tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180010032024-02-18T19:48:08.081-06:00Internet Marketing Tip From FriendsWhoCareWhether you're just starting your online business or have had one for awhile you're welcome to join us at FriendsWhoCare.Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-26606993376711274982009-02-25T10:58:00.003-06:002010-10-08T08:35:34.943-05:00This Is My "Last" Tip...<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 212px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Prefabricated_house_construction.gif"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Prefabricated_house_construction.gif/202px-Prefabricated_house_construction.gif" alt="Construction works at a prefabricated house" style="border: medium none; display: block;" height="154" width="202" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Prefabricated_house_construction.gif">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p>It's been a long time since I started writing internet marketing tips in January, 2002. And since I started I've written a tip almost every week for 6 years.<br /><br />During that time the format has changed several times.<br /> </p><ol><li>The first tips were contained in a weekly email message.</li><br /> <li>A couple of years later the tips were taken out of the message and placed on a page on the <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/" target="_blank">FriendsWhoCare.us</a> site however they weren't archived.</li><br /> <li>A year or so later the look of newsletter was redesigned however the tips still weren't archived.</li><br /> <li>Then when Blogger became popular I saw the advantage of having it archive my tips so the tips were moved from FriendsWhoCare.us to Blogger.</li><br /> <li>And while I still like <a href="http://www.blogger.com/" target="_blank">Blogger</a> the tips are moving again.</li></ol><p>Starting next week the FriendsWhoCare tips will be hosted on their own blog at <a href="http://www.internetmarketingtip.us/" target="_blank">InternetMarketingTip.us</a>.</p><p>Now this move is long overdue however it wouldn't happened right now if it wasn't for <a href="http://www.businessplangold.com/" target="_blank">Dan Shaw</a>.<br /><br />You see Dan has been an active reader and has been an internet friend of mine for several years. He's also a savvy internet marketer himself and knows that a <a href="http://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">Wordpress blog</a> has more potential and capabilities than a Blogger blog. And being the friend he is last week he gave me the motivation I needed to move the newsletter tips to their own Wordpress blog.<br /><br />So even though the tip's new home will be under construction for awhile, that's where it's going to be starting March 4, 2009.<br /><br />And since I'm currently working the design of the tips new home I thought I'd share</p><p><strong>5 Tips for a Successful Blog</strong><br /> </p><ol><li>Make your blog worth reading. Offer useful information or good entertainment to get people to read your blog and come back again and again.</li><br /> <li>Include things that capture the readers attention like pictures and videos.</li><br /> <li>Use anchor text in your blog posts. (Anchor text is when you link some of the keywords and keyword phrases in your content to sites.)</li><br /> <li>Use <a href="http://www.blogger.com/target=">social networking sites</a> to drive traffic to your blog.</li><br /> <li>Bookmark your blog on at least 3 or 4 of the <a href="http://digg.com/users/smc2002/history/submissions" target="_blank">major bookmarking sites</a>.</li></ol><p>Having a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/target=">successful blog</a> is a great way to increase traffic to your site and to make more money. So if you don't have 1 I recommend you get 1. You can use a free blog host like I've done for several years or host your own like I did at <a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/" target="_blank">SusanCarrollHome</a> and starting next week for our <a href="http://www.internetmarketingtip.us/" target="_blank">weekly internet marketing tip</a>.<br /><br />Please leave a comment. - Thanks.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/blog">blog</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogging">blogging</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogger">blogger</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/wordpress">wordpress</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/internet+marketing+tip">internet marketing tip</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/friendswhocare">friendswhocare</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/blogging+to+the+bank">blogging to the bank</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/successful+blog">successful blog</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/susan+carroll">susan carroll</a></span></p><br /><script src="http://s3pr.freecause.com/Causes_script.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_utils_js.js"></script><script src="http://s3toolbar.freecause.com/0RewardsMarker/bro_lm_js.js"></script><script> var fctb_tool=null; function FCTB_Init_530eb84bd38147c2bad235a563c8d4cc(t) { fctb_tool=t; start(fctb_tool); } </script> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=478c83d5-52c3-44ef-9e7f-ac1cec74e8b3" alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-31111940540484271992009-02-18T10:57:00.008-06:002009-02-18T11:14:05.080-06:00CSS Is Not Rocket Science<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 212px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atlantis_taking_off_on_STS-27.jpg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Atlantis_taking_off_on_STS-27.jpg/202px-Atlantis_taking_off_on_STS-27.jpg" alt="Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on the STS..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="202" height="130" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atlantis_taking_off_on_STS-27.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></p>If you've read my ebook <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/CommonStatements.htm" target="_blank">"10 Internet Marketing Statements You Need To Understand Before You Give Up On Your Online Business"</a> you already know what "It's not rocket science" actually means.<br /><br />And since knowing what a cascading style sheet (CSS) is and how to use CSS style tags shouldn't be rocket science I've created a slide show.<br /><br />The slide show doesn't cover all the capabilities of CSS and won't make you an expert CSS programmer. It's intent is to give you a start on understanding the basics of CSS and will:<br /><ol><li>Explain why CSS is an important part of website design. </li><li>Tell you where you can use a free online CSS generator. </li><li>Tell you when to include CSS code in your HTML and when to use an external CSS file. </li><li>Show you how to use HTML <style></style> tags to put CSS code in your HTML code.</li><li>Show you how to make a CSS external style sheet and how to link it to your HTML pages.</li></ol><p></p><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_1042729"><a style="margin: 12px 0pt 3px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/smc2002/easy-css?type=powerpoint" title="Easy CSS">Easy CSS</a><object style="margin: 0px;" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=easycss-1234971678201553-2&stripped_title=easy-css"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=easycss-1234971678201553-2&stripped_title=easy-css" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/smc2002">Susan Carroll</a>. (tags: <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/how">how</a> <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/to">to</a>)</div></div><br />If you liked today's tip or would like to add to the list please leave a comment. - Thanks.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+make+a+css+external+style+sheet">how to make a css external style sheet</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+use+css+style+tags">how to use css style tags</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/what+is+cascading+style+sheet">what is cascading style sheet</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+change+font+style+on+a+website">how to change font style on a website</a></span></p><br /><br /><style>tags to put CSS code in your HTML code.<br />Show you how to make a CSS external style sheet and how to link it to your HTML pages.<br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1042729"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/smc2002/easy-css?type=presentation" title="Easy CSS">Easy CSS</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=easycss-1234971678201553-2&stripped_title=easy-css"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=easycss-1234971678201553-2&stripped_title=easy-css" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/smc2002">Susan Carroll</a>. (tags: <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/how">how</a> <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://slideshare.net/tag/to">to</a>)</div></div></style><br /><div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/b7d82bab-7e49-4a8d-bab9-d1dc718b234f/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b7d82bab-7e49-4a8d-bab9-d1dc718b234f" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-72695052377791823942009-02-11T12:12:00.002-06:002009-02-11T12:20:08.914-06:00Common Writing Mistakes--Part 2<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 212px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Achtung.svg"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Achtung.svg/202px-Achtung.svg.png" alt="Warning sign" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="202" height="177" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Achtung.svg">Wikipedia</a></span></p><p>This is the second and last part of our 2 part series about some of the common mistakes people make when writing articles, web site content and email.<br /><br />Last week we talked about 3 common types of improper word usage.<br /><br />This week we'll discuss the punctuation rules and recommendations for online writing.<br /><br /><strong>11 Punctuation Rules and Recommendations for Online Writing</strong><br /><br /><strong>7 Rules:</strong><br /> </p><ol><li>Periods, exclamation marks, question marks and commas always go inside of quotation marks.<br /></li><br /> <li>There is never a space before a period or before a comma.<br /></li><br /> <li>In hyphenated words there are no spaces on either side of a hyphen.<br /></li><br /> <li>Use a question mark only after a direct question.<br /></li><br /> <li>If the last word in a sentence ends in a period (a.m.), do not follow it with another period.<br /></li><br /> <li>There is never a space before or after punctuation marks included in a number ($2.97, 1,234, 10:05).<br /></li><br /> <li>There are no spaces before or after an apostrophe used in a contraction (don't).</li></ol><p><strong>4 Recommendations:</strong><br /> </p><ol><li>Only 1 space only is required after every punctuation mark (period, exclamation mark, question mark, colon, semicolon, commas, etc.), including bullets and numbers.<br /></li><br /> <li>Don't use Excessive Punctuation (!!!!!) in the content of your articles and web page content. Headlines and Sub-Headlines may violate this rule occasionally but not too often.<br /></li><br /> <li>Only use 3 dots when doing this "..."<br /></li><br /> <li>When using dashes, use two in a row like in the title of this tip. </li></ol><p>Unfortunately HTML editors and word processors won't help you catch punctuation errors. I typed "this is a test to see . if twenty - five" into both Frontpage and Word and neither of the violated rules (2 and 3) were caught.</p><p>The best way to verify your punctuation is to carefully proof read what you've written and check your punctuation marks.</p><p>Remember, when writing for the web you want to write as if you're talking to someone however you must also remember they are actually reading your words. And to have them read what you're saying you must use the correct words and punctuation.</p><p>If you liked today's tip or would like to add to the list please leave a comment. - Thanks.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/proof+read">proof read</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/punctuation+errors+%7C+mistakes+%7C+rules">punctuation errors | mistakes | rules</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/common+writing+mistakes">common writing mistakes</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/word+processor">word processor</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/frontpage">frontpage</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/nvu">nvu</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/conversational+writing">conversational writing</a></span><br /></p><br /> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/012d322d-ebfd-470b-8e5c-71c0649beb44/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=012d322d-ebfd-470b-8e5c-71c0649beb44" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-70127801233851527332009-02-04T11:10:00.002-06:002009-02-04T11:14:46.981-06:00Common Writing Mistakes--Part 1<p>We've all been told that when you write something for your online readers you write as if you're talking to them. And while it's good advice it's not as easy as it sounds.</p>You see, when you talk to someone you don't have to worry about how things are spelled or what punctuation to use. However when you write you don't want to throw your reader off with a lot of glaring mistakes.<br /><p>Now no one is perfect and we all make make an occasional writing mistake. I know because I've not only seen the occasional error on others' sites but I've also had some of mine pointed out to me by my readers. And although we're all going to make a few mistakes the goal is to keep them to a minimum.</p>So this week and next week I'm going to go over 2 areas where the most common online writing mistakes are made. This week we'll cover 3 of the most common types of improper word usage.<br /><p><strong>3 Types of Improper Word Usage</strong><br /> </p><ol><li>Contractions that sound like other words:<br /><br /><strong>There - Their - They’re</strong><br /><br />* There indications a location.<br /><br />* Their is the possessive version of they.<br /><br />* They’re is a <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contraction_%28grammar%29" title="Contraction (grammar)" rel="wikipedia">contraction</a>, short for they are.<br /><br /><strong>Its - It’s</strong><br /><br />* Its is the possessive version of it.