adsense on my sites for over a year before I discovered these techniques, and like many people, I though I was doing pretty well. My clickthrough rates and CPM figures were very healthy, and I didn't honestly think that they could be improved a great deal. How wrong I was. Immediately after I implemented a few quick changes my clickthrough rate more than doubled, and by doing some fine tuning I manged to get nearly three times as many people to click on the ads as had been previously doing so.

The first technique is one that was 'discovered' by the amazingly helpful Debs, on SiteSell's SBI! forums. When I read it originally, it made sense and I decided to goive it a go, but I wasn't prepared for the immediate impact it would have on my income. It involves making only a few simple changes to the format and positioning of your Adsense ads.

Firstly, forget about using banners or skyscrapers. These ad formats are almost universally ignored by surfers. Why? Because we've all been conditioned to recognise a skyscraper or banner as an advert and as these adverts are rarely of any interest, we ignore them. What's needed is a way of integrating Adsense ads into the editorial on your site as seamlessly as possible. To do this you need to do three things:

1. Use the 250 x 250 rectangle format 2. Make the background color of the ad the same as the background color of your site, or as close to it as possible. 3. Make the ads borderless by setting the border color to be the same as the background color of the ad.

These changes can be made by logging into your Adsense account and creating a custom format. Just select the 250 x 250 ad format, and create a custom color palette. Use the color picker to pick the coor you want. The Javascript is automatically generated at the foot of the page, ready for you to copy and paste into the pages on your site.

Now, you need to position your ads where surfers are most likely to click on them. Research using retina scanning technology has shown that the place that surfers tend to look at first and most often is the top left. I don't know the reasons for this, perhaps it's because that's where we're used to seeing the most useful search engine results (at the top of the rankings) and search engines are the sites we most often visit, so we automatically look at the same place on other sites.

Whatever the reasoning, as soon as I made the above changes to my Adsense ads, clickthrough rates doubled, immediately.

The second technique is much newer and one which is entirely based on my own experience. Google has recently added a new type of Adsense format, called Adlinks. This displays a series of links on your page in the same style of Ad unit as regular Adsense ads. When a user clicks a link they are taken to a page of adverts that resembles regular Google search results. As a publisher, you are paid every time a user clicks one of those ads.

Adventurous soul that I am, I jumped in with both feet and started to trial Adlinks on my most visited pages as soon as it was launched. I'm using the four links in a square box format, positioned top left of my page content. After a few weeks of running Adlinks alongside regular Adsense ads, it's clear that the return on Adlinks is about a fifth to a quarter higher than regular ads. There's no clear reason for this but one explanation may lie in the fact that clicking on an Adlink takes the user to page of 'results'. When a user clicks on one of these, you are paid for the click. If the user finds what they want, great, if not, it seems that they hit the Back button on their browser and try again, just as you would for normal search engine results. Then they click on another result, and you get paid again. So it's possible to be paid more than once from the same Adlink click. Now, this reasoning is speculative, but it does make perfect sense in the light of my Adlinks results.

Finally, Adsense has some excellent tracking statistics that allow you to track your results across a number of sites on a site by site, page by page, or just about any other basis you choose. This is a very powerful tool and you should use it to find out which ads are performing best for you and fine tune your Adsense and Adlink ads accordingly.

So you see, by spending an hour or so of your time making a few adjustments to the Adsense ads on your sites, you can very quickly treble your Adsense income. Give it a go, you'll be amazed by the results.

-Kenny Hemphill

Google Adsense Displaying irrelevant Ads?

2013-07-11T12:50:00.000+05:30

No matter how hard you work to optimize your page, there are going to be times when Google just can’t figure out which AdSense ad to deliver, so it defaults to delivering a PSA (Public Service Ad) instead.

Now I don’t have any problem with charities, but I give to the ones that I choose to give to. Since I don’t have a non-profit license of my own, the goal of my web site is to make money and I depend on Google AdSense revenues to help pay my bills. Someday I want it to fund my retirement as well, so I can’t afford to have non-revenue PSAs showing up on my site.

The good news is the Google understands the human’s basic greedy nature, so it provides us with an alternative to donating our precious web real estate to charitable organizations. That alternative is known as AdSense Alternate Ads.

As strange as it seems, this feature allows you to let Google competitors into your site. Don’t worry, Google is allowing it with their eyes wide open. They even tell you how to set up the alternate ad code to work on your site and they let you do it right in your AdSense control panel.

Once you add the code to your site, Google will pull ads from whatever service you defined rather than serve a PSA. Google will do that even if those ads are coming from Yahoo, or Overture, or your grandmother’s attic.

This goes a long way towards ensuring that you never lose an opportunity to monetize a visitor’s time spent on your site. How nice it is of Google to gives us that opportunity.

Who do you choose?

Ah, now that’s the big question. Most people head straight for Overture or Yahoo, but there are other fish in the sea worth considering. In fact, some of these fish make their living almost solely by serving replacement ads for PSAs. Run this search on Google and you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.

Why bother?

Sometimes Google doesn’t have any ads in its inventory to match your site’s keywords. Sometimes Google gets confused and can’t figure out which ads to deliver, so it grabs a PSA ad.

Google also has a not-so-readily-available list of what it calls “stop words”. When the Google AdSense spiders detect these words on your page they automatically trigger PSAs. Some of the more commonly known words include severe profanity (think: George Carlin’s 7 Words You Can’t Say on T.V), as well as other words which may very be quite legitimate for your site such as pharmaceutical, drugs, death, dying, abortion, and the list goes on and on. At least we THINK that it goes on and on but no one really knows for sure outside of a trusted few Google staffers.

But no matter what the reason, you don’t want non-revenue ads running on your site. There’s no excuse when Google makes it so easy to keep the revenue flowing. You Just have to keep researching and contributing relevant keyword filled articles to serve proper ads. Additionally from within your adsense dashboard, configure what kind of Ads will appear and block those you don't want to appear on your site.

Set Yourself Apart From eBay Seller Competition

2013-07-11T12:43:00.000+05:30

If you have dabbled at all in the world of Internet marketing, you may have heard the term "unique selling proposition" or USP. USP is a technique that Internet marketers use to set themselves apart from the competition. Internet marketing is highly competitive and highly saturated. In order to be successful, it is vital that the Internet marketer present himself as being unique and different from his competitors especially when many of them are selling the same products.

It is also just as vital to have a unique selling proposition on Ebay. I am amazed at the number of Ebay sellers that are either unaware or just don't care about the importance of having a unique selling proposition. A case in point: A while back, I was researching some products on Ebay from a wholesale company called B&F System. B&F System is a wholesale only company that carries a variety of brand name products. One of the brands they carry is called Maxam. I came across several Maxam leather jackets on Ebay while searching ended auctions. Now here's the kicker. About a dozen or so of these leather jacket auctions were exactly the same. They all used the same image of a guy modeling the jacket that was captured from the B&F website. They even used the exact ad copy used by B&F!

