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Friday, October 28, 2005

Direct Marketing: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Unstoppable. Can Media Coverage Build An Online Business? You Bet It Can!.

Every business needs customers, but more importantly every business needs to maintain those customers while constantly retaining new ones. The only successful way of doing this is by learning everything about your customers, including who they are? What do they have in common? Do they share a hobby, an age range, a life stage, or a geographic community? Can you break them down into groups? The answers to these questions hold a wealth of information for you. Although direct marketing can be overlooked by many businesses, here are statistics proving the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns over the years.

According to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) 2005 Postal and Email Marketing Report:

* For postal mailings, 43% of direct marketers indicated that their up-front gross response has increased from 2003 to 2002.

* As with postal mailings, when asked about 2004, respondents showed more optimism in their up-front email response rates, with 51% projecting an increase and 32% stable response rates.

* For postal mailers, the top list techniques used to improve 2003 front-end response were enhancements to internal housefile databases (50%), demographic segmentation (50%), and prior mail history analysis (46%). Most list techniques had a success rate of 80% or greater.

According to the DMA 2004 E-Commerce Report:

* The portion of companies having an in-house email marketing list has increased from 74% to 85%

* 43% of Web and email investment is allocated towards marketing, compared to 35% in 2002

The direct marketing industry employs the top minds of our world to analyze and build databases and marketing campaigns to address only the concerns and needs of a selected audience, which history has proven to be accurate 70% of the time. Typically, budgets are based more on analyzing the product, service and/or the consumer rather than playing an ROI guessing game.

Case Study of a Client

Here is a case study of a client that used direct marketing to increase their bottom line:

Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation (AHMCC), the largest U.S. privately held mortgage banker/mortgage broker initiated a more sophisticated form of direct mail marketing in 2003, which included the use of opt-in email files and multi-level marketing to reach new customers. The results were that AHMCC increased their revenues by 100% and increased their closing ratio by 15% by using email alone. Customer loyalty went up and referrals hit the roof. AHMCC now has 700 offices in 49 states, Guam and the Virgin Islands!

As the marketplace continues to evolve and change due the economic landscape and the need to offset expensive ad campaigns, direct marketing continues to play a major role for the success of any sized business. Regardless of the negative connotations that the public has on direct marketing, the truth of the matter is that corporations are vehicles that satisfy the needs of people and marketing is the channel that helps facilitate this process.

Ultimately, in order to be successful, companies must learn to maintain the loyalty of their customers and get in front of new ones by practicing 1 simple rule: Providing good product and service to the right people, at the right time, in the right place and in the right way.

Brian Rice is the Co-Founder and CEO of Red Clay Media, a data compiler and direct mail company. Red Clay provides customized, targeted mailing lists to business owners, list brokers, and professionals in the mortgage and insurance industry. Visit http://www.redclaymedia.com or email brice @redclaymedia.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



As someone with expertise in media relations, I've been asked if media coverage and publicity can build an online business.

The real question is whether what happens offline really matters online. And the answer is unquestionably, "Yes!"

Here are ten reasons why media coverage can help your online business grow:

  1. Every one of us, even if we spend four to eight hours a day in front of a computer screen in our underwear, still lives in the real world. Our opinions, desires, priorities, and decisions are heavily influenced by television, radio, books, magazines, and newspapers. Every business, online or offline, can benefit from positive media exposure.
  2. Almost no business can afford to be absent from the Internet these days; even a local real estate agent gains a competitive edge from having a web site. By the same token, an online business gains a strong advantage by having an offline presence. Online and offline marketing of all types support each other.
  3. Search engines won't bring most web site owners business. I just did a Google search for "books", and found about 85.2 million entries. Ninety-five percent of searchers will likely click on the first two (Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com), most of the others will never get to the second page of the searches. This means that 85,199,990 web site book sellers cannot rely on search engines. How about searching for the word bookstore? Still almost seven million entries, and guess who the top two are?
  4. You can't cheat the search engines. Try a search for books and carpentry. The odds are much better, with only 106,000 entries. That still means 105,990 web site book sellers will rarely be found. How about books and promotion? Almost two million entries. If a million carpentry book sellers are reading this article, five are smiling. The rest will only smile with an offline presence, such as a great article in their local newspaper or a call-in show on a radio station half way across the world.
  5. The media can create interest in your product or service if they feature you as part of an interesting story. Online or offline, that's what media coverage does. A good story is gold.
  6. The media is just starting now to wake up to the exciting things happening online. Timing is everything and this is the time.
  7. The media are now working increasingly online. The online and offline worlds are converging more than ever before. Articles that appear in local papers, industry magazines and even commentary on radio broadcasts find themselves on the Internet. That can often mean powerful links to your web site. Publicity offline means promotion online.
  8. If you are running a contest, placing a new interactive program on your site, winning an award, taking donations for a charity or doing anything noteworthy online, it is of interest in the offline world. The media can act as a funnel for people who spend less time than you and I do in front of a computer screen.
  9. In the mainstream media, you are trustworthy. If they see it on TV or in the newspaper, people believe it. (Funny, they SAY they don't trust the media, but their actions speak louder.) Since web marketing is about relationships and trust (That is your strategy, right?), you can build that relationship with people who are only now getting online or who may not even be online for another couple years. By the time they are ready to buy from you, the relationship has already begun because they have carried your offline credibility (that's the biggest value of media coverage) with them onto the Internet.
  10. In the mainstream media, you are real. I know many people who still don't buy anything online. They simply do not trust someone they cannot see. Sure, you might be honest, but how do they know? You could disappear into the ether tomorrow. While bricks-and-mortar stores can close just as fast, there is an impression that they are more real and more permanent. You can increase your realness and permanence through a media presence, and thereby increase your customer base.

Media relations is not always easy and not everyone can make it. You have to have something interesting to tell and have a creative way to make it newsworthy. But it is a low-cost way to drive traffic to your web site. And you may not need to get onto the front page of USA Today to succeed. You may simply want a mention in a few niche magazines where your targeted traffic can be found.

So if you don't like the idea of being a million entries down on a web search, or even 60 entries down, consider a low-cost, effective alternative - the media. With the right angle, media relations and publicity can expand your engine faster than search engines.

About The Author

After a decade and a half as one of Canada's top consumer advocates, often conducting over 600 media interviews each year, David Leonhardt is sharing his knowledge with others. Pick up a copy of his special report "Get In The News!" at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/publicity-self-promotion-report.html

amabaie@phastnet.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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5:27 AM |

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Can't Stand The Heat. Women's Sexual Health is Nothing to Worry About When You Use this Powerful Natural Medicine.

It seems that every day

I turn on the TV and find a Poker game. Texas No Limit seems to be all the rage these days. I love watching it. When I discuss this with others, their response is always the same, "You should play." Ah, but what they don't know is I stay out of the kitchen. As far as risk to reward ratio. That's a gamble I'm not willing to take. I prefer to invest my money. Sometimes I gamble in the stock market, but as long as I stay within my comfort zone (long term), I don't mind.

