Thursday, May 31, 2007

Article Submission Software - Should We Submit Articles With Software?

Article submission software – people always ask if they are really useful in article marketing. To paraphrase that, what online marketers really want to know is whether there truly are merits in using them to submit articles. The truth is there are two schools of thinking about using article submission software. As usual, there are those who do not believe it works while another group can vouch to its effectiveness. Why don't we have a quick look at the workings of the article submission software before we decide if we should submit articles with them?

Article submission software in recent years have been emerging as a tool to replace manual submission. When I first started online marketing, I wrote articles and submit manually to these article directories like GoArticles, HotLib and a few other popular article directories. It often takes me more than a few hours to submit to more than a dozen article directories. There was the log in, followed by sieving through the article submission form, copying and pasting my article title, article body, article summary, relevant keywords and author resource boxes. Every article directory has a different interface, and very often I have to customize and twitch a little bit here and there. Trust me and those who have experienced all these, it is tough job and sweat. Okay, so here I have an article ready to be published after one day's hard work including the writing. This is manual article submission done all without article submission software.

That was a typical scenario most early day article marketers and authors have to face just a couple of years back. Today, the landscape has changed with the emergence of article submission software. The great thing about the functions of article submission software is it makes the log in and article formatting for each individual article directory so fast and so easy. Some article submission software are semi-automatic which requires you to click from one article directory to another to post. Others which are more advanced requires just the click of a button and off it goes to different article directories to post. In terms of speed and efficiency, such article submission software definitely makes the submission a breeze. As a result, we have more time to write quality articles.

If we can stick to writing an article and posting it to 100 article directories a day manually without article submissions software, we can really gain a great deal of exposure for our websites be it a business or hobby site. With so many submissions, we are putting our content before hundreds to thousands of eyeballs everyday. But the problem is we only have 24 hours and taking away time for sleep, meals and breaks, there are only a few hours to do that. We are limited in our time. With article submission software, it allows people to write more and post more each day. Instead of one article to 100 directories manually, we are talking about potentially, several articles to few 100s of article directories.

There is another twist to using article submission software. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN are constantly ranking websites or for accuracy purpose, web pages according to link popularity. Article directories are high Page Rank sites and links from these directories count as powerful one-way links. So how do we get these article directories to link to our websites? The answer is to submit articles! Articles are contextual content relevant to our websites and links from these articles to our websites are valuable because of the anchor text keywords we are targeting to rank high in the search engines. Article submission software can submit to many article directories and in just a few days, the number of high PR links to your site would increase.

There are alternatives to using article submission software such as using article submission services like Article Marketer, iSnare and others to submit articles. But they charge you either monthly or for per article submitted. Unless you have a huge advertising budget or enough money to pour into these services, buying an article submission software would be a wiser choice since the payment is one-time. Typically, quality article submission software would cost around $99 onwards.

From the look of it, it does make sense to submit articles with article submission software. Many article marketers including myself have reaped in thousands of dollars from sales by using such software. Read a review of several popular article submission software marketers have in their marketing arsenal.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Financial Accounting with Double Entry Bookkeeping - Traditional Methods of Financial Accounting

In this series of articles it proposed to cover the following topics. In this article I have discussed the first one given below. More articles describing the other listed topics below may soon be published.

  • Meaning of Bookkeeping
  • Definition and objectives of Bookkeeping
  • Accounting Systems
  • Branches of Accounting
  • Uses of Accounting
  • Limitations of Financial Accounting
  • Explanation of important Accounting terms
  • The Accounting Cycle
  • Responsibilities of an accountant
  • Importance of data in accounting
  • Parties interested in accounting information
In today's world of ours every activity is with some motive, i.e. purpose. In most of the cases. The purpose is to earn profit while in other cases the purpose may be social welfare, providing education, healthcare, etc. Whatever may be the purpose the activity is likely to be an organized affair. Every organization has to use resources-material, labor, services, capital and to work effectively the people in the organization require information. Money must be spent carefully. If a person spends carelessly, a day would come when he will be left with no money. Same can be said about a business. A business receives money from different sources like sale of goods, sale of assets, receipt of various incomes like rent, interest, commission etc. It has to spend money on items like expenses, purchases etc.

A business man should manage his business in such a way that he should receive more than he spends, other wise he will be in trouble because he will have to meet out expenses from the original amount invested by him for starting business. Thus capital of the business will be reduced due to this loss. If this process is allowed to continue for a long time then the whole capital of the business will be washed away. If the businessman manages his affairs in an efficient way and if receipts are more than the payments year after year it prospers and grows in size.

So, it can be said that profit increases the capital and loss reduces it. It should be kept in mind that profit or loss is the result of cost of goods sold and sales. In actual practice, if a business is to be run at profit then it has to sell goods at such a price as will enable him to meet out not only expense on account of cost of goods sold but also other expenses like, rent, salary, interest, insurance etc. Thus for making a profit either sales should be kept sufficiently high to meet out all expenses or expenses should be kept low so that they are fully met out of sales. Besides it, business also maintains certain properties i.e. furniture, building, machinery, equipment etc. Similarly, it also borrows money from time to time. In order to keep property in good condition, to pay back in time the debts, to keep down expenses, and to increase sales it is necessary to keep a constant watch, it is necessary that the proprietor of the business is kept well informed of the behavior of these items.

