The 3 Best eZine Formats

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Business · Comment 
by Kim and Charles Petty

eZine publishers today use any one or more of the 3 most commonly used eZine formats which I am about to describe to you in this article.

Ultimately, you can decide which format is the best choice for you, though each winning format has its pros and cons.

The text eZine is the most commonly published. The advantage of this format is that other than writing, you do not require any special skill to use a Word or Notepad program.

While the HTML eZine format requires a certain degree of HTML skills on your part, you can add more sophisticated features to your eZine issues, making them more appealing to your subscriber thus increases your readership value, something that text eZines do not have.

You can decorate your eZine format, change your fonts, include pictures, and more. However, the drawback often faced by HTML eZines is that they often get trapped into spam filters before they reach their subscribers’ inboxes.

The third and least used among the 3 formats is the PDF eZine. Publishing your eZine in PDF format can consume a lot of time and effort on your part but often make up in quality readership

Due to the commitment, PDF eZines are usually published on a monthly basis. The great part, though, is that you can put in your affiliate links in your PDF eZine issue and allow your subscribers to pass the eZine issue around.

Given the choices, however, you do not have to necessarily choose strictly one eZine format, as some eZine publishers today do publish in more than one format.

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Review of Forex Killer, Money a plenty or problem creator

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Finance · Comment 
by SavvyBusiness

Shhhss.. Don’t say it aloud, the unthinkable is on the brinks! Recession is on the lips of those on the know and our leaders, the ones who should are at a loss! Be that as it may, why is it that I am not taking about my review of Forex Killer instead?

I realized I should have started the article with the real subject, a commission to write a review of Forex Killer, and I promise I will and to show that I am serious, and for those of you who don’t know what Forex stands for by the way, here goes: Foreign exchange!

I had promised myself, though, not to turn this article into a rant, but since the subject of my review is related to the economy, I really, really have to mention the price of gas!

Are you aware of the costs Messrs. Bush and all? I remember a long time ago, say two years at most when a full tank of gas used to cost me around 30 bucks and guess what? Today I had to fork out all of $50!

Naturally, what affects one major industry eventually affects another and soon it’s the economy as a whole that takes a beating. It all kind of started with the declining housing market value, spreading to the price of oil and from there on, everything else really is fair game.

For these, and a number of other reasons, more and more Americans are starting their own business by entering the home economy, the one last beacon of hope in these uncertain times, even though there are worries popping here and there and bless you for doing just that!

As a home business owner (20 years now!), I am often asked to write about the latest trend, and so this is my review of the Forex Killer software.

Of course one way to find out if a product is legitimate is to read the small prints and see about their refund policy. And in my opinion, anyone considering purchasing a product or service that doesn’t offer a refund (or is unclear about it), should run, and run fast! That’s what I anyway!

And now for the really good news!. In terms of refund policies, Forex Killer is certainly a winner. Indeed, the company offers a generous period of 58 days during which you are free to try the product to your satisfaction. In the event that you are not entirely satisfied, they will refund your money. How about that for a risk free purchase!

This refund policy is further substantiated by the fact that it is backed up by Clickbank very own guarantee, and that’s usually good enough for me for if you didn’t know it already, Clickbank is known as the giant of online e-products.

Marketed by a large network of online resellers and affiliates, Forex Killer is proving to be a product that is extremely well received by their customers. Indeed, the very notion that the product has been selling successfully for a number of months now is an indication that resellers do not have hordes of angry customers banging at their doors, which is in itself an indication that they are happy to continue to use the product and continue to make money!

For the purpose of the review of Forex Killer, and given the layers of protections afforded by both the company and Clickbank, it is obvious that it is a product which seems ideally suited to those who want to try their luck in opening their own business and want to feel they can get their money back should they want it.

My recommendation is that you do give Forex Killer a go. You’ll then have 50 days to start making money or realize that there is indeed a real possibility that you will be able to make money with it.

On the other hand, if you are like most of the users who have run their own personal review of Forex Killer, have tried it and decided to keep it because they are actually making money out of it, then good luck to you.

Irrespective of what happens though, may good fortune be with you and your family always.