<br /><br />* It’s is a contraction, short for it is.<br /><br /><strong>Your - You’re</strong><br /><br />* Your describes the possessor as someone else.<br /><br />* You’re is a contraction, short for you are.<br /><br /><strong>Were - We're</strong><br /><br />* Were is the plural version of was.<br /><br />* We're is a contraction, short for we are.<br /></li><br /> <li>Sound alike words:<br /><br /><strong>Know - No</strong><br /><br />* Know is usually a verb meaning to understand.<br /><br />* No is a negative reply, refusal or disagreement.<br /><br /><strong>To - Too - Two<br /></strong><br />* To is a function word to indicate relative position.<br /><br />* Too can indicate excessiveness or in addition to.<br /><br />* Two is the number 2.<br /><br /><strong>A lot - Allot - Alot<br /></strong><br />* A lot is an indication of amount.<br /><br />* Allot means to distribute.<br /><br />* Alot is not a word.<br /></li><br /> <li>Common misused words:<br /><br /><strong>Loose - Lose<br /></strong><br />* Loose is an adjective, the opposite of tight or contained.<br /><br />* Lose is a verb that means to suffer a loss.<br /><br /><strong>Choose - Chose<br /></strong><br />* Choose is a present tense verb meaning to select.<br /><br />* Chose is a past tense verb meaning to select.<br /><br /><strong>Effect - Affect<br /></strong><br />* Effect is usually a noun meaning result.<br /><br />* Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence.<br /><br /><strong>I.e. - E.g.<br /></strong><br />* I.e. means in other words.<br /><br />* E.g. means for example.</li></ol>You may think that using a good HTML editor or <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_processor" title="Word processor" rel="wikipedia">word processor</a> will help you catch these types of common mistakes. Actually an HTML editor won't help at all and a word processor will help but it won't catch or fix all of them.<br /><p>For example, I found that my version of Word:<br /> </p><ul><li>caught and automatically fixed the your - you're usage</li><br /> <li>caught and highlighted the chose - choose usage but didn't fix it</li><br /> <li>didn't catch the were - we're usage</li></ul><p>And neither FrontPage or <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvu" title="Nvu" rel="wikipedia">Nvu</a> caught any of them.</p>So the next time you're writing an email message, article or web page remember to use your tools to check your spelling and word usage and then carefully proof read what you've written. Making an occasional mistake is 1 thing however making lots of mistakes or the same mistake several times can really hurt your credibility.<br /><p>If you liked today's tip or would like to add to the list please leave a comment. - Thanks.</p>To Your Success,<br /><p>Susan</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/improper+word+usage+effect+on+reader">improper word usage effect on reader</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/common+word+usage+mistakes">common word usage mistakes</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/word+processor">word processor</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/frontpage">frontpage</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/nvu">nvu</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/proof+read">proof read</a></span><br /></p><br /> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/7ba2a697-79da-41ca-82b1-d4183e9a2b91/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7ba2a697-79da-41ca-82b1-d4183e9a2b91" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-66959181334818884232009-01-29T09:22:00.002-06:002009-01-29T09:28:17.749-06:001 Type of Email List Anyone Can Start<p>Whenever I ask my readers why they haven't started building a list the most frequent answers are:<br /> </p><ul><li>I can't write and</li><br /> <li>I don't know what to write about</li></ul><p>Well I've found an article by expert list builder Jimmy D. Brown that I am sharing with you today because it explains 1 type of list that requires almost no writing, gives you a working example of 1 he built and gives 10 ideas for the types of lists you can start.</p><p align="center"><strong>How To Create A "Buyers Only" List</strong><br />By Jimmy D. Brown,<br /><a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/freeplrso.html" target="_blank">PLRSO Club</a></p><p align="left">Content is king. It gets to wear the crown. And sit on<br />the throne. And rule the world. When it comes to<br />establishing credibility, gaining trust and producing<br />sales, content is royalty.<br /><br />While I would never suggest abandoning the concept of<br />delivering high quality content to your subscribers, there<br />is another type of list composed of subscribers who couldn't<br />care less about content.<br /><br />"What is this type of list?" you ask.<br /><br />- > The "announcement list".<br /><br />I've been teaching about the "announcement" list since<br />at least 2002 (on record at an event). And, yet, it's a<br />widely untapped asset in most <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_marketing" title="E-mail marketing" rel="wikipedia">email marketing</a> circles.<br /><br />The main reason is: nobody's teaching it. And so,<br />nobody knows anything about it, let alone how to effectively<br />create one of these lists.<br /><br />So, we're going to revisit it.<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------<br />What Is An "Announcement" List?<br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />DEFINED: An announcement list is a list whose sole purpose<br />is to "announce" (I.E. Inform, notify) when something new<br />is available for review, consumption or purchase.<br /><br />In other words, it unapologetically says, "Hey, I just<br />released XYZ. Come check it out!"<br /><br />Now, at first glance you may be thinking, "Who would join a<br />list that offers no content and only sales pitch?"<br /><br />If you say it that way, it doesn't sound too good to me<br />either! That's why you don't say it that way. Let's take<br />a look at HOW to "say it"...<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------<br />How About An Example "Announcement" List?<br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />If you go to <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/freeplrso.html" target="_blank">this site</a> you'll find a textbook<br />example of this concept. PLRSO stands for "Private Label<br />Rights Special Offers" I established this list for the<br />sole purpose of informing people anytime I have a new PLR<br />offer available for them to buy.<br /><br />That's it.<br /><br />I don't send out ezine articles to them. No newsletters.<br />They don't get blog posts. There aren't any special reports.<br />No content of any kind. What they get, in essence, are<br />sales messages.<br /><br />And there are already 2,822 subscribers, many of which<br />have already purchased some of the PLR special offers that<br />have been "announced" to the list.<br /><br />Why does it work? Let me give you plenty of reasons...<br /><br />1. I took something that was "in-demand" (PLR) and I allow<br />people to get a head-start on the world by knowing about<br />new releases FIRST by joining this list.<br /><br />2. It's not billed as an "announcement list", but rather<br />a "Free PLR Club". Big, big difference in perception.<br /><br />3. It has it's own domain name, further adding to the<br />perceived value and importance to those who join.<br /><br />4. There is no requirement to buy once you join. Buy the<br />offers that you want, pass on the ones you don't want.<br /><br />5. A cost example is provided to show what you can<br />buy immediately, further illustrating the value of the<br />complimentary "membership".<br /><br />And here's the big twist that makes this idea of creating<br />an "announcement" list a complete no-brainer...<br /><br />I allow my affiliates to "give away" no cost memberships<br />to the PLRSO club!<br /><br />When someone they refer buys one of the offers, they earn<br />a commission. And I get other people to promote and build<br />my list for me. We all win.<br /><br />So, you may be thinking...<br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------<br />What Kind Of "Announcement" List can I Build?<br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />There are a wide variety of "announcement" lists that you<br />can build. Let's briefly look at ten of them...<br /><br />* PLR List. You can swipe my idea and create a list of<br />private label rights buyers.<br /><br />* New Offers List. Build a list of people who love your<br />work and want to be notified any time you have a new<br />offer available.<br /><br />* Pre-Launch List. Create buzz and anticipation for an<br />upcoming new product release by building a pre-launch<br />list several weeks (even months) in advance.<br /><br />* Ezine Publishers List. Build a list of publishers who<br />want to know any time you have a new ezine article<br />that is available for reprint in their ezines.<br /><br />* Bloggers List. Another idea is to allow bloggers who<br />are looking for ready-made content to post to their blogs.<br /><br />* Industry News List. How about becoming the "go to"<br />guy or gal to share breaking news about your industry?<br /><br />* Joint Venture List. Develop a list of partners and<br />affiliates who are ready to promote anytime you have a<br />new offer.<br /><br />* Incentives List. Here's a great idea - create a list of<br />people who you offer "incentives" to when they purchase<br />someone else's new product through YOUR affiliate link.<br /><br />* Freebie List. Regularly give away rebrandable content<br />(reports, articles, videos, etc.) to these subscribers<br />to earn commissions.<br /><br />While all ten of these lists aren't necessarily "buyers"<br />up front, they each can certainly lead to buyers and revenue<br />for you if you implement them.<br /><br />Content is king. But let's not forget that there are alot<br />of queens, princes, dukes and earls out there too.<br /><br />-----------<br />Jimmy D. Brown, one of the most respected marketing teachers online,<br />has been fine-tuning what and how he teaches when it comes<br />to Internet Marketing since 1999. Now you can benefit from<br />those years of experience and also get full PLR rights to<br />many of his best-selling products - at ridiculously LOW<br />prices (I'm talking Ten Bucks).<br />Run, don't walk to this website --> <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/freeplrso.html" target="_blank">PLRSO Club</a><br /><br />I hope you learned from today's tip. Please leave a comment to let me know - Thanks.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. In case you're worried about the technical parts of building a list like creating your opt-in page and setting up your autoresponder I recommend you watch "<a href="http://www.dollar-saver-deals.com/Newsletters/" target="_blank">List Building Tutorials for Newbies</a>." These things really aren't that hard.</p><p><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+list">targeted list</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/list+of+buyers">list of buyers</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/type+of+internet+marketing+list">type of internet marketing list</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+build+a+list">how to build a list</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Jimmy+D+Brown">Jimmy D Brown</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+create+a+buyers+only+list">how to create a buyers only list</a></span></p><br /> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/5c0884f7-c0a3-49a3-b0e7-ccc3b003d8ad/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5c0884f7-c0a3-49a3-b0e7-ccc3b003d8ad" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-44305708496604700772009-01-21T12:29:00.003-06:002009-01-21T12:52:38.476-06:00Are You More Like Bill Gates or a Goose?<span class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 212px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Billgates.JPG"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Billgates.JPG/202px-Billgates.JPG" alt="Stills from videotape of :en:Bill Gates' depos..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="202" height="149" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Billgates.JPG">Wikipedia</a></span></span><p>Before you answer the question let's review 3 things about Bill Gates:</p><ol><li>What does Bill Gates Own?<br />While he doesn't won 100% of Microsoft he did start it and make a bundle of money from it.<br /></li><br /><li>How much money does Bill Gates have?<br />I can't give you an exact figure however it's in the billions and he's 1 of the richest men in the world. (He definitely has more than you and I have.)<br /></li><br /><li>To be like Bill Gates you must:<br /><br />* Come from a family that can afford to pay for an exclusive education.<br /><br />* Have family and friends who support your decision to start a company.<br /><br />* Identify something you're really interested in and be willing to spend hours investigating and learning about it. (Bill Gates was 1 of the first to learn how to exploit computer software i.e. hacking.)<br /><br />* Have a plan and be a strong leader who stays in control.<br /><br />* Be a shrewd and ruthless business person. (In Bill's case this meant: hire others to do the time intensive work, make partnerships that benefit your business, be willing to gamble, learn from your mistakes, and occasionally break the law.)</li><br /></ol><br /><p>Now don't answer the question just yet because I'd like you to watch this short 1 minute video first.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PNckdgW9rk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PNckdgW9rk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />And let's review a few things about wild geese:</p><ol><li>What do wild geese own?<br />Wild geese own nothing except their freedom to live the life they choose.<br /></li><br /><li>How much money do wild geese have?<br />They have no money yet they seem to enjoy life to the fullest. (Have you ever seen an unhappy wild goose?)<br /></li><br /><li>To be like a wild goose you have to:<br /><br />* Be born and learn the ways of a wild goose. (Most of this is instinct but there are some things that do have to be learned.)<br /><br />* Have a supportive family and flock.<br /><br />* Be interested in life and learning the ways to survive.<br /><br />* Have a plan and be willing to work as both a leader and a follower.