Tolerable risk should be the goal of every investor. Know your limits! Here are my big three don'ts:

  1. Don't invest more than 30% of your portfolio in risky ventures;
  2. Don't let your broker/advisor talk you into an investment;
  3. Don't gamble with money you're not ready to loose.

Here's a poem I wrote about a real person.

There once was a man from the North East Who thought he could tame the great beast Money in hand, he headed to Wall Street A Bull market it was, an IPO investment he couldn't beat The morning bell rang and he started to buy...

Drug store, MP3, Martha Stewart, and Be Free, Flashnet, Redhat, Eloan, and Goldman Sachs, Foundry Networks, Agilent, NextCard, and JNI corp, Goto, PCOrder, Free Markets, and Intertrust technologies, Ivillages, Keynote Systems, Radware, and Women, Kana, The Street, Internet Initiative, and Insweb, WWE, TicketMaster, CitySearch, and Ziff Davis.

He felt so good, like a young man and spry The days rolled along and the market did swell Up 80% by the close of the bell.

It was over the next few days that reality hit home The stocks started to plummet like the downfall of Rome A huge loss was incurred, sell everything without care Along with riding the bull you get tamed by the bear!

This real man I'm speaking of has class action law suits against every one of these companies and the underwriters of the IPO. Here's a link to the law firm, Lovell Stewart Halebian LLP http://www.lshllp.com/homejump.ihtml?page=classaction.ihtml that happens to be representing this man in all these cases. To this gentlemen I have 6 words...if you can't stand the heat.

About The Author

Brian Weiss is owner operator of www.InvestmentRunner.com a specialty search engine with free investors software, spread sheets, investors dictionary, and financial weblog.

admin@investmentrunner.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



Have you ever heard of a Gordian knot? A Gordian knot refers to a complex problem, insoluble on its own terms. The term comes from a Greek legend and tries to explain the success of Alexander the Great. I'll elaborate on this in a moment...

Women's sexual health is a hot button topic, and it's also a Gordian knot. Right now leading pharmaceutical companies are desperately trying to capitalize upon the success of sexual enhancement drugs for men, like Viagra and Cialis, by getting approval of a similar enhancement drug for women. No longer just the domain of men, women want help with sexual performance too!

But improving women's sexual health with a drug will not be so simple. In fact, it may never be possible. Because, whereas men simply need help achieving and maintaining an erection during intercourse, there is really no precise definition for female sexual dysfunction.

Our inability to diagnose and solve female sexual problems will haunt women's sexual health, as long as women are looking for a quick fix in the form of a libido enhancing drug. Women's sexual health is affected by pain while having intercourse, problems having an orgasm, trouble with arousal and desire, and a deeply rooted dislike for sex. With this vast array of possible causes, we are left with one undeniable fact: women need to look elsewhere than pharmaceutical companies to address their sexual health.

Do not make the mistake trivializing this topic - human beings are sexual creatures by nature. In fact, after our sense of humor, we are driven by our sense of sexuality more than any other human trait. When women's sexual health suffers from lack of libido or an inability to perform and/or enjoy healthy sexual activity, her mental and physical health and wellness suffers as well. While only you can decide what is a healthy level of sexual activity, we know that falling short of that level has a pervasively negative impact upon your sense of well-being.

A Solution for Improving Women's Sexual Health without Drugs

Luckily for women, we have identified a natural medicine that is so much more powerful than any drug yet created in a laboratory. When you learn to harness this incredible natural medicine's power, you will not only find yourself having more frequent sexual activity, but you will also find yourself capable of high levels of sexual arousal and enjoyment. I am, of course, describing the natural medicine of humor. I have spent the past two decades perfecting a prescription, which will unfailingly unleash humor's over-the-top energy, that I call The Fun Factor.

Once only available to my patients, I was finally persuaded to make my Fun Factor prescription widely available. Since my medical practice focused on patients with chronic, or fatal, diagnosis, I created my prescription out of my patient's sometimes horrific, but always immediate, need for relief. I found that, when used properly, the natural medicine of humor provides a reliable and extremely powerful respite from pain, stress, anxiety, depression, and fear - as well as presenting a superb adjunctive medicine that made my patient's conventional treatments all the more effective (and sometimes superseded their conventional treatments).

The natural medicine of humor has powerful ramifications for improving women's sexual health. Sexual dysfunction is common with a diagnosis of cancer, depression, and chronic pain (three common women's health ailments I treat), so the application of my prescription for improved sexual functioning and enjoyment was a regular occurrence in my medical practice. My patient's feedback helped me forge the three step formula I am sharing with you now; you can rest assured that this formula has worked for many, many women with a wide variety of symptoms and causes.

How to Achieve Optimal Women's Sexual Health

Step One: Go the Extra Smile

My first Fun Commandment has a profound effect on women's sexual health because it is a fabulous introduction to the the natural medicine of humor, in general: Go the Extra Smile. Smiling, as simple as it sounds, is a key to improved sexual appreciation because of its simplicity and almost constant appropriateness. A smile almost never offends and it is completely controllable, regardless of your circumstances; smiling is the easiest way to infuse yourself with the natural medicine of humor!

Smiling enhances your sexuality because it immediately decreases stress and fills you with energy and creativity. The best news about the positive effects of smiling is that these benefits are measurable even if you are wearing a "fake" smile. If you are thinking that lowering your stress level, while simultaneously snowballing your energy level and creativity, will add rocket fuel to your sexuality...you are absolutely correct!

Smiling has multiple benefits for your sexual health and wellness because it turbo-charges both your mood and your physiology. But smiling does another thing that accelerates your sexual satisfaction. It attracts reciprocal attention from your mate because a smile is an open invitation. Think of a smile as a happiness virus and you'll soon realize that your improved sexual health, your reduced stress, and increased energy can be easily shared with your partner.

Step Two: Laugh with Yourself

Another of my Fun Commandments that allows the the natural medicine of humor to soup-up your sexuality is: Laugh with Yourself. Laughing with yourself is the epitome of self-acceptance, not self-denigration as you might've been led to believe. You cannot take yourself too seriously when you're willing to laugh with yourself because you're embodying the philosophy of taking yourself lightly.

Let's face it, we are funny creatures and that's how we're supposed to be! Looked at objectively, our bodies are both fun and funny; the physical act of sex forces us to conjoin in some awkward and, almost, impractical ways. Giving ourselves permission to see the humor in our funny bodies and their functions eases the pressure we place on ourselves to perform sexually and our humor adds further fuel to our commitment to take ourselves less seriously.