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Options for Credit Card Debt Relief

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Finance · Comment 
by M. Anthony

Debt can be a terrible burden as it often creeps up on an individual who hasn’t recognized they have a problem; clearing debts takes time and you will have to start somewhere. Debt relief is not something you can delay as your debts will always increase when nothing is done to eliminate them. The best way to beat the debt stress is to learn how to manage your finances more thoroughly.

The most important thing to remember is not to panic and stay focused as this way your decisions will be clearer and more positive. Whilst many loans can end up giving you huge debts you need to plan to pay them off judiciously.

At this stage you have to be quite brutal and list all monthly expenditure; from this you will be able to eliminate expenses that are not required and might be considered as luxuries. Cut your credit card usage, then start paying for goods in cash again and the psychological act of seeing the money physically leave your hands will make you more careful how you spend it.

When your list is complete you will see clearly where you will have excess cash which can be placed in a debt relief fund that will pay off debts one by one and as money is paid off, more will be available for your fund. By reducing the amount of entertainment you have on a regular basis will allow even more money to go into your fund and your debts will disappear faster.

While home refinancing is a way to pay off your debts many people try to reduce their outgoings instead, this just gives the person a bigger mortgage but this just increases the amount you will pay in the future. You must consider your reasons for wanting to refinance and whether it is just to have extra cash available because other options are available.

In the short term some use the cash withdrawal facility on their credit cards to pay for their monthly credit card debts and although this can assist the debt relief situation, it can only be done short term. If your debt is so high that you have to file for bankruptcy because a re-mortgage option hasn’t worked then you should consult a bankruptcy attorney for the best advice.

Some people are able to bypass bankruptcy with the money in their individual retirement accounts (IRA) but such an act can seriously affect your financial future. As debt relief methods go, this one poses the greatest risk long term so be aware of the pitfalls before you proceed.

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Building Your List with Articles

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Business · Comment 
by Kim and Charles Petty

You can build your list simply by writing articles, whether you have thought of it or not.

Quite simply, you write and submit your articles on your topic of expertise or business nature to popular article directories where eZine publishers and readers are looking for the information you provide.

Leveraging your viral marketing efforts on article writing can be rewarding, if done right. In the real sense, you are actually proving your worth and demonstrating your expertise about your business through the articles you write.

So, how can this method in effect build your mailing list? The answer: the resource box you attach to your articles. In your resource box (also known as bio box), you include a brief detail about yourself and your business site together with its URL.

It is strongly suggested that your resource box URL links to your mailing list’s landing page where you can get your visitor’s name and email address, which will in turn help you build your mailing list at no cost.

If your articles are found worth sharing, eZine publishers will republish your articles together with your resource box for their readers and subscribers. The wonderful result: viral marketing without effort on your part!

You can start by writing and submitting your articles to trusted article submitter sites such as http://www.articlemarketer.com/ and begin your article marketing journey today.

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How well are People Sleeping at your Bed & Breakfast?

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Home Based Business · Comment 
by Patti Rob

Many owners of bed & breakfast businesses work hard to get all the key elements in place. They offer a great looking place both inside and out. They have great interaction with their guests and serve delicious meals. Yet they fail to focus on one important issue - helping the guests to get their rest. It can be difficult to sleep in a new location and you want to do your part to make them comfortable.

People go to a bed & breakfast location for many different reasons. Yet at the end of the day it comes down to one thing - having a great place to lie down and sleep for the night. They don’t want to be tossing and turning due to your beds being uncomfortable. They don’t want to be crowded in a little bed or wishing they had one more pillow to stack under their head.

Most bed & breakfast locations don’t have individual thermostats in each room. Since the temperature that each person is comfortable at varies this can prove to be a big piece of making sure everyone gets a good nice of sleep. With this in mind you need to make sure you have plenty of blankets available. A thin one for those that don’t need much as well as a thick comforter for those that do should cover it.

Those that will be too warm are going to be frustrated all night long. You can easily take care of this situation by placing fans in the rooms. This is a very simple way for those that need to do so to cool down. They can turn it on to the speed they want and adjust it as necessary. Try to get those that put out a great deal of cool air but not very much noise. The sounds can keep some people awake and then they will have to either be hot or be annoyed as they try to fall asleep.