What was the result? Only one of the sellers was able sell any jackets. The top bid was only $26. And since he purchased the jackets from B&F for $20, he made about $5.00 profit after Ebay fees. That's a slim profit for an item that normally retails for $95.

Always keep in mind that the amount of effort you put fourth on you auctions will be in direct proportion to the amount of return you get from your auctions. The sellers who put up the jacket auctions put fourth little effort by using stock photos and ad copy from the B&F website, and therefore received little or no sales from their auctions. The sellers in this case might think that using stock photos makes their auctions look more professional. It's just the opposite. These auctions look very amateurish. Using a picture of someone modeling a garment will not entice people to bid on your auction. Using three or four high quality pictures of the actual item along with a detailed description will entice people to bid. Remember that purchaseing apparel off the internet is not like purchaseing music CD's or software. You don't need to worry if a CD will fit. You don't need to see multiple pictures of a box of software to know what you'll be getting. However, when selling apparel, good quality pictures and a detailed description are vital. You should use a good quality digital camera to take pictures of the item from different angles. If you're selling jackets or coats, include a picture of the lining as well. In your description, don't just say it's a large size. Give measurements of the garment including overall length, sleeve length and chest size. If you're going to specialize in apparel, it would be a good idea to purchase a form or clothing dummy to model your apparel. Doing these things will go a long way in setting you apart from the competition and establishing a "unique selling proposition."

What ever you're thinking about selling, always look at your competition and think about how to set yourself apart. Remember that unless you're selling antiques on Ebay, there's always someone else who's trying to sell the same thing you're selling. Establishing your USP will put you on the road to Ebay success.

-Greg Hayes

Does Click Fraud Affect Contextual Advertisements?

2013-07-11T12:24:00.000+05:30

Click fraud is currently a major topic in online advertising. Many argue that it presents a threat to the stability and viability of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, the key revenue generator for both Google and Overture. In actuality, click fraud is not a significant issue at all.

Click fraud occurs when ads are clicked for reasons other than a genuine interest in learning more about the product or service advertised. Click fraud occurs in two forms. In one instance, fraud arises from competitors trying to sabotage each other. One competitor clicks on the ads of another just to drain the budget of that company. The other instance occurs when webmasters (or people associated with the webmaster) repeatedly click Google AdSense ads (which are syndications of others’ ads) on their own web pages in order to generate more revenue. While both Overture and Google have developed sophisticated technologies to detect click fraud, their systems are, and may never be, foolproof.

The real question is how much does click fraud actually damage the PPC industry? Gross fraud, i.e., when one person or technology consistently and repeatedly clicks on an ad, aside, which Overture and Google can easily detect, we believe that click fraud has no real impact on the industry. The following explains why.

Efficient market theory says that it is impossible to “beat a market” because prices already incorporate and reflect all relevant information. As the PPC industry has matured, efficiency has begun to take root. That is, the price of each keyword has been driven up to the point where it reflects the highest price an advertiser is willing to pay for a click.

For instance, a book retailer may pay $1.00 per click based on internal metrics. These metrics dictate, for example, that on average 30% of clickers purchase a book and the average profit per sale is $4.00. So, for every 100 clicks ($100 cost), they make 30 sales ($120 revenue) and generate a $20.00 (20%) profit. Note that years ago, the same retailer may have been able to pay only $0.50 per click, but as the market matured and more retailers began advertising, competitive bidding forced the price up to $1.00 where the highest return the most advertisers can make is 20%.

The key point is that click fraud is already taken into effect when advertisers select the highest amount they will bid. For instance, there is no difference whether an advertiser pays $0.83/click for 121 clicks with 21 being fraudulent, or $1.00/click for 100 clicks when there is absolutely no fraud. In either case, the advertiser pays $100 and generates a profit of $20, and Overture and/or Google make $100. What changes is the advertiser’s yield (e.g., the percent of clickers who purchased the book) which in turn effects their highest bid price. That is, with fraud, 30 out of 121 clickers (24.8%) purchased the book, and without fraud 30 out of 100 clickers (30%) purchased it. Without fraud, the bid price in an efficient market will rise from $0.83 to $1.00.

In summary, online advertisers must focus on analyzing and improving their internal metrics (e.g., conversions) and not worry about click fraud as it is already incorporated into keyword bid prices. Hopefully, the frivolous lawsuits and refund requests spawned by apparent click fraud will end as those in the industry recognize this undeniable fact.

-Tommy Maric

Selling Your Crafts Online

2013-07-11T12:13:00.000+05:30

Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully selling their wares everyday on the online auction site, eBay. According to a recent analysis of eBay sales, a crafts-related item is sold every nine seconds, a scrapbook item is sold every minute, and 40 cross-stitch items sell in an hour on eBay. Sales of craft items on eBay have grown almost 60 percent in the past year.

But, at the same time, many would be sellers are listing their pieces for sale on auctions and getting no bids, concluding that eBay just doesn't work.

The Best Place to Read on How To Sell Your Crafts on Ebay would be from the horse's mouth itself - Ebay has nice page to explain the process. However, here are some tips from James Dillehay, craft artist, eBay seller and author of the new book, "Sell Your Crafts on eBay" (Warm Snow Publishers), on how to profitably sell your wares online:

1. Anyone who can type and has access to the Internet can sell on eBay. But the creative person has an advantage on eBay when she turns that creativity toward researching overlooked opportunities.

For example, during the months before Christmas, more than 3,000 Christmas items are sold every 24 hours on eBay. Research methods outlined in Sell Your Crafts on eBay showed that between February 12 and March 12 of this year, 4,107 auctions with 'Christmas ornament' in the title completed successfully at an average price of $17.34. Imagine how much more money a smart crafter can make all year long knowing how to ferret out this kind of information from eBay sales.

2. A word's spelling impacts an item's profitability. For example, the word 'handmade,' spelled as one word, was part of 2,233 auction titles with an average closing price of $16.29. However, auction titles that included 'hand made' as two words were found in 1,358 listings, but with an average auction closing price higher, at $27.81, or $11.52 more profit per item.

3. Go to eBay.com and find the search box. Type in the word or phrase that describes your art or craft item. Then scroll down the links on the left side of the page and click on the link for "completed items." Here, you'll be able to see the demand for this type of product. Do searches for your items every two to three weeks to chart purchaseing patterns.