With a view to supply such information the art of accounting was developed. It supplies the following information to traders :

(1) How much will be the total earnings during the period;


(2) What will be the expenditure during the period on salaries, wages, lighting, insurance, rates and taxes etc;


(3) How much will be the profit or loss;


(4) How much will be the capital and causes of its increase or decrease; (5) Nature and value of assets possessed by the business;


(6) Nature and amount of liabilities;


(7) Customers who owe to the business and the amount in each case;


(8) Suppliers to whom the business has to make payments and the amount in each case; and


(9) Other facts for filing sales tax or income tax returns.

Meaning of Bookkeeping

Book-keeping is that branch of knowledge which tells us how to keep a record of financial transactions. The need for recording such transactions arise because

(1) it is difficult to remember the various financial payments and receipts taking place during a period of time;


(2) in modem forms of business organizations the control of business rests with different persons and the results are to be reported to the owners;


(3) the financial information is, required for the purposes of costing, budgeting, forecasting and planning; and


(4) Book-keeping records are to be submitted to various government agencies like Income Tax and Sales Tax' authorities for taxation purposes.

Most of us do maintain some kind of a written record of their income and expenditure. The essential idea behind maintaining such a record is to show the correct position regarding income and expenditure. Such a record should be clear and systematic so that it can be easily understood. It should show to whom a payment has been made when and what for. The need for maintaining a record of income and expenditure in a clear and systematic manner has given rise to the subject of book-keeping. Book-keeping can as such be defined "as an art and science of recording business transactions in a systematic and, chronological order".

The necessity of recording all the transactions clearly and systematically can not be over emphasized. Goods may be sold on credit to several persons. The latter would pay the price of the goods to the vendor later. The vendor would like to know, from time to time what amount is due and from whom. However, strong one's memory may be, one cannot hope to remember all the details regarding all the transactions. Apart from this, the object of business is to earn profits; and every merchant likes to know at the end of a financial year how much profit he has earned during the course of the year. For this purpose, he would need a lot of factual information which can be derived from written or computerized records of transactions, provided such records have been properly kept; in modern times using a computer software like HiTech Financial Accounting. As such proper maintenance of books of accounts is indispensable for a businessman.

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Promo Black Box - Is This The Right Solution To Your Marketing Needs?

The internet is exploding in terms of growth all over the world yet most businesses are slow to catch on. Nine out of every ten businesses are not proficient in internet marketing. They desperately need help with their internet marketing techniques! Since the inception of the Internet, most small to medium sized companies have ignored the enormous impact a well designed internet marketing strategy can have on its ultimate growth.

EDC Gold and In Touch Media, innovators in internet marketing technology and training, announce the Launch of PromoBlackBox for small and medium businesses recently. Craig Garcia, Founder of EDC, and Bob Cefail, chairman of ITMG, decided to combine their companies resources and knowledge to develop PromoBlackBox. PBB offers a suite of breakthrough corporate internet marketing tools and weekly high-end webinar training that will dramatically boost business profits. The technology contained within PBB has never before been assembled in a single comprehensive package.

The technology training offered with a PromoBlackBox subscription is delivered by Internet experts and executives with over one hundred combined years of experience and success. Executive sales, marketing and advertising training is delivered two times per week. The rave reviews about the training webinars have been enormous and many people are saying they have made or saved thousands of dollars from each and every training session.

All the training and service modules included in the initial package revolve around four specific internet marketing functions: 1) web site traffic generation; 2) web site conversion; 3) constant automated contact with leads and clients; 4) Free online publicity. A company, no matter the size, can begin to apply the same techniques that major corporations use,(and spend millions of dollars for), to position themselves at the top of their industry. PBB gives even the little guy a fighting chance to compete with large corporate sites!

PromoBlackBox is an exclusive product for EDC distributor membership. EDC provides info products and marketing software through thousands of independent distributors worldwide.

For more information you can visit http://www.forumreviews.org/promo-black-box-review.html

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Best Time to Give Corporate Gifts and Business Gifts for Maximum Impact

When To Give - The most obvious time to give corporate gifts is at the holidays. Many companies have figured out that giving gifts other times of the year will have a greater impact. Making a note of important dates to the client or employee will make a more lasting impression. For example remember anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, and milestones that you can recognize with a gift. Maybe it's even an anniversary of your first deal together.

Christmas Holidays/Generic Thank You - Gourmet Food Gifts are probably the most popular item. Most people will send them with just a gift note and no logo personalization to all of their associates. People always associate good wishes with food products. Gift baskets and wine items are included in this category. The key to remember in giving holiday gifts is not to give anything that has religious overtones. Stay generic with cards and gifts respecting all religions that celebrate during the holidays. Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays are your best terms for the season.