Sometimes you will have a group of guests at your bed & breakfast that will all know each other. Most of the time though you will have a variety of people that are strangers. Even though they may be friendly and get to know each other a bit, they are still strangers. Each of the rooms you have should have a secure door with locks they can initiate from the inside. A deadbolt is a must to offer them privacy and security.

What about the windows? They should have locks on them too. This way the guests can open them when they want some fresh air and then close them before the go to sleep. You can also offer bars on them to prevent someone from getting in. This is more of a problem on a ground floor than anywhere else. They may be used on higher levels too though to prevent people from falling out.

A fire can happen at any time of the day or night. Chances are you have been mandated to have a certain number of fire alarms and even carbon monoxide detectors in place. You also need to offer a fire escape plan for your guests. If you have a second floor then it is important that you have a ladder available as well in case they can’t get to the stairs.

A good business owner will strive to make their bed & breakfast to be exceptional in as many ways as they can. Helping your guests to be able to get a good night sleep should be one of them. No matter how lovely the location is, if they aren’t able to relax and sleep there they likely won’t be coming back.

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Learn The Rules Of The Credit Card Game

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Finance · Comment 
by William Blake

“Credit Card” and “Game” are words that are rarely spoken together. Games are fun and exciting, while credit card debt is anything but. According to financial expert David Bach, credit cards are the biggest game of all, and just like any game, there are certain rules that all credit card companies are held to.

Knowing the Rules

Because as consumers, we are in the game already, Bach says it is imperative that we know and understand the rules of the game we are playing.

Interest rates. This is the percent that consumers pay in order to borrow money from the credit card company. It is important to know this number, because it represents what your debt is costing you. The higher the number, the more money you are throwing away each month.

Late fees. Credit card companies are allowed to charge anywhere from $15-$39 on payments made even one hour late. This is money that could be applied to your debt. Pay your bills on time, and ask for an extension if you know you may be late with a payment. After the fact, you can call your credit card company and ask for late fees to be waived.

Read the Fine Print. Often credit card companies lure you in with promises of low interest rates, or no fees on balance transfers. These teaser rates are for a limited time, so its important to understand your agreement, and know how long you have to pay off your debt at the low rate. It is also important to understand the terms of your agreement, often a late payment will negate the teaser rate, and leave you vulnerable to fees, penalties, and interest rate increases.

Playing the Game:

Now that you know the rules of your credit card, you are ready to really play the game.

Know what you owe. Begin by making a complete list of all your credit cards, the amount you owe, and the interest rate the card carries. Prioritize the list starting with the cards with the highest interest rate.

Contact your creditors. Call each credit card company and negotiate a lower interest rate on your existing debt. Although they may argue at first, a supervisor is authorized to reduce your rate, immediately saving you money as you pay down your debt.

Dont be afraid to walk away. If they refuse to work with you, find a company offering a no balance transfer fee, and 0% interest for as long as possible. Transfer your debt to the new card, and pay it off within the allotted time period. Continue to pay down your debt, and celebrate each victory along the way, as you work to win the big game.

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Why Not have Tea Parties At Your Coffee Shop?

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Business · Comment 
by Karyn Lewis

If you find you have some sluggish times at your coffee shop in the afternoons during the week or even the weekend you can change that. Consider hosting tea parties there and you will pickup more business. Many adults will come in to gather and visit with each other. You will find young girls that aren’t old enough for school yet can join in during the week as well.

You can choose to have these tea parties weekly a couple of afternoons, every other week, or once a month. As soon as people start to find out about them you will have no trouble getting enough people to sign up for a reservation. Your coffee shop tea party may even become the place for a princess birthday party for some lucky young girl.

Some coffee shop owners don’t want to go to a great deal of hassle in order to host these tea parties. There is really no reason though why you would have to go this route. You can keep things simple and still draw a very good crowd to your tea party events. If you wish to host something more elaborate though you certainly can do so. The price of the tea party should reflect this as well as what you offer.

Think about what your guests to tea parties would be interested in having. You can offer several great flavors of tea for them to try out. You can also choose to offer tea sandwiches and delicate desserts. These sandwiches and desserts should be sample sized portions. Adding these items is likely to get you more business for your tea parties as they will get the entire package for one price.

