12 Reasons Your Website Is Failing

Most Saturdays, I conduct a free networking and brainstorming call, where we critique and give makeovers to 2-3 websites. On the weeks that we don't review websites, the calls are generally open discussion of Internet marketing issues.

These calls are just another tool in my very effective marketing arsenal, and you can join them by registering at: http://WillieCrawford.com/free-brainstorming-calls.html

During most weeks, I get dozens of joint venture proposals, and several potential new clients who want me to evaluate the potential of a project that theyre working on.

Many of the joint ventures that I turn down, and many of the clients that I reject, are for the same reason. Their websites are so poorly written that I know that the websites won't convert. I rarely do outside copywriting, but I often suggest revamping their websites before they move forward.

With the sites reviewed on my calls, and with the sites I look at for other reasons, I notice many of the same mistakes. Here are 12 of the most common:

1) The site has no focus. A website should be designed with its primary purpose in mind. You should have ONE thing that you'd really like most visitors to your page to do. Almost everything on that page should lead the visitors toward deciding to take that primary action. Nothing on the page should distract them and "lead them off down other trails."

Common primary actions that you'll want your visitor to take are to join your list, buy your product, download a free trial version, or join an online community. Make sure that you know what you want your visitors to focus on, and get rid of the other distractions. It's been proven that if you give your visitors too many choices, or confuse them, they will simply choose to leave!

2) The site has no email capture mechanism. Most honest copywriters will tell you that in most Internet marketing type niches, a 1-2% response rate to a sales letter is VERY respectable. You've worked very hard to get visitors to your site, and if you completely ignore the 98% who don't buy you're not going to be in business very long.

Incorporate a form into your website that gets them into an autoresponder so that you can follow-up with them. Offer them a free report, access to an MP3 on the topic, or access to an exclusive community. Get them to opt-in, and then you can follow up with them on their topic of interest.

Your opt-in form can be set up "in-line" as a part of the webpage, and even take them back to the point on the webpage where they were reading before they stopped to opt-in. You can also have an exit popup, or pop-under, that offers them a freebie as they're leaving your site. Once they've decided to leave, you'll probably NEVER see them again unless you have a way to invite them back. An autoresponder is the perfect way to do this automatically.

3) The owner is "hiding behind the website." Web surfers are skeptical and distrusting. You need to let them know that there is a real person behind the site. Give them contact information, show them your photo, and even let them hear you. You can easily add audio or video to your website, and allow it to "touch" your visitor on such a deeper level. When people hear your voice or see you talking, and get to watch your body language, you communicate so much more effectively than just the written word.

To add audio to your website, all you need is a microphone plugged into your computer. To add video to your website, all you really need is a webcam plugged into your computer. There are services that will take this audio or video, allow you to edit it with a few clicks of your mouse, and then stream it from their servers or upload it to your server.

A totally amazing service that I use is called Audio Acrobat. I use it to have customers, subscribers, etc., call in and leave testimonials. I use it to record some teleseminars, interviews, product recommendations, and for dozens of other purposes. I do record video from my webcam to this service too. You can also upload video recorded on a regular video camera to this service, and then stream it from their website.

As I said, I LOVE Audio Acrobat. If you want to check it out, you can get a free 30-day trial from here: http://williec.audioacrobat.com/ Its where I have dozens of testimonial lines, dozens of audios, and a few videos. It's also how I save on my web hosting bandwidth ;-)

4) The owner of the site offers no credentials The very first question I ask when reading a magazine article, watching a television show, or reading a web page, is "What makes this person qualified to teach ME this topic." Most web surfers don't trust you, and believe that most Internet sites are out to rip them off. You need to show them that your experience and training makes you qualified to teach them the topic. In addition to formal credentials a professional looking website also shows that you are a serious business person. Don't skimp on your websites design!

5) Not offering proof of statements. It's natural for you to say how great you and your product are. Therefore, that means nothing to potential customers. Get other to share how your product improved their lives. Use media interviews, and statements by officials in professional organizations, to provide third-party validation.

Testimonials with photos, audio, or video, are very powerful. Testimonials with just a set of initials, or a with just a first name, have NO credibility.

6) Offering the wrong payment options. The majority of Internet users prefer to pay via credit card. If your product allows you to do it, and still make a satisfactory profit, consider taking orders through an answering service or call center, via fax, via snail mail, and through third party processors such as Paypal as well. Evaluate each of these options and decide which of these make sense for you.

As an aside, I once considered even offering my customers the option to order C.O.D (cash on delivery). My local postmaster strongly suggested that I NOT do that and also pointed out that it's almost never done these days. He convinced me that it was more trouble than it was worth :-)

7) Using the wrong or too many fonts. When you use different sizes and colors of letters on your webpage you need to have a real reason. When you highlight or underline text on your webpage you need to have a logical reason.

As your site visitor reads your webpage, he will subconsciously ask himself why you emphasized a certain word or sentence on the page. If you had no logic reason, you pull him out of your message as his mind wrestles with the why."

You page should be structured such that a skimmer could just read the headlines and sub headlines and get the message. He should be able to read just the highlighted text and get the gist of your webpage. He should be able to just go to the bottom of the page, read the "P.S." where you've restated your offer, and order without being forced to read the rest of the page... if he's in a hurry. 8) Using header graphics that distract from the message. Your header graphic should spell out or emphasize the main benefit of your product. It should be simple enough that the visitor is not forced to waste time trying to decipher its meaning.

Sometimes, it's better not to even have a header graphic. This is something you should test. You want to get your visitor reading the text on your page, and discovering how your product can help him, as soon as practical. This is what will sell him... not cute or fancy graphics.

9) Not focusing on benefits rather than features. Don't tell your visitor how great the product is, tell him how it will improve his life. Your testimonials should also provide concrete, and very specific, examples of how it improved someone else's life.

10) Focusing on "I" rather than "you!" Look at your webpage and make sure that it talks about the customer and his problem more than it talks about you, your company, and your products. Your customers don't really care about you. They care about how you can help them! Read through you copy and make sure that it answers that question. Make sure that you're not talking about yourself too much, and that when you do talk about yourself, it's answering the question of how you can help the reader.

11) Not emphasizing the guarantee. When a customer purchases with a credit card, or through certain third-party processors, the guarantee is implied anyway. So, why not make your guarantee a selling point? If a customer goes to Visa or MasterCard and states that they are unhappy with their purchase from you, they will get their money back in most cases... and you'll pay an extra fee for the "chargeback." If a customer goes to Clickbank or Paypal with a complaint, they will end up issuing a refund in many cases.

Make it easy on yourself by offering and honoring a guarantee. It will increase your conversion rate, and unless your product is total JUNK, it won't increase your refund rate.

12) Not using a P.S. Many busy surfers will jump right to the end of your webpage and read the P.S.(s). If they were somewhat pre-sold before they arrived at your page, many will go ahead and purchase at that time. Use the P.S.(s) to restate your offer, emphasize the guarantee, showcase your bonuses, and to emphasize any scarcity factor in the offer.

The bottom line is that, if your sales page is horrific, it's pointless to drive traffic to the site. Fix the page before you do anything else, or you're just wasting time and frustrating yourself.

A well-written webpage is so pivotal to the sales process, that many professional copywriters will often rewrite bad sales letters. When they discover great products that they KNOW would sell if the products owners just had better copy, they will often rewrite bad sales letters, pre-sell the products, and then send the "ready-to-buy" customers directly to the order form.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Mike Woo-Ming, recognized the value in revamping bad sales letters so much that he went as far as to set up a membership site, offering members rewritten sales letters for Clickbank products in hot niches. You can check out what Dr. Mike has done, and join his site, if he hasn't already closed memberships, at: http://FixingTerribleWebpages.com Tell him that I sent you.

Fix the 12 common errors covered above, and your website will be more effective than 99% of direct sales websites out there. Don't fix these mistakes, and your sales won't increase, but at-least now you will understand why.

Copyright 2006 Willie Crawford

Willie Crawford has been teaching Internet marketing for over 9 years. Take advantage of his uncanny insights and unusual candor by subscribing to his free, information-packed newsletter. Also visit his top-rated blog. Do both at: http://WillieCrawford.com/blog/Ailey Blog57895
Allis Blog30938

School Reform Is Hot Topic For Philadelphia Schools

Philadelphia Schools are in dire need of reform. In an effort to achieve this goal, two committees, The Right to Education Task Force and The School Reform Commission, have been formed to focus on improving the situation for all Philadelphia Schools students. A new mission statement, a Declaration of Education, an anti-truancy effort, and summer programs have all been implemented within the district of Philadelphia Schools.