Why wouldn't we laugh out of sincere appreciation for our perfect imperfections and the funny physicality of sex? To not see the gentle, and sometimes obvious, humor in these things means we are taking ourselves, and our sexuality, way too seriously. It's really all quite hilarious, in my opinion...we spend so much time, energy, and resources focusing on an act that takes less than 1% of our waking time. If we're not careful this teeny, tiny portion of our day can dominate our culture and our personal thoughts! Not that you don't have some good reasons to think about sex, but give yourself permission to gently laugh at your obsession and you'll find some additional stress released.

Step Three: Let Go Frequently

The last Fun Commandment we'll apply to women's sexual health today is: Let Go Frequently. I always say that in life, as in juggling, success depends on how quickly you are able to let go. Also in life, as in juggling, we all have a tendency to hang on to things too long, even when they are no longer working for us. In this case, hanging on to our harsh expectations creates stress that deflates our sexuality because we are unable to measure up.

Society deluges us with images of youthful sexuality; it's easy to imagine that everyone except us is engaged in passionate, daily sexual activity and we begin to feel that there is something wrong with us when our sex lives don't match the Madison Avenue fantasies. Let go of those images today, because no one except you has the authority or knowledge to decide what your optimal sexual habits and practices should be. Your sexual expectations regarding frequency, sensation, and/or duration are only placing unneeded pressure on yourself and that pressure only creates more stress.

Let go of your expectations of performance too. Many of my patients and clients imagine they must achieve a certain level of sexual performance for their mates to be pleased. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you set expectations regarding outcomes, you set yourself up for failure because you are putting even more pressure on yourself. Let go of the end results; concentrate on the fun, joy, and love inherent in sex because that is where the true pleasure is found.

Let go of sexual frequency and performance expectations, smile, laugh with yourself, and go along with whatever unfolds as a result of your footwork today. If you can do these things you will be a very sexual, passionate creature and sexy in the most important eyes of all - yours! Remember that you are already perfect (perfectly imperfect) and you don't need fixing. Instead of fixing yourself, enjoy your sexual health through the The natural medicine of humor ...relax, smile, and enjoy the ride!

By the way, according to Greek legend, Gordius was a king so grateful to Zeus that he dedicated the wagon responsible for his ascendancy to the powerful god by tying it to the temple of Zeus with an incredibly complex knot. Zeus than proclaimed that anyone who could undo the Gordian knot would rule all of Asia. Many tried, and failed, to untie the Gordian knot until Alexander the Great succeeded - by cutting the knot with a single stroke of his sword!

Create a quick, thorough solution to the apparently insoluble problem of women's sexual health today by using the the natural medicine of humor. Cleave through the Gordian knot of sexual dysfunction, in whatever form it is appearing, by learning to use humor's amazing power - as many women before you have done.

How to turbo-charge your health, success, and vitality! Clifford Kuhn, M.D., America's Laugh Doctor, teaches people and organizations to be more healthy and successful through the use of fun and humor. A psychiatrist, and the former associate chairperson of the University of Louisville's renowned Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Kuhn now dispenses his unique Fun Factor prescription from http://www.natural-humor-medicine.com/. On his website you will find tons of fun, free ways for you to maximize your sense of humor, and enjoy a life others will envy and admire.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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2:31 PM |

Monday, October 24, 2005

What Is Your Relationship To Time?. Fat Acceptance.

Have you ever thought about how your orientation to time profoundly affects the way you are in the world? Each culture has its own unique way of relating to the concept of "time". Some cultures perceive time as a room that is lived in. The "room" of time is a constant that stays the same, as we change during the course of our lives. American culture seems to more and more think of time as a commodity there is never enough of. When time is "wasted" a person misses out on an opportunity that may never present itself again. Still other cultures experience time as being circular, without a beginning or an end, and with no clear markers as to past, present, and future. No matter how we think about it, our relationship to time has a profound impact on what we believe is possible. Here is a story to illustrate what I mean.

Years ago I belonged to a healing community in the States. A women who was a member of the group had an infant who was born with a serious condition which was meant to limit the young child's life span to only three or four years maximum. The woman was totally committed to the health and well being of her infant, and she spent every waking moment praying for her baby. Her prayer went something like this: "Dear Lord, please heal my baby and help him to be fully healthy." She offered up this prayer countless times a day.

After some months of praying, and with the child's condition not improving, the mother spontaneously had an important "truth" present itself to her. She realized that in praying for her child to be healed, in a deeper sense she was acknowledging the "fact" that indeed her child was not well at this time. In effect she was saying/praying "Lord, my child is currently ill, and I am asking that you heal him and make him healthy in the future." She realized that if she was praying a similar prayer for herself, it would be difficult for her to feel good about her chances of being healed if she was continually reminding herself that she was currently not healthy. She realized that even though her child was way too young to understand the words of her prayer, that somehow her words would not be fully supporting her child in feeling and being healthy now as well as in the future. With her new understanding of how her concept of time was deeply affecting her prayer, she revised her concept and began praying the following: "Lord thank you for the health and well being of my child. I am eternally grateful." Rather than praying for how she wanted her child to be different in the future, she prayed "from the future" and brought her prayer into the present. She prayed from an understanding that her child was "already" healthy, and that he was simply in a rebalancing stage that if allowed to run its course, would naturally bring about a continuation of his healthy state as time went on.

After many months of praying her new prayer the condition of her child slowly began to change. The doctors were surprised and confounded. Little by little the child blossomed into full health, like a flower that is awakened to life by the warm inviting rays of spring sunlight. He eventually entered school along with all of his buddies, and wound up being a shining example of the power of love, gratitude, and an empowering understanding of time.

Please give yourself the gift of believing that you are already everything that you always wanted to be. Breathe into this radical concept, and then simply allow and encourage yourself to grow into your new sense of self.

Charlie Badenhop is the originator of Seishindo, an Aikido instructor, NLP trainer, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. Benefit from his thought-provoking ideas and a new self-help Practice every two weeks, by subscribing to his complimentary newsletter for individuals and professionals.
Charlie's Self Hypnosis and Mindfulness Practices can help you to dramatically slow down and experience your life from a heartfelt timeless perspective. Familiarize yourself with the Seishindo approach to Self Hypnosis or try the Somatic Self Hypnosis Practice right now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



With tons of information out there on "Fat Acceptance" does it do more harm than good? Being body positive and body fat are two different topics. South Beach Diet may work for one but not the other.

How can one confuse having a body positive attitude than with a "Fat Acceptance One? Are you really fat and happy? Most women are in emotional pain around their body size but to hail on for "Fat Acceptance" is a no-no, neither should one be ostracized for be overweight or fat.

This is more than just a debatable topic of "Fat Acceptance" what about health. Can you really sit and tell yourself you like wearing a size 22 and find the extra "Pinch an Inch" to be conformable and contrite? Can you feel both? Ask yourself, deep inside, how you really feel.