4. Find out how much people are willing to pay for your wares. Click on the link that says "highest price." This will give you a list of completed auctions from highest priced items to lowest priced ones. You want to know what people are willing to pay for items like yours. If you can't make and sell your product for a profit, eBay might not be your marketplace.

5. Determine how much money you'll make on your product. To determine your profitability, use the cost of your materials plus the cost of your labor plus the cost of your selling price, which should be the minimum price to recover your expenses. If it takes you eight hours to make a piece of jewelry and the highest priced similar item sells on eBay for $26, you won't make a profit.

6. Look at the elements of successful sellers of products that are similar to yours. Examine their winning auction titles. Observe how much detail they use to describe their item. See if the seller used any of eBay's special features such as gallery photos or a bold, featured listing. Evaluate the starting price, starting day of the week, and duration of winning auctions.

Help With Adsense - Impressions, CPM & CTR

2013-07-11T12:07:00.000+05:30

So you want to increase your Adsense income? Log into your Adsense account, and look at your last month's stats. There are three key areas that contribute to your earnings: Impressions, Clickthroughs and Effective CPM. Improving your stats in any, or preferably, all of these three key areas will increase your Adsense earnings.

Impressions

Impressions are the number of times your webpages with Adsense ads have been viewed. You can increase Impressions by increasing traffic (preferably targeted traffic) to your webpages. Some of the best ways to increase targeted traffic to your webpages include:

-create more webpages, with relevant, focused content
-create more links to your webpages
-list your website/s under relevant categories in more directories
-set up a directory of relevant sites on your website and accept relevant
reciprocal links
-write relevant articles, with your site information in the 'resource box' at the end of each article, and submit them to article directories
-advertise with pay per click search engines like Google's Adwords. www.Miva.com (formerly www.FindWhat.com, www.YahooMarketing.com (formerly Overture) and 100's of others. When of the best places for pay per click info is www.payperclicksearchengines.com with a descriptive list of 659 search engines.

Clickthroughs

Clickthroughs are the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. You can increase Clickthroughs by increasing the relevance of Adsense ads on your site, and by tweaking the format and placing of your ads.

Although you can't dictate which Adsense ads show on your site, you can influence the relevance of the ads by maintaining a tightly focused website. If every page on your site focuses tightly on the site topic, its more likely that the Adsense ads will too. For example, if every page of your site is about fishing, and the word 'fishing' appears several times on every page, its likely that your Adsense ads will relate to fishing.

The best way to tweak your ad format and placement is to invest in an Adsense Tracker, and test, test, test! People who have done this tend to suggest that the best format is the large rectangle, with background and border the same color as the page behind it, so that the ad blends into the page. The best placement is towards the center or top left of the first screen of the page. Try these suggestions first, and then track and test, to be sure of what works best for your pages.

Effective CPM

Effective CPM is a measure of your average earnings, per thousand clicks. You can increase your Effective CPM by selecting topics that attract high bids from Adsense advertisers, and building pages and whole websites on higher paying topics.

The Formula

So now you have the basics of increasing your Adsense income. Its a deceptively simple formula:

-Build pages and websites on high paying topics for the best Effective CPM.
-Format and place your Adsense ads for maximum Clickthroughs.
-Promote your sites to drive targeted traffic to your Adsense webpages for maximum impressions.

Love Shopping on eBay? Now Make Them Pay You

2013-07-11T11:59:00.000+05:30

There are many ways to take your business to the next level. There are a lot of strategies you could employ to bring in an extra $25,000.00 dollars each month. Unfortunately, few of those strategies are free, and even fewer promise to work for you as hard as the eBay Affiliate Program. The eBay Affiliate Program will be your business ally, equipping you with easy cash flow and more business tools than you can imagine.

The Program works with all kinds of businesses. No matter how long you have been in business, what kind of business you are in, what level of expertise you have, the eBay Affiliate Program can work for everyone.

The Program is by far, the most innovative and successful program on the Web. Members of the Program benefit from the ever growing eBay website, and earn money quickly just for referrals (as much as $45 per referral). Some of the most successful eBay Affiliate Program members have earned over $100,000.00 per month, and over a million a year. The only stipulation for joining is that you have a website.

The Program is designed to make it's affiliates successful, and they provide what you need to maximize your earning potential. You do not have to pay to become a member of the program – they pay you! Simply follow the five step enrollment process, and you will have access to the best business practices, a set of guidelines that the eBay Affiliate Program has put together to help you maximize your earning potential.

You will also have, within your reach and at your disposal, a variety of tools to make your site more effective and to reach your full eBay earning potential. With the Editor kit, you can dynamically display eBay listings. With the Flexible Destination Tool, you can instantly create traceable affiliate links to any eBay URL. You will also have access to the Product kit, Keyword Linking Tool, API Affiliate Tier, Dynamic Landing Pages, buttons, banners, logos, and more. These tools are free for you, and will optimize your web site to become a money-making machine.

The eBay Affiliate Program provides every member with a newsletter full of information and tips. The Program takes their obligation to their affiliates seriously, and they continue to provide you with new and updated tools to support your earning potential.

Using the natural search, paid search, content site, and newsletter models, many websites are running their businesses while also tapping into the eBay Affiliate Program Resources. With the eBay Affiliate Program, you still have time and resources to run your business, but you benefit from the reputation and success of the market phenomenon that is eBay.

If this sounds enticing, check out the eBay Affiliate Program. You may be meeting your next $25,000.00 per month business partner.

How Does One Make Money From a Blog

2013-07-11T11:43:00.000+05:30

One of the questions I see frequently asked on online discussion forums is, "Can You Really Make Money From Blogging?" People want to know if there's some way to profit from the time they spend maintaining their weblogs or personal online journals.

My answer is an emphatic "YES," because I do it... everyday!

Today I'll share with you how I do it.

Let me begin by saying that I don't make thousands per month from MOST of my blogs. However, I do have many making hundreds. Since I don't put in a lot of time maintaining them, and I enjoy blogging, I consider the money a bonus. I blog while sitting in my yard with my laptop (on a wireless connection)... watching the clouds roll by.

Another bonus I get from blogging is that it helps my regular websites that are set up as my "money machines."

The search engines visit my blogs more often than they visit my regular sites, and they follow the links from my blogs pointing to other sites. Some of these links point to my sites, and some point to sites of partners. This does help the search engine rankings of these sites MASSIVELY.

How Do I Monetize My Blogs?

I monetize my blogs by creating blogs on topics people are searching for... and that they are spending money on. I know which niches are hot to an extent based upon what my research proves pay-per-click advertisers are willing to spend their advertising dollars on.

I run Google AdSense ads on my blogs. I simply insert these ads in my menu bar and other strategic places on the webpage. I also experiment with other paid advertising on my blogs.