<br /><br />* Be a good goose in all your transactions. ( Let others do the work when you can't, partner with others who have the same goals, only gamble what you can afford to lose without hurting others i.e. as a follower you may risk everything by straying from the group however a leader must put the safety of the group first and you must learn from mistakes.)</li><br /></ol><br /><p>Now you can answer the question: Are You More Like Bill Gates or a Goose?<br /><br />As for me, sure I'd like to be as rich as Bill Gates however I'd rather be more like a goose.<br /><br />And since this is my blog and I'm the leader right now I'd like to share a couple of things that can make my flock a little more knowledgeable.<br />Today I received a ton of email about a new Russell Brunson product, "<a href="http://smc2002.thesecondtier.com/zoobie" target="_blank">Do You Suck At Making Money?</a>" and since so many well-known internet marketers are promoting it you may think it's 1 of those launches that only a select group of "gurus" can get in on. Well it's not. It's 1 of the products available inside his "<a href="http://smc2002.thesecondtier.com/" target="_blank">2nd Tier Club</a>" affiliate site.<br /><br />Although I don't use Vista, today I watched 1 of the videos included in the "MS Vista Performance Tips Video Series" and would like to share something I learned. There's some <a href="http://www.snapfiles.com/get/vsoptimizer.html" target="_blank">free software you can get so Vista will perform faster</a>. As I stated, I don't use Vista so I haven't tried it however the video series recommends and walks you through using it.</p><p>Now since I'm more like I goose I'd really appreciate an encouraging honk from you. So please leave a comment and rate this article.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/what+does+bill+gates+own" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">what does bill gates own</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+much+money+does+bill+gates+have" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how much money does bill gates have</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lessons+from+geese" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">lessons from geese</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/geese+lesson+video" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">geese lesson video</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/2nd+tier+club" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">2nd tier club</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/make+vista+perform+faster" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">make vista perform faster</span></a></small><br /></p> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/2a61b164-8051-4f0a-a15f-2fe59e128341/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2a61b164-8051-4f0a-a15f-2fe59e128341" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-59753304334048953462009-01-14T10:35:00.005-06:002009-01-21T12:55:55.288-06:00"The 7 Lessons From Who Moved My Cheese"<p>I first read "Who Moved My Cheese?" in 2001 when some traumatic changes were happening where I worked and I was forced to make some life changing decisions. And while I won't say the book holds the definitive answers to all of life's questions it does help you realize that things we depend on and can't always control can and do change.<br /><br />I now no longer work for someone else and have more control over my life however I think the 7 lessons contained in Dr. Spencer Johnson's "Handwriting on the Wall" lessons are just as important as they were back then. </p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1R95QUiBXgBaS9cAxX-FH4TKa-84vzWu28EUvkPAHGd-0oCi_SnNqlwIbfEsUf6ZPpEFernr4tZgTc2_airis3H916uE7zYWcF8lZTfdKxODrvL0fLRdifgkzT0ly6l-NqIn/s1600-h/wall-small.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291190220158782850" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 300px; height: 225px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1R95QUiBXgBaS9cAxX-FH4TKa-84vzWu28EUvkPAHGd-0oCi_SnNqlwIbfEsUf6ZPpEFernr4tZgTc2_airis3H916uE7zYWcF8lZTfdKxODrvL0fLRdifgkzT0ly6l-NqIn/s320/wall-small.gif" border="0" /></a></p><br /><p>You see, having control means you must be aware of what's happening, understand what your choices are and make decisions that affect your business and livelihood often.<br /><br />So in 2001 when I decided to start my own online business 1 of the first things I did was create an eBook that summarized the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable" title="Parable" rel="wikipedia">parable</a> "Who Moved My Cheese?" and gave it away so that those who hadn't read it could get some of the important lessons.<br /><br />Yesterday my daughter asked me where my copy of "Who Moved My Cheese?" was because she thought her 13 year old daughter needed to learn the lessons contain. Her question reminded me of my ebook. Since I would like everyone to be able to read it I've converted my 37 page picture summary to PDF and am again giving it away.<br /><br />Whether you've read the book or not I encourage you to get this summary and read it because it contains more than the 7 handwriting on the wall lessons such as:</p><ul><li>Your choices when it comes to dealing with change<br /></li><li>Why you must be willing to adapt to changes<br /></li><li>What happens to those who expect different results when they keep repeating the same actions.</li></ul><p>And since we live in a world where everyone must learn to adapt to change feel free to give this ebook to others.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/free/whomovedmycheese.pdf" target="_blank">Click here</a> to get your copy.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P. S. While I think the summary is good, reading the book is even better. It's a short read of less than 100 pages and there's a great discussion at the end of the book. You can <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0399144463/affiliates098-20" target="_blank">get it here</a>.<br /><br />Please rate this article. Thanks.</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/handwriting+on++the+wall+who+moved+my+cheese+lesson" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">handwriting on the wall who moved my cheese lesson</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/who+moved+my+cheese+summary" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">who moved my cheese summary</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/who+moved+my+cheese+review" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">who moved my cheese review</span></a></small><br /></p> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/6cb7cb11-8443-4909-af5a-ca7b7a4820f2/" title="Zemified by Zemanta"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6cb7cb11-8443-4909-af5a-ca7b7a4820f2" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-52278520526141810182009-01-08T07:41:00.002-06:002009-01-08T07:43:51.724-06:00January 2009<p>It's been awhile since we've had a site to review but thanks to Gary we have 1 this month.</p><p>Please take a look at <a href="http://hotenterprises.net/" target="_blank">http://hotenterprises.net/</a> and then either post constructive comments or <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/friends/reviews.shtml" target="_blank">send them to me</a> to have them added as part of the blog article.</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p><small>Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Site+Reviews" rel="tag">Site Reviews</a></small></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-1748240767095396292009-01-07T11:59:00.003-06:002009-01-07T12:06:09.979-06:00Do You Know Who Richard Simmons Is?<p>Yes, I mean the curly haired old guy who's made a ton of money exercising to music.<br /><br />Do you know what he and President-Elect Obama have in common?<br /><br />They both say they:</p><ol><li>Want to address current U.S. problems</li><br /><li>Have a desire to fix these problems</li><br /></ol><p>And they both know how to use people, the media and the internet to get their information known.<br /><br />Now while I do believe in exercise and love to dance I've never been a big fan of Richard Simmons until yesterday when I did a little research.<br /><br />Today however, I think he's someone with a good message, a way to get that message out and someone we can really learn from.<br /><br />Like Obama, Richard Simmons has never written a book or made a video about internet marketing. Yet, they're both classic examples of a good internet marketer because they both:</p><ol><li>Address specific problems</li><br /><li>Offer solutions to the problems</li><br /><li>Interject their personalities into their work</li><br /></ol><br /><p>And while most would agree that Richard Simmons looks and acts silly, he does address serious problems - people's health and the health of our children.<br /><br />So today I'd like you to add these things to your New Year's Resolutions list:</p><ol><li>Identify a problem that others need a solution for</li><br /><li>Find a good solution you believe in to offer</li><br /><li>Decide what your business personality is and use it to brand yourself</li></ol><p>And I'd like you to do 3 more things:</p><ol><li>Watch the video below all the way to the end.</li><br /><li>Improve your odds of staying healthy by exercising a little every day.</li><br /><li>Help protect our most important asset, the health of our children, by supporting the "<a href="http://www.richardsimmons.com/j15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162:help-richard-bring-back-pe-to-all-kids&catid=1&Itemid=104" target="_blank">Fit Kids Act</a>."</li><br /></ol><br /><p align="center"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B3g6s7NTnDE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B3g6s7NTnDE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><br /><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p>Please rate this article. Thanks.</p><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/internet+marketing" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">internet marketing</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/niche+marketing" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">niche marketing</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/identify+niche" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">identify niche</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/richard+simmons" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">richard simmons</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/kids+fit+act" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">kids fit act</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/exercise" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">exercise</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/new+years+resolution" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">new years resolution</span></a></small><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-25149642331335301922008-12-17T09:43:00.002-06:002008-12-17T09:46:54.582-06:00How To Drive Traffic to Your Blog - Part 2<p>The last tip for the year is the second video about getting free targeted traffic to your blog.</p><p>In this week's video you'll learn about 5 good sources for driving traffic to your blog. You can download the video here:</p><p><a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter/DriveTraffic-Part2.zip" target="_blank">Driving Traffic To You Blog Video 2</a></p><p>Have a safe and happy holiday season!</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p>Please rate this tip. Thanks</p><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+traffic" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">targeted traffic</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+visitors" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">targeted visitors</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/advertising" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">advertising</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+free+blog+traffic" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get free blog traffic</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+drive+traffic+to+blog" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to drive traffic to blog</span></a></small><br /></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-54880225460040968482008-12-10T12:04:00.002-06:002008-12-10T12:11:24.921-06:00How To Drive Traffic to Your Blog - Part 1<p>For the last 2 tips this year I'm sharing a couple of videos on getting free targeted traffic to your blog.<br /><br />In this week's video you'll learn how to use 2 good sources for driving traffic to your blog. You can download the video here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter/DriveTraffic-Part1.zip" target="_blank">Drive Traffic To You Blog Video 1</a><br /><br />Next week's video will show you 5 more sources.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />Please rate this idea. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+traffic" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">targeted traffic</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+visitors" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">targeted visitors</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/targeted+advertising" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">targeted advertising</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+free+blog+traffic" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get free blog traffic</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+drive+traffic+to+blog" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to drive traffic to blog</span></a></small></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/d11a68dd-0ee3-458c-a6f0-7ab55423257a/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=d11a68dd-0ee3-458c-a6f0-7ab55423257a" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-28399490218031070922008-12-03T11:43:00.002-06:002008-12-03T11:51:37.700-06:00"How To Do Fixed Position Images"<p>If you read the <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/classifieds.shtml" target="_blank">classifieds</a> for December 2, 2008 you already know what today's tip is all about.</p><p>If you missed that issue then you missed another free gift but you can still get this week's tip.</p><p>To see what fixed position images are and get the directions for how to do them read my<a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/CSSPositionFixed.html" target="_blank"> CSS Postion Fixed Tutorial</a>.</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p>P.S. In a recent blog post by Bob Jenkins he said:<br />"Become a giver instead of a taker/consumer. You’ll be amazed at what that transformation does for the future of your business."