The Right to Education Task Force, which focuses on special education and persons with disabilities served by Philadelphia Schools, strives to do the following:

* Review state and national legislation that affects improvements of special education classes
* Participate in active and meaningful discussion about education concerns, and give recommendations to resolve them
* Serve as advisors and advocates to protect the rights of students with disabilities
* Encourage and facilitate cooperation between public and private agencies and their officials to provide services to persons with disabilities

Philadelphia Schools has put a School Reform Commission in place in order to continue the improvement of Philadelphia Schools. The commissions mission statement is as follows: The mission of Philadelphia Schools is to provide a high quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential in order to become lifelong learners and productive members of society. The Commission has set several target goals for themselves, teachers, administrators, and staff, which they hope to achieve by June of 2008. These goals include Early Literacy, Academic Achievement, a Safe and Orderly Environment, Community Collaboration, Equity, Efficient and Effective Philadelphia Schools, and improved Support Operations.

Among other efforts, Philadelphia Schools have teamed up with Mayor John F. Street to implement a citywide anti-truancy initiative. The program is designed to ensure that school-aged children and teens are actually present in their Philadelphia Schools, and that their parents are aware of truancy laws. The initiative also intends to assure that parents and students alike are aware that the City, Philadelphia Schools, and the Family Court plan to hold them accountable.

In addition, Philadelphia Schools offer numerous summer programs that both keep kids off the streets, and serve to help students who have fallen behind in their studies. The programs are focused on academic enhancement and enrichment, and are mandatory for any 1st 8th grader who did not achieve proficiency in a core subject, such as Math or Reading. Eighth graders who need additional help meeting Philadelphia Schools promotion criteria and 12th graders needing additional credits to graduate are eligible.

Mark S. Schweiker, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sums it up by saying, The reformation of the Philadelphia public schools serves as a model for the entire nation. As the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce touts the advantages of this region to the world, our rapidly improving public school system is an example that Greater Philadelphia is a progressive place to live and raise a family.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/index.htmlAudre Blog80301
Arlyne Blog37633

E-currency Trading Is Sweeping Across the Internet in 2006

Many people have never heard of e-currency trading before and most people are wondering what it is. E-currency trading is a relatively new, yet lucrative opportunity that allows individuals to trade e-currencies such as E-gold, Netpay and E-bullion just to name a few.

Unlike the Forex arena where 95% of traders lose money, e-currency trading is exactly the opposite. Because many people need real cash to move money in and out of e-currencies, it creates an opportunity for people to capitalize on the transaction making it possible to earn a percentage of that transaction for assisting with the transfer.

E-currency trading is a growing industry as more and more people are purchasing items online in the form of e-currency. As long as people continue to purchase items online, there will always be a need for people to exchange funds from hard cash to online currencies and vise versa.

Many people are skeptical when getting into the home based business industry, so how do you know which one is right for you? For starters, it requires choosing an opportunity that meets your needs. Sure there are many scams out there and with so many offers out there today, who wouldnt be skeptical? The truth is, many people are making money and if they are, they dont really want you to be a part of it because it only creates more competition for them. However, e-currency trading takes away all the competition and skepticism creating a way for everyone to succeed.

There are many programs available online that teach e-currency trading. Some are better than others and it all depends on the quality of training your looking for. Ive personally spent countless hours trying to learn how to do this business by reading forums and searching in Google, but it only seemed to be a waste of time since there was no free formal training available. After sometime I finally gave in and picked up a course that helped me understand the business in a big way. It took approximately 3 weeks before I really had a handle on things and I was off and running.

When deciding on e-currency trading as a business opportunity, it does require a bit of work, but nothing more than a few hours a week if you can believe it. Theres an old saying, you only get out what you put in. This applies to any type of home business.

Copyright 2006 Timothy Rohrer

Timothy Rohrer is an established writer and home business owner. To learn more information about a profitable home business, visit http://www.profitplusonline.comAgata Blog28241
Amandi Blog57640

Which Type of Traffic Exchange is More Effective?

There are two major types of traffic exchanges. One is the auto traffic exchange which automatically views web pages and refreshes the information contained therein. The other type of traffic exchange is the manual traffic exchange. With this type of traffic exchange, the individual will either have to refresh the browser or click on a certain part of the web page to get the next page to come up. When comparing the two, it is easy to see which traffic exchange may be the more effective one to use.

Auto Traffic Exchange or Manual Traffic Exchange?

When it comes to comparing the auto traffic exchange and manual traffic exchange, one must first consider the purpose and ultimate goal of such a program. The purpose of the traffic exchange is to gain more traffic to ones website. This is so the website owner will have individuals not only view their information online but perhaps even purchase products from the website as well. With that said, it is easy to see that the manual traffic exchange variety would be much better than the auto traffic exchange.

Why the Manual Traffic Exchange?

The manual traffic exchange is perhaps the more effective type of traffic exchange to be utilized. Since the website owner wants individuals to view their website fully and completely and not just have an automated system click on it, the manual traffic exchange is preferred. When using the manual traffic exchange, the individual browsing the website has to actually refresh the page or click on a particular web page detail to make a new page come into view. This is a safeguard which will help to ensure that the individual viewing the page is actually doing so on their own.

Is Auto Traffic Exchange Not Effective At All?

It is important to point out that the auto traffic exchange is still effective in nature. An individual who signs up with an auto traffic exchange will still have their website viewed, if the website owner, and will still receive the credits for viewing the website, if the website viewer. Therefore, one cannot say that the auto traffic exchange lacks in effectiveness altogether. It just should be stated that the manual traffic exchange is the better one to use as it requires individuals to follow certain procedures and actually view the pages that they are supposed to view on their own.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the manual traffic exchange is the more effective variety of traffic exchanges. This type of traffic exchange requires individuals to perform certain tasks in order to receive credits which can be allotted towards having their website viewed by others. The purpose of the traffic exchange is for both parties to do some work and therefore the manual traffic exchange is best as it requires this of both parties.

Samuel Abdullah is an Internet marketer and has written on a variety of subjects. For more information visit http://samaraffiliatesonline.com/Splash1/index.asp or email him at: samuel@homebizbuilders.comArabele Blog84796
Adrianne Blog2892

4 Steps To Making Easy Daily Cash A Reality

There are a lot of people online who are trying to make money from the Internet. Anyone can have a home business of his or her own. However, making money is not as easy as a lot of people make it sound. There are certain things that you need to do in order to make easy daily cash. What are these steps that you need to know to make this a reality in your life?

First, you need to find a business opportunity that other people will want to join. It must have great products or services. The program must be something that a lot of people will want to join and start their own home business. You also need to make sure that the company behind this opportunity knows what they are doing. Here is where step two comes in.

Second, you need to find someone who is already earning easy daily cash in his or her business who can then mentor you. The person or company that you start your business with needs to have a marketing system in place that is easily duplicated by everyone who joins the business or there will be no point in trying to make your business a success. They also need to know how to train you to make the kind of money that they are.

Third, one important thing that is always overlooked by a lot of people who are trying to make money online is that you need to set up lead capture pages. When you are not capturing other peoples information you are leaving a lot of prospects and money on the table. Most people have to see an opportunity 4-7 times before they will sign up for it. By capturing their information you will be able to get them looking at your opportunity for as long as it takes them to decide to join.

Fourth, one other thing that you need to remember is to treat your business as a business and not a hobby. By treating it as the business that it is you will be setting yourself up for success. By treating it as a hobby you will be just playing around with making a little bit of money but not the daily cash that you are wanting. So take your business seriously and treat it as such.

These are four easy steps that you need to follow if you are going to make easy daily cash online. It can be done if you learn how to do it the correct way. You can have your dream of earning daily cash and finally having the financial freedom that you have always dreamed of.

Summary: Is it possible to make easy daily cash online with your own home business? Yes it is definitely possible. There are a lot of people online who are doing this on a daily basis. You just have to learn how to do it correctly.

John Spohr, MSM is a 27-year veteran of the Computer industry specializing in Internet marketing. Amandi Blog57640
Amandi Blog57640

It's Your Credit. What Are You Going To Do To Protect It?

For anyone who has, has had and wants to avoid being had, this series of articles reflects years of continuing research. I'll discuss the worse that can ever happen to people thrown into credit situations - whether through their own doing or as victims and how they were able to come of them in one piece. These article are based on facts as I read and understood them.

A credit report is a history of your bill payments record. These can be bills such as home loans and mortgages, revolving credit and even cell phones. There are three credit-reporting agencies that are commonly referred to as credit repositories. Each uses a different type of symbol. When looking at your credit report, be aware of the very first page. This will most often contain the explanation of the symbols that are used by that company. There are various symbols that are utilized to identify payment histoy, types of accounts and whether or not the account is individual, joint or involves a cosigner.

Credit reporting agencies are NOT part of the U.S. Government. They are privately owned companies that get paid to sell information about you to your creditors. They get paid for good and bad information. You are NOT their customer. You do not purchase any goods or services from the Credit Reporting Agencies.

They do not care whether your credit is perfect or poor. They receive their money from the creditors in the form of charges and memberships. Why should a credit reporting agency care about you? You are only a consumer of goods or services.