I sell affiliate products from my blogs. I simply find affiliate products at places like PayDotCom.com and Commission Junction. I incorporate these into my blogs. I do things like product reviews, how-to articles, etc. You can also locate suitable affiliate products by typing your target keywords + "affiliate program" at any major search engine. This should point out numerous websites with suitable affiliate programs to you.

How Do I Setup/Host My Blogs?

I have blog hosted on some of my own domains using Moveable Type. This is just one of many great pieces of blogging software. You have other choices... my programmer recommended this one to me.

I also have blogs hosted for free on Blogger.com. I have them on Blogger.com because they are incredibly easy to set up and maintain. A secondary reason I have them on Blogger.com is that Google OWNS Blogger.com and they index webpages hosted on their servers OFTEN and FAST!

The secret to getting Google and Yahoo! to visit your blogs often is a technique called "blogging and pinging." It's a method of notifying all of the major search engines, and blog directories, each time that you update your blog. The search engines come to take a look and they follow links from your blog to spider other blogs/sites. It's very powerful.

Examples Of Profitable Blogs?

I know, you want to see examples of profitable blogs :-)

To show you how simple it can be I'll show you just ONE. It was less than 2 months old :-)

The problem is that as soon as I show a site to anyone as an example, it's instantly ripped off. So, I "sacrificed" one making me about $60 per day from affiliate product sales and about $20 per day in AdSense revenue. That site is at: http://cure-nail-fungus.blogspot.com

The above site ranked Number 6 on Yahoo for the term "cure nail fungus." It's a small niche but one that made me $2400 per month... just from that one blog.

If you searched on the same term at Google, this site is not very highly ranked. However, THIS page is Num ber4: http://www.chitterlings.com/no-more-nail-fungus.html

That happens to be one of my pages too :-) I won't tell you what ALL I'm up to on that page... that's another article. The technique involves using your own domains to promote affiliate products rather than advertising someone else's domain... so it improves your link popularity.

I'm not going to show more of my blogs because that just invites competition. Instead, I'm going to answer another question you have to be wondering...

"How do I find time to maintain all of these blogs, even if they are profitable?"

Well, first of all, I don't really need a lot like the "sacrificial lamb" that I showed you above to keep me satisfied.

I do have a number of secret weapons though. One is called AutoBlogger.

What AutoBlogger does is allow me to queue up a number of posts for my various blogs in advance. It lets you queue up "articles" which can really be anything you want. Then you tell the software at what frequency to make a post.

My AutoBlogger account allows me to automatically post to an UNLIMITED number of blogs.

WARNING: A program like AutoBlogger can get you in trouble if you misuse it! If you use it to spam or abuse the search engines, it's just going to get you banned. If you use it to abuse the blog hosts, they're just going to delete your blogs.

Here's how I use AutoBlogger:

I have sites where I discuss Internet marketing... as just one example. On these sites I share many of my articles and tidbits. I simply queue up these articles/tidbits to post at a given frequency. This frequency can be a set number of hours, days, weeks, or months. So theoretically, I can set up a blog, pre-schedule 50 posts, and not touch it in months, while it is automatically posted to for the next 50 intervals.

AutoBlogger even lets you set it to start rotating through the posts again when they run out, if you want to. I personally wouldn't do this since you'd just be posting duplicate content.

AutoBlogger allows you to insert RSS feeds right into your blog posts. So in addition to posting articles you can also auto-update by adding new RSS feeds at a set interval. Since I HATE sending my traffic to other sites (without reciprocation), these RSS feeds generally pull from MY sites. That way, my traffic is only sent to my other sites.

If you don't even feel like queuing up a lot of posts, you can go to a site like Elance.com and hire someone else to do it for you... or just hired your kids to do it for you. It can be as easy as you want to make it.

OK, I've just proven to you that you can make money off of blogs. In-fact, you can make more money than many people make off of their REGULAR websites. It just takes a little thinking outside the box!

It also takes not being too greedy. What I just showed you works for me because I'm not doing anything that's likely to get me banned from the search engines, Google AdSense, Blogger.com, or any affiliate program. It's only when you get carried away, and do things that harm the search engines that you "shoot yourself in the foot."

Set up blogs providing useful content. Make regular posts to these blogs but not in a manner that seems unnatural. By that, I mean don't auto-post twenty times in an hour, or post every hour for a month! No human can possible post to a blog at these rates for long, so the search engines detect something is "wrong." They don't generally prohibit you from using tools to make your job easier... just don't get carried away!

What is an Autopilot Model that Makes Money

2013-07-11T11:29:00.000+05:30

I would like to share with you one simple strategy in creating income with your own website. This is just one method out of simply millions that you could create for yourself. Remember the internet provides no limits. This is one example that does work for me, and may give you an insight into exactly a website model, that you may like to put into action for yourself. Affiliate marketing and/or sales of any kind on the internet, requires a real commitment, as I am sure you do already realize. The internet is really one of the greatest training grounds in the world for sales. You can try and fail many times, until you find that system and approach that will work for you. But the commitment that you show in meeting this challenge, will be a lesson that you will always remember. Success is always achieved in no matter what you do, through simple hard work. There is no easy path to success, but when you achieve the success you are after, there is no greater feeling. So lets begin. In this example my website, which for the purposes of this article i will call '????'. I will give you the exact profit breakdowns.

With this website I treat all my affiliate products as purely residual income, much like adsense. Adsense itself generates for me, on this website, on average around $2 per day. I also use various other companies affiliate products, which generate around $200 per month. Also within the website, I sell e-book informational products, which I own the full resale rights for, which generate around $700 per month. And here lies the answer to making money online, no matter what you sell. The products, that generate the most income, are the ones that you will own yourself. Certainly I should be making more from the affiliate info products that I sell. But I lose commissions through simple affiliate url tampering. Commissions that are stolen or lost are a real pain. You can try every method in the book to protect your affiliate codes. But after all the hard work is done, you still lose that valuable income. The people who sell the original affiliate product know this, which is mostly why a high percentage of the sales price is offered to an affiliate to begin with. Because they realize that a very high ratio of sales made on their products will give them the total profit back. The reasons why people change affiliate product codes etc, could run into pages. Lets just say it is inevitable. This is the reason why I treat all my affiliate based products as purely residual income.

But as you can see in this example clearly where the highest return on investment lies. And that is in the products that you actually own. You can purchase resale rights for info products easily, and it involves not much money at all, most products are available for under $50. Or if you have the time and patience to search the internet. You can find amazing e-books that have free resell rights and the information they contain is really valuable. You will find these types of treasures occasionally, and the lights will start flashing in your eyes when you do. The information that you have just discovered is of value and that is a real key to success. This is why I, at this point, strongly emphasize the importance of this one principle. Only sell products that you feel strongly about and you know that will be of great value to the person who may purchase it. That includes products you have bought the resale rights for, or a free product, you have discovered with resale rights.