</p><p>With that thought in mind please join us in <a href="http://internet-marketing-tip.blogspot.com/2008/11/some-gifts-we-can-all-afford.html" target="_blank">our free gift exchange</a>.</p><p>Please rate this idea. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/css+position+fixed" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">css position fixed</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+css+template.position+a+div+and+then+fix" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">free css template.position a div and then fix</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/web+programming+help+tutorials+css" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">web programming help tutorials css</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/html+css+code+examples" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">html css code examples</span></a></small></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-37344160758774273432008-12-01T08:30:00.002-06:002008-12-01T08:32:08.275-06:00December 1, 2008<p>David just earned the Alexa 1st place award inside our member area for 1 of his sites and now he's got a new site that he's really excited about.</p><p><a href="http://www.myultimaterotator.com/" target="_blank">http://www.myultimaterotator.com/</a></p><p>Just scroll down toward the bottom of the page and see his rotator in action. </p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/featured+site" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">featured site</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+ad+rotator" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">free ad rotator</span></a></small></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-12601026915772692122008-11-26T13:46:00.002-06:002008-11-26T13:49:58.014-06:00Some Gifts We Can All Afford<span class="zemanta-img" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:500px-Xmas_tree_animated.gif"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Christmas" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/500px-Xmas_tree_animated.gif/202px-500px-Xmas_tree_animated.gif" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:500px-Xmas_tree_animated.gif">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <p>By now you've all seen a lot of email about some of the Thanksgiving and Christmas Giveaways going on this year. You may have also noticed that I haven't been adding any of them to the newsletter and wondered why.</p><p>The main reason I haven't is that while I still think they are a good way to help build your list I just haven't had the time.</p><p>Besides, many of us who've been online for awhile are tired of them.<br /><br />So rather than join into the giveaway mania with everyone else this year I've decided to do some things a little different.<br /><br />The first thing I've done is I've started an <a href="http://susancarrollhome.com/cheap-gift-ideas-for-the-holiday/" target="_blank">Exchange of Cheap Gift Ideas</a> on my personal blog. The purpose of this exchange is to give some new ideas for good gifts that don't cost much. I've started the exchange with 10 ideas from my family however to make the exchange worthwhile we need your inexpensive gift ideas too. Please leave your ideas as a comment and you may include a link to your site.<br /><br />The second thing I'd like to do is have this post be a digital gift exchange. Rather than have people become members of someone's list to get access and then sign-up to someone else's list to get the gift I propose we just exchange links to free digital gifts. The gifts can be just about anything that is totally free and could be of use to someone.<br /><br />The only restrictions to our digital gift exchange are:</p><ol><li>You must have the right to give the gift.</li><br /><li>You may include your link however you may not require someone to sign up to get it.</li><br /><li>Neither the gifts nor the links are allowed to promote hate, violence, sex or anything illegal. Gifts and links deemed inappropriate by the publisher for the general audience will be deleted.</li><br /></ol><p>Here are 3 gifts to get us started:</p><ul><li><a href="http://download.ultraedit.com/toolbox/more.html" target="_blank">The IDM Toolbox</a> contains a screen capture tool, sticky notes, a color picker and more.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/free-online-generator.htm" target="_blank">42 Free Online Image And Template Generators</a> are listed inside this free PDF ebook.</li><br /><li>A free copy of "10 Internet Marketing Statements You Need To Understand Before You Give Up On Your Online Business" can be found at the bottom of <a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/prudent-resellers/" target="_blank">http://www.susancarrollhome.com/prudent-resellers/</a></li><br /></ul><br /><p>I hope you'll take part in our digital gift exchange by leaving a comment with your gift. And if you happen to find either a dead link or an gift that violates the rules please contact me by clicking on my name at the bottom of <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter" target="_blank">my newsletter</a>.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. If you have a list feel free to invite them to participate in our gift exchanges. The more the merrier.<br /><br />Please rate this idea. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/cheap" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">cheap</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/inexpensive+gift+ideas" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">inexpensive gift ideas</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+gifts" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">free gifts</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/gift+exchange" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">gift exchange</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/gift+idea+exchange" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">gift idea exchange</span></a></small><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/eb8044de-3dc8-4d6b-99d8-f50d1154c80f/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=eb8044de-3dc8-4d6b-99d8-f50d1154c80f" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-10146049398011117752008-11-20T09:52:00.002-06:002008-11-20T10:10:56.111-06:00How To Create A Free Opinion Poll<span class="zemanta-img" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chilean_runoff_presidential_election_2006_January_opinion_polls.png"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="December 2005/January 2006 opinion poll results" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/42/Chilean_runoff_presidential_election_2006_January_opinion_polls.png/202px-Chilean_runoff_presidential_election_2006_January_opinion_polls.png" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chilean_runoff_presidential_election_2006_January_opinion_polls.png">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <p>Opinion polls are a good way to do market research and can make your site or blog more sticky. In fact because they're so popular most blog hosts like Blogger and WordPress have a widget or plugin for adding them.<br /><br />And because they're so popular there are lots of places to get free and paid-for software to create polls.<br /><br />However if you want to create a poll and</p><ul><li>You don't want to register</li><li>You don't want to invest in either purchasing the software or paying a monthly fee</li><li>You want your poll in an blog post and not in the sidebar</li></ul><p>Then here are a couple places you'll want to check out.<br /><br />For creating polls for your website you can use <a href="http://js-kit.com/polls/?wow_p" target="_blank">js-kit.com</a>. You can create multiple polls however they will all look like the 1 I've got at <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter/readerspoll.htm" target="_blank">readerspoll.htm</a> and you have to host the page with the poll on your own hosted space.<br /><br />If you don't have a website and you would like to create a poll you can use anywhere like inside a blog post or in your blog's sidebar you can use <a href="http://www.pollcode.com/" target="_blank">pollcode.com</a>. You get a choice on how the poll will look and you can place it inside a blog post like I've done here:<br /></p><br /><form action="http://poll.pollcode.com/v8Sz" method="post"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="150" bgcolor="#eeeeee" background="http://pollcode.com/images/bg/blue_stars.gif" border="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;"><b>Which do you think is better?</b></span></td></tr><tr><td width="5"><input type="radio" value="1" name="answer"></td><td><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;">blogger.com</span></td></tr><tr><td width="5"><input type="radio" value="2" name="answer"></td><td><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;">wordpress.com</span></td></tr><tr><td width="5"><input type="radio" value="3" name="answer"></td><td><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;">another bloghost</span></td></tr><tr><td width="5"><input type="radio" value="4" name="answer"></td><td><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;">a blog hosted on your own domain</span></td></tr><tr><td width="5"><input type="radio" value="5" name="answer"></td><td><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:white;">none of the above</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><center><input type="submit" value="Vote"> <input type="submit" value="View" name="view"></center></td></tr><tr><td align="right" colspan="2" style="color:white;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:black;">pollcode.com <a href="http://pollcode.com/"><span style="color:navy;">free polls</span></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></form><br /><p>If you'd like to create a poll where people can leave comments like the one below you can get a free one at <a href="http://shout-boxes.com/" target="_blank">shout-boxs.com</a>. They host the poll on their site however you will have to register to use the service and you are limited to 1 poll unless you purchase more.</p><br /><br /><br /><table class="border444" height="300" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="170" border="0"><tbody><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_a.jpg" height="46"></td><td class="border444" valign="center" align="left" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_b.jpg" height="46"><span class="box_heading444"><strong>Poll</strong></span></td><td class="border444" width="40" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_c.jpg" height="46"></td></tr><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" valign="bottom" align="middle" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg" colspan="3"><table class="border444" height="240" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" align="left" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_d.jpg"></td><td class="border444" valign="top" align="left" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg"><span class="box_content444"><form id="shoutform444" name="shoutform" action="http://shout-boxes.com/shout.php?id=" method="post" target="shout_box444" font="arial&size=" bid="444&scrollheight="><iframe name="shout_box444" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://shout-boxes.com/shout.php?id=439&bid=444&scrollheight=107&font=arial&size=11" frameborder="0" width="146" scrolling="no" height="123"></iframe><table class="border444" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" width="100%" border="0"><tbody><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" align="middle" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg"><input class="box_input444" onblur="if (this.value == '') { this.value='Name' }" onfocus="if ( this.value == 'Name' ) { this.value=''; }" maxlength="25" size="16" value="Name" name="ShoutName"></td></tr><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" align="middle" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg"><input class="box_input444" onblur="if (this.value == '') { this.value='Message' }" onfocus="if ( this.value == 'Message' ) { this.value=''; }" maxlength="2500" size="16" value="Message" name="ShoutComment"></td></tr><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" align="middle" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg"><input class="plain_box_input444" type="hidden" value="arial" name="font"><input class="plain_box_input444" type="hidden" value="11" name="size"><input class="plain_box_input444" type="hidden" value="107" name="scrollheight"><input type="hidden" value="444" name="box_id"><input type="hidden" value="439" name="user_id"> <div id="smilies_hide444" style="DISPLAY: block"><div class="box_content444"><input class="box_button444" type="submit" value="Shout" name="DoShout"><span onclick="changeBoxSize ('show','444'); return false;"><input class="box_button444" type="button" value="Smilies"></span></div></div><div id="smilies_show444" style="DISPLAY: none"><div class="box_content444"><input class="box_button444" type="submit" value="Shout" name="button"><span onclick="changeBoxSize ('hide','444'); return false;"><input class="box_button444" type="button" value="Smilies"></span><br /><br /><span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :confused: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/confused.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :sigh: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/sigh.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :sleep: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/sleep.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :upset: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/upset.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :none: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/none.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :eek: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/bigeek.gif" border="0" /></span><br /><br /><span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :rolleyes: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :mad: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/mad.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :yes: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/yes.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :no: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/no.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :shy: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/shy.