In fact, Experian, which is one of the three large Credit Reporting Agencies is owned by a British conglomerate. Think about that. Why would a foreign company own a credit reporting agency in the United States? The answer is simply for the profit. Those are the facts.

Remember, most credit reports identify the consumer (you) by your name and your credit entries by the name, account number and the date that the account was opened. Being able to identify information that is not accurate can help you to raise your credit scores. One of the single most important parts of the following articles is your ability to identify on your credit report your legal right to know WHEN an account is first delinquent.

In a future article I'll devote an entire paragraph that further explains this portion of the law.

Chuck Lunsford is the owner and developer of http://www.EasyFLoridaHomeLoans.com. He offers advice on how to get your credit in order and working for you. Visit his website and learn more about how to obtain without resorting to paying an attorney.Adriana Blog46079
Allys Blog15947

Increase Profits With Secure Online Shopping Carts

In the few weeks prior to Christmas, 2006, 350 million people made 250 billion dollars in purchases online. This is a 24% increase from a decade ago, and double the figures for theChristmas season, 2005. Shopping online has become one of the most profitable ways to get a product to the consumer.

The introduction of SSL certificates, PayPal, and the support of Credit Card companies and banks have turned online shopping into the fastest growing market in the world.

At one time, the only option for shoppers included brick-and-mortar retail stores and catalogue ordering. This turned the Christmas season into an exercise in patience and stamina as shoppers waited in long lines, travelled from store to store looking for the right item, and sometimes ordering items months in advance.

Very few people enjoyed the luxury of comparing prices, shopping at liquidation centers, and buying products at wholesale. The Internet changed all that. Now, not only can people shop online, but many businesses can offer secondary sale items at 1/2 retail. Just purchase a lot from a liquidation center, and sell it from your site using Paypal.

The Internet made shopping at home a breeze. However, any work at home business needs to understand the dark side of online shopping if they want to succeed.

Phishing

Many people are afraid to make a purchase from a small website because many fake websites are phishing websites. These sites collect banking information from victims and then use it for fraudulent purchases even loan applications.

Credit Card Fraud and Identity theft are an ever increasing problem both on the net and in the real world.

That is why most online vendors use Paypal instead of their own shopping cart. Yes, it may look basic, but programmers can make the Paypal site mimic any web site. This streamlines the process. Many consumers will appreciate the attention to security.

1) Tell purchasers not to save their passwords or banking information on their PC. Most know this, but posting a warning makes the shopping cart appear secure. Image is everything.

2) Remind clients that Paypal has a buyer protection plan. This will increase sales. After three years on the net, Ive only been ripped off twice.

3) NEVER ask for additional information. Many purchasers will see this as a red flag that might indicate a phishing site. Many marketers love to collect information. It may seem simple to ask people where they came from, what brought them to the site, why thy made a purchase, or where they live but it will cost sales.

4) Show purchasers your security with statements like Only purchase online through secure order pages which are indicated by a small, yellow, Padlock image located near the bottom of the internet browsers window.

Posting an image of the padlock used by IE and Firefox will increase sales by showing that your site uses the padlock.

5) Tell clients that no information from the purchase is used for mailing lists by this business, or partner businesses. Include a disclaimer that this business never sells, shares, or trades contact information with third parties.

6) One of the first things shoppers do is look for a business address. If the address is not located in the USA, and they cannot find a business number in the national phone book, then they wont make a purchase.

It is sad that many phishing sites are run from Russia or Asia where there are not regulations, and no way to legally confront these companies. Until there is an international legal blanket, the only way to increase sales on a website is to reassure shoppers that you are concerned with their security.

Mark Walters is a third generation entrepreneur and author. He offers free training and investing videos designed to speed you towards financial independence at http://www.cashflowinstitute1.com/Articles.htmlAmeline Blog63413
Amelie Blog34351

How To Save Money Shopping Online

Learn how to save BIG online by searching for multiple coupons, getting free shipping, comparing prices and researching the brands.

Many consumers think that online shopping is more expensive because they wouldnt have to pay shipping at the brick-n-mortar store. They dont know what youre about to find out.

Did you know that there are thousands of websites that exist just to provide you with coupons for online stores? Did you know you can find sites that compare prices, and brand features, or that entire forums and networks are dedicated to allowing users to voice their own opinion about a product or service? Did you know many stores use their online portal and email newsletters as a quick way to unload overstocked products at below-cost prices? Did you know some stores allow you to combine free shipping deals with dollar off deals, with percent off deals, with buy-one-get-one deals? Did you know there are companies that allow you to join their affiliate program and save hundreds of dollars by selling yourself their product? I know of one that lets me buy a hosting package for $95 including taxes, and then deposits $100 back into my affiliate account a few months later. They are actually paying ME to buy their product. It says nothing against doing this in the agreement I signed, and as far as Im concerned it is a dont ask; dont tell situation.

Most of these sites did not exist five years ago, at least not with such economic success while providing such unprecedented value. We have the emergence of Affiliate Marketing to thank for this, as you will see below.

The Digital Coupon

I was shopping for a relatives Christmas present last year and my mother saw me get onto a coupon site. It was http://www.thecouponmatrix.com , which has little coupon-like dashes around the logos, and she asked "Are you going to print that coupon out?" It dawned on me then that perhaps not 'everyone' knew what an affiliate program was, or that thousands of merchants pay bloggers and website owners in every conceivable industry to distribute online coupons via special codes that the buyer types into a field during the checkout process: "Save 25% on everything today only! Enter Code: 12345 at Checkout." Others just apply the code automatically when you click on the link: "Get free shipping. Click Here." If you are going to buy the Blue Widget brand of widgets, for example, go to Google and type: 'blue widget coupons' or 'blue widget coupon codes'. You'll be surprised at how many there are!

Double Dipping

Most ecommerce systems these days are smart enough to allow stores to make coupons not applicable with any other offers. But the employee behind this million dollar ecommerce system doesnt always have his coffee in the morning and you can often find online stores that allow multiple coupons to the point of practically getting something for free: Free shipping + 25% off + $10 off + Get one free = A heck of a deal! Do a Google search for "you can use multiple coupons" and see if you can find any of your favorite stores.

Compare Prices

There are plenty of websites out there that will check databases from thousands of online stores and return the result that has the cheapest price for the product you asked for. You might already know some of them, such as: amazon.com, pricegrabber.com, bizrate.com, and Nextag.com.

Compare Brands

Less common than the price comparison site, but equally as useful, is the brand comparison. Before you try to find where to buy, you need to know what to buy. That's where sites like http://www.comparethebrands.com come in. They take two brands (i.e. Treo VS Blackberry Smart-phones) and compare features, price, consumer opinion from other review websites, and come up with an unbiased suggestion as to which brand is the best buy, thus saving you money both short-term and in the long run with a higher quality product.

Join Newsletters and Feeds

Get a free Hotmail or Gmail account, and use it only to subscribe to your favorite stores newsletters. Before long you will have a library of emails from which to select coupon codes, limited time offers and deep, deep discounts on overstocked items. I often see the price being offered in the email to the newsletter group can be as much as half of that listed on the website for everyone else to see. Feeds are slowly taking over instead of newsletters, and have the added benefit of being more anonymous. You can sign up for Compare The Brands 10 Most Recent ever-flowing feed of product reviews just by copying and pasting the URL into bloglines or Google feed reader. You can even get a widget and put it on your desktop.

Sell Yourself and Double the Winnings

Affiliate programs gave birth to this type of service and utility in the ecommerce industry by allowing regular Joe's to place a link on their own website, or in an email, and get a percent of the sale every time someone went from their link to the merchants' site and purchased something. What those new to the affiliate marketing industry do not know is that most merchants have no clause in the affiliate agreement about using the discounts to buy for yourself. Just join all the programs you can, keep a page somewhere online that you can put all of the links on, and next time you want to buy something just go through your own link. Not only will you save by using the coupon code, but you get a percent of the sale. How much cash back does Visa give - 0.02%? Hop on over to Commission Junction, Shareasale or Linkshare to get up to 25% back every time!

Remember: Compare the brands, join the newsletters, compare prices and double dip those coupons while selling yourself on a Great Deal! Youll be the best customer you've ever had. I promise.

Everett Sizemore is an online copywriter for websites like http://www.comparethebrands.com and has worked with affiliate programs, search engine optimization and online marketing for five years.Annmarie Blog46147
Aprilette Blog59249

Atlanta School District Receives High Marks and Scholarship Funds

Newsweek Ranks North Atlanta High School in Top 2%

Newsweek magazine ranks twenty-seven thousand high schools throughout the nation and North Atlanta High School, part of the Atlanta School District, ranks among top 2%. Newsweek magazine compiles the lists of Best High School and releases the list at the end of every school year. This year North Atlanta High School was ranked at 531 out of the 27,000 schools ranked. These rankings are based on the high schools use and offering of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Advanced placement classes are college preparation courses. The international baccalaureate uses an internationally recognized course curriculum.