If you sell strong products with real informational value consistently you will always succeed. Your customers will return, quite simply because they know where the value of the information they seek is the greatest. And that is at your website. Always remember to put yourself into your visitors shoes. Ask yourself the question? Would you purchase the products you are selling? Answer this question with a Yes. And you will be really on the start too online success.

-Michael Keenan

Work At Home Internet Jobs? No One Said It Would Be Easy!

2013-07-11T11:22:00.000+05:30

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, build a website and people will come. But if you’ve built a money-making website, that’s not what you want to hear. After all, you picked one of these at home internet jobs, because you want to be financially independent and your own boss.

Here’s one alternative from the many home internet jobs you’ve surely read on the net. Join an affiliate or partnership or referral program. Study these three alternatives, to help you maximize your profit streams.

1. Exclusive retailer. There are many online malls; they offer a comprehensive range of products and services. Concentrate on supplying the needs of a narrower market segment. You’ll be unique and sought out.

2. Join the more profitable affiliate program. Although there are literally
hundreds you can join, take your time. Read the FAQ section. Check out their products. If the products and services they offer are ones you look for, there’s a good chance that you’ll earn as an affiliate.

Other factors you may want to think about. Are the commissions high enough, that you’ll turn a profit? Remember you’ll need to set up your own website, and secure advertising money. Choose to join an affiliate program whose products are mid range and will sell it self with little effort.

3. Create a website that focuses on your passion. Although the focus is on the range of products that the affiliate program has, that’s not the only thing you offer. Give advice that is contextual to the products. Maybe you could write about the history of the products, or the processes involved in manufacturers. You could write about the celebrities who use this. Build a website that’s full of contents that your customers can use to better their lives. You’ll win their trust. They’ll soon become your most loyal customers.

Here’s one home internet job opportunity you may not have thought of. It’s a profitable and excellent venue to a steady stream of profits.

Be an online retailer of e-books with the reseller or reprint rights. Here’s one of the many ways you can do it. Offer a one time entry fee for the subscriber, it can be $20.00 a year or life time subscription fee. The subscriber will have the right to download any e-book from in your library. Some of the more successful business models target niche markets. You can be a retailer of e-books that specialize on the recipes of different countries. Wouldn’t that be fun? You can commission e-books or purchase from known e-book authors. Read the e-books to be sure you’re selling the real deal.

What are the benefits you received from reading that e-Book you just purchased? Right an article or review explaining the benefits and then get that article or review published and placed in front of the eyes of your best prospects.

Be a dropper shipper and establish your storefront at EBay or the competitor Yahoo auctions. EBay’s traffic alone runs to approximately 900,000 visitors daily. It’s the worlds’ best online auction, and you wont’ go wrong.

Now what’s a dropshipping business? It’s a business model where you put products on a website or through EBay. You take the orders they come and pass these on to the dropship supplier, who ships this to your purchaseers.

Another way of putting it is, you’re the middleman, and you take the orders via Paypal, credit card or fax.

All the home internet jobs here will net you profit. All you need is a computer, internet access and basic knowledge about your pc and the net.

Know about a Mesothelioma Law Suit, Mesothelioma Law and a Mesothelioma Law Firm

2013-07-11T11:16:00.000+05:30

There is some important information you should be aware of if you are considering pursuing a Mesothelioma Law Suit. Prior to pursuing a Mesothelioma Law Suit you should seek advice from a reputable Mesothelioma Law Firm and gain an understanding of Mesothelioma Law.

A Mesothelioma Law suit can be costly, but it can also provide you with adequate compensation that will help cover your legal, medical and ongoing expenses, related to your Mesothelioma Cancer.

Previously, there have been cases in which the Mesothelioma Cancer sufferers have received thousands of dollars in compensation for their diagnosis of Mesothelioma Cancer, due to exposure to an Asbestos related substance.

Currently, Mesothelioma Law is favorable towards Mesothelioma Cancer sufferers, who have been exposed to an Asbestos related substance through their work environment and companies are required to compensate their present, or previous employees for non-disclosure of the risks involved with handling an Asbestos related substance.

Mesothelioma Law works on the premise that this exposure to an asbestos related substance without prior knowledge has lead to the injury, or sometimes death of the Mesothelioma sufferer.

In almost all cases, whether indicated as injury, or death, the sufferer of Mesothelioma Cancer has had their life span considerable shortened, due to this exposure to an asbestos related substance.

Due to the legal processes of conducting a Mesothelioma Law suit, anyone who has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma Cancer and suspect, or know, that they were exposed to an asbestos related substance in the past, during their working life, should seek legal advice immediately.

Beginning your Mesothelioma Law suit early will ensure that you acquire adequate compensation in time to help with your medical expenses and ongoing support and treatment.

In order to begin a Mesothelioma Law suit you will need to find an experienced Mesothelioma Attorney, or Lawyer, that can usually be found at a reputable Mesothelioma Law Firm.

It is important that you disclose all information surrounding your Mesothelioma Cancer, including your diagnosis and prognosis, to your Mesothelioma Attorney, or Lawyer, as this will help them to form a solid Mesothelioma Law suit for your case.

You should also try to provide your Mesothelioma Attorney, or Lawyer with details pertaining to the period in which your exposure occurred, who you where working for at the time and any details regarding whether you had prior knowledge of your exposure.

All information surrounding your Mesothelioma Cancer is important and will ensure that your Mesothelioma Attorney, or Lawyer, will be successful in your Mesothelioma Law suit. So, if you, or someone you know, have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma Cancer, seek appropriate legal advice.

Author

Peter Lenkefi

Forex Beginners - What is MACD and RSI

2013-07-11T02:59:00.000+05:30

As a forex trader your main objective must be to become a profitable trader. In order to achieve this goal, it is vital that you learn how to use the widely known technical indicators. These are very useful parameters that will tell you with a high probability what the forex markets are more likely to do in their apparently disordered behavior as observed on the forex charts.

Among these indicators you will find the MACD and RSI; but what’s the meaning of these letters?, you may be asking yourself. Well, here is the answer:

Moving Average Convergence Divergence: MACD is a more detailed method of using moving averages to find trading signals from price charts. Developed by Gerald Appel, the MACD plots the difference between a 26-day exponential moving average and a 12-day exponential moving average. A 9-day moving average is generally used as a trigger line, meaning when the MACD crosses below this trigger it is a bearish signal (time to sell) and when it crosses above it, it's a bullish signal (time to purchase).