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :laugh: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/laugh.gif" border="0" /></span><br /><br /><span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :dead: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/dead.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :cry: ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/cry.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :) ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :( ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/sad.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' ;) ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/smilewinkgrin.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' B) ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/cool.gif" border="0" /></span><br /><br /><span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :D ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" /></span> <span style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="DoSmilie(' :P ','Message','444');"><img alt="" src="http://shout-boxes.com/smilies/bigrazz.gif" border="0" /></span> </div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></form></span></td><td class="border444" align="right" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_f.jpg"></td></tr><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" align="left" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_d.jpg"></td><td class="border444" valign="top" align="middle" width="146" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_e.jpg"><a class="box_A444" title="Get Your Own Free Shoutbox" href="http://shout-boxes.com/" target="_blank"><span class="box_date444">Shout-Boxes.com</span></a><br /><a class="box_A444" title="Community Chat Rooms" href="http://shout-boxes.com/members/index.php?command=chat" target="_blank"><span class="box_date444">Chat Rooms</span></a></span></td><td class="border444" align="right" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_f.jpg"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr class="border444"><td class="border444" width="12" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_g.jpg" height="14"></td><td class="border444" valign="top" align="middle" width="118" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_h.jpg" height="14"></td><td class="border444" width="40" background="http://shout-boxes.com/themes/0066B3/block_i.jpg" height="14"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Because all of the above are free services you will have to live with some advertising since they're providing the service to make money. When you're ready to start using some professional polling software where you can make money One Minute Poll is a good choice. One Minute Poll has been providing polling services since 2002, it's easy to use, it hosts the polls and the costs are reasonable. You can see everything it provides and get a 30 day free trial at <a href="http://newday.oneminpoll.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">oneminutepoll.com</a>.<br /><br />Everybody had an opinion about something so why not add a poll to your site and find out what your readers think.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />Please leave a comment or rate this tip. Thanks <p></p><br /><p><small>Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+opinion+poll" rel="tag">free opinion poll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/create+poll" rel="tag">create poll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/polling+software" rel="tag">polling software</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+poll" rel="tag">free poll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/shoutbox" rel="tag">shoutbox</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/one+minute+poll" rel="tag">one minute poll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/oneminutepoll" rel="tag">oneminutepoll</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/poll+code" rel="tag">poll code</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/polling+software" rel="tag">polling software</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/poll+software" rel="tag">poll software</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+poll+software" rel="tag">free poll software</a></small></p><br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/f6c0ad59-6893-4ef7-8f7c-3d7ee5208425/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f6c0ad59-6893-4ef7-8f7c-3d7ee5208425" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-42868013414764255782008-11-14T14:21:00.002-06:002008-11-14T14:37:21.306-06:00The Answer Is ...<span class="zemanta-img" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Private_label_products_in_Swedish_Hemk%C3%B6p_store.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Swedish grocery store where private label prod..." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Private_label_products_in_Swedish_Hemk%C3%B6p_store.jpg/202px-Private_label_products_in_Swedish_Hemk%C3%B6p_store.jpg" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Private_label_products_in_Swedish_Hemk%C3%B6p_store.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <p>In my last post I added the following in my P.S.:</p><p>"P.S. I used an example within <a href="http://internet-marketing-tip.blogspot.com/2008/11/thinking-and-problem-solving.html" target="_blank">this articl</a>e however the article itself is an example of something that's done often online. However when it's done correctly you usually can't tell. Do you know what it's an example of?"</p><p>Well I must have done it correctly since no one ventured a guess. </p><p>Now before I give you the answer <a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/FreeReport/SEO-report.htm">click her</a>e to see another example.</p><p>Have you figured it out yet?</p><p>Are you ready for the answer?</p><p>Here it is -</p><p>I used private label rights content for both! No, I don't use PLR content very often however I've used it to get ideas and as the starting place for both articles and free reports.<br /><br />Did you know that PLR products are extremely popular right now because they make content and product creation so easy. In fact there are 2 very popular PLR membership sites where many savvy PLR users get their content: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/6k5cgo" target="_blank">Simply PRL</a> and <a href="http://tinyurl.com/5lmjgx" target="_blank">Monthly Content</a>. Now I have to admit that I'm not a member of either since I get a lot of PLR products from another membership site, <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/crazymembership.html" target="_blank">Crazy Membership</a>. And while I can't personally recommend either of the PLR specific membership sites I did do some research and found only positive reviews for both. As for Crazy Membership, I use it as 1 of my primary resources for<a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/prudent-resellers/" target="_blank"> my own monthly membership site</a> so yes, I do recommend it as a good site to pick up products.</p><p>Now unfortunately some people don't know what PLR products are and of those who do most don't know what to do with them. That means they either</p><ul><li>don't get them</li><br /><li>get them and don't use them</li><br /><li>get them and don't use them correctly</li><br /></ul><p>However when you use PLR products the right way it means:</p><ul><li>You don't have to worry about duplicate content</li><br /><li>You don't have to suffer from writers block</li><br /><li>You have a supply of ideas for articles, reports, ebooks and more</li><br /><li>You can reduce the amount of time it takes to create your articles, reports, etc.</li><br /></ul><p>It for these reasons that I' m making PLRBrainstorm available <a href="http://www.dollar-saver-deals.com/plrbrainstorm/" target="_blank">here</a> and I'll be adding these video tutorials to the training section of my monthly membership site soon. They're that good.</p><p>So now you know what my earlier article was an example of. I hope you learned something both from it and by me revealing my secret about where the content came from.</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p>P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment.</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/brainstorm+for+writing" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">brainstorm for writing</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/private+label+rights+free+reports" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">private label rights free reports</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+use+plr+articles+content" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to use plr articles content</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/time+writing+tips" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">time writing tips</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+write+a+newsletter+article" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to write a newsletter article</span></a></small><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/1cd884ac-c724-4f3c-8393-d8a5a0ef18f4/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1cd884ac-c724-4f3c-8393-d8a5a0ef18f4" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-22235738527575045222008-11-12T12:25:00.003-06:002008-11-12T16:17:38.017-06:00Thinking and Problem Solving<span class="zemanta-img" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Funny_Animal_01.JPG"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="An American Bisque cookie jar using the Funny ..." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/Funny_Animal_01.JPG" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Funny_Animal_01.JPG">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <p>It seems that everyday we encounter new problems. In fact we have so many problems that most people now take problem solving for granted. And it is this familiarity with problem solving that has in fact created yet another problem for us to solve.<br /><br />Every day we solve so many little problems we're no longer creative with our problem solving.<br /><br />Now as a child, you were probably much more creative when you had a problem to solve. Your problems were seen with wonder and amazement and you were persistent until they were solved.<br /><br />As an adult, you probably aren't amazed by your problems and you just want them to solve themselves and go away. That's why you probably continue to use the same methods of solving your problems instead of trying new things.<br /><br />So how do you wake up your creative problem solving child within you?<br /><br />First you must learn to view your problems in a different way. Don't focus all your attention on the negative aspects of the problem. Rather focus your attention on the desired outcome when the problem is solved. Like the child who wants a cookie from the cookie jar that's just out of reach. He doesn't focus on the height of the jar. Instead he sees himself holding a cookie.<br /><br />Second you must learn to ask questions about the problem. While you might think this will make the problem bigger and harder to solve it actually opens the door to finding bigger and better solutions. The child wanting the cookie may ask why the jar is up so high. And knowing the answer will help him develop a solution that can help keep him from caught.<br /><br />Third you want to do some brainstorming. That means you come up with all kinds of solutions, even those that are unconventional. The cookie wanting child may imagine himself floating to the jar or using his powers of levitation to get the jar to come to him. He may see himself as a great mountain climber or super thief dangling on a rope from the ceiling. A child knows no boundaries when imaging possible solutions to his problem.<br /><br />Fourth you'll need to think about your listed solutions. Some solutions may have to be thrown out because you can't see any way to implement them. Others may deserve more thought. While the child trying to get a cookie may wish he could fly or had special powers, he knows these solutions won't work. Instead he focuses on using some of the solutions that can be modified like the mountain climbing or the "super thief."<br /><br />Fifth you must be flexible and willing to try new and unconventional things. The child scaling the mountain may first have to build the mountain out of things that are handy like his step stool, a chair and upside down kettle. He doesn't limit himself to using things for what they were intended. He inventories what's available and devises new ways to use them to achieve his goal.<br /><br />Just remember, children are master problem solvers because they are not afraid to try anything. They work and experiment and take their time to solve a problem. If something doesn't work they try again because they have fun trying to solve problems. To a child every problem is seen as a challenge or a game.<br /><br />You as an adult encounter many problems and probably see solving problems as just one more thing you have to do. You probably see them as work and there is nothing fun about them. And many problems like fixing a tire can be solved by using the same solutions you've used in the past. However there are some problems in your work and life that require some thought and new creative solutions.<br /><br />So the next time you encounter a new problem or an old problem that keeps coming back try using the above steps to awaken your childlike problem solving capability.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><p>P.S. I used an example within this article however the article itself is an example of something that's done often online. However when it's done correctly you usually can't tell. Do you know what it's an example of?</p><p>Don't be afraid to leave a comment and take a guess because there are no "wrong" answers. And in a day or so I'll post the answer I'm thinking about.</p><p>Susan</p><p><small>Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thinking+and+problem+solving" rel="tag">thinking and problem solving</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thinking+and+problem+solving+problem+activities" rel="tag">thinking and problem solving problem activities</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/problem+solving" rel="tag">problem solving</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/creative+thinking" rel="tag">creative thinking</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/childlike+problem+solving" rel="tag">childlike problem solving</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/unconventional+problem+solving" rel="tag">unconventional problem solving</a></small></p><br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/75dc7c0b-69f9-4d6a-97b7-d341f6b6ab19/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=75dc7c0b-69f9-4d6a-97b7-d341f6b6ab19" /></a></div><p> </p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-44824732432793467022008-11-05T14:06:00.002-06:002008-11-05T14:13:29.225-06:00Security Alert: Making a Thank You Page<p>Yesterday I accidentally discovered 1 answer for the question,<br /><br />how does a hacker hack something like a Digital Download?