Method of Delivery - The best method of delivery is to personally hand deliver your gift. Of course in this new digital era and world business that is usually not feasible. Your second best choice is to have a company drop ship your gift to your recipient with a gift card. It is always a good idea to purchase your corporate gifts from an established supplier who knows not to include your bill or the cost of the item.

Also timely delivery is of the essence. It is important to specify when you need your gift delivered by and select the appropriate shipping method. Most companies have a processing time before your item is even shipped. Remember, shipping times will vary depending on locations. Nothing is more embarrassing than having an important gift delivered late, with a price included, or never even shipped!

An important fact to remember is, that if you are imprinting, screening, stitching, or debossing a logo or a message on your items, most manufacturers will take 7-10 working days for production. Then there is the shipping time on top of that. Always give yourself enough time to complete your project with time to spare. Things can be done on a rush basis, but why pay extra when you don't have to?

Be prepared and present your corporate gifts at the appropriate time and you will see results in good will and your bottom line.

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Sunday, May 20, 2007

The Power of Magnetic Business Cards

In almost every household in the western hemisphere you can find them stuck to refrigerators, filing cabinets and a host of metal surfaces. These little advertising pieces called magnetic business cards represent a large portion of the tools used in marketing. They are inexpensive and easy to use. They are a near permanent billboard that promotes your products and services to your customer and help your customers remember you.

Almost any business can harness the advertising clout magnetic business cards hold. These cards will stay on your clients' refrigerator long after your competitor's business cards that were once collected in a stack on a desk have been thrown away. When your potential customer places your magnetic billboard in a prominent place in their house or business, you instantly have an edge over the competition. You are now one call away from meeting their needs. Most customers appreciate the convenience of having you so close and accessible.

Magnetic business cards are slightly more expensive that traditional business cards but they are worth it. People typically do not throw magnetic business cards away. Even if they no longer want they card or perhaps have duplicates, they will give a magnetic card away to a friend or co-worker before they would through it away.

Check around for the best prices on magnetic business cards at your local print shops and office supply stores. Online printers also carry these items and places like Vistaprint.com can offer magnetic business cards at a significant discount over other printers because of reduced overhead. This company, in fact, has thousand of original business card backgrounds and customizable templates for you to select from and can create a custom magnetic business card at minimal cost to you. Check around for prices at print shops or office supply stores. All you need to do is select the layout you want, input your personalized text into a business card maker, and approve your design online. These suppliers professionally print and ship your business cards, for a nominal fee.

If you a marketing tool that will cause clients to stick with you and your company get magnetic business cards that they can stick to prominent surfaces to remind them of why they need to keep your business around for the long term.

We have taken great effort to gather the information for you on all sorts of business cards to save you time since research is always a time consuming task. Without proper research it is always hard to acquire the material you need to understand business cards. Please see below for more information on Magnetic Business Cards.

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Friday, May 18, 2007

Promotional Marketing - Effective Marketing With Waterless Tattoos

Before waterless tattoos came to market, the only type of temporary tattoo available required water to apply. The concern among parents and marketers is that children were, and still do, use their saliva to apply the water-type temporary tattoos when a clean water supply is unavailable. Waterless tattoos are a great marketing tool because they eliminate the mess associated with water and the need for kids to use their germ and bacteria-infested saliva to apply temporary tattoos to themselves … and their friends.

By eliminating the basic health concern, marketers are finding that waterless tattoos are fast-becoming a top marketing tool of choice. In general, waterless tattoos are great for walk-a-thons, open houses, school pride events, school fairs, church special events and more. But because effective promotional marketing is about specifics, let's take a look at specific ways you can use waterless tattoos to your strategic advantage.

Drive Trade Show Traffic to Retail Location Waterless tattoos can be used to effectively drive local trade show traffic to a retail location. Again, because they require no water to apply, they can be applied immediately with no mess. Lets say your company will exhibit at a local trade show. You hand out waterless tattoos to attendees telling them that if they wear the tattoo when they visit the retail location in the next 3 days they'll receive (fill in the blank). For instance you can offer an in-store trade show special or allow the person to enter a promotional drawing. Getting people to register for drawings is a fantastic way to establish or build a database. Remember, they can't register to the trade show, they can only register at the retail location and only if they are wearing the waterless tattoo.

Smarter retailers use in-store signs before the trade show to let customers know the benefit of getting their free waterless tattoo at the trade show and of the benefit of a post-show return visit. To get maximum leverage, plan to launch a new product, offering or service at the trade show and hype it with your in-store signs. This tactic helps improve booth traffic at the trade show. Once people attend the booth they are introduced to the new product or service, given the waterless tattoos and told of the incentive to wear the tattoo into the retail store within the next three days.