North Atlanta High School offers and encourages students to take and pursue advanced placement classes or international baccalaureate courses. North Atlanta High School also operates International Studies and Performing Arts magnet school programs. The International Studies magnet program offers courses that focus own foreign languages, communications and social studies courses. The International Studies magnet program offers students opportunities to take part in youth foreign exchanges and internships in international companies. The Performing Arts magnet program stresses high academic achievement with performance art training.

Mays High School Teacher Receives Award

A Mays High School, a high school in the district of Atlanta Schools, teacher received the Close Up Foundations Linda Myers Chosen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education. Hajj Womack received a plaque and one thousand dollars. Mr. Womack, a social studies teacher, was awarded the Close Up Foundations Linda Myers Chosen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education while in Washington D.C. with students participating in the Close Up Washington program. Civics education is vital for students because teens often feel separated from politics in America.

Atlanta School Districts Douglass High School Receives Scholarship Funds from Magic Johnson

Former NBA player Magic Johnson visited Douglass High School on his nationwide AIDS awareness tour. He spoke to the students about safe sex, the value of education and their future. He gave the school twenty thousand dollars for college scholarships for graduating seniors. Twenty students were awarded $1000 scholarships as part of Douglass High Schools Visions of the Future Awards program. The awarded students were: Bianca Barnswell Talesha Noble, Lawrence Boddie Jihan Pankey, Mychael Bond Andrea Parks, Seron Fields Louis Perrino, Ramia Finley Shatila Platt, Aamir Fard Adrienne Richardson, Mavia Hanson Anthony Rogers, Yareli Hernandez Catrina Searcy, Kadayas Howard Delisa Stevens, Kenya Merritt Paul White. Magic Johnson gave the students advice that they should continue their education in college or start their own business. Johnson discussed his own work as a businessman after retiring from basketball. He also gave out Los Angeles Lakers jerseys to eight students in the audience. The jerseys bore Johnsons own number and current Lakers players.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Arlette Blog52457
Alla Blog78343

Is Being a WAHM For You?

Working from home can be a scary thing. Going through the motions to get to that point can be even scarier! A ton of questions go through your mind- Can we make it on one income if or until my business takes off? Can I focus enough to get a business off the ground? Am I qualified for what I want to pursue? What kind of business do I want to get into? What if I fail?- These are very scary things. Of course compounded by the fact that you have children to provide for and to complete the circle of these thoughts, the whole reason you are even going through this is so that you can be there for your children.

It is a doable process and is a rewarding venture once you know how to start and accomplish your goal.

First and foremost, I have to stress networking and support!! Those are two words that should not be far from a work at home moms mind. Not only in your professional life but your personal life as well, these two things are essential. You will find that once you are a work at home mom, your professional and personal lives get somewhat blurred together at times, even more reason to keep those two words close at all times.

Support- Having a support team is one of the first steps in my mind because #1, you will feel more at ease as you go through the rest of the steps and #2, you need to know that as you get further down this path, you will not be alone.- Is your spouse on board with you? Have you spoken about the financial cuts this may bring to your family? Is it understood that you will have to invest time in your new venture? That you may have to invest money? Have you discussed the possibility of being away from home on evenings and weekends if you are going into a business that requires you to give home parties? Have you spoke about the fact that though you may be home during the day, you are still working and need support with the household as you would if you were working outside the home?- Do you have friends or family who are willing to step in once in a while with childcare? Do you have someone to lean on when you are frustrated or feel like giving up? Are your friends and family behind you in your venture? Will they understand that what you are trying to do is hard work, deserves the respect of a work outside the home job and that you are in no way taking the easy road? Do they know your reasons for working from home? These may seem like negative, harsh thoughts but they are all things I have encountered over the years with women who wish to work from home or start their own business. Essentially, you are not doing this alone and you need to have a solid support foundation under you.

Networking- For me, networking is an extension of support. It can mean different things in different situations. You want to get a solid foundation of networking underneath you. In this case, women in your situation on all levels. Women who have made it successfully to a comfortable spot with their business, women who are just starting out and women who are still on their journey to success. It is amazing how much you can learn from another woman who is where you are or was where you are. Women seem to be afraid to network, I guess it is in our nature. Afraid of competition, afraid our ideas may get stolen or afraid you will not measure up. I was once there. I avoided networking and support groups like the plague. But you get to a point where you realize you NEED this foundation. It was like a breath of fresh air when I finally took the step toward building my networking base. I found that contrary to my beliefs at the time, women are awesome at motivating, supporting, inspiring other women and are great at getting the word out for each other. I have made many great friends and business connections by opening up my mind and giving my time to other women in business. It is a step that is essential to your success. So where do you start? Get online! Join a yahoo group, there are a ton of wahm and women in business groups. Go to Google and type in key words like wahm, women in business, wahm resources, wahm advertising, wahm blogs, you will find a whole world you had no idea existed! The wahm world is a huge network of blogs, resource websites, advertising websites, radio broadcasts, retail stores, ezines, newsletters and more! Get involved! Join your local chamber of commerce, find other women in your area who own shops or sell for direct sales companies, joinan expo or home show. There are endless ways to find other women to add to your networking group. The key here is that you find them and you listen to your instincts when adding them to your networking round table. Not all women get along, not all women are right for each others networking group, you need to be comfortable with the people you surround yourself with. This is not to say that anyone is a bad person, you just need to surround yourself with people you can get along with, open up to and be able to trust. Dont give away all your trade secrets but have a group (even just one or two people) you can go to to bounce ideas off of, get help when you are in a rut, people who will advertise for each other, do a favor to help out your business, things that will help all involved.

Research- I think that this is the step we as women have the hardest time with. We want to work at home, we want to do it now and we run with that. Taking the time to research is something I did not do enough of. I learned from trial and error. That method taught me a lot and I would probably not change how I learned but I like to put this step in to help save other women the frustrations I encountered. When you are deciding if you should be a wahm and what kind of work you should do, research!! Do you want to go into direct sales? Do you want to run an affiliate website? Do you want to start your own online business selling items you make? Do you want to open an online shop using a drop shipper? Do you want to do other work such as typing or data entry from home? Do you have a talent or degree in graphic or web design or marketing? Get online, go to Google or Ask.com and plug in some key words, read as much of what comes up as you can. I have gone as far as 32 pages into s search reading and taking all I could from other sites. I have checked the page ranks of other wahm sites, I have looked at who advertises with them, how many hits they have gotten, the whole nine yards. I have taken bits and pieces of knowledge from hours and hours of just looking at what other people have done and then translating it into what I have wanted to get across. I have not copied other women, just noted what they have done that has worked or not worked. I have read articles and e-books, blogs and group postings. I have taken in all that I can in the wahm world and there is still so much I have not gotten to yet! Talk with other women who are doing what you want to do. Find out their obstacles, their challenges, their accomplishments. If you find a company you want to work for, research them until you cant read any more! I am telling you, Google is my best friend some days! I use it all the time! Keep a binder of information that you want to refer to later, bookmark sites you have taken inspiration from or would like to learn more from. Do all you can to get as much information about the path you want to take. Then decide whether it is right for you or not.

Realism- I like to include this step because it is one we tend to side step. I never had any focus on the what-ifs because that was just not positive and I did not want to get myself down. Then reality hit. It is so important to keep a positive attitude, dont get me wrong, you can not be successful without it but it is also important to keep perspective about things. Chances are, you are not going to be a huge success off the bat. It does happen from time to time and that is awesome but dont get discouraged or beat yourself up if it does not happen. It is not realistic to go into the path of being a wahm with the idea that your business will take off, you will be rich and life is going to be a piece of cake from then on. It is a lot of work to work from home and run a successful business whether it is working for a direct sales company or starting a business from scratch. It takes determination, willingness to accept defeat from time to time and a whole lot of You Go, Girl!. Chances are, you will not succeed at your first attempts. Great, you have learned what not to do and what to do better and you go again. You may have chosen a direct sales company that is not right for you after all. Okay, move on to another. You may have started with one plan for your business and ended up with something totally different. Kudos to you! The most important thing is that you realize you are not a failure ever because you tried and that successful people get that way from falling, learning, adjusting and getting back up again to do it all over. This is the time when your support and networking are so essential!

Planning- Once you have decided the path you would like to take. Sit down to form a plan. What will you need for this venture? Do you need to invest money-where will it come from? Do you need to sit down with your family to talk about a new schedule? Do you have the space you need for a home office, inventory or workshop? Do you have a plan for recruiting your downline or finding customers- or at least a way to find someone who can help you with those things? Do you have a strategy for advertising and getting your name out there? Do you need marketing materials-business cards, flyers, a website? How will you get these things? Have you started looking into forming a solid networking foundation? Do you need to find a mentor in the business you are going into? Do you need to invest in supplies- how will you do this? Do you need to be bonded or have insurance? Do you need to have a business plan written up? Will you write and submit a press release-how do you do this? Do you have a plan B? These are some of the questions I have encountered either with the businesses I have run or with women I have helped in finding out where their path was leading them. There are of course a different set of questions for each person but these are some of the most common I have encountered. You need to sit down and write our your plan. Having an informal business plan, maybe just a list of goals and ideas is a great idea! If you have a question you dont know the answer to, get on the computer and find it! There are so many women out there willing to help.