So where is the "happy medium"? Eye Candy yes, waif like magazine models perhaps not, but some women are naturally thin. Shows like "The Biggest Loser", "Fat Actress" make fun of those who do not fit into the cookie cuter world of what we deem as "Eye Candy".

We should all be accepted and not ostracized for size, and looks. "Size acceptance" and "Fat Acceptance" are two different issues here. Yes, promote size, we all come in different shapes, but promote "Fat"? What about health?

"We strongly condemn any diet marketing strategy based on guilt and unrealistic expectations," says Peggy Howell, a spokesperson for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. "Such approaches cause untold suffering to fat people by ruining their self-esteem."

This would fall under stapling!?!

However some sites, and blogs take this too far, can you be happy, fat, and un-healthy at any size?

Why make this harder than it has to be, follow the BMI chart. However getting within our range can be difficult, while women and men, work their way from a high BMI to a lower healthy one, we should accept people of all sizes, "Size Acceptance" but not promote fat. Promote Health, Size and not Fat.

Discuss this online at http://www.sheunlimited.com

The Daily Scandalmonger
"Scandalmonger Diaries"
Fat Acceptance
Entry 3
By Veronica Marie Kettler

Marie is Editor-in-Chief for She Unlimited Magazine. http://www.sheunlimited.com and heads up the community at http://www.sheunlimited.com/forums. Marie is committed to making a difference. Marie Is Making a difference in the Women sectors online, media and print. Marie believes that individual style is a form of self-expression. Marie knows the trends and where to find them. Her

expertise and knowledge give consumers everywhere the insight they need to get the latest styles and products that fit everyone and every budget, both online and off. For More information or how to become and editor for She Unlimited Magazine please e-mail: admin@sheunlimited.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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3:35 PM |

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Job Search Tips - How to Increase Your Success. Video Poker - Choose the Best Machines.

Finding a job can be a painful and difficult experience. Here are three things that you can do to minimize the pain and increase your chances of success.

1) Approach finding a job as if it were a full-time job, because it is. Consider this: if you had a job, you would report to work at the same time each day (like 8 am), take an hour (or less) for lunch, and quit at the same time each day (like 5 pm). You would work five days every week. And you would work hard to accomplish as much as you could because your career depended upon it.

When you are searching for a job, you should follow the same type of schedule because your future depends upon it.

Treating your job search like a part-time hobby guarantees that it will take longer. It even sets you up for failure.

In addition, the lack of focused activity will create a sense of helplessness. That sends you into a downward emotional spiral that makes it increasingly difficult to find a job.

So, begin tomorrow by reporting to work and spending the day on tasks that lead to a job.

2) Make it a project. That means you should set goals for yourself, make plans, and monitor your progress. You should apply all of the tools and skills that you used in your last job to the project of finding your next job.

As you must expect, this is an important project. The sooner you complete it, the sooner you gain a promotion into a job.

3) Be your own boss. You must set expectations for what you need to accomplish. You must provide direction. And you must monitor your work.

Meet with yourself once each week to evaluate your performance. I recommend doing this by writing two reports. The first is a candid evaluation of what you accomplished during the previous week. The second is a description of your plans for the coming week. Your plans should include your goals, actions, and priorities.

The first time that you write these reports, write an evaluation of what you have done so far. Describe the results that this effort has produced. And compare these results with what you wanted to have.

Next, map out a realistic plan for the next week based on achievable goals. For example, you could set goals for the number of people you will call, the number of networking meetings you will attend, and the research you will conduct.

In the coming weeks, compare the results that you obtained during the previous week with the goals that you set. For example, if you planned to attend twelve networking meetings and you attended only two, you should a) explain why this happened and b) plan actions that will correct such a difference. You should also analyze why you missed your goal because this provides insights on what you need to do differently. For example, your goal may have been set too high. Or maybe you could car pool with a friend who is also looking for a job.

Finding a job is a full time job. Work through it with a plan and the support of a good boss (yourself).

Business expert and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to become more successful. His book, Create Success, shows people how to take control of their future and manage their career. Visit http://www.ablecareer.com to learn more about this book.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



There are three basic types of video poker machines:

* Jacks or Better

* Deuces Wild

* Jokers Wild

To keep things basic, we recommend you play only the Jacks or Better machines. The payouts are usually better and the draw strategy is more straightforward.

What you're really looking for is a Jacks or Better machine with a good payout schedule. The best payout schedule pays 9 to 1 for full house and 6 to 1 for a flush. In gambler's terms, this is called a "9-6" machine, for obvious reasons. Several years ago, you could find several of these in most casinos, but they are now very hard to find because of the favorable (to you, not the house!) payout schedule.

Frequently, the best payout you'll be able to find is the next best one, which pays 8 to 1 for a full house and 5 to 1 for a flush. However, this is a good payout schedule if it's also a "four-of-a-kind" bonus machine. A bonus machine pays extra odds for hitting four-a- kind for certain cards, such as 2s, 3s, or 4s, or three other cards. The payout schedule has this information, so be sure to read the payout schedule carefully before you play any machine.

Be sure to avoid machines that only pay 1 to 1 for two pairs. This should be the payout for a single pair of jacks or better. Two pair should pay 2 to 1. You money will go much faster if two pairs pays only 1 to 1.

Look for these payout schedules and you'll be playing with house edge against you of 1 or 2% - some of the best odds in the casino.

Good luck!

Tom is the webmaster at http://www.blackjack-for-everyone.com, which is a website dedicated to turning beginning Blackjack players into serious recreational players.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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1:59 PM |

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Who's World Is It? The World Is Yours - Invite Success. Masking European Animism.

Who's World Is It?

Who's world really is it? Is it a man's world? There is a song by James Brown. "This is a mans world" is the chorus. Is this world the wealthy mans world? Those who have the money have the control, a lot of people will say. Is it the white mans world? Many people over the years have used this crippling concept, neutralizing their own ability of visualizing an outlook for themselves.

Life has no boundaries. The sky is the limit as far as what we can obtain in all aspects of what we choose to see. The vision of the world is of no monopoly to anyone or anything.

The World Is For Whoever

The world is yours. mines. His. Hers. The world is for whoever. Those who challenge themselves enough to realize its rewards for them self. The world is simply a visual and mental picture of all things that make up your reality. If we do not see it, then for us it does not exist for us. How can it? This article did not exist for you until you brought it into your reality by acknowledging it.

Stare at a piece of paper intensely for a minute, while telling yourself throughout the whole time that it is not a piece of paper, but rather a sheet of tin metal. In your world, this is what that piece of paper will become, and how can that not be the case, if that's what you believe. This is your world.

Our Visions Form Our Reality

All things are first inspired through a visual picture. The music that you hear and listen to was arranged and inspired by the artist's picture of a reality that is personal to them. They attempt to give you pieces, through their music.

The designs of the vehicles which you see and drive are inspired by the engineers perception of what he believes people, whom he's never met, will like enough to go out and purchase it.