Taken a step further, encourage trade show attendees to apply the tattoo (usually to the back of their hand) right away. Tell them that company representatives are wandering the trade show floor randomly awarding, special prizes to those who are sporting the tattoo. These special prizes can range from store gift certificates to store-related promotional items. One good approach is to award people with a large trade show bag. The bag is big enough that attendees put all their other stuff into your imprinted bag, giving you even more exposure.

The combination of the waterless tattoo and the bag exposes your company logo to everyone in attendance. When others see people being rewarded for having the waterless tattoo, it can further increase booth traffic giving your company/business exposure to possible new customers. What you reward people with depends on your promotional budget, but can range from bags and t-shirts (that the recipient is encouraged to don right away) to flashing lapel pins, flashing pendants, hats and bandannas. Promote Entertainment/Special Events In this scenario, you have a booth at the local county fair and you want to promote an event that will take place in a couple months to which you'll charge admission. As you hand out the waterless tattoos, imprinted with the event name, date and ticket order #, let people know that your representatives are walking the fairground. Those sporting the tattoo will be registered to win free tickets to the event. Again, this is an effective way to establish or build a database.

Another approach is to simply allow them to register at the booth once they apply the waterless tattoo. In either case, you'll want to ensure that your waterless tattoo design is bright and colorful and that your booth sign matches the tattoo. This will let people who see the tattoo on others, make an immediate connection when they approach your booth. I know of one case where a community art center is using this tactic to promote … a Tattoo Exhibit. You can use this tactic whenever you get a booth at a public event such as art fairs, festivals and mall kiosks.

Event Contests This concept carries with it an inherent public relations component that is absolutely powerful. Because waterless tattoos are an inexpensive adverting/promotion medium, they are perfect for design contests. Let's say a school wants to launch a school pride or school spirit program. A design contest is a great way to add excitement and interest.

Students are encouraged to enter their drawings for a "School Spirit" tattoo. The winning design or designs are produced as a tattoo to be worn during "Spirit Week". This type of program is great because of the earned media component. It's worth several press releases and can be a great vehicle for a local business or several to gain sponsorship exposure. And of course the winning students will be thrilled to have their name in the local media.

Cities, towns and villages can use this idea to create hype for such events as Down Home Days, Summer Fest, Do-Da Days and other local festivals and events. County and state health departments can hold design contests addressing such topics as abstinence, anti-drug messages and other health issues. Corporation HR departments can use this idea as part of Founders Day or other corporate events. Inserting Into Publications Waterless tattoos are custom manufactured to your specifications. That means they can be produced for insertion into magazines, periodicals and newsletters no matter if your publication is saddle stitched or case, perfect, spiral or comb bound. Because they are light, they're perfect for direct mail campaigns giving you the ability to target your audience.

Retail Babysitters Retail sales is hard enough without having to fight your customer's or prospect's kids for the parents attention. As retail babysitters, waterless tattoos are perfect. This tactic works well for everyone from real estate professionals to car dealers.

First, produce a number of different custom designs. Next, when the parents show up, give the kids a few waterless tattoos to play with after getting the parents permission. If after a while they get bored, give them a few of your alternative designs.

In most cases, this will keep the kids busy long enough for you to make some headway with the parents. And because waterless tattoos don't require water to apply, you have no mess. Perfect when showing a new home a new car or in a carpet showroom. This is also a great tactic for the bank drive though. With the kids content in the back seat with a couple waterless tattoos, mom or dad can concentrate on the transaction.

Design Considerations We've covered just a few of the many promotional and marketing applications of waterless tattoos. Because children love them, it's not difficult to gain major exposure at local events by handing out waterless tattoos to the children. In no time, you'll have hundreds of little billboards running around promoting your logo, brand or message.

The key is simple, colorful design and the ability to have an effective distribution system, whether they are handed out, mailed or inserted into publications.

When designing a waterless tattoo, be mindful of how your logo or design will show up on dark skin. In most cases, the problem is solved by laying down a white base, then overprinting the other colors. In other cases, a simple white outline will do the trick.

With a little creative thought and a good idea of what you want to accomplish, waterless tattoos can be an extremely effective promotional tool. Sure, I'll admit many of the ideas I've outlined can be utilized with regular temporary tattoos and stickers. However, kids sometimes put stickers where parents don't want them and regular tattoos still have that water/saliva dogma to deal with. From a promotional marketing standpoint, on comparison, you can't beat the good, clean fun of waterless tattoos.

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

7 Ways to Annihilate Stress with Your Cell Phone

Every day we use cellular telephones. We place calls, text message, plan our day and receive calls on our cell phones.

We also observe other people walking down the street seemingly hard wired to their cell phones. Just go to in any restaurant in the United States, sit down for a quiet dinner, and you will soon be barraged by cell phone conversations. When you get up from you table to go to the restroom, you will hear other people in stalls talking on their cell phones.

Does this create more stress in your life? Yes it does.

Do people who are constantly on their cell phones experience more stress than those of us who are unplugged? I think so. They feel that they "have to" have their cell phones on at all times or they will miss out on something extremely important.