Plan your tea parties well in advance so you have time to advertise. The first few you will likely need to really work on spreading the word. After that though you will probably have plenty of people eagerly waiting for them to roll around again. Keep a good log for reservations and don’t book more people than you easily have room to accommodate.

You can choose to offer some types of entertainment at the tea party as well. You can get free entertainment such as a violinist who needs some publicity as well. Even if you have to pay a small amount of money for such entertainment it could turn out to be a very good investment. If you don’t have the room for this or the budget you can buy some CD’s with great music to pipe into the area for your tea party guests.

Make sure your staff understands how important these types of gatherings are for those that attend. That way they will be sure to do all they can to keep them happy. You may need to have additional staff on hand during these tea parties depending on how large of an event they become.

It is a very simple concept to host tea parties at your coffee shop to get more business. Keep in mind that this doesn’t just mean during those planned events. You will be exposing new customers to your coffee shop in this manner. Don’t be surprised if they start to surface for other drinks at other times as well.

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How to Know When to Listen to Your Head or Your Heart

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Relationships · Comment 
by Wendy Bridger

Isn’t love so overwhelming? Instead of the usual angel and devil, you feel like you have your heart on one shoulder and your mind on the other. They are constantly fighting over what you should be doing in your love life.

Your heart says, he’s perfect, and I just can’t get enough of him. I’m miserable when he’s not there, and it seems like it’s meant to be! I’ve never been as happy as I have been with him. Then your mind speaks up, yeah, right, that’s what Sarah says about her loser fianc. Love is blind, remember? Try to think rationally about this!

Isn’t this how love feels sometimes? Your heart is racing, happy, and so deeply in love. All those sappy songs on the radio actually make you cry. You wonder how you got so lucky to be with this gorgeous guy. At the same time, your mind is screaming stop! Slow down! Think this through! You look at your parents and their miserable marriage. They describe their meeting very similarly to your present circumstance. Are you blindly heading down the same path, though you swore you would make your marriage different?

Who should win the fight? Should you listen to your irrational but elated heart, or your sensible but unforgiving mind? Listen to both. God gave you each for a reason. Your mind will notice the potential pitfalls that your heart will try to ignore. Yet, you heart will allow you to love and will not let you give up when things aren’t perfect.

However, there are times when it is important to ignore either your mind or your heart. All of us know someone who allowed a perfectly good marriage fall apart because they didn’t listen to their heart enough. Somehow the little things like house chores, hobbies, or differences in style were made all too paramount by the mind, and the big things that made the relationship so beautiful got lost and forgotten. It is also very common to see someone only allowing their heart to guide them in their relationship. These are the people that end up with players, liars, and other risky types, but continue to stay in the relationship because their heart keeps telling them that they love them and will someday change.

How do you know if you are listening enough to both your mind and your heart? Often it takes being able to step outside of yourself and see things as everyone around you is seeing it. Getting an outside opinion every once in a while can also do worlds of good, as long as they are someone who knows and understands what a good relationship looks like in the first place. Another person can calm your heart to a more rational state, and assist you in easing the mind’s discomfort.

Find ways to look at him from someone else’s perspective. This will help you notice things you wouldn’t normally and help you figure out who he is really beyond the infatuation of your heart and the perfection that your mind demands. Then, you will find the answer we all deep down want to know without a shadow of a doubt: is he the right one for me?

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Making Paid Search More Effective

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under Business · Comment 
by Terry Stanfield

Paid search is a great way to get web traffic to your site from the major search engines. It also can drain your marketing budget in very quickly if not done properly. Someone is going to profit from your paid search campaign. Is it going to be the search engines or or us? Search engines make their money from clicks on our ads. The more clicks on our ads the more money they get. The real goal should be “more conversions with less clicks and lower cost”. Here are some strategies that should help.

1. Do not use Content Network in Google when you first set up a campaign default setting is set “on”. There are two things that you need to consider before turning on the content match. The first is: “The website that is hosting our ad gets paid every time someone clicks on the ad”. Most click fraud happens is when an owner of a site clicks on these ads. The second is: “Individuals who click on these ads are most often, at the research end of the buying cycle. Limit those who click on your ads to those who are on the buying side of the cycle.