As with other studies, traders will look to MACD studies to provide early signals or divergences between market prices and a technical indicator. If the MACD turns positive and makes higher lows while prices are still tanking, this could be a strong_purchase signal. Conversely, if the MACD makes lower highs while prices are making new highs, this could be a strong bearish divergence and a sell signal.

RSI stands for Relative Strength Index. The RSI measures the markets activity as to whether it is over bought or over sold. It gives a trader an indication as to which way the Market is moving. It is important to note, that this is a leading indicator and thus allows one to see what the market is about to do and then act accordingly. The higher the RSI number, the more over bought it is and conversely the lower the RSI number, the more over sold it is. It is a great leading indicator for the micro and macro reversals in the forex market. By using an RSI on the 1 minute chart set at a period of 18 and overlaid on the bottom of your charts tend to give the best entry signals. This can also be applied to the 5-minute chart as well. The two significant entry numbers are 25 and 75.

Profitable Trading Using the Fibonacci Forex Trading Secret

2013-07-11T02:51:00.000+05:30

It was mentioned in a past article that Fibonacci forex trading is the basis of many forex trading systems used around the world by profitable forex traders. These systems are all based on the famous Fibonacci ratios (.236, .50, .382, .618, etc.) and each of them can specialize in a particular ratio along with other minor indicators in order to make the pinpointing of the entry and exit levels as accurate and profitable as possible.

One of the widely used Fibonacci ratios is the 0.382 ratio. As it can be easily seen on any forex chart, currency prices are continually changing and they follow an oscillatory pattern with peaks and valleys. The limit of the peak is usually called a resistance level while the valley is usually called a support.

In order to find the 0.382 ratio level what you do is, first; measure the size of the drop or rise over your time of interest. Once you have that value you multiply this by 0.382. Now depending on what you are looking at, a rise or a drop on the price of the particular “currency pair” you are trading, you will add the last value you calculated to the total drop or subtract the value from the total rise.

These operations will give you the 0.382 Fibonacci ratio level, either for a rise or a drop on the chart you are analyzing. Once you have the value you can then start planning the strategy you will follow in order to make a high probability profit from this valuable information. For the 0.382 ratio level calculated for a recent rise in the “currency pair” exchange price, your calculated level will be a highly probable support and for the case of a level calculated for a recent drop of the prices your level will be a highly probable resistance.

Knowing this ahead of the market and having the proper secondary indicators, will give you a huge advantage over most forex traders, and that’s something any trader would like they could count on. That’s why Fibonacci trading is so widely accepted over the world, and of course, why it’s so profitable and successful.

-Adrian Pablo

Why Your Advertising Campaign Did Not Perform Well

2013-07-11T02:43:00.000+05:30

The 12 Reasons Why Most Ads Fall Flat On Their Face, Costing You A Fortune Instead of Making You The Money You Deserve!

1.You think you need ‘Image’ or ‘branding’ advertising because that’s all the so-called ‘top guns’ use in their advertising. You don’t use direct response advertising they don’t and you’d think they know best.

2.You never offer compelling benefits that cause your prospect to want to do business with you of your competitor.

3.You don’t use powerful, benefit driven headlines that literally stop your prospect in their tracks and draw them into the body of your ad.

4.You don’t tell your prospect what’s in your offer from them. But you do ramble on about your image, your business and what you are trying to sell him.

5.You don’t talk to your prospect like you know him. You don’t get specific and don’t motivate him.

6.You don’t address your prospect needs, wants and desires in your opening headlines. You’re to busying thinking about yourself or your company image! Remember, your prospect is thinking of one thing only WIIFM (What’s I It For Me?)

7.Your ads are boring and dull and look like all the other hundreds of ads. You don’t motivate your prospect to take ACTION. You don’t use energetic, exciting, action words! Your about as exciting as wet paint!

8.Because you copy what everyone else is doing, or do as the ad agency suggests, your ads are full of “white space” which leaves little room to add any benefits. (The only thing your prospect is looking for) You never have ads with a lot of copy. It’s the copy your prospects want. Information is King!

9.You don’t give specifics in your ads. Your prospects want exact numbers, percentages, results and testimonials. They want all the facts before they will make the decision to move towards a purchaseing decision.

10.You don’t give your prospects any reason to act on your offer NOW. Tell them how to in a step by step process. Unless you tell them, them may not know what the next step is?

11.You don’t see your marketing, sales and advertising as a total system. It’s this total system that can either make or break you as a profitable business. They are not separate functions, with separate goals.

12.You focus on YOU, YOUR COMPANY, YOUR LOGO, YOUR CREDENTIALS, instead of focusing on what all of this can do for your prospect. What BENEFITS will them get if they purchase with you?

Now you know the 12 reasons why maybe, some of the ads you are running are not pulling any responses at all! In fact they will be costing you and your company money EVERY TIME YOU RUN THEM!

What is Lead Generation?

2013-07-11T02:36:00.000+05:30

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try to attract new customers, and this is a kind of lead generation.

Lead generation includes anything that a business does to gather a list of new or potential clients and involves a number of techniques used to create interest in potential customers. Some techniques commonly used for lead generation are direct mail, telemarketing, requests for proposals, requests for quotes, referrals, trade show demonstrations, seminars, and advertising. If done correctly, each of these methods will generate a list of interested potential clients for the business.

Advertising is perhaps the most obvious way to generate leads. People who respond to a company’s advertisements often become customers. Requests for proposals involve potential clients asking the business to come up with solutions and price ranges for particular problems or issues the customer may have. For example, if a city asks for a bid on a project from a construction contracting firm, then the contracting firm has generated a lead.

Requests for quotes are similar—for example, car insurance companies offer free rate quotes. When the potential client asks for the quote, they give the insurance company information about themselves that the company can then save for future use. Direct mail is when a business sends out fliers or brochures to a large number of people in the hope of attaining new customers. When a business has employees make cold calls to a list of people, they are telemarketing. The business hopes that some people will listen to the callers and become interested in the business. Trade show demonstrations and seminars are designed to appeal to people who are already interested in the business’s product.

The business always tries to present itself as better than its competitors. Referrals are common in many types of business. Some firms use personal information to make lists of potential customers to be sold to interested businesses.

Generating leads is a vital part of any sales related operation. Without knowing who may be interested in their products, companies would have no idea how to generate revenue and would have to rely solely on repeat business from existing customers.

Tips Finding Affordable Car Insurance Rates

2013-07-11T02:09:00.000+05:30

Auto Insurance rates will vary depending on the insurance agency, your driving record, and the type of insurance you are looking to purchase. If you are looking for affordable car insurance or truck insurance then read on.