Your cell phone can be your biggest enemy in your war against stress or it can be your greatest ally.

In the midst of all of this cell phone stress and tension, I have created a program to enable you to annihilate stress with your cell phone.

Cell Phone Stress Annihilation Program

Most of the stress that we encounter during the day is core stress. Core stress is what occurs every time you "have to" do something rather than "want to do" something.

Example #1: "Tomorrow is Monday and I will "have to" go to work. Going to work is a "have to" or a core stress associated task.

Example #2: "Tomorrow our bonus checks are coming in." "I want to go to work, tomorrow." You may be going to the same job, however, since you are going to work to receive your bonus check, you have annihilated stress with your "want to" attitude rather than the "have to" attitude in example 1.

Back to the restaurant

Now you are back at the restaurant, sitting down and enjoying your dinner. You are treated to someone in a loud voice saying into his cell phone, "can you hear me now?"

Then in a littler louder voice he says, "Can you hear me now?"

You are on the receiving end of core stress. In fact you are the recipient of the cell phone user's stress. You "have to" listen to this person's voice. You wanted to sit down and eat at the restaurant. Your "want to" attitude now has changed, because of the fact that you "have to" listen to this loud person.

In order to change your attitude you must get back into the "want to" mindset. Yes, this is easier said then done, but you want to do this anyway.

Simply focus on your table your place setting and the people sitting with you and take three slow deep breaths. Now think to yourself, "I want to be at this restaurant." "I am relaxing and I am in charge of my own attitude." "It is up to me to have an enjoyable time here at the restaurant."

You may want to remember that people who are hardwired to their cell phones are experiencing great amounts of stress. They fear failure in that they think that they will lose something of great value if they do not respond using their phones, and they feel rejection. They feel may feel they will lose someone of great importance whether that be a friend, a business associate or a potential client. Fear is what is driving these people to keep their phones in every part of their everyday lives.

Make sure you do not let these strangers' fears become contagious. Keep breathing deeply and relaxing and enjoy your dinner.

How Can I Change the Way I React to My Cell Phone?

Cell phones like computers are here to stay. They come in handy for emergencies and represented our businesses and our lives "in a box." (A very small box I might add)

You can change the way you react toward your cell phone and actually create one of the best tools for annihilating stress at the same time.

Cell Phone Stress Annihilation Exercise

My cell phone is manufactured by Samsung and is three years old. I use Verizon Wireless as my carrier.

I understand that many of you have the features I will talk about but many of you may not. You may find by experimenting that you have many additional features that will help you annihilate stress. All of you have some of the features that will turn your cell phone from a stress creating device into a stress annihilating tool. I have found 7 features of my cell phone that will annihilate stress.

1. Your visual cell phone recognition: As you locate your cell phone visually on your desk, your night stand, or the front seat of your car, take a long slow deep breath like this.
Inhale slowly….hold it…now let it out. Let all of the tension to leave your body now.

Use your cell phone as an anchoring device for your deep breathing. Whenever you are in a stressful situation, breathing shallows. By practicing deep breathing each and every time your visually look at your cell phone, you will be annihilating any stress that may be lurking in your body at this time.

2. The next feature of the cell phone stress annihilator is located in your daily planner. Many cell phones include a planner that is used much like a palm pilot planner.

The first item located in my planner is a "to do list." If you have located your planner enter the word "Breathe" as your top item on the list. After all, Dr. Andrew Weil the famous health doctor believes that deep breathing, at intervals several times a day is the best exercise you can do for both your mind and body. Let Dr Weil be our guide. If you are like me and have trouble spelling words with your little keypad, just type the letter "B" for "breathe."

When you are using your cell phone, check your "to do" list and breathe.

3. Another feature of my cell phone planner is the "memo pad." Here I can write the word "breathe" or include a "b" as well. This is a personal memo from me reminding me to breathe.

One thing I do for motivation rather than use breathe or b is I typed in the following words, "I believe in you, Butch." Butch was my best friend and died shortly after he got out of the Marines about 30 years ago. I like to use the phrase as an affirmation that I can accomplish anything I want to accomplish. By entering in "I believe in you and putting his name it helps me feel I am not alone and Butch will help me enjoy my success.

Is there anyone in your life, a parent, grandparent, a favorite uncle or best friend who is not around anymore but you know in your heart would support your decisions? If so why not use your memory of them to help you annihilate stress?

4. Another feature of my cell phone is a "voice memo." I can record up to 60 seconds on my voice memo. In 60 seconds I can give myself a little exercise in deep breathing or I can give myself a short motivational presentation. If you are in sales you may use it for your "elevator speech," or what you say during your introductory call.

5. Voice Mail: If you need more than 60 seconds, you might call your voice mail and record your stress annihilation exercise or motivational speech in voice mail so you have to option to listen to it anytime you feel you need it.

6. Text messages. You can send text messages to anyone you desire including yourself. Why not text yourself a message, "Remember to breathe deeply and relax today?"