I have almost 10 years under my belt as a wahm. I have learned through trial and error and the observation of other whams and women in business. I have had two moderately successful businesses that I no longer promote but still do business for existing customers. I have gone down many paths thinking they were the right ones and ended up on a totally different path. That is okay, it has been awesome! It has taught me so much and brought me to meet so many people that I have learned so much from. Let your path be a journey that not only is lucrative but joyful and fulfilling. I think as women we do what we think we have to to take care of our children and homes. We lose ourselves in there somehow. I know there is the very real notion of making money to feed the family. I was a single mom and HAD to work even though I wanted to be home with my brand new baby girl. When I finally had the chance to stay home, I made the most of it and dove into being a wife and mother. There is nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong with being a wahm and finding fulfillment in your business as well as your family. As I said earlier, the two get blurred sometimes and it is hard to pull them apart when you are working form home. There is no reason you have to give up one to have the other or that you can not find joy in both. Not all women are cut out to work at home just as not all women are cut out to work outside the home. We need not judge each other but follow the path that is best for us. If you do decide to be a wahm, know that there are so many women out there who are willing to help, support, mentor, inspire and take you under their wing. Networking is the key, I just can not say it enough!

Heather Piehl is a WAHM to 5 beautiful children. She has almost 10 years of experience being a WAHM including two original businesses, working in direct sales and as founder of Minnesota Women's Source (http://www.mnwomensexpo.com) and the Minnesota Women's Small Business Expo and Sale. This article may be used on related websites and newsletters as long as the resource box remains intact. Alyce Blog12872
Annadiane Blog40504

The High Cost of a Bad Check

Writing a bad check can really be a tough predicament. It can happen to anyone, even those who that make an effort of taking care of their money. Poor budgeting and impulsive thinking are the most common root of this financial problem. If you happen to blunder into this situation, acting quickly to resolve this problem is critical because this mistake can be costly.

While a single bad check may not be too much of a problem, a number of them can cause havoc on your budget. You have to pay a bank fee which can range from twenty to thirty dollars or more. You may also have to pay the same price to the person or store for the inconvenience you have caused.

If your bad checks pile up, your bank account will quickly go into negative numbers and your bank may ultimately decide that you are a huge risk and close your account completely. Opening a new account will not be possible unless you repay the balance of your previous account and your bouncing check will recorded on ChexSystems alerting other banks of your infractions

Your problems can also worsen if establishments resort to legal action to retrieve their money. You may receive a call from companies that specialize in recovering bad checks, reminding you to resolve the problems with their clients as soon as possible. Bad checks will not affect only your finical situation; your reputation can also be destroyed as well. Banks will be reluctant to do any business with you and it will also diminish of job opportunities that will be available to you.

Try to avoid writing bad checks as much as you can. The problems that plague you after writing one can plague you for a long time. If an accident does happen, try to work out the problem as quickly as you can. Your future and reputation are at stake so always keep an eye out to keep your financial situation healthy.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning credit. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting http://www.creditsavingssite.com/credit-cards/credit-cards-online/the-high-cost-of-a-bad-check.htmlAna Blog43324
Alessandra Blog27530

Sell Your Home Faster with Seller Financing

Seller financing opens your home up to an entirely new segment of prospective buyers, and the more buyers view your home, the quicker you will find that one qualified buyer. Specifically you will attract more buyers who don't want to or would have a problem getting a bank loan, or those who want a quicker closing or more flexible payment plans than banks offer. Such buyers include the self employed who may be great candidates but are not viewed as favorable by banks as are W-2 employees. Also those with credit blemishes, who may be going down the long road of credit repair. Real estate investors are another large group, since they may own many properties with mortgages, which makes it difficult to get another mortgage from a bank.

Banks typically take 30 days to close a loan, but with seller financing, YOU make the decision and this can be done much quicker, thereby removing a buyers contingencies faster and in effect leading to a much faster home sale. Regardless of whether you are selling FSBO (For Sale By Owner), or with a real estate agent, make sure you use "Seller Financing" in your marketing and advertising, be it in newspaper ads, flyers, or in the MLS description.

Other Ideas to Sell Your Home Faster

Number 1: PRICE IT RIGHT ! Not too high, not too low, check comparables and local agents to get the right number, if you are not getting any action after a week or two, you probably have it priced too high.

If you will be selling FSBO, use a flat rate MLS open listing. For under $500 you can get listed in MLS with no frills, check the newspaper or call agents to find one who offers this. It will give you much broader exposure and is advertising well spent. Also strongly consider offering a buyers agent commission of 2-4% depending on how quick you want to sell and how hot your local market is.

Put up lots of signs around the neighborhood, especially on weekends, hold regular open houses, prepare your house for sale, keep it neat & tidy and remove the clutter.

Sell Your Home for Full Price

1. Normally a seller will accept a lower price (below market) for an all cash no contingency fast closing.

2. It will sell for market price if the buyer needs 30-60days to close escrow and will need to qualify for a loan at a bank and do a home inspection.

3. You as a seller should charge even more (above market) if you will be giving seller financing terms, maybe 5-10% higher than Case 2, or more depending on the terms.

A Good Investment

Taking back a note can be a very good investment since you will be making interest on your money which is usually better than CD's, money market rates. In fact you can select the interest rate you want! This is especially appealing if you have no need for the money right now.

In fact it is such a good investment, that many investors buy seller carry-back notes. If you have no interest in holding a note, it is common for a home seller to carry-back a note and sell it at the same time as the home closing occurs. This is called a simultaneous closing.

We Buy Real Estate Notes and can facilitate simultaneous closings, call for more info on this. We can also help in setting the terms of the note so you get the best price.

Tax Benefits

When selling a home, under current tax law, if you lived in your home for 2 of the last 5 years, your capital gains will be exempt up to $250,000 (twice that if married). Otherwise, your capital gains will be taxed in the year that you collect the capital gains. If you will have significant taxable capital gains on your home sale, it may be very good for your tax situation to take back a seller carry-back note and spread your sale proceeds over several years, or postpone it for several years. Talk to your tax adviser.

Steps for Successful Seller Financing

1. Pull the prospective buyers credit report. You will need their permission, but always review a credit report on each borrower, it is a small expense.

2. Can they afford the home, job, income. If they cant afford it, or have a shaky job or income situation, a foreclosure will be much more likely.

3. Use a professional to draft the paperwork. Each state has many laws regarding real estate sales, contracts, and mortgages. Use an experienced attorney to draft the promissory note and mortgage or deed of trust.

4. Down payment - Sellers usually ask for 10-30% down payment to protect themselves in case the buyer stops making payments and the seller has to foreclose on the loan, and take the property back. The larger the down payment the more equity protection you as the seller have. The buyer will also consider how much money he has put down if he is in foreclosure and cant make the payments and wants to walk away from the house. Zero down is very little encouragement for a buyer, should he hit a rough patch.

5. 1st position or 2nd position - A first position note is much safer for the seller than a second position note.

6. Set the interest rate above current bank rates, to encourage the buyers to refinance down the road.

Also Read this Article: "Tips for Creating a Seller Carry-back Real Estate Note" at http://www.jmacfunding.com/articles.htm

Other Alternatives to Seller Financing

1. Land Contract / Contract to buy

2. Lease Option

This information can be useful to:

Home Sellers, Home Buyers, Note Buyers, Attorneys, Accountants, Financial Advisors, Real Estate Agents, Business Brokers.

Disclaimer:

I am not an attorney, nor a tax accountant, laws vary from state to state, and any advice implied by this paper should be checked with an attorney and/or tax adviser.

JMAC Funding
PO Box 91472, San Diego, CA 92169
jmac@jmacfunding.com
http://www.jmacfunding.com
(619) 846-1550

James MacArthurAntonella Blog72878
Ashly Blog48762

Tips for Creating an Information Product

Information products are one of the hottest selling items on the Internet. And for good reason. Where else can you get timely, relevant information that is exactly what you want...even at 2 am in the morning?

The problem with information in books at the bookstore is that many times it is not specific enough. I don't want to know everything there is to know about audio engineering, I just want to know how to record a talk, edit it and burn it to a CD to sell on my web site. Try finding that at your local Barnes and Noble! But it is relatively easy to find an ebook about that topic on the Internet. Even better, a video!

Another problem with buying information at the book store is that any information is at least one year old. That's how long it takes to edit a book, send it to a publisher, get it printed and finally placed on the shelves in your local book store. By contrast, an ebook or other information product will usually have the latest, cutting edge info on your topic because they are so easily updated.