We scope out our relationships based on our perceptions of compatibility between the two persons involved. We draw up our goals according to a destination which we first only visually see, before making it a reality through achieving it.

We Shape And Mold Our World

We shape and mold our world according to how we view the circumstances which makes up our reality. This is why you will never be able to fully explain the extent of your view of your world. Our view is personal and formed specific to our likeness. Each of us have our own individual circumstances that conform our view accordingly, and no two views are the same. Same as no two people look exactly alike.

Invite Success

Think Positive

Through our perceptions is how we invite success into our lives. Our lives are shaped by how we view its reality. We hold the ability to manage our thoughts, envisioning positive things as well as negative things. Just because something is negative for someone else, does not mean it has to be negative for you. We all individually hold control over our belief in this position, where we will decipher circumstances consistent with our personality.

A person who thinks positive, is more likely to retrieve positive from a situation that most people will see as only being a bad situation. Just as a negative thinking person will see it undoubtedly as bad, with no chance of anything positive.

All things first take place by way of your vision of mind. Then transformed into a reality, consistent with your thoughts. This is why the traits of your personality which form your perceptions are so important. Nothing happens until we first perceive it as being. In the light, positive or negative, of how we perceive it is how we then direct it toward the reality we want it to be.

Envision It To Form Its Reality

Just as in the case of reaching success building wealth. If we do not first see it, then it is not likely to happen for us. When we believe it enough to see it for ourselves, we then naturally place ourselves in positions to realize and accept that reality.

Empower yourself and develop and conform your world, filled with the circumstances you want. Take control of your world and build its fortune, first by way of your perceptions, to then bringing them forth into reality.

"Who's World Is It? The World Is Yours. Invite Success"

The author Eric Devone. His intentions through all of his writings are to encourage individuals to empower themselves and take hold of the reality of destiny. Grasp the presence of prosperity, the substances of success, first establishing within yourself environments which will admit such fortunes. To find out more, visit his site at http://www.successmindset-for-buildingwealth.com

Empower yourself and achieve the levels of success you most desire.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



The ancient peoples of Europe were more fond of masks and religious ritual than you would suspect if you saw Europeans today. Mask wearing and shamanism was part and parcel of everyday life in ancient Western European tradition, say researchers.

There are stories abound about African and North American tribal shamans but not a lot is known about ancient European peoples' involvement with masked ritual or the practice of magic. That is why finding out about similarities between the ideas behind masks from around the world and those originating from European soil, is a discovery of intriguing and real beliefs.

The less obvious link of European

societies with shamanism or religious ritual than for instance the North American native Indian customs or magic activity in the past is due to the more &sanitised' way Europe has developed because of church interference in people's lives. The church dominance virtually stamped out any pagan ritual.

It was not until after 1960, when the Americans experienced a revival of the interest in shamanism, that much has become known about the European version of the practice of magic and mask wearing. There is more verifyable information about the true roots of Western European civilisation than initially suspected.

"The spirit if not the exact practise of shamanism has been passed on through Europe's generations", one authority on the subject, Leigh Ann Hussey, believes. The earliest recordings of ceremonies involving masks were found in the caves of the Trois Freres (Three Brothers) in France where paintings of a Paleolithic scene depicting European animism of the first order. Ian Bracegirdle, a mask expert, describes the cave: A central figure stands wearing the head and antlers of a deer. He stands, shaman like, surrounded by animals.

Animals that are important to the culture he represents. Some of the animals no longer exist in this area. Ibex, reindeer, bison, stag and horses. The shaman, for that is what he seems to be, stands, a human figure amongst the potential food. It is believed that the paleolithic cave served as a place where hunters were initiated. The sorceror or shaman was symbol to sympathetic magic. He wore ears and horns of a stag, the eyes and beak of an owl, the bearded face of an old man, the tail of a wolf, the paws of a bear and the legs of a dancing shaman. He stood in front of painted hunting murals. The Shaman served as mediator between humans and their venerated animal kin.

This is pretty much the best evidence in tangible form that we have of our ancestors' animistic beliefs. It dates back 10,000 years and is accompanied by an abundance of myths and stories showing our ancestors had plenty of similar ideas. A close analogy exists in the stories of Kernunnos, forest god of the later Celts. The masks express animism to some extent.

His information is confirmed by Ms Hussey, who went on a hunt in European shamanism and found when she examined ancient sources, that she did not need to borrow from other traditions. "It is clear that tribal Europe had as strong a shamanic tradition as, for example, any of the American Indian tribes," she said.

Summing up the general symbolism that unites masks from around the globe, Bracegirdle says that there are many striking similarities between the ancient cultures of the Pacific West Coast of North America and the tribal traditions of Africa. Symbols that all these cultures share are relating to fertility, the hunted animal, ancestors, initiation into rites, circumcision, cannibalism real and symbolic, healing and crossing over into the spirit world for guidance and healing powers or to appease the gods or ancestors are the accompanying ideas behind masks.

Not a lot has been passed on from generation to generation in any much recognisable form or shape, but among the most powerful links is the seasonal nature of many traditions we still know about. In the UK, the Green man and the Hobby horse are two potent examples. "To me there is a tremendous link which is bound up with the very nature of the people we are and how we have developed. Our formative roots live in our societies now", believes Bracegirdle.

The links to ancient beliefs can also be found in many European languages. When we say in English that we are going berserk, we even directly refer to the shamanic state of extasy. The adjective comes from the noun &berserker', or &berserk', the Old Norse for &wild warriors' or &champions'. &Ber' referring to &bear' and &serkr' to &shirt' or &coat'.

These berserkers became frenzied in battle, howling like animals, foaming at the mouth, and biting the edges of their iron shields as if they acted in a Nike commercial. Berserker is first recorded in English in the early 19th century, long after these wild warriors ceased to exist. This is illustrative of how the tradition seemingly interrupted, still lived on.

Similar "Bear Doctors" stories have been found among California tribes. In some cases, the Berserkr or Ulfserkr would even eat the heart of the bear or wolf to gain its power.

Another feast of hearts occurs in the sei�½r trance, as described above.

Not a lot was known about Western shamanism until it hit the limelight in the 1960 and the undoubted expert in the field is the late Mircea Eliade, a religion historian who taught at the Sorborme in Paris and later at the University of Chicago.

He described Shamanism, or &witchcraft' as it is referred to also, as not a religion but more as a technique. Shamanism, he says, is &not strictly medicine men/women, magicians, or healers'. This is the conclusion of extensive studies of the phenomenon around the world in his book &Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy'.

He believes that shamans are not the same as priests; they may have coexisted with priests or even have fulfilled priestly functions as well as shamanic ones. A shaman was more a mystic than a priest or a minister. A shaman was not "possessed", as many people now believe, says Eliade. Neither was the shaman a medium or trance channeler. "Shamans control the spirit beings with whom they work, or at least they do not surrender to them. Like a medium or channeler, a shaman may appear unconscious when working, but upon returning, the shaman can tell where he or she has gone", he says.