7. The main purpose of a cell phone is to call other people. For exercise number 7 in my cell phone stress annihilation program, as you dial your telephone and are waiting for it to make a connection, ring or as you wait for your call recipient to pick up or for the call to go into voice mail, take a long, slow deep breath and relax. Again, remember to breathe deeply as you begin you telephone conversation. You will find your mind sharp, alert and focused on your cell phone call. As you relax, you will find your memory more acute than it is when you are stressed.

Summary:

You can experience stress just by going to a nice restaurant at dinner time thanks to people who are using their cell phones and conversing in loud conversations. The lesson from this is that you can use your cell phone as a stress annihilation tool. You learned 7 ways to use your cell-phone as a successful stress annihilator. Use as many of these tips as you can daily and enjoy a more stress free life!

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Saturday, May 12, 2007

How To Make Your Business Stand Out From The Crowd

Standing out from the crowd

When it comes to trying to make money in your business, you need to find a way to stand out from your competition.

Think about it – if you're just launching a business to make money, but don't have any way of standing out and don't offer anything different from your completion, then you're going to find yourself struggling to be successful, and you may find yourself competing on offering the lowest price which a surefire way to put yourself out of business quickly.

I think that copywriter, Bill Glazer, has some of the great advice to offer on this topic. "Look at everything your competition is doing, and then do the exact opposite."

While this may seem like bad advice, it actually makes sense. By doing things differently, you're certain to stand out from your competition. Being different is what gets you attention, not following the crowd.

You also need to avoid the cardinal sin of being boring. In this day and age, people not only want information but they want to be entertained at the same time. Even the news isn't just the news these days but includes commentary and different view points all to stir up controversy because that's what people will watch. Just delivering the news isn't enough – people need to be entertained.

Think about ways that you can make your marketing more entertaining. One great way to do this is to take a cue from children's cereals and come up with your own cartoon character. Instead of just having you, take on a new character, give it its very own personality, and use that theme throughout your marketing. You could also turn yourself into a character like Matthew Lesko has (the crazy free government grants guy on TV). You may think that's way to extreme, and it may be, but he makes millions of dollars by being the character so you can't deny that it works.

When it comes to your website, there are a lot of ways to give your website more life and to make it stand out from everyone else. It can be as simple as adding podcasts or videos to your site. Try to find some points of controversy in your niche and talk about them.

But whatever you do, find a way to be different or you'll find yourself fading into the background, and there's very little money to be made when you're not standing out.

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

Decadent Marketing - Succulent Metaphors that Wrap the Internet in Wealth and Prosperity

Are you lagging behind the competition, wishing you could grasp some of their high-performance marketing efforts and tag along as they speed down the information highway to success? Decadent Marketing Strategies offer Succulent Metaphors that will Wrap your Business in Wealth and Prosperity from Internet Marketing Success.

Teaching Internet Marketers the secret of prosperity and success development isn't difficult when you know how to get Mega Results from a basic Marketing Concept. Rolling along the Article Marketing Trail of success will bring you more of what you're looking for in less time, but you'll have to hang with the big boys to get success that fast.

Network marketing works.

Being effective online means getting into the right niche and hanging on for the ride. You'll want to be there, participate in the race, and join in the winner's circle when the race is over, but… how will you find them?

Keyword search impact reviews.

When you're looking for a network of successful people online, simply search the keyword and add forum. For instance Internet Marketing Forum. You may not find anything and need to search a different keyword within your niche, or you may find exactly the group you're looking for along with a few interested participants in your next group venture.

Get involved and participate.

You'll learn absolutely nothing from the sidelines. Oh you may think you're learning, but honestly, the real information is in the trenches, on the playing field, where you'll be knocking down some competition and making plays of your own. You might learn a thing or two on the sidelines, but you'll be sleeping when the ball comes your way if you're not involved.

Grab the ball and run for the right goal.

If you aren't sure which way to run, you'll be making goals for the wrong team. Often the logger end is that you have to create your own product and have something to sell your market. Whether you're good at selling someone else's work or not, doesn't really matter, you'll need your own work to get the job done and win the goal, because without it, you're just running with the ball. No goal posts in sight.

When you win the game, keep playing, don't stop to celebrate.

Contrary to popular belief you can't stop when you arrive at the goal post. There is no time out. You must keep moving, grab the ball and run for the next goal. If you always have goals in the oven (new products churning) you'll always have a new item to hedge your market and make more money with.

I recently heard you need one new product a month to create success with your online business.

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

19 Rules For Writing Killer Headlines

Following are 19 rules you can use to write headlines that will reach out and force the prospect to read your website and sales letter.