Information products can include anything from ebooks, videos and special reports to complete home study courses that go "thud" when the mail man drops it on your customer's front porch. But information products can also include teleseminars, membership sites and paid newsletter subscriptions.

Tip 1: Ask your prospective customers what they want.

I know this sounds obvious, but what you think your customers want and what they really want can be two different things. You have a lot of knowledge about your topic...that's why you are creating an information product. But your customers do not have your level of knowledge and are probably asking different questions than you are.

So, while you are collecting their first name and email, add a custom field that asks their biggest question about your topic. After about 100 email subscribers, you will have a really good idea what it is they are looking for! And you can use that information to write your sales letter as well.

Tip 2: Think of the trade your customers are making.

When purchasing your information product, your customer is trading his dollars for your information. Therefore, make it an easy trade for him. I will trade $47 for information that makes me $4700 every day of the week! That is why "how to make money" ebooks sell so well.

I will also trade $47 for information that saves me 2 days learning how to do something. That is a no-brainer! I am less likely to trade $47 for cute stories, recipes or how to sew my own clothes. Get the picture? Make the trade very easy for your customer!

Tip 3: Try to include one or more of these angles in any information product. Will the information in your product:

- make people money?
- save people money?
- save people time?
- save people pain (physical, emotional or financial)?

If you can include one or more of these angles in an information product, you will have a real winner on your hands!

Tip 4: Break your long ebook into parts.

If you have a 150 page ebook, consider breaking it up into three 50 page ebooks. Everyone likes to get more value and it feels more satisfying to get three different ebooks rather than one fat one. It feels like you are getting more for your money.

Tip 5: Add enough bonuses to make the purchase a "no-brainer"!

After you create an information product, go out an find about 5 to 6 related products that you can offer as bonuses. If I am buying a $47 ebook and you offer me $500 in downloadable bonuses, it makes the buying decision very easy. I recommend downloadable bonuses because they are easy to deliver and don't cost you anything. This is also a good excuse to get their email for your owner's list - you need their email to deliver their bonuses.

Tip 6: Sell first to those who have already bought from you.

Online business owners are like cows many times. We always think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. We are always looking for NEW customers when our best customers are the ones that have already demonstrated their loyalty by buying our product!

We need to ask them what else they want. Another great way to monetize existing customers is a membership site. So much per month for access to special info, a monthly conference call or even a private newsletter. Can you say residual income?

So, start with a niche. Ask that niche what they want. And then start creating information products that satisfy the itch they are ALREADY telling you they have. It is a blast and you will achieve expert status in your niche in no time at all!

Stephen Beck is an expert on teaching non-techies how to start a home business on the Internet. He has an amazing CD called, "The 7 Simple Steps to Starting an Online Business!" For a FREE copy, visit: http://www.FamilyEbizTips.com/FreeCD.htmAlica Blog67319
Alessandra Blog27530

Make Big Money In Real Estate

Real Estate is one of the oldest forms of investing known to man.

Real Estate investing is easy and fortunes are made in a simple manner. For example, and investor decides that a desert area will eventually become an industrial development. He purchases a number of acres at a very low price. If his guess turns out to be correct, ten years later he sells the land hundred times more than what he paid for it.This can happen in any part of the country and is not an exceptional case.

As the population keeps growing in the U.S., land prices continue to raise and it means that Real Estate will continue to offer one of the best investment opportunities in the country.

Compared to most forms of investment, Real Estate offers greater profit potential. Of course, not every piece of land will turn out to be a winner, and despite the great potential rewards in some cases risks are involved, so the necessity of careful study before invest.

One of the problem of Real Estate is his lack of liquidity.

Liquid assists are those easily converted into cash like stocks or bons. Most Real Estate investments take years before you can make some money, so it is not wise to tie up all your assets in this type of investment. Your financial situation will determine how much you can wisely invest in properties.

There is a difference between a land speculator and an investor.

A speculator buys land with the intention to make a quick sale and fast profits and will not hold land for a long period of time. An investor, on the other hand, looks for a long time gain, and usually buys only what he can afford to keep for an indefinite period of time.

If you are new at this field, it is wise to refrain from any a speculation until you become more informed, and you will have to devote considerable time to study and research. It is wise also to consult specialists before you act.

Without realizing it, you already made a very successful investment in Real Estate if you bought your own home.

Before you look for areas to invest, consider the condition of your own house. If you have any plan for selling it, good landscaping has been known to considerably increase the value of a home.

Large profits can be attained by purchasing run-down homes and restoring them for eventual selling, but some factors have to be considered:

* You must know something about architecture and remodeling and get and idea of how much it will cost to get the house back into shape. Consider what you will be able to do yourself and what it will cost you if you have to have it done.

* The location of the house is the most important factor to consider. Study the neighborhood, shopping, and transportation facilities.

It can also be profitable to lease land for commercial use. Land which borders highway is extremely valuable for purpose such as warehouse, gas station, etc.

Land development companies frequently run advertisements offering country retreats. Be wary of these offers as they themselves make a large profit at the time they sell you the land, so it is much more profitable for you to buy your own.

When you buy property, buy at a price that involves a minimum financial risk. Invest only a modest amount of your own capital, when you sell, determine if a cash or installment sale is the best, based on your over-all income tax status. Learn by looking back on the mistakes made in the past and by reviewing the opportunities you have missed.

Prepare a list of all properties available in your area and think up the best future use of the properties. Learn to purchase land before there is a demand. To buy land well in advance is the only economical way at today's prices. Then hold the property until you can resale for large profits. Don't sell all your desirable properties and keep just lemons.

If you are willing to leave the cities, you should not have any trouble finding inexpensive land for sale. If you discover a tract of land appealing to you but not listed for sale, contact the Country Register's Office and he will tell you who is the owner. Get in touch with him and he could be willing to sell.

As a rule purchasing tracts of land within thirty miles from a growing city is often a sound investment. Deal only with qualified realtors. Be careful of individuals who offer quick profits.

Before taking any action, study what has been written about the subject. Know why you should and should not buy. Stay conventional and don't buy white elephants. Look for hidden defects and make the property attractive before offering it for resale. Study local conditions and be sure it is practical.

Constantly look for bargains and quality properties with exceptional features that will make the sale easier. Follow up on For Sale signs, make inquiries.

When discouraging elements occur, minimize your losses by whatever means available. Don't throw away money on repairs for poorly located property or in an area of surplus rental units.

Before you attempt to sell, find out how the prospect can use the property profitably. Ask yourself if you would purchase it if you were in the prospect's shoes. Ask yourself if the future use will fit any of the many types of specific businesses. Can a hospital, a bank, an apartment complex, condominium or professional building be located on the property.

Learn to analyze the pros and cons of a real estate problem.

Break it down into its various elements. Know if the answers you come up with are satisfactory and practical. Try different approaches to the problem.

You are necessary looking for the "top" or "bottom" of the market, or the current economic situation. You are looking for a variety of properties which have a higher value dependent on the use that can be established for them.

There are always opportunities in Real Estate during good times and bad, but it is up to you to pick and choose only those very best deals, especially during times when it appears that Real Estate values and demand have reached their peak or in times when it is practically impossible for most anyone to get bank loans due to the tight money market or impossible interest rates.

You can make big money in realestate.

Gregory WadelAmeline Blog63413
Aurelia Blog78332

No Credit Check, No Paper Work, Get Instant Personal Loans Now

Financial urgency can pop up any time in your routine life. At the same time you cannot take out money from your savings to meet these urgencies. The only option feasible in this situation is taking a loan. But a loan approval process requires a considerable amount of time. However to fulfill your need of urgent cash for which you cannot wait, personal loans have the key. They can provide you instant cash and help you overcome your emergencies.

The financial market is crowded with wide-ranging variety of loans to suit your diverse needs. But the reason why you should go for personal loan is that they are available instantly and hence they are the most apt choice to solve the dilemma of urgent cash need. Another vital reason why instant personal loans are most preferred is that you do not need to tell the purpose of your loan. Personal loan lenders do not ask you for what use are you availing this loan.

Instant personal loans are readily accessible because they can be availed simply by applying online. The internet has made personal loans reach you within a very short time. There are so many lenders available on the internet that will approve your loan application in minutes and send you the loan money.

The application process for instant personal loans is very simple. You just need to submit some documents such as you identity proof, present employment details, contact details etc. and fill an online application form which will ask you for certain details about your credit history and financial position. After you submit the loan application, it will take just 30 minutes to 1 hour to approve the loan and within 24 hours the loan amount will be transferred to your bank account. To avail this loan, the most important thing you should remember that you must have a valid checking account in which your money will be deposited and after the term ends, the lender will automatically withdraw his money from that account.

You can avail instant personal loans with an amount ranging from 400 to 1000. Personal loans are short term loans so the repayment period of these loans usually last for one week to two weeks. However it can be extended with a prior notice to the lender and some extra fees.