There are ways to reduce your premiums without giving up coverage. One of the easiest things to do is get auto insurance rate quotes online. This will allow you to comparative shop stress free.

Raising your deductibles is the easiest way to reduce your rates. The higher the deductible, the lower the premium will be. The deductible is the portion you will have to pay in the event of accident, before your insurance coverage steps in. It’s important not to carry a deductible that’s more than what you are able to pay. Your insurance company will not honor its portion of the claim until you’ve paid your deductible. However, the higher your deductible the lower your premium cost will be, so you need to find a

Always remember to ask your insurance broker for any available discounts. Quite often we forget to ask and they don’t seem to volunteer the information. A clean record on the current policy for a certain period of time, having your homeowner's coverage with the same insurer, taking a defensive driving course, having an accident free driving record, and having an approved anti-theft device will reduce your auto insurance rates.

The type of car you drive can also reduce your rates. Stay away from cars that have a high class rating. Rates vary among the different makes and models of vehicles. The different rates are based on the risk of accident, cost to repair, higher theft rates for a particular model and replacement costs such as with a new vehicle. So be sure your vehicle isn’t going to be in a category that increases your rates too much.

A safe driving record consisting of no accidents and no traffic violations will get you the most substantial discount. Most insurance companies are very good at recognizing good driving habits. These are the drivers they want to insure because their risk is much lower.

If the car is old and not very valuable, comprehensive insurance is probably not worth purchasing as it can quickly add up to more than you’d ever receive in the event of an accident. You can save up to 20% by eliminating collision insurance. You may want to opt not to carry collision insurance as well which can save you and additional 20%.

Check around to make sure you are getting the best auto rates you can. Online auto insurance shopping has taken the guess work out of purchasing insurance and you can very quickly see if you are being hosed. So if your insurance is coming due now is the time to start shopping!.

Do You Have an Additional Passive Income yet?

2013-07-11T02:06:00.000+05:30

Marty and his wife live at home with their 2 children. They own a 3 bedroom house in a middle class neighborhood and try to live within their means. Marty works full time in the Printing Industry, while his wife is in charge of the home and looking after the children.

They've accumulated some credit card debt and have 2 years left on a car loan. They try to stay out of debt as much as possible and together they've managed to contribute a total of $32,000 to their own Retirement Fund. It is kept in term deposits receiving 5% interest annually.

Two years prior, the couple bought an older house that they fixed-up and rent out for $850 a month. After paying the mortgage and taxes $300 is left over each month. This goes into their savings account each month.

At Christmas, the family bought themselves a new computer and decided to start a home-based business. Things started out fairly slowly but after 8 months they were receiving a steady check of $400 a month which also goes into their savings account. This part-time business will continue to grow with the effort they dedicate to it.

This business also offers them some very lucrative tax savings. By taking advantage of these Tax Strategies they are able to save an additional $300 a month on tax that was normally deducted from Marty's paycheck at work. This monthly income is also added to the couple's savings.

Marty has just begun writing an E-book about his "production expertise" at work. His plan is to market this book on the internet for profit

Every Sunday the couple takes a drive to stay familiar with the Real Estate market in their area. They're looking for another property, a "handyman's special" to fix-up and rent out. They have saved enough for a down payment and their credit with the bank is well established.

The family's total monthly expenses are $2000. Now, here's the question: Does Marty's family have Wealth yet?

To answer this question properly you first have to understand exactly what "wealth" means.You achieve wealth when: *Your Passive Income is the same or greater than your Expenses.* So what does this mean?

First, what is Passive Income?

Passive Income is money that you are paid over and over again for work that you only do once. (This excludes using a gun or finding cash on the street) Some examples of this would be royalties for writing a book or a song, commissions that you receive for sales that others make and interest from bank savings or dividends on stocks/options that you own.

Second, what Expenses are we talking about? This one's a little easier to understand. Expenses are the total amount it takes to run your household and your life. This includes, rent, mortgage payments, car insurance, food, credit card and loan payments, etc………

Let's look at Marty's family a little closer…………. Does Marty have any Passive Income? Yes he does. Marty's salary is not considered Passive Income. That's because he has to work 40 hours a week just to get the basic amount. If Marty doesn't go to work then he doesn't get paid. His overtime also doesn't count as Passive Income.

The interest from their Retirement Fund does though. It's paid to him month after month as long as it's left in that account. So, $32,000 at 5% is $1600 a year. Divided by 12 months equals $133 a month in interest. Ok…..what else? After the mortgage and expenses are paid with the rent money they receive on their rental property they are left with $300 every month. This is Passive Income. Just as long as the tenant stays and pays his monthly rent.

How bout that $400 from the home-based business and the Tax savings. Is this Passive Income? Well, Marty's wife made sure that she chose a company where she could sign new business accounts and get paid commissions on those accounts over and over again. They've made a 5 year commitment to build this business part-time. So yes, both the $400 and the $300 in Tax Savings would apply as Passive Income. Let's add up Marty's total Passive Income.

Interest $166.00 Rental Income $300.00 Home Based Business$400.00 Tax Savings $300.00 Total $1166.00

Not including Marty's salary from work, his family's Passive Income is $1166.00. Not bad. Every month this amount flows into the family's bank account, regardless of anything else they do. We said that Marty's monthly expenses total $2000.00 a month. And we also said………… You have Wealth when: *Your Passive Income is the same or greater than your Expenses.*

$2000 Expenses subtract $1166 Passive Income = $834 monthly balance needed to have Wealth.

Marty's Expenses are still more than their Passive Income so they're not wealthy just yet. But they're well over half-way there. With this kind of knowledge a family can know exactly where to focus their financial attention.

Maybe when Marty writes that ebook he could get some sales and royalties from it. Also the new Real Estate and more work on their Home-based business would certainly help them to attain more Passive Income. Once Marty's Passive Income is more than the family's Expenses then Marty could start to have much more freedom. He may even choose to quit his job and continue developing his Passive Income streams.

Take a look at your own finances. What are your monthly expenses? Do you have more Passive Income than your Expenses? If you do Congratulations. You're Wealthy!!! If you don't. It's time to get started and start adding Passive Income from other
areas as soon as possible.

When you truly understand this principle, you'll be well on your way to becoming wealthy soon enough!

Effective Marketing at Near Zero or low Budget

2013-07-11T01:59:00.000+05:30

Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn’t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing.

Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns.

Some of my successes have included:

- Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books
- Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25
- One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees
- One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program

I don’t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results.

People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented.

With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales.

1. Business Cards
Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one’s marketing.
Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember.

Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself.

Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip.
If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service.

When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind.

2. Send a picture
A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer’s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you.