1. Your headline must offer somethign that your target market wants very badly.

2. Your headline must include something of self interest to the reader.

3. If your product is new or improved, say so in the headline.

4. Do not just invoke curiosity in your headline, you must also include something of interest to the reader.

5. Avoid negativity in your headline. Always turn the negative into a positive statement.

6. Your headline shoudl suggest a quick and easy way to achieve the benefit(s) stated.

7. Your headline should be believable.

8. Determine what would make you buy your product, and then try to incorporate that idea into your headline.

9. Avoid making your headline so short that you don't get the main point across.

10. Avoid clever headlines that makes the reader think "how clever." Cleverness rarely gets people to read your web page or spend money.

11. Avoid headlines that sound dead, or like they should be at the bottom of the statue like "To Server Humanity Better..."

12. Suggest in your headline that your copy contains useful and valuable information.

13. Use your headline to reach out and grab the reader's attention.

14. Avoid hard to grasp headlines that require the reader to think about what you are saying.

15. NEVER trust your own reaction to your headlines. Instead, get the reaction of someone else.

16. If you emphasize a word in your headline, make sure that word means something and is important.

17. Remember that large type words act as a stopper. They get people to stop and pay attention, so choose the best words that will get the most attention.

18. Don't let an artist or layout person decide which headline words to emphasize. An artest thinks in terms of color contrasts and tones, not in terms of making money!

19. Avoid writing an ad that attracts the wrong people. Make sure your headline attracts the people that are most interested in what you have to offer.

If you will follow these simple guidelines for writing your headline copy, you will be more likely to have a successful headline and a successful ad! Take some time right now and look back over these guidelines.

Then, try to write your own headlines. When you have a few that you think are wonderful, run them by a friend. If that friend asks to see the rest of your copy, you know you have written a true killer headline.

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Sunday, May 06, 2007

Creating a Realistic Tradeshow Budget - How to Avoid Nickel & Dime-ing Yourself to Death

Having a realistic tradeshow budget is crucial for your exhibiting success. It's imperative to include all of the costs associated with exhibiting in your financial plan, yet many exhibitors fail to take this crucial step.

It's almost impossible to realize positive ROI when you don't know how much you're spending -- and what you're spending it on! If you ask most exhibitors what they think the largest expense associated with tradeshow participation is, chances are they'll tell you the display space.

It's true that exhibiting space is expensive. That 10X10 booth can set you back a pretty penny -- and price tags go up for larger spaces and prime locations. However, exhibiting space itself is generally only 30% of the total cost associated with exhibiting.

That 30% of your budget is fairly fixed. A fabulous negotiator might be able to get show management to shave a few hundred off the price of exhibit space, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Instead, you'll want to concentrate on that other 70% of your budget. The expenses that make up the bulk of your participation cost are, to some degree, variable. They're under your control -- which means, with time, planning, and oversight, you can keep them down. The lower your costs are, after all, the easier it will be to generate a positive ROI on your show!

The reality is, however, that most exhibitors don't pay close attention -- or any attention at all! -- to some of the items that make up the remaining 70%. The cost of their show creeps steadily upward, bit by bit, as small charges mount up and up until they're a sizable chunk of change. This is particularly common among new exhibitors -- although it also plagues seasoned pros who fall prey to the assumption trap. This is when an exhibitor assumes that things will be done this year the way they've always been done previously. Like all assumptions, this one can prove costly!

Here are some of the items that make up that 70%, as well as some thoughts on how to keep these costs manageable.

Display Materials

Your display can make your show: attractively presenting your merchandise in an eye-catching and innovative way helps capture attendee interest and draw them to your booth. However, you want to make sure that you're not overspending on your display. There's the initial cost of your display, not to mention the storage and maintenance expense. Consider renting or leasing a display (especially if you are a first-time exhibitor or only attend one show a year): you can often get a high level of customization while saving money and reducing headaches.

Freight

Shipping displays, products, promotional literature, giveaway items and all the other show stuff to the tradeshow can eat up a lot of money. Consider your shipping options carefully. Take the time to do some comparison shopping. Who can offer you the best deal and ensure timely delivery? It does no good to save money if your material arrives after the show closes. Often, shipping companies have experts on staff who can help your crew pack material in the most cost-efficient manner possible. Again, a minor point, but one that can save you big money.

Show Services

Read your exhibitor manual! In there, you'll find information detailing how and when you need to sign up for show services -- items like electricity, floor coverings, and so on. The earlier you sign up, the more you'll save. On average, costs go up by at least 25% for these services after the initial deadline passes. The closer you get to the actual show, the more you're going to pay -- and if you forget about needing utilities until you arrive on the show floor, you'll pay top dollar.

This is one clear instance where planning ahead will save you a substantial amount of money.

Pre-show Promotion

Pre-show promotion is critical to your success. Show management often offers several free and low cost promotional venues: explore your options. This may include participating in a product display area, an Artist's Alley, having your name included in category listings in the directory, website advertising and so on. Always consider: will participating in this effort help me reach the target audience I'm trying to reach? If you sell widgets and the show organizer is putting together a directory listing of Widget Sellers online and in the guidebook, and charging $35 to participate, it may be the best $35 you've ever spent.