2. Search Terms. The more general the term, less qualified the lead and the more the cost. What I try to think about what terms are going to get my ideal customer to my site.

3. Keyword “types” There are three types of keywords “Broad”, “Phrase” and “Exact”. The rule of thumb that I use is: for single word phrases, use exact match and for search phrases that are two to three words, used “phrase matching”. I am also experimenting with using “exact” matching for these terms as well. The more specific the search term is to what you are offering and who your ideal client is, the more qualified to lead will be. Better a small number of qualified leads than a large number of leads that waste your time and ultimately cost a lot more money.

4. Just a couple thoughts on writing creatives (ad copy). Use the following in your “headline” box: {keyword: “your main keyword}. This will put your keyword phrase into the headline. You want to attract only your ideal client (someone who is looking for exactly what you have to offer) so be specific. Add at least one of your “unique selling propositions”. This can be very challenging because of the space limitations. Rule of thumb, find out what your competitors are doing and do something different. For example, if everyone is offering free shipping, use one of your other unique selling propositions.

5. Give careful consideration to your landing pages. These pages should do one thing; answer the questions that the searcher had in mind when he started his search. The searcher type in his search terms because he has a problem, needs a solution and is in some kind of “pain”. You have about two seconds to convince him that you understand what he is going through and what he needs. You must show him that you possess the answers to his needs. Don’t just send them to your home page unless your home page can accomplish the above. Once you connect with your searcher you must have a call to action. You must be very specific and clear about the next steps. Have your “phone number” or “contact us button” on every page.

6. Tracking. Finally, track everything. Paid search is not an exact science. It takes time to set up and optimized your campaigns to get the results that you are looking for. You must monitor your campaigns at least weekly in order to catch market changes. Google, Yahoo and MSN have free tracking tools that work great.

Paid search is a great marketing tool, if used correctly. It can also, as stated earlier; dry up your budget in a heartbeat. It is a lot cheaper to find someone who knows what they are doing and does this day in and day out to help you than it is to lose thousands of dollars trying to figure it out yourself.

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Love and Faith

April 26, 2008 · Filed Under News and Society · Comment 
by Kim and Charles Petty

No woman is worthy to be a wife who on the day of her marriage is not lost absolutely and entirely in an atmosphere of love and perfect trust; the supreme sacredness of the relation is the only thing which, at the time, should possess her soul.

Women should not “obey” men anymore than men should obey women. There are six requisites in every happy marriage; the first is Faith, and the remaining five are Confidence. Nothing so compliments a man as for a woman to believe in him nothing so pleases a woman as for a man to place confidence in her.

Obey? God help me! Yes, if I loved a woman, my whole heart’s desire would be to obey her slightest wish. And how could I love her unless I had perfect confidence that she would only aspire to what was beautiful, true and right? And to enable her to realize this ideal, her wish would be to me a sacred command; and her attitude of mind toward me I know would be the same. And the only rivalry between us would be as to who could love the most; and the desire to obey would be the one controlling impulse of our lives.

We gain freedom by giving it, and he who bestows faith gets it back with interest. To bargain and stipulate in love is to lose.

Perfect faith implies perfect love; and perfect love casteth out fear. It is always the fear of imposition, and a lurking intent to rule, that causes the woman to haggle over a word it is absence of love, a limitation, an incapacity. The price of a perfect love is an absolute and complete surrender.

To give a man something for nothing tends to make the individual dissatisfied with himself.

Your enemies are the ones you have helped.

And when an individual is dissatisfied with himself he is dissatisfied with the whole world and with you.

A man’s quarrel with the world is only a quarrel with himself. But so strong is this inclination to lay blame elsewhere and take credit to ourselves, that when we are unhappy we say it is the fault of this woman or that man. Especially do women attribute their misery to That Man.

And often the trouble is he has given her too much for nothing.

This truth is a reversible, back-action one, well lubricated by use, working both ways as the case may be.

That form of affection which drives sharp bargains and makes demands, gets a check on the bank in which there is no balance.

There is nothing so costly as something you get for nothing.

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