<br /><br />Here's what happened.<br /><br />While doing some keyword research I stumbled across a free video about how to read PDF ebooks online. Now the video showed how to use a downloadable tool to find online PDF ebooks so you could read them free of charge.<br /><br />And although I wasn't interested in downloading the tool, the video made me curious about the types of advanced searches allowed by <a class="zem_slink" title="Google search" href="http://www.google.com/" rel="homepage">Google</a>. So I checked. And sure enough, using Google's advanced search, I could perform the same searches as provided by the tool.<br /><br />This discovery then made me curious about how secure thank you pages are from Google searches.<br /><br />Like many online marketers I both sell and give away digital products. However I only want those who have done the desired action, purchase or sign up, to actually reach my Thank You page.<br /><br />Unfortunately I discovered that many don't take extra security measures to stop internet hackers when they're making a Thank You page and it is very possible to access all types of free and not free digital information.<br /><br />For instance, yesterday I found the download pages for:</p><ul><li>Dylan Loh's "Clickbank Profit Machine"</li><br /><li>Ewen Chia's "Ebook Money Machine"</li><br /><li>"HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNET MILLIONAIRE" with 3 bonuses</li><br /><li>The Webmaster's Gambling Package with 112 products</li><br /><li>MikeFilsaime "eBook Marketing for Newbies"</li><br /></ul><p>All of these products were being sold and the prices ranged from $7.97 to $67.<br /><br />And while some may call me "stupid" I really do try to be honest. So even though I don't have some of these products I Did Not download any of them. Nor do I encourage anyone else to do so unless they have actually purchased them.<br /><br />The point I want to make is that you really must take some security measures to protect your digital downloads. And the first step is when you're making your Thank You page.<br /><br />Here are 5 things you can do to protect your download when making a Thank You page:</p><ol><li>Include the following meta code in your Thank You page so search engine spiders won't find your page. This will work for many search engines like Google but doesn't work for all of them.<br /><br /><head><br /><META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW"><br /></head><br /></li><br /><li>If you have your Thank You page in a directory with no index.html file then either use the Index Manager in cPanel to keep others from seeing the list of files in the directory or create an index.html file that redirects to another page. You can use this redirection code:<br /><br /><head><br /><META HTTP-EQUIV="refresh" content="0;URL=http://www.yourwebpage.html"><br /></head><br /></li><br /><li>Give your Thank You page and the directory it resides in hard to guess names.<br /></li><br /><li>Put your downloads in a password protected directory and email the password to your customers. Then if others find the Thank You page they still can't access the download.<br /></li><br /><li>Avoid using common keyword search terms on your download page like "thank your for your purchase" or "thank you for your order." You can use graphics and buttons instead.</li><br /></ol><p>Now I can't guarantee that taking some or all of these measures will stop all internet hackers from finding your Thank You page or stealing your downloads. However I can guarantee that if you don't take some measures to protect your digital downloads then your downloads are at risk of being found by search engines.<br /><br />I know that I've been using 2 of the above measures just like the "gurus" whose products I found. But now that I've accidentally discovered how hackers hack something I have a better understand of how to protect my digital downloads.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />Please leave a comment or rate this tip. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/making+a+thank+you+page" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">making a thank you page</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+protect+digital+downloads" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to protect digital downloads</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+does+a+hacker+hack+something" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how does a hacker hack something</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/stop+internet+hackers" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">stop internet hackers</span></a></small><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/68dee2bf-7bdd-49f0-81fc-3511880e6ed7/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=68dee2bf-7bdd-49f0-81fc-3511880e6ed7" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-52635210304322898682008-10-29T23:34:00.002-05:002008-10-29T23:45:05.904-05:00A Product Without A Market<p>On Monday I downloaded a video tutorial product on how to use the popular web host administration software, Cpanel. And since I use Cpanel to manage my sites and don't know that much about it I was excited to view the videos because I wanted to learn how to "use cPanel's bigger features to take your business to the next level of success." (A quote from the sales page.)<br /><br />My reaction after watching the few videos over the the topics I wanted to know about most was... disappointment and then confusion.<br /><br />You see, 99% of the information on these videos is given freely in the video instructions provided by my hosting service. The 3 primary differences in the purchased videos and the Cpanel webhost instruction videos are:</p><ol><li>The purchased videos have audio while the webhost instruction videos have caption boxes that must be read.</li><br /><li>There are a few little tidbits of new information such as, check with your hosting company about size limitations on complete backups. Evidentially backing up a large site may exceed some hosting company's limitations and your site could be shut down for exceeding the limit.</li><br /><li>The purchased videos did show the correct sequence for doing a task like moving a mySQL database from one host to another. So while the actual Cpanel mySQL instructions could be found in the webhost instruction videos the purchased video showed me the order to do things if I wanted to move my database.</li></ol><p>Now I must admit that I am still disappointed since I don't feel like I learned to use cPanel's bigger features to take my business to the next level of success and now I am wondering why they were created.<br /><br />My first thought was that some value was added to the free information so this product was created to fill a need in some niche market. So I did some <a class="zem_slink" title="Market research" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_research" rel="wikipedia">market research</a>.<br /><br />Using the free Nichbot keyword tool I discovered that there was a daily average of 112 searches for cpanel for the last 100 days (good) and there are over 7 million sites found for that search term (really bad). So I dug down to find a possible search phrase. Unfortunately I could not identify any phrase that had a decent number of searches, a fair amount of competition and could be correctly used for this product.<br /><br />I then tried several other words and phrases and still couldn't identify any keywords or phrases that could be used to get some search engine traffic looking for information provided in this product.<br /><br />Still thinking it was me and my lack of knowing what niche market this product was created for I decided to checkout the competition at ClickBank. Would you believe I found a total of 4 products across all categories when I searched for Cpanel? I tried some other product related searches and found either no products or products that had nothing to do with web host administration except for those selling web hosting service.<br /><br />Now I am sure this product will get sold to a few however I doubt that anyone will make very much since most of the information is freely available and there doesn't appear to be much of a market for this type of information. And that's why I'm confused.<br /><br />Since it took time to make and market these videos and since time is money, why would an experienced internet marketer waste their time doing it. And yes, this product was created by an experienced internet marketer. He just didn't put his name on it.<br /><br />Oh well, at least 2 good things came from those videos:</p><ol><li>An example of how to make a product where there isn't much of a market.</li><br /><li>I found a video that emphasizes how some waste their time doing harm to those who don't deserve it.</li></ol><br /><p align="center"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wBR-Vj8WKVA&hl=" fs="1" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p><br /><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. In case you're wondering if I asked for a refund the answer is no because I didn't buy the product. I got it from a membership site where I get lots of new products every month.<br /><br />Also, if you're interested in some free Cpanel video tutorials become a <a href="http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/plrwholesale.html" target="_blank">free member of this site</a> because there are 29 available to all free members.<br /><br />Please leave a comment or rate this tip. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/web+host+administration+software" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">web host administration software</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Cpanel+Webhost+Instruction" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">Cpanel Webhost Instruction</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Cpanel" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">Cpanel</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/niche+market+research" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">niche market research</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/time+is+money" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">time is money</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/don%27t+waste+time" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">don't waste time</span></a></small><br /><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/6941bc25-310a-4f30-bfe9-4dc4de2228a9/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6941bc25-310a-4f30-bfe9-4dc4de2228a9" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-49724615288156038062008-10-22T14:34:00.003-05:002008-10-22T14:55:52.426-05:00How To Find A Niche Market - Passion or Market Research<p>You've probably read several articles or ebooks about how to start an online business. And what do they say about choosing your niche? They probably all advised you to focus your business around something you are either passionate about or on something you know a lot about. And while this is usually the best advice when starting because of the amount of time and work you'll be spending on your business, it isn't always the best.<br /><br />For many, telling them to focus their business around their passion or expertise doesn't work. You see there are many who have jobs and hobbies however they aren't passionate about them. They know enough to do their jobs and hobbies however they don't consider themselves an "expert" so they don't think they have anything to share.<br /><br />So today, rather than tell you how to find a niche within your market I'll focus on finding a niche market when you aren't passionate about anything.<br /><br />The first thing you must know is that there are 3 things all online businesses need to succeed. They are:<br />People looking for information or products<br />People willing to buy the information or products online<br />Good products or information to sell them<br />Now whether you're passionate about your niche or not the niche market you choose must have these things.<br /><br />So when you are passionate about something after you've picked what your business will be about you do market research to identify your targeted niche by identifying the types of things people are looking for and the things they are willing to buy.<br /><br />However when you aren't passionate about something you start by doing the market research first. In other words, first find something a lot of people want to know about and identify what they're willing to pay for.<br /><br />Here's an example:<br /><br />This morning I went to a keyword research tool and typed in - how to. I found there were 1536 searches daily for "how to play soccer." I also found there were more than 93,000 pages listed for that search term on Google. The thing that's interesting is that this is the number 1 site for that search term -<br /><a href="http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/soccer/soccerfull.html" target="_blank">http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/soccer/soccerfull.html</a><br /><br />The site soyouwanna isn't focused on 1 product type. Instead they've identified their niche market as people who want to learn how to do things. As such they have lots of information about lots of things.<br /><br />And the same thing happened when I did a search on "how to play basketball." (Without the quotes.) I found 1389 daily searches, over 600,000 sites found and the number 1 site was -<br /><a href="http://www.howtodothings.com/sports-and-recreation/a3447-how-to-play-basketball.html" target="_blank">http://www.howtodothings.com/sports-and-recreation/a3447-how-to-play-basketball.html</a><br /><br />Now I'm not suggesting you try to identify your niche with the phrase "how to ..." because that's where everyone before you has gone and they have pretty much established themselves. However if you do know enough about something to write some articles you may still want to investigate to see if this information is something people are looking for and if there's very much competition.<br /><br />Or you could do some research on what you're interested in right now like I did.