Instant personal loans are available to all types of borrowers. So if you feel reluctant to ask for a loan if you have a bad credit, you need to relax. You can get personal loans easily despite having a bad credit. Most often personal loans lenders do not check for credit history while offering loan. So bad credit score does not hamper your opportunity to benefit instant personal loans.

With the introduction of so many loan products, personal loans still hold the ground. Its easy instant availability on the net has made it the most apt choice to fulfill your countless desires.

Peter Taylor is a senior financial analyst at PersonalLoans with an acumen for finance and insurance. In recent years he has taken up to provide independant financial advice through his informative articles. His articles are widely read because of the lucid manner of wriiting and thoroughly researched datas. To find secured loan, bad credit secured personal loan, instant personal loans, bad credit homeowner loan, bad credit loan, cheap secured loan that best suits your need visit http://www.personalloans.gb.netAidan Blog85290
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Starting a Business - What do I do first?

Being in the logo design & branding field, we run into a lot of people who are starting up a small company and need to get their promotional items created (business cards, brochures, web site, etc.) A lot of the time it can be confusing knowing exactly what you need to do to start up a business right.

Here are a few tips to make sure you get everything set up right. This is by no means a complete list, or a sequential list, but just a set of recommendations based on some common problems we run into with clients and some lessons we've learned well from our own experiences:

1) Get Ready to Spend Money

It's true that you have to spend money to make money. It may be tempting to go the cheap route, but if you want your business to succeed, I've found that doing it right the first time is worth the money your spend up front. If you try to cut corners, you may not be real happy with the results. Get a loan and pay off these expenses later when you have money coming in. At least you can know that you are putting your best foot forward and you're not sabotaging your business's success over the relatively minimal amount of money you need to spend up front to develop a good image for your company.

2) Pick a good company name

It sounds simple, but it can be one of the hardest tasks you face. You want a name that reflects the services or products you offer, but you also want to be catchy. That's tough. A good trademark attorney will help you with this process, and this leads to a very valuable point: Trademark your company name! This is a painful (and sometimes costly) process, but a good idea because it keeps another company for taking you to court over your name and it keeps other companies from stealing glory from you by resembling your business. If you own a small bait & tackle shop on the edge of a lake in the middle of no where, trademarking your business may not be so important, but we're not all so.... err.... lucky.

There are two primary ways to trademark your business:

Text onlyStylized graphic logoThese are both necessary to protect your name and your logo. Your text trademark will be evaluated to make sure it doesn't resemble or sound like any other registered trademarks. Especially other companies that are similer to yours in what services or products they offer. The stylized trademark takes into account your font, colors and any other graphical elements in your logo. You can't change these things after you apply without resubmitting another application, so make sure you get it right the first time! It'll cost you around $325 to trademark each method. A trademark attorney will help you search for a clear name and logo and file the paperwork for you, although he'll charge you waaaay more than $325 each. You can search for trademarks online at the US Patent and Trademark website here. Then you can submit your application here. NOTE: It can take up to a YEAR to find out if your trademark was approved and you have to pay your filing fee regardless if you get the trademark or not.

At this point you will probably need to get a federal tax ID for your business, or EIN. You also need to file with your local secretary of state to register your business name. You may also be required to get a business license/permit. Here is a good website for people in NC. You'll need to figure out if you want to do business as a sole proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, etc. too. Your accountant can help you with that and you can file online or get an attorney to help you. Then you can get a bank account as a DBA or "Doing Business As" if you are a sole proprietor or get a bank account in the name of your corporation if you incorporate. Usually you need to do business for about 2 years before a bank will let you open a company bank account. DBAs are immediately available to you though. Also note that if you incorporate later, you'll need to get another tax ID and your bank account will have to be closed and reopened with the new ID. Fun!

3) Get your Logo and Branding Done

This step goes hand-in-hand with the second step. Find a graphic design company that does logos, corporate identity and branding and get a logo created that you really like and you feel represents your business well. They should work with your attorney to make sure your logo doesn't conflict with another logo that is already trademarked. This is the building point for all your marketing materials. To have a consistent corporate identity, you want to get your logo on everything you put out there: business cards, letterhead, website, etc. Why is corporate identity important? Why can't you just put out generic marketing materials? Well, you can, but studies show that people need to see (or hear about) your company up to seven times before company recognition occurs. Having consistent branding helps to build credibility and help people remember you. Think "The golden arches" or the Nike "Swoosh."

4) Market your Business

Whether you find a marketing agency or do this yourself, you need to figure out how you are going to promote your new business. Believe it or not, just getting some business cards and a website most likely won't bring a mass exodus of customers to knock down your door. You have to get the word out. There are many ways to do this, such as press releases, phonebook ads, online ads, TV and radio, ads, etc. A marketing company can help you determine where your money is best spent to get the most return on your investment. Your marketing agency will work with your designer to develop good marketing materials like postcards, flyers, brochures, etc. They can also help you figure out where postcards need to be sent and where you can send email promotions to get the best response. Note: Marketing companies, despite what they tell you, are not always the best equipped to design your marketing materials. Some marketing companies have good internal design teams or contract out with good design agencies, but often you can run into pretty unimpressive stuff if you don't get a designer involved.

There are also many other things you can do to get the word out like joining your local Chamber of Commerce, attend trade shows, etc. Networking in this way can prove to be very valuable and it's pretty inexpensive.

5) Run Your Business Well

Well, duh! If you don't do a good job of running your business, all of the above will be for naught. Sure, you'll make a few mistakes along the way, but don't let that keep you from forging ahead. Make sure you get a good attourney to take care of any legal concerns, get some insurance for your company - and you may want to look into disability and health insurance while you're at it. Your accountant can help advise you on setting up a retirement account too. Better safe than sorry!

One of the keys to running any business successfully is to provide friendly and prompt customer service. So establishing a way to handle that up front is important. Impersonal phone systems, busy signals and answering machine messages are usually going to send a cold message to your customers. People are starved for good customer service these days and most people don't mind spending a little extra money to know that they are being taken care of well.

Daniel Trimpey
President of Technigrafa, LLC
Print design, web design and web hosting in Raleigh, NC
919.374.3014
toll-free: 1.877.GRAFA.NC
http://www.technigrafa.com

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Making Profits in Real Estate

We have all seen people making fortunes by investing in the stock markets and at the same time millionaires turning into paupers. This rarely does happen with real estate investing. There are living examples among us that some of us may or may not be aware of. A good example is the properties we inherit. The values of these have been growing all these years with appreciation annually. The investment was made years ago. Over the years the increase in the property value is the returns that we are benefiting from these days.

Real Estate

A Real Estate is a piece of land with all its natural resources and more often than not contains a building of some sort. You can take any type of building that is either a constructed or a manufactured property, however an immovable property is always permanently affixed to the land.

Why The Rush To Invest In Real Estate?

* Falling stock market has generated fear psychosis among the investment community reminding them of the Great Depression.

* Failing pension system with growing inflation has added to the woes of the retirees and employees.

* Lower interest rates have compelled the money to be diverted somewhere else for higher returns.

* Moreover banks are willing to extend loans for the purchase of land and buildings at lower interest rates.

How Lucrative Is The Real Estate Business?

Real estate has wide options for making money; one being to buy and either hold it or rent it. Likewise other benefits are:

* With the rents from the tenants continuous cash flow is guaranteed.

* Mortgage loans from banks help in buying with or without personal investment.

* In case of mortgage loans, the cash flow by way of rents will continually reduce the principal borrowed.

* Improvement of the locality will in turn increase the value of the property overtime.

Statistics reveal that housing is a low risk investment. Gauging by the market trend the average market value of the homes has risen by 50% in the past 10 years. The wealth earned from the real estate investment has surpassed that of the stock market returns indicating the faith of the investors in real estate. This is a sign of an upward trend in the days to come.

Havent we all heard of our neighbors making big bucks in real estate very often? Every now and then we see some one selling off a home or a real estate property in a week or two of buying it for a big profit. Every one of you, like I, must have thought real estate is where quick money is. But is the market quite so? Can anyone make quick money by investing in real estate? Unfortunately, it is not quite so, although we rarely, if ever, hear people loosing money in real estate investment.

Making quick money is something that takes a lot of preparation and planning before investment, when you are invested and when selling or closing the deal. Further more, the investment amount is not small too, which no one can ignore. A slight mistake in prediction or a change in the legislation concerning real estate property or tourism or industry sector has the potential to turn over the whole real estate economy on its head resulting in wiping out of your capital too.

Any real estate broker would vouch for this fact. Take a scenario, for example. These brokers, in addition to brokering deals, also enter into contracts with sellers for selling off their property by making a down payment, which obligates them to sell at higher than the contracted price. Federal housing loan rates have revised now and there prevails a real estate slump, which is unforeseen. Wealthy brokers can wait till turn around of the market and still make a profit but they are still tied down by the blocked money. The case will be worse for smaller players with this condition.