Booth Staffers

Transporting, lodging, and feeding booth staffers can eat up a considerable chunk of change. Most people have a tendency to live a little grander when they're on the company dime -- you know they don't order the $65 steak dinner at home!

Keeping your corporate culture in mind, you may want to introduce some restrictions into the booth staffing budget. Offering per diem meal allowances is one way, requiring receipts is another. Explore lodging options: some hotels offer convention specials if you can book early enough. Again, pre-planning is your best friend. Travel costs can fluctuate wildly, based on fuel prices and other variables beyond your control. Again, giving yourself enough time in the schedule to find good transportation deals can help control costs.

They say time is money. That's certainly true when it comes to the tradeshow arena. By planning ahead and allowing yourself enough time to explore options, sign up for services, promote your participation, and other critical steps, you'll be able to enjoy maximum results for minimal expense!

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Friday, May 04, 2007

My Stock - Right or Wrong

We all know the expression, “My country, right or wrong”, but have you ever thought about the stocks or mutual fund you own and said to yourself, “My stock - right or wrong” and held on to your position even as you saw your hard-earned money disappearing?

This is the Buy N Hold strategy and, in case you haven’t noticed, lost from 40% to 60% and more of investors’ money from 2000 to 2003. Fortunately, for the past year stock markets around the world have gone up and folks have recovered about 25% to 30% from those low numbers. They are still about 60% out-of-pocket.

The market is now in an uptrend and who is to say how long it will last. A long time I hope. Never fight the trend. What the smart investor does is learn to spot the trend and go with it either up or down. What do I mean go with it “down”? The most important advice one can receive about the stock market (and I am not joking) is not to lose money. If you teach yourself to find major trends you will never lose any big money. Small losses are acceptable, but big losses are the killers.

When I was a floor trader on the exchange I had many small losses and I had an equal number of big gains. The difference was I made $3.00 profit for each $1.00 loss. At the end of the year I had doubled or tripled, sometimes quadrupled my trading account. You don’t have to be a Wall Street expert to do this. Anyone can.

The simplest way is to learn to use stop loss orders. Brokers hate them and never recommend them because it makes extra work. Hey, isn’t that why he is there – to service your account?

Until you become flexible with your thinking you are doomed to be caught in the next down cycle. We ARE going to have another despite what any Maul Street says. Right now conditions look good, but some time in the future (and I don’t predict when) we will have another serious bear market correction. At that time the smart investor is either in a money market account or bonds.

There is a very simple way to understand the language of the market. It talks to you every day, but few take the time to comprehend. Just these few words from Mr. Market will save you countless thousands – “200-day Moving Average penetration”. If you will look at this simple method as delineated daily in the Investors Business Daily Mutual Fund Index you will not only be wiser, but also richer. Each time the index is above the 200-day line you own equities and when it is below you are in cash. Does it get any easier than that? This will always tell you the major trend and then it is up to you to choose which equities to own.

My stock right or wrong? Don’t be wrong.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Complacency Indicator

If you haven’t heard of the technical index with the stock market symbol VIX it is now clip to pay some attention to it. When the number is running low, as it is now, around 15 to 18 it intends everyone is happy and believes the stock market is going to go on up or at least go on on its current way and there is no need to sell anything. This is a measurement of complacency. When the number travels above 35 it intends everyone is very nervous and believes the market is going to fall. It is considered a contrarian indicator.

Wall Street names this the Volatility Index which camouflages its existent implicit in meaning. What it really should be called is the fearfulness and greed Index.

The average investor purchases with a greed motivation when the VIX is low and sells only after fear sets in when the number is high because he is afraid of additional loss. These are emotional minutes and the market is an emotional animal. The truly smart investor have a planned issue strategy before he purchases anything; he cognizes when to sell even before he buys.

Notice that the higher and smoother the motion of the market the more than self-satisfied the investors become. The investor goes overconfident that his pillory will always travel up. It is a truism that investors purchase with lone ideas of how much they will do and never see that it is possible to lose. When I was a broker and a member of the exchange I would only maintain clients who would put stop-loss orders as soon as they bought something. I always stressed protection of capital.

When you are a serious and logical thinking investor you must always believe about loss first. If what you purchase travels up you don’t have got to worry. Winning takes care of itself. Losings don’t.

As of March 26, 2004 the VIX can now be traded like a stock. If the VIX is currently 18.5 the value of the contract is $18,500 and trades in $10 increments. It can be very volatile; a move from 18 to 38 can do (or lose if you are short) $20,000. This is not for the feint of bosom and should be left to the professional speculators.

When you look at the historical charts and tally a comparison of both the VIX and the S&P500 Index you will see the reciprocal correlation. As the S&P travels up the VIX travels down and visa versa.

There are many technical indexes that are used to determine market direction and this is just one of the many. It can be portion of your analysis if you are a technician along with moving averages, assorted ratios and other stratagems.

Whatever you make make NOT go self-satisfied about the money you have got invested in your 401K or any other stock market investment. Protection of your capital is always your first consideration.