Put a picture of a purchaseer’s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days.

For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer.
Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see.

A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient’s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look.

3. Associations
Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available.

A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications.
Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website.

In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication.

They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website.
This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility.

Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing:

-Newsletters
-Internet listings
-Links to you website
-Discounted advertising rates
-Networking opportunities
-Business referral services
-Special recognition events
-Education seminars
-Business and membership directories

In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary.

4. Committee Involvement
Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet.

5. Contests and drawings
Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly.
You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest.
You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business.
Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity.

6. Cross-promoting
Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let’s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination.

This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone.

7. Bonuses
Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer purchases a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase.

Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign.

About the author
Kathleen Gage is a business advisor specializing in marketing and promotions for small and home based businesses.

Help with Car Insurance Estimation

2013-07-11T01:55:00.000+05:30

Shopping around for a car insurance quotes or estimate is not something most people look forward to. It is one of the least exciting chores that is required in order to have a car on the road, but it is worth seeking out the most competitive car insurance estimate available. Although getting a car insurance estimate from a number of companies isn’t a desirable task; many people spend far more than they absolutely have to each year on their auto insurance because they simply haven’t taken the time to compare rates and policies with other auto insurance companies. It would be hard to find someone who would walk into an appliance store and decide to spend $200.00 more on a washer that offers the same exact quality and features as the one next to it that costs far less. It doesn’t make too much sense to do the same thing with car insurance.

Most of the time, a car insurance estimate will include collision, liability and comprehensive coverage on a vehicle. Most households have two or more vehicles and every car should be included when seeking out a car insurance estimate. There are a few things that can be done to make getting a car insurance estimate easier and more accurate especially when dealing with more than one car insurance company such as Car insurance quotes Colorado.

One of the best things to do before looking for a car insurance estimate is to see exactly what the state requirements are as far as what the necessary minimum coverage is in order to have adequate coverage. This is something that might be better to do without the assistance of an insurance agency if possible because their job is to sell insurance and they make more money with the more coverage they are able to sell.

In order to spend less time on the phone when looking for a car insurance estimate, it is a good idea to have a number of items handy including a driver’s license, vehicle identification numbers, make, model and year of each car and even the name and contact information for the company that is financing all vehicles if applicable. There are also a number of factors that can be taken into consideration when seeking a car insurance estimate that may mean additional savings per year. Features on each auto including airbags, auto alarms, anti-lock brakes and other things may mean discounts on auto insurance. Some insurance companies will even offer discounts for having more than one policy with their company as well as insuring multiple cars through with their coverage. Additional discounts may be found through other things like accident-free driving record, defensive driving course incentives and other discounts.

Other circumstances may cost a driver more with certain companies when looking for a car insurance estimate. Men under the age of 25, single drivers, younger drivers under the age of 21, the number of miles driven per day and even the kind of car that is driven can cost a person more money on car insurance when shopping around. The best part about this is that not one car insurance will probably charge the same amount of money for the same coverage so shopping around will prove that there are better choices available.

7 Myths About Creating A Better Relationship

2013-07-11T01:51:00.000+05:30

In my private practice for over 14 years no matter what my clients have come to see me about, there has always been an issue about a better relationship.Here are 7 of the most common misconceptions my clients have related to me about having a better relationship. These misconceptions are followed by my perspective on each one of them.

Myth 1 :I have to love everything about my partner

You were born pure and pristine. You then learnt behaviors from your parents, teacher, coaches, church etc. (who did their best to teach you about a better relationship). These behaviors have become the backbone for your way of living and having a better relationship.Perhaps a common behavior that irritates having a better relationship would be leaving the toilet seat up after use. This is merely a behavior and not the essence of the person. However, when you may consider this behavior to be the person, this destroys the concept of a better relationship, creating all kinds of conflict in your need for a better relationship.

Myth 2: Love means that I can fix your partner

You met your partner because of some special quality or characteristic that you admired. You need to accept and allow that quality to flourish in order to allow you and your partner to grow into a better relationship.You may be unaware that you do not even like yourself. Yet by allowing your partner to grow and expand, you will experience the quality of your partner and the beauty within you, as you begin to enjoy a better relationship.

Myth 3 : I am supposed to give up the things I like in order to be in a better relationship.

Giving up the things you like to be in a better relationship is like take a knife and cutting away a part of yourself. Your better relationship is based on the uniqueness of you and your partner.When you give up your uniqueness you rob yourself of a better relationship, your passion and your partner of your creativity.

Myth 4 : I will be rescued by a knight in shining armor

You may have been conditioned to live your life expecting someone to take care of you. What happens if that person becomes ill? and is no longer able to take care of you.Your responsibility in creating a better relationship, is to bring your passion to the table of your relationship. Some days you will be the knight in shining armor and another day your partner will be the knight in shining armor of a better relationship.You will each get a chance to shine like star in a better relationship because of your strengths and weaknesses.

Myth 5 : It cost a lot to be in a relationship

In a material context, a better relationship can be expensive if you think that love is based on the bigger house, car or boat. Although some of these material assets are necessary, they should not be at the expense of creating a better relationship.Love is creating a better relationship by building a relationship that is based on the simple things in life, like walking and holding hands, going on a picnic (just the two of you), or sharing an ice cream.Love in a better relationship is not about what you show on the outside but what you express in you heart. Love is not about money or materialism, love just is.

Myth 6 : Love in a relationship is or is not a feeling

It is not what you say, it is what you do. You can say, "I love you" which may be merely words and no feelings (action). Love is the action of doing. If you make a cup of tea for yourself, (the water is boiled), make a cup of tea for your partner. Whether your partner wants the tea or not is irrelevant, it is the thought that counts and the action that cements a better relationship.

Myth 7 : I don't have to work at my relationship

As a child, you learned to creep before you walked. Then you learned the letters of the alphabet. In order to write, you had to learn how to put those letters together to make words and sentences.These sentences then become the way in which you communicated .When you and your partner stop communicating after learning how to use the letters of the alphabet in sentences, it's like 2 tape recorders talking to each other - Nobody is at home to enjoy a better relationship.

In summary:

1. Your partner's behavior in a better relationship is not your partner's true essence.

2. There is no need to have a clone of yourself. A better relationship requires some variety.

3. Giving up of your uniqueness to be in a better relationship is like throwing out the baby with the bath water.

4. In a better relationship there are no superior partners, just equal partners.

5. Love in creating a better relationship is not about money and the material assets (although there are important) but the simple things in life.

6. Love in a better relationship is active not passive.

7. Lack of communication crushes your desire for a better relationship.

About The Author:

Cecil McIntosh provides Relaxation Resources, that will turbo charge your health, business and wealth