The shaman is not the instrument of the spirits. Traditional shamans cure people through their trances, accompany the souls of the dead to the Otherworld, and communicate with the gods. "This small mystical elite not only directs the community's religious life but, as it were, guards its 'soul."

Modern day processions where you can still see old masks being worn include processions in which giants and witches are displayed.

These and other masquerades are among the more powerful tangible links we still have to ancient witchcraft ritual.

In well known childrens' stories and folklore narrative, the links are also obvious. Dragons for instance are examples creatures pervading every alley you can imagine of old folklore and mythology, straight into modern times stories. Descriptions of the beast's benevolence vary from the playful Puff (of Peter Yarrow's song) to the sinister Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit". Babylonian legends portray the Queen of Darkness as a multi-headed dragon - Tiamat. Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty features a battle between Prince Phillip and the evil Maleficent about a curse than can only be broken by three fairies. Likewise, the Germanic myth "Die Nibelungen" climaxes with the battle between Siegfried and the giant Fafnir, who has transformed himself into a dragon in an effort to become more frightening.

Our reaction to the physical characteristics of the dragon is another element that we share with and which connects us to our ancestors. Around the world the beasts are typically depicted as huge lizards, larger than elephants on average. Long fangs are generally accepted as are twin horns of varying length. Western cultures generally include large bat-like wings giving the dragon the capability of flight. But eastern dragons, usually wingless, use a more magical means of flying. Eastern dragons also tend to be more snake-like in nature, albeit with front and rear legs.

Angelique van Engelen is a freelance content writer living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She runs http://www.contentClix.com, a copywriting website. She also contributes to a blog http://clixyPlays.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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12:28 PM |

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Real Estate Investing with Bad Credit!. Odors Can Make or Break The Sale of Your Home.

By being creative, you can play the game of real estate investing by using what is called Option's investing.

This is just

one technique of the Option's strategy of investing but can be a power tool in your investors toolbox to help you control more real estate and build wealth.

An option is an agreement to you from the seller that gives you the exclusive right to buy a property during a specified time and at a predetermined price but does not obligate you to make the purchase - This is why it's called the Option agreement.

You option to buy - You option not to buy.

Option investing works when you want to control more real estate with limited out of pocket cash or credit and works if you:

Have no credit!
Can't pay cash!
Can't get a loan!

I call this the "SWEAT OPTION".

The sweat option works well if you have the ability to do the repairs yourself.

Your key's in making a deal like this are:

You need to know the basics of real estate investing
You need the forms to make this happen
You need to know the market area
You need to know the laws in your state
You need to know how to determine the value of the subject property
You need to know how to do a title search

Most importantly

you need to know how to find sellers that are motivated enough to work with you on this strategy of investing.

I recommend that you farm out your market area looking for properties that are what we call in the industry FSBO's (For Sale by Owner).

Go to your local library and start your research by looking at old newspapers starting with newspapers that are 90 days old and work your way through the FSBO's section making a list of possible deals. Working on a list of 30 or so.

Call and see if the property is still on the market, if so make an appointment to see the property! You will find that none owner occupied properties work the best and you are looking for properties that can not compete well with other homes do to repairs that need to be done.

Let's say the seller has a property that is worth $100,000 after the repairs.

I like using a 5% rule for repairs - If the value of the property is $100,000 after repairs, I do not want to spend more than $5,000 or 5% in repairs.

I would negotiate say an option purchase price of $80,000 for a period of 6 months or more and in the option agreement to perform the repairs at my cost to be my consideration for the option of purchase or should I say the $5,000 in repairs, materials cost and labor to be considered as credit towards the purchase of the property (My down payment) and what ever monthly payment we agree to and credit amount of that monthly payment. So let's say we agree to pay $600 a month with $100 a month credit towards the purchase.

You start you're repairs and complete them in 30 days or less and let's say you purchased $1,500 in materials.

Now you place the property on the market because you have the option to purchase "You have taken control of the property with your option".

Let's say this deal has taken you 90 days from the beginning to the end.

You find your buyer let's say at a great deal of $95,000 - $5,000 below market value at this point you would simply exercise your right to the purchase option and do a simultaneous close.

Now let's run the numbers

Your option purchase was $80,000
Your option credit of $5,300 (Repairs, materials cost, labor & monthly credit)
Your purchase price after credits $74,700
Your buyer purchase price of $95,000

Leaving you a gross profit of $20,300

You had out of pocket material cost of $1,500
You had 3 payments of $600 each with $100 for the credit purchase with an out of pocket of $1,500

Carrying cost of $600, (Real estate taxes $300 &$300 Utilities)
Advertising cost $300
Closing cost $1,300

Your net profit $15,100

You simply took control of a $100,000 property for $3,900 (payments, materials, utilities, and advertising) and turned a profit of $15,100 in 90 days!

Look at it this way you can make it a cash purchase at $80,000 and take control of one property or be a little creative and take control of the same property for less than $4,000. Both conservative and creative deals work in the world of real estate investing.

Good luck and I hope this will help some of you!

Copyright 2005 JMichael Investments

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to John@jmichaelrei.com

"Join me in the Bahamas or Marietta Georgia" John Michael - Investor/REI Teacher

Join me on a Bahamas Cruise: http://www.realesmartplanner.com

Join me in Marietta Georgia: http://jmichaelrei.com/html/rei_seminars.html

My site: http://www.jmichaelrei.com/

Email: John@jmichaelrei.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



It's amazing how important the sense of smell is to many people. If you're selling your home, and this applies across the board to houses, townhouses, condos, apartments, or whatever, you need to be aware of the power of odors. An odor like cigarette smoke can cause potential buyers to leave quickly without ever really considering purchasing your home. On the other hand, an odor like that of bread baking can conjure up all sorts of homey feelings and cause the same potential buyer to linger.

Do You Have "Deal Killer" Odors?

The two most common offenders are cigarettes and pet odors. Sadly, most people who smoke or have pets don't realize this. Often, they don't notice the smells themselves, so they think this isn't a problem. Well, it is. A surprising number of people will have a swift, strong, negative reaction. Would you like to smack every second or third prospective buyer in the face when they come through your door?

Anything cloyingly sweet like "room deodorizers" which really just cover up other scents by overwhelming them is likely to be an offender. The same thing is true of other strong, funky smells. Unwashed gym clothes and shoes, cooking smells from foods such as cabbage, fish or more than a little garlic or curry will probably be offensive to many people.

So is it really necessary to stop smoking (or only smoke outdoors), ban the dog to the garden and basement, wash the laundry, and stop cooking strong smelling foods until your home is sold?

Yes.