Similarly, speculative investors are either forced to sell at loss or wait for unknown periods of times. The burden of interest you have to pay if you invested borrowed money might eat into your capital too, if the slump prolongs.

Unlike in stock and shares investment arena, you dont have enough instruments in real estate to spread your risks and investment. All is fine when market booms but tough gets the going when things go awry. Lesson: longer you are invested better will be the return; no room for quick money, in general.

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Giant List Building Using The Ebay

The money's in the list is a phrase routinely quoted by internet marketers, but for good reason. if there isn't a way of of collecting email addresses through an opt-in build on your site, then you are leaving a lot of money on the table.

When people visit your internet pages and leave without buying anything, you may never get the chance to sell to them again if they don't come back to your site. Alternatively, if everybody opt in to receive more information fromemailing once in a while, then you can send follow-up messages, and dramatically increase your chances of making a sale in the future.

There are plenty of building a list, but in this article I want to main topic on a strategy generally ignored by the majority of marketers, and that's through Ebay. When you see listings for $0.01, there's a good chance the seller is using backend sales tactics or trying to encourage you to join their newsletter, on the other hand they would be losing money for every sale, due to Ebay's fees being higher than the sales price.

The best way of gathering a lot of sales, and therefore potential subscribers is to obtain some ebooks which offer resale rights, and listing them on Ebay. There are many websites where you can pick them up, routinely for free. If not, there are membership sites, where for a one time fee you can aquire hundreds of ebooks all with resellers rights, or you could of course buy one of these ebooks offering resellers rights on Ebay, oftentimes at a very low price, then resell it yourself.

Unfortunately,not much money is made just from selling many of these ebooks on Ebay alone, because the sellers have forced the prices down to very low levels. Rather, you can help very nicely financially from persuading the purchaser of your ebook to subscribe to your newsletter or ezine.

It's estimated that every subscriber in your list is worth $1 per month, so if you had 1000 subscribers, you could expect, on average, to earn $1000 per month. This figure assuredly varies a lot depending on your sales copy, and the quality and credibility of your mailings, but it's so it's easy to see why owning a list is potentially very profitable.

The idea is to offer on your main site varied quality free bonuses to each new subscriber that opts in to accept your newsletter. Then when a buyer buys an ebook from you, and you send them the email with the download link included, you can always upsell your newsletter by mentioning the further free bonuses they could receive as well as the ebook they've just purchased, and including the link to your main site where the opt in create is found.

I've had great success doing this because the majority of everybody, myself included, love freebies, and the purchaser will be more than happy to receive extra no-cost ebooks, as well as their original purchase, just for filling out a simple setup.

The only thing to bear in mind is that the sale price of your ebook should cover any Ebay fees, although you can always from offering it for $0.01 just to hopefully guarantee a sale. You will lose money on every sale, but it all depends on how much each subscriber is worth to you. If you have a top-quality newsletter or ezine with hardly any unsubscribe requests, then it may be worth doing because you are likely to fashion any minimal losses back generally over in the future.

Don Guindon is a internet marketer and entrepreneur online and owns this site for more information here - http://www.clickaudit.com/goto/?34312 - http://www.clickaudit.com/goto/?28325.Amara Blog90739
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Why Go Offshore?

Introduction - Today we read about a large number of people from a variety of different countries going offshore. By going offshore we mean opening offshore bank accounts, forming offshore companies and offshore foundations in tax haven countries. Some are even opening offshore stock trading accounts. This sort of activity and gets a lot of people wondering why all this sudden excitement over offshore banking and offshore corporations. Well try to provide some answer.

Taxes Most people think the rush to go offshore is to avoid taxation which would in their minds explain why most are going to tax haven countries to form their offshore corporations and open their offshore bank accounts. A tax haven country is a country where offshore derived income is not taxed. The jurisdiction will usually look towards taxation on imported goods to derive their tax base. Generally a tax haven jurisdiction such as Panama will also not have any capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and corporate taxes are generally fixed in the form of a few hundred dollars that is paid each year as the filing fee for the corporation. Some countries allow people to earn money when offshore or out of their country tax free and other countries allow for partial exemptions and others offer no break of any sort. We do feel that people are going offshore for reasons other than tax avoidance or minimization. We often see large corporations are shifting their activities outside of their home country for reasons other than taxation although taxation is probably in there as a determining factor as well. Their operating expenses are so high there are precious few net profit dollars left to be taxed. These companies are trying to stay competitive in their market and are choking on the expenses associated with employee wages, employee benefits, employee medical plan premiums, litigation insurance premiums, discrimination lawsuits, unjust termination lawsuits, retirement benefits, disability insurance premiums, unemployment insurance premiums, and standards for health and safety imposed by their respective governments in the workplace which then brings us to high costs associated with office space. Few if any of these expenses follows the large corporation when they move offshore. Taxes tend to come into play but that is only one small piece of the equation. Today we see a large amount of phone rooms coming to Panama. These are usually not new jobs being created, they are jobs moving to Panama from other countries. These jobs are generally customer service jobs, support jobs and soft sales jobs where the salesperson offers more explanation than sales pressure. The companies tend to save in many ways enabling them to be competitive and offer a competitive level of service to their customers. Of course the effect of companies moving from the large North American and Western European countries is damaging to say the least to those economies they are departing from.

Privacy Concerns Let us look at some of the reasons why people move their assets to a offshore tax haven that is also a privacy haven like Panama.

1) Tax Haven Status These people already under the burden of taxation from many of their home countries do not want additional tax burdens. Contrary to popular belief most of the money moving offshore has already been taxed by the various home countries and if there are additional taxes it would be too burdensome. They want to be free of additional taxes.

2) Privacy People like to be as private as possible in their financial affairs. How many of you would stroll through any major city of the world today openly displaying a solid gold Rolex full of diamonds along with a nice large diamond ring? Not too many! Why? Because you do not want to run the risk of becoming a victim of robbery or assault. So what do you think is different about having expensive real estate in your own name, boats, planes, bank accounts etc. Nothing is different. People with large amounts of assets are a target and they have every right to keep there financial affairs as private as possible and in many countries it is essential to their health.

3) Kidnapping In many countries kidnapping victims are selected based on real estate holdings. The advantages to putting real estate in the name of an anonymous Panama bearer share corporation are obvious. When people look up the real estate they can not tell who the natural persons are behind the corporation that owns the real estate. In Panama the owners of the stock of a bearer share corporation do not appear in any public registry or database. When it comes time to sell the real estate the corporation that owns the real estate is sold, not the real estate. This prevents would be kidnappers from following real estate sales reports to look for potential victims thus protecting the subsequent owner. The same applies to the ownership of a yacht or an airplane. Another popular method of determining who is a good kidnapping victim is to have a bank employee on the payroll who scours through the files at the bank finding wealthy people for you. If you live in one country and bank say in Panama this doesnt work very well since the kidnappers would need to cultivate bank employees in Panama who could isolate victims for them in their own country. This narrows the field quite a bit especially when you take into account that in Panama a bank employee is risking a felony to violate bank secrecy which is far from the case in many other countries that routinely complain about bank secrecy and offshore jurisdictions.

4) Identity Theft Of course the prime identity theft target is one who has wealth and thus is capable of carrying large amounts of credit. With generally non existent bank privacy let alone secrecy in many countries scoundrels are free to roam through credit reports with bank details, credit card details etc and plan a devastating identity theft attack. These crooks even order private detective reports on their victims to really learn as much as they can about them. Of course the public records databases are all too accommodating providing details like drivers license records, who owns the loan on their house, cars, boats etc, what credit cards they have and so forth. Credit bureau secrecy is non-existent as evidenced by the vast amount of identity theft and credit card fraud. Offshore banks in Panama and other offshore privacy jurisdictions due to bank secrecy do not report to any credit bureaus. If you do not need credit why have regular credit cards. Use offshore bank debit cards that just sweep the money directly out of your bank account and thus you stay private with how much you spend and how much credit you have not appearing in any credit reports. The history of your purchases would also be immensely harder for say a private detective to get from an offshore bank, they seem to have no trouble getting this date from regular banks in many countries.

5) Frivolous Litigation In many countries lawyer can operate on contingency and like to sue those who have deep pockets. The best way to see how deep a persons pockets are is to run an asset check on them. If their assets are all private like they bank in bank secrecy jurisdictions like Panama, have real estate owned by anonymous Panama Foundations or anonymous Panama Corporations then the asset check will come back low on assets, probably too low to invest a lot of time and money in frivolous litigation. This also keeps the persons assets free of pre-trial attachment which is a favorite trick of unethical attorneys that is allowed in most of these non-privacy jurisdictions.

6) Privacy Some people just want to keep their affairs private and they should be able to do just that.

For more information on asset protection go to http://www.panamalaw.org

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