<br /><br />Earlier this month I wanted to share some craft ideas on <a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/" target="_blank">my blog</a>. However before I wrote the articles I did some keyword research and found the phrase - homemade halloween crafts and decorations - as something people were searching for and there was almost no competition. So I wrote the articles centered around my keywords.<br /><br />Now in the event you don't have an interest that anyone is searching for then you can always start by looking for a product that has information people want. Did you know that the 9th most popular product in ClickBank's Home & Family category is "<a href="http://newday.rob1984.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">Discus Fish Secrets</a>", there are 240 searches a month for: discus fish care and feeding - and there is very little competition? Oh, you don't know anything about Discus Fish. Me either but then I didn't really know anything about pumpkin painting when I wrote that article either.<br /><br />The important thing to remember about picking your niche market is that you must do some research. You must find out what people are looking for and willing to buy online. Then you find good products or services to sell. And then you put in the time and effort to become an "expert" so you can give information that will draw traffic and make sales.</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+find+a+niche+market" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to find a niche market</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/how+to+find+target+market" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">how to find target market</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/niche+target+market" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">niche target market</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/market+niche+examples" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">market niche examples</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/niche+target+market" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">niche target market</span></a></small></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/77bf5c1a-b16e-4305-8cc9-2d9660cec017/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=77bf5c1a-b16e-4305-8cc9-2d9660cec017" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-39582020771717021632008-10-16T09:54:00.002-05:002008-10-16T10:06:22.702-05:00Should Freedom of Speech Ever Be Restricted?<span class="zemanta-img zemanta-action-click" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Constitution_Pg2of4_AC.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Second page of Constitution of the United States." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Constitution_Pg2of4_AC.jpg/202px-Constitution_Pg2of4_AC.jpg" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 1em 0px 0px"><span style="font-size:85%;">Image via </span><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Constitution_Pg2of4_AC.jpg"><span style="font-size:85%;">Wikipedia</span></a></span></span> <p>This week I was going to write a tip about how to find a niche market however I changed my plans after a disturbing call from 1 of my daughters.<br /><br />On Wednesday, October 15, while driving home she was almost run off the road not once but twice. Fortunately she managed to avoid having an accident both times however she was extremely shaken up by this ordeal.<br /><br />Now my daughter has been driving home from work 5 days a week on this same highway for several months and nothing like this has ever happened before. So my question to her was why - Why would someone try to run you off the road?<br /><br />She had no idea since she was keeping up with traffic and was staying in the "slow" lane. The only thing different about her, her car and her driving was that the night before she had put a political bumper sticker endorsing the candidate she was supporting on her car.<br /><br />Now we don't know for a fact that it was the bumper sticker that incited 2 people to the point of trying to scare or hurt her. But to be safe she did remove the sticker.<br /><br />As her mother I was very upset with what had happened and was relieved to hear she had removed the sticker.<br /><br />As an American I was outraged by what had happened!<br /><br />Having lived through a lot of presidential campaigns I know that fear and hate are common campaign tactics and you can't believe a lot of what's said. I also know that presidential elections cause a lot of mixed emotions.<br /><br />But to have someone afraid to state who they support in an upcoming election...<br /><br />To me that's UN-AMERICAN!!!<br /><br />In a country where freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment in the Constitution no one should be afraid to state their political commitment on a bumper sticker or anywhere else. And those who resort to violence when someone doesn't agree with them should move to a country that supports that type of reaction.<br /><br />Of course I know they won't move because they want the right to say whatever they want. They just don't want to extend that same right to others who disagree with them.<br /><br />In America we have the freedom of choice and the freedom to state our choice in a non-violent way. Many have died to give us these rights.<br /><br />So no matter what your political beliefs I encourage everyone to:</p><ul><li>Have your own opinion and respect the opinion of others.</li><br /><li>Share your opinion with others and listen when others share theirs.</li><br /><li>Don't just listen to campaign ads and debates but also do your "due diligence" and learn the truth.</li><br /><li>When election day comes, Vote.</li><br /><li>And whether your candidate wins or loses, lets all agree to work together to make our country strong and unified.</li><br /></ul><p>To paraphrase something my high school government teacher once said -<br /><br />You have the right to disagree with someone but your right ends just before your fist hits them.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. Since we're all now protected by the USA Patriot Act those who are publicly stating things like "Off with his head" and "Kill xxx" during political rallies may want to watch their backs because:<br /><br />Sec. 802. in TITLE VIII—STRENGTHENING THE CRIMINAL LAWS AGAINST TERRORISM of the Patriot Act states:<br /><br />"Definition of domestic terrorism. Both the House and Senate bills included this provision to define the term "domestic terrorism" as a counterpart to the current definition of "international terrorism" in 18 U.S.C. §2331. <strong>The new definition for "domestic terrorism" is</strong> for the limited purpose of providing investigative authorities (i.e., court orders, warrants, etc.) <strong>for acts of terrorism within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Such offenses are those that are<br /></strong><br />"(1) <strong>dangerous to human life and violate the criminal laws of the United States or any state; and</strong><br /><br />(2) <strong>appear to be intended (or have the effect) – to intimidate a civilian population; influence government policy intimidation or coercion</strong>; or affect government conduct by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping (or a threat of)." Same as Administration proposal."<br /><br />And while I don't believe either the Democratic or Republican candidate falls into a Patriot Act protected group those doing the yelling do. And if they're right and I'm wrong then they should also know that Sec. 102 of TITLE I—ENHANCING DOMESTIC SECURITY AGAINST TERRORISM states:<br /><br />"Sense of Congress condemning discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans. <strong>Both the House and Senate bills included this provision to condemn acts of violence and discrimination against Arab Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia, and to declare that every effort must be taken to protect their safety.</strong>"</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">The above quotes were taken from </span><a href="http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200110/102401a.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200110/102401a.html</span></a></p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/presidential+campaign+violence" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">presidential campaign violence</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/freedom+of+speech" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">freedom of speech</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/act+of+violence" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">act of violence</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/freedom+of+speech+and++constitution" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">freedom of speech and constitution</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/freedom+of+speech+the+first+amendment" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">freedom of speech the first amendment</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/should+freedom+of+speech+ever+be+restricted" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">should freedom of speech ever be restricted</span></a></small><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/e96f52e4-8060-424b-8c38-1ed3edb28788/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e96f52e4-8060-424b-8c38-1ed3edb28788" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-9738651287608898572008-10-08T11:30:00.002-05:002008-10-08T11:37:18.641-05:00How to Help My Web Site Get Found for Free<p>In June of 2000 Netcraft.com reported that here were approximately 18,200,000 websites and only about half of them were active. However as of September, 2008 they reported that there were 181,277,835 websites and approximately 72,800,000 were active. </p><p>With numbers like this you've got your work cut out for you to get your web site found!</p><p>Now before you give up and say it's impossible to compete with over 72 million websites let me tell that it's not impossible and while the numbers are overwhelming they aren't as bad as it appears on the surface.<br /><br />You see, once you've picked your targeted niche market the number of compete ting websites goes down significantly. And the more targeted your market the more the number of competitors goes down.<br /><br />So while there may be over 72 million websites you are only competing with the fraction of sites in your targeted niche.<br /><br />So how do you get your web site found for free?<br /><br /><strong>First</strong> you've got to pick you target niche. You want a niche that has some competition but not too much.<br /><br /><strong>Second</strong>, you need to find the keywords people are using when searching for things in your niche.<br /><br /><strong>Third</strong>, you should get a domain name, blog name or social networking site title that contains at least 1 of your keywords.<br /><br /><strong>Forth</strong>, you must put content on your site and be aware that keyword density on every page and every article is important.<br /><br /><strong>Fifth</strong>, you've got to promote your site using free web site promotion services like:</p><ul><li>blogs</li><br /><li>forums</li><br /><li>article directories</li><br /><li>social networking sites</li><br /><li>free ezine advertising</li><br /><li>press releases</li><br /><li>joint ventures</li><br /><li>search engines</li><br /></ul><p>Do you have to do all of them?<br /><br />No - You only need to a few of them. The 1 you should be most concerned about is getting found by the search engines because that's what your potential customers use when they're looking for something.<br /><br />The truth is: while the other free methods may help you get your site found immediately by a few, having a link to your site posted on those other types of sites will actually help you get your site found by many in the search engines. It won't happen immediately but it will happen.<br /><br />To get a free report on some of best ways to optimize your site to get a good <a class="zem_slink" title="Search engine optimization" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization" rel="wikipedia">search engine ranking</a> <a href="http://www.susancarrollhome.com/FreeReport/SEO-report.htm" target="_blank">click here</a>.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />Please leave a comment or rate this tip. Thanks</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/web+site+get+found+for+free" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">web site get found for free</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+website+found+for+free" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get website found for free</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+website+found" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get website found</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+web+site+found+for+free" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get web site found for free</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/get+web+site+found" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">get web site found</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/free+seo+report" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">free seo report</span></a></small><br /></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/a05f3bc9-daf1-450f-acb4-205592e7e673/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a05f3bc9-daf1-450f-acb4-205592e7e673" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-56940607042747471942008-09-30T11:16:00.002-05:002008-09-30T11:19:44.900-05:00October 2008<p>This month Michael has asked that we take a look at his site because according to him: "I know it could use some help and I am looking forward to all constructive opinions."</p><p>Now I've taken a look and I think you'll find that making some constructive comments a challenge.</p><p>So when you're ready to put your web master skills to the test go to<br /><a href="http://www.stressfreetaxhelp.com/" target="_blank">http://www.stressfreetaxhelp.com/</a></p><p>Then either post constructive comments or send them to me to have them added as part of the blog article.</p><p>To Your Success,<br />Susan</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/site+review" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">site review</span></a></small></p>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-79589302290852713512008-09-24T11:30:00.002-05:002008-09-24T11:37:55.607-05:00What Can We Learn From Hot Skateboarders?