Beyond that, it's necessary to "clean up your act" if you're really desirous of selling your home. You've probably cleaned it up visually already, but what to do about lingering odors? Anything made of cloth holds odors for a long time. Carpets, upholstery, curtains and draperies, table skirts and the like will smell for months or forever. What on earth do you do about them?

If it's bad enough, carpets need to be replaced and upholstered furniture put into storage. However, it's often adequate to shampoo carpets and the upholstery in the most intense areas (your favorite smoking chair and the pieces nearby) and launder the curtains. Keep fans going while things are drying; you don't want to end up with mold and mildew smells. Your goal is to clean up the cause of the smell, not to cover it up.

Attractive Odors Attract

Odors people find attractive are very personal, but there are general smells that are pleasant and cause good emotional responses in most people. We've already mentioned baking bread. Almost anything that smells sweet when tends to be in this category - cookies, apple pie, cinnamon buns, etc. Of course, it's not practical to bake the whole time your house is on the market, but one thing each week-end might be possible.

In cool weather, apple cider simmering with a cinnamon stick or two and a few cloves has much the same effect and is definitely easier to do. A vase or two of flowers with mildly scented flowers is another possibility.

Of the two, cleaning out offending scents is much more important than adding pleasant ones.

If you can successfully do both, you're way ahead of much of your competition and it will help your home sell faster.

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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3:51 PM |

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Expert Virtual Assistants - Their Vital Role in the Success of Speakers and Coaches. Article Marketing: How to Submit Your Articles at Turbo Speed.

Imagine not having to weed through countless emails and phone messages every day. Imagine that all of your follow-up calls and emails are taken care of. Imagine that your teleclasses are managed for you, so that the only thing you have to do is present them. Now imagine that you have a partner, someone who is looking out for the best interest of your business, and eager to support you in making your business a success. More importantly, imagine having all the time you want to do what it is that you love to do, and what you do best. It's nice to think about, isn't it? And it is all possible, by enlisting the services of a Virtual Assistant.

Virtual Assistants (VAs) handle functions such as these for their clients, along with countless other tasks. They handle them remotely, from their offices, using the internet, phone, fax, and Instant Messaging. They are entrepreneurs themselves, committed to ensuring the success of their clients' businesses. VA specialists cater to a specific industry, and have the expertise to handle clients' tasks that are exclusive to those industries.

Running the administrative aspects of a business is a time-consuming job. Maintaining the everyday functions of the business sometimes leaves little time for performing the core services that speakers and coaches provide. Oftentimes, speakers and coaches, (though obvious experts in their respective fields), are not proficient at administrative functions. This means they require more time in handling everyday functions, leaving less time to focus on what they do best, and what supports their businesses financially.

Business owners sometimes think they can do it all, but they usually can not. Oh, sure, maybe some small business owners enjoy doing all of their own administrative work, while at the same time working on promoting and growing their business, and then also delivering their services. Though, I would bet that they don't have much time for themselves, or family. They probably even have to turn some clients away because their schedule is packed. And not packed with paying clients, packed with administrative functions. Enlisting the services of a VA is crucial in building and maintaining a successful speaking or coaching business. Handling the everyday administrative functions, the marketing aspects and the detail work of busy professional speakers and coaches is what a VA, more importantly, a speaker and coach specialist VA, does best.

Most business owners wish to continually grow their businesses. Speakers and coaches are hardly the exception. But, how do they do that if they're spending a lot of time managing their daily operations? They don't. The marketing and promoting of their business gets pushed to the wayside. This makes it essential to hire a VA. A VA knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. They are experts in managing their clients' businesses so that they're consistently moving in the right direction, forward.

Hiring a VA that is an expert in your industry is vital. In the same way we don't go to a cardiologist to treat a back problem, coaches and speakers shouldn't hire, say, a Real Estate VA for service and support of their businesses. A VA that supports speakers and coaches understands the industry. They know how to systemize the business, watch for leads, promote the products and/or services, research new opportunities, and of course, handle all the necessary day to day administrative functions.

Wouldn't we all love to have an assistant right there in our offices? Sounds great, doesn't it? Well, what if there isn't enough work to keep them busy, will we pay them to just sit there? Not just pay them to sit there, but also pay them to have a lunch break, pay them when they call in sick, pay their health insurance, vacation time and taxes. It's not sounding so great now, that's for certain. The benefit of hiring a VA is that they are only paid for the hours they work. For example, if the administrative and

industry specific work for a certain speaker or coach takes two hours per day to complete, those hours, and only those hours, are billed by their VA.

The Virtual Assistance industry is relatively new, yet gaining great momentum. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are realizing how cost effective it is to outsource administrative and industry-related functions to an expert. In simple terms, if a speaker or coach makes $100 per hour speaking and coaching, and if the average VA's fee is $30 per hour, yet the coach or speaker spends countless hours per day on administrative tasks as opposed to being out there earning that $100 per hour, isn't it fair to say that hiring a VA is a huge savings in and of itself?

In addition to the obvious financial savings, there is the matter of time savings. The speaker or coach now has more time to provide coaching or presentations, or time to network in person, or time to spend with family, or time do anything they choose.

Donna Toothaker is an expert Virtual Assistant, and is the founder of 1st VA, a successful Virtual Assistant business. With over 15 years of experience in the customer care industry, Donna founded 1st VA so she could provide more personalized services to her clients. Donna specializes in providing support and services to professional speakers and life and business coaches. Donna can be reached by email at donna@1stva.com. Visit http://www.1stva.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



Want to become an article-writing machine? Here are a few tricks for submitting articles on the internet at top speed and accuracy.

As always, you should first type your article text into a Word document and save it on your hard drive. Many article sites offer space on their servers for your work, but ideally you should have a home for it on your own computer- just in case. Next, transfer your article text from your Word file to the article submission box. The quickest way to do this is to "set it all up" ahead of time.

Quick Copy-and-Paste Article Transfer

Start by finding a music CD of your choice that will get you into some kind of groove. Pop that into your Discman, CD player or whatever else you like to listen to your tunes on, and settle down in front of the computer. Take a deep breath, sit up straight, palm the mouse and then do the following:

1. Log in to your Ezinearticles.com account (or whatever other account you may be using to submit articles.)

2. Go to your existing Author Bio and hit Control-A (Highlight All) and then Control-C (Copy).

3. Go back to the Word file where your article is located and scroll to the end of your article, after the copyright line. Type Control-V (Paste) and add your bio text.

4. Now type Control-A (Highlight All). The text of your entire article and bio will be highlighted. Type Control-C (Copy).

5. Return to your article submission box and do a Control-V (Paste). Both the article text and the Author Bio will now be housed in the place where your article lives.

6. Scroll down to the end of your article text; that's where the Author Bio is. You are going to remove it from here and pop it into the Author Bio box.

7. Highlight the Author Bio text with your mouse and then do a Control-X (simultaneous Delete and Copy).

8. Go into the Author Bio Box and Control-V (Paste). Your author bio should now land in the proper place.

Note: when writing articles for the internet, it's wise to break up your text into easy-to-read sections. Bolded subheadlines will guide the reader's eye down the page, thereby holding their attention on that excellent copy that you took such care in writing!

Here's a formula for adding bold, ital and other HTML tags to your articles in a hurry.

1. Type your entire article in regular type, with no code.

2. Go to the first sentence that you want bolded and type your < B > code (but without spaces).

3. Highlight the HTML Bold tag that you just typed, and hit Control-C (for Copy).

4. Now go to the end of the line where you want the Bold to stop and hit Control-V (for Paste). Now add a / mark before the B in that end tag.

5. Scan the article from top to bottom wherever you want bold, copying and pasting tags where necessary.

6. Go back to the top and repeat the process for Italic, if you have that in your article too.

Bonus Tip: To get your mouse to the beginning or end of a long page of text (such as an article), type Control-A (Highlight All), and then the Up or Down Arrow. If you accidentally delete it, just hit Control-Z (Undo) and it should appear again.

A quick copy-and-paste routine like the ones I just described really comes in handy when submitting articles in mass distribution. Faster is better! Have fun.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Find out how crisp, targeted copywriting can make a world of difference for your business. Dina Giolitto is a Copywriting Consultant with ten years of experience. Visit http://Wordfeeder.com for free tips on branding, copywriting, article marketing and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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9:18 PM |

e-Mails Not Getting Answered? Shhhh! Here's Why. Natural Pain Management.

Let's face it -- none of us like to be ignored. But sending an e-mail to a colleague that commits even ONE of these four cardinal sins can mean the difference between a speedy reply ... and that big e-mail receptacle bin in the sky. :-/

Here are four common reasons why YOUR mail could be going "the way of the spam", and how to reverse them to get your messages answered -- and answered *fast*:

1. "Can you hear me now? Durn! Can you hear me now? Frick! Can you hear me now? Cripes! Can you...?"

Follow-up e-mails are okay, and quite necessary during these times of overzealous spam filtering. But for the love of all things good and holy ... please give your recipient a reasonable amount of time to answer the FIRST message FIRST!

If you haven't waited *at least* 24 hours -- particularly on a first contact -- you haven't waited long enough. People do have to take care of lives, and spouses, and hunger pangs, and bathing, and... (well okay, maybe not those last two if we're in a REAL pinch ;)).

2. Please, God ... *NO* HTML!

It still boggles my mind how many people ignore this rule.

HTML mail comes to about *twice the size* of plain text mail with equal content. If your recipient can set their mail to skip downloading messages over a certain size, and that size is set low, your e-mail will be cut off in mid-message.

This means the recipient then has to make an extra effort to retrieve YOUR message from the server.

(Annoyance #1.)

And people who send HTML mail seem to always choose a bright blue(??!) hyperlink-colored font that's WAY too tiny for the average eye to read. Umm...

WHY?!

Just about anything other than Courier New is GUARANTEED to be hard to read in some e-mail programs -- and it's usually blind luck that your recipient will HAVE one of those with this problem.

(Annoyance #2.)

And don't even get me started on the odd "glow" blue text has when plopped on a white background ... please?

3. "NO, Mommy! I don't WANNA read an ezine!"

It's inconsiderate to send ezine length e-mails to business people -- period.

You're almost guaranteeing that your mail won't be fully read, or that you'll get a half-a**ed reply, because the reader didn't feel like wading through your verbosity to get to the goods.

"Ezine length" is generally about 9 kilobytes (9k) and above. You can usually tell how large an e-mail is before sending by checking its size in your mail program's outbox. If not, for your reference, 9k is about 650 words. (Yeesh!)

Unless the recipient is *expecting* a long reply from you, 3k (200 words) is a good stopping point for a first contact.

NOTE: YES, this goes for personal e-mails too. Being "friends" with someone isn't license to consistently disrespect their time with mammoth e-mails unless they send the same to you -- consistently.

So, no saying the same thing 8 killion different ways, or using "flowery" language and "pretty" mental pictures to get your point across.

Just say it, say something else and for Heaven's sake ... KEEP IT MOVING.

4. Umm, seriously ... is it really THAT important?

Ugh. Do I really need to explain this one? People who mark ALL of their messages High Priority remind me of the little dude who cried wolf, if you know what I mean.

When I consistently see these from the same people all the time, I start ignoring the priority and answering them LAST in a mail check, just to spite 'em.

Granted, not everyone is as crazy as me and will do this. But at the very least, you're still hurting your chances of getting a reply to *seriously* urgent messages quickly, by abusing priority markers.

�½-�½

I could go on. I won't.

(Yet.)

I'll save the rest for "Part 2." Until then, clean up your e-mail act if you need to, and watch more of your e-mails not only get answered, but get answered faster -- and lots more productively, too.

Commit the above shameful offenses at your own risk!

Article by Harmony Major, revealing THE TRUTH about earning a full-time income from your e-biz: NO punches pulled, NO secrets kept. She's blowing the cover on marketing frauds and cons, to help YOU "rip-off proof" your e-biz and make more money online.

Visit http://BlownCoverMarketing.com to learn how.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



Life in today's hectic society is going more and more in the direction of fast food restaurants, sugar in foods you would never think should be there, trans fatty acids, preservatives and pesticides which we consume in large amounts every year. We even go so far as to invent foods, such as artificial sugars, which your body (in my opinion) does not recognize as actual food. We are bombarded with hormones in most of our meats and dairy products. Girls are maturing physically at a much younger age because of this. With all this going on, it's no wonder that our immune systems are on overload and physical ailments are growing in leaps and bounds. Pain in some cases, is what some people's lives revolve around.

Lets look at pain. It is your signal that injury, disease or too much strain has occurred on the body. Without it you wouldn't know that something needs to be addressed.

Even mild pain can limit your activities, which in turn can lead to a loss of strength, endurance and flexibility.

Chronic pain can be on and off or be consistent. If you are like most people, you'll reach for over the counter drugs or prescription drugs. This is what the drug companies would love for you to do. My opinion is that if you handle your pain in this manner, you may not be really getting at the underlying cause of it. Drs. today are trained to diagnose, prescribe drugs and or surgery.

If you suffer from pain there are many more options for you to explore than drugs or surgery. Here are some things you may want to consider. I highly recommend that you seek help from a nutritionist. With vitamins, minerals and herbs lacking in our daily foods, a good diet and exercise with supplements, and organic foods, may improve your immune systems ability to repair the body and therefore experience Pain Relief.

There are other natural remedies that can enhance your nutritional handling such as acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or yoga. I hope that helps.

Willie is a freelance writer, researcher and artist. Thanks for reading this far. Come see us at http://www.painreliefdirectory.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/



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