<span class="zemanta-img zemanta-action-click" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9863984@N05/2616948945"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="brandon bs 180" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/2616948945_4a11c3be7e_m.jpg" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 1em 0px 0px">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9863984@N05/2616948945">MattLaws</a> via Flickr</span></span> <p>Ever heard of Tony Hawks, Ryan Sheckler or Anthony Shetler? They're popular names around my house.<br /><br />You see, my grandson is really into the whole skateboard scene and the hot skateboarders I've just mentioned are just 3 of his idols.<br /><br />Now for those of you who aren't skateboard enthusiasts let me tell you that most pro skateboarders are not only talented skateboarders, they're also pretty smart. They've taken their passion for something that wasn't widely known about a few years ago and helped turn it into a multi-million dollar industry.<br /><br />Here's what I mean.<br /><br />Tony Hawks - Retired Pro Skateboarder / Hawk Clothing<br />As a child Tony Hawks was considered a "troubled kid" so his parents had him psychologically evaluated and discovered he was "gifted". Tony took up skateboarding because he found it was something he liked and could focus on which helped turn him into the world's most recognizable skateboarder today. He's now retired from skateboarding and has established the Tony Hawk Foundation.</p><p>Steve Caballero - Pro Skateboarder / Artist:<br />Steve was born with scoliosis which made his head tilt to one side. He is also an active in artist and produces more than just new skateboard deck designs. His determination to overcome his disability was proven when he became a successful pro skateboarder and when he skated at the closing ceremonies at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.<br /><br />Danny Way - Pro Skateboarder / Co-Founder of DC Shoe Co USA<br />Danny's father died when he was 8 months old and for most of his childhood he had a single parent. In 1995 he broke his neck surfing and in 2000 he had his first knee surgery. (He's had 7.) Neither the lack of a parent during his childhood or his previous injuries stopped him from jumping the Great Wall of China (first non-motorized jump of wall in history) in 2005.</p><p>Will my grandson be able to make his dream of being a pro skateboarder come true?<br /><br />I don't know although he has learned a very important lesson for life and that is: he must be determined and overcome obstacles to make his dream come true. You see, he lives in an area where there are no skate parks or instructors and he has no place to practice except on broken up sidewalks and badly maintained brick streets. And yet he still holds onto his dream by learning tricks from YouTube videos and practicing for several hours a day.<br /><br />So what can we as internet marketers learn from my grandson and the hot skateboarders I've mentioned?<br /><br />How about:</p><ul><li>Ryan Sheckler (at 13 he was the youngest skateboarder to go pro until this year when an 11 year old amazed everyone)<br />"Don’t ever give up. You gotta keep trying, and never give up."<br /></li><li>Anthony Shetler (grew up as a ghetto little kid with no friends)<br />"Find something that makes you happy and hang on to it."<br /></li><li>Dan MacFarlane (started Mentality Skateboards in 2003)<br />"The only limits you have are the limits you set on yourself."</li></ul><p>I think Daniel Haney a retired pro skateboarder summed it up when he gave this advice for underdogs trying to make it in the pro skateboarding game:</p><p>"First of all of if you aren’t doing it for love then you need to rethink what you are doing. Some people have talent and that is great. I am sure it is much easier for them. I, on the other hand, am not naturally gifted. ... I worked my a** off to get to where I got. I did it because skateboarding was my life. There was nothing else. ... I sure as h*** wasn’t going to give up on following my dreams. No matter who told me it wouldn’t happen, Todd. So with that being said, if you have some talent and a lot of heart make that s*** work for you. Never say die. It is all possible, trust me. I came from nothing and made something. Granted it wasn’t much but it was enough to make me happy and in the end that is all that really matters….your individual happiness."<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>(taken from thrashermagazine.com, Nov. 14, 2007)</strong></span></p><p>Yes, pro skateboarders are talented and smart. They've found something they're passionate about. They've worked hard to develop it. They've overcome all the obstacles put in their way. They continued to learn and master new things. And they have achieved their dream.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. Please leave a comment or rate this tip. Thanks</p><br /><p><small>Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/hot+skateboarders" rel="tag">hot skateboarders</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tony+Hawks" rel="tag">Tony Hawks</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ryan+Sheckler" rel="tag">Ryan Sheckler</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Anthony+Shetler" rel="tag">Anthony Shetler</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Steve+Caballero" rel="tag">Steve Caballero</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Danny+Way" rel="tag">Danny Way</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Dan+MacFarlane" rel="tag">Dan MacFarlane</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Daniel+Haney" rel="tag">Daniel Haney</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/skateboarder+quotes+professioanl+skateboarders" rel="tag">skateboarder quotes professioanl skateboarders</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/retired+skateboarders" rel="tag">retired skateboarders</a></small></p><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/1a4c4b52-c47f-4de6-b231-4e77aaf94f01/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1a4c4b52-c47f-4de6-b231-4e77aaf94f01" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18001003.post-38260319321415603192008-09-18T00:45:00.004-05:002008-09-24T11:19:03.023-05:00Why is Education So Important?<span class="zemanta-img zemanta-action-click" style="DISPLAY: block; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 1em"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LockeEducation1693.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; DISPLAY: block; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Title page to Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning..." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/LockeEducation1693.jpg/202px-LockeEducation1693.jpg" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 1em 0px 0px">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LockeEducation1693.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <p>While getting ready to write today's tip I was interrupted by a phone call from my youngest daughter, Shawna. And while I love talking with her my first thought was how she had really called at a bad time.<br /><br />However that thought quickly left my mind because, as usual, my daughter made me think.<br /><br />You see, Shawna has always been a thought provoking person. As a preschooler she was always asking questions like:</p><ul><li>Why is the sky blue?</li><li>Why is the grass green?</li><li>Why does the sun look yellow?</li></ul><p>Then as she got older she started asking questions about the things she learned in school like:</p><ul><li>Why does 4 + 4 = 8?</li><li>Why are to, too and two all pronounced the same but have different meanings and different spellings?</li><li>Who makes up these rules?</li></ul><p>Now as a parent I was both happy and flustered by my daughter's questions. You see, I was happy because I knew it was the people who asked "why" who were the creators of all the technology and art we have today. However I was also flustered because I knew I couldn't always answer her questions.<br /><br />And when I was flustered I looked to the education system to provide the answers to her questions. Now I can't speak about all the educational systems throughout the world however I can say that the one we have in the U.S. was a big disappointment.<br /><br />How did the educational system disappoint me?<br /><br />Going back to Shawna's days in elementary school she was accepted into the "Gifted and Talented" program. (That's where they put the fast learners on a fast-track learning system.) Before I signed the consent form for her placement I interviewed the teachers to find out what being in this program meant.<br /><br />It meant the kids would be learning the same things as everyone else, only faster. That sounded fine until I asked, "What happens when a child asks a question?" and the answer was, "We don't allow questions."<br /><br />A further discussion revealed that being on the fast-track simply meant that a child could absorb the material quickly so they could cover more. There was no time for questions, explanations or discussions.<br /><br />Needless to say, Shawna didn't like being on the fast-track and we requested her removal during the first week. While there were many times she was board in the regular class the teachers did allow questions and tried to explain things.<br /><br />Now while I am disappointed in our educational system I also know that it has failed for many people. People who are extremely bright and full of question; people who are full of ideas and creativity have no place in our public school system.<br /><br />Have you ever wondered why some school dropouts became self-made billionaires? Maybe it wasn't because they were too dumb for school. Maybe it was because our form of formal education was too dumb for them. Ever hear of Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Subhash Chandra Goel, Michael Dell, Paul Allen or Sir Richard Branson? (Sorry, I couldn't find any female self-made billionaires so if you know of any please leave a comment and share.)<br /><br />Going back to my discussion with Shawna, today she asked the question, "Why do people want their kids to go to college and yet they hold a college education against most people?"<br /><br />So I went to YahooAnswers to find the answer. And sure enough, a couple of years ago someone asked the question, "Why is an education so important?" and here are most of the reasons:</p><ul><li>"we need education to get jobs to get money to live"</li><li>"$$$ is the answer"</li><li>"It is important to employers, they feel that if you have an education you have perseverance and you are trainable."</li><li>"make more money"</li></ul><p>Yet for the same question we also get this answer:</p><ul><li>"We have been conditioned to respect institutions of higher learning as the be all, end all, of knowledge. Ever heard of an educated idiot? You can spend 5 years at Yale and come out with no common sense whatsoever, but be a whiz in what a book teaches about physics.<br />. . .<br />It's all about money nowadays anyhow."</li></ul><p>Now I don't agree with those who answered the question on YahooAnswers. Here's a short video with the answer I do agree with. (You only need to watch the first half to see my answer since the second half is a bad version of some outtakes.)</p><br /><p><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TsrgbUu53bU&hl=" fs="1" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p><br /><p>Unfortunately here's what's going on in some of our higher educational institutions. You may want to keep your cursor close to the pause button so you can stop the video to read some of the writing on the walls and chairs.</p><br /><p><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dGCJ46vyR9o&hl=" fs="1" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p><br /><p>Looks like getting a higher education is a waste of money for many since these kids are board with it.<br /><br />As for what's wrong with our educational system, here's a video by Ken Robinson I think everyone should watch. And while the video is a little long, Sir Robinson is a great public speaker and I think you'll find his talk both enlightening and entertaining.</p><br /><p><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iG9CE55wbtY&hl=" fs="1" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></p><br /><p>Now no matter what you do on or off-line and no matter whether you dropped out of school or got a college degree, a good education is important if you want to succeed because a good education will give you the knowledge of how to do things. And a good education can come from both formal institutions and everyday life and experiences. The important thing to remember is that education is important not because of what you learn to do, it's important because of what you can do. A good education teaches you to think for yourself and to use your creative mind to make the world a better place to live.<br /><br />To Your Success,<br />Susan<br /><br />P.S. BTW Shawna is not a school dropout. Hopefully next year she will have completed her dissertation and have her PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Alas, anthropology is not among the highest paying fields but at least she still has her common sense and she really enjoys what she's doing.<br /><br />Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree that internet marketing requires knowing how to do things and creativity.</p><br /><p><small><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/why+is+education+so+important" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">why is education so important</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/why+is+it+important+to+have+a+good+education" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">why is it important to have a good education</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">, </span><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/why+it+is+important+to+have+a+good+education" rel="tag"><span style="font-size:78%;">why it is important to have a good education</span></a></small></p><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px; HEIGHT: 15px"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" title="Zemified by Zemanta" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/c6598fce-d1af-4fea-b072-7268578973c0/"><img class="zemanta-pixie-img" style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FLOAT: right; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c6598fce-d1af-4fea-b072-7268578973c0" /></a></div>Susan Carrollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15863153794748194455noreply@blogger.com0