Internet Conferencing - Advantages

Nobody works in complete isolation. In virtually all lines of business, contact with other people will be required in some capacity. Whether it is meeting with clients or colleagues; presenting new ideas or products; or giving or receiving training, good communication is the key to running a successful business.

However, in the modern world of commerce, business takes place twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Large, international organizations have sites across the globe and thanks to the Internet, even small and medium sized companies have found themselves trading on an international scale.

International markets and twenty-four hour business undoubtedly provide great opportunities, but they are not without their difficulties. Trying to arrange a seminar for a large number of delegates based in different countries, for example, can be a logistical nightmare. Diaries need to be synchronized, flights booked, accommodation sourced and meeting facilities organized. It is a major undertaking, and one that takes a lot of time, money and effort.

No Need To Travel

In this instance, the advantages of web conferencing are easy to see - nobody needs to travel anywhere. From the comfort of their own office delegates can participate in meetings and seminars without having to travel a single extra mile.

For smaller organizations, web conferencing can open up whole new markets. Where before, perhaps there was not the man-power to spare for long periods out of the office, web conferencing reduces the need for travel to allow face to face meetings. Proposals can be pitched and new business won without the need for lengthy trips away from the office.

The reduced need for travel that web conferencing brings has other advantages; staff spend less time traveling and more time at home ? that should make for a happier and more productive workforce; thousands of dollars spend on air fares, car hire and accommodation are saved and less time is spent sourcing flights and making hotel reservations. All these benefits, simply by reducing the need for travel with web conferencing.

Saving Your Company Time

There is no doubt that organizing a meeting takes time. Even the smallest meetings, if they involve delegates from different geographic locations, require a degree of effort. Whether it is down to the delegates themselves or if it is left to the secretary or personal assistant, someone is spending precious company time making the necessary arrangements. Flights, hotels, catering, diary management ? they all take time to organize ? time that could be spent far more productively.

Take away the need for travel, days or weeks out of the office and the requirement for overnight accommodation and suddenly organizing the meeting or seminar is not such a major task. Diaries will become much more easy to synchronize, a quick email or telephone call is all that is needed to set up a web conference. Hours of time are freed up for staff to concentrate on making money for the organization.

Saving Your Company Money

Saving money is something that every company strives to do. Nobody wants to spend more than they have to. Think for a moment how much you spend on travel. Even if you are simply driving to the other side of town, your company will be incurring costs ? parking tolls, dead time spent driving to and fro the meeting ? they all have an impact on your company's bottom line.

Imagine reducing that pile of expense claim forms at the end of the month; the chances are you could be saving a significant amount of money. No organization, large or small, can afford to waste money and with web conferencing those costs are coming down.

The advantages of web conferencing to any business are clear; you can save time, you have a more productive workforce and, most importantly of all, you can save money.

Diane Parker is a freelance writer and technology enthusiast providing valuable information including: web conferencing software, choosing a web conferencing tool and internet conferencing.

Love and Light

Seems that everyone who writes to me signs their letters "love and light." It has such a bright uplifting sound to it. Lightworkers are being taught to hold the energy of the light and to equate love with a warm white light that heals and protects. After what feels like an age of suppression and darkness, it all sounds like such a refreshing change, much like the first bits of sunlight after a long harsh winter. And so the pendulum swings. Still we do not find balance.

Years ago a man came to speak at our church. Forgive me for my lousy memory, but I cannot recall which indigenous tribe or belief system he taught. What I remember is that he had an amazingly calm and soothing presence and that he ran us through a chanting meditation that had the entire room spell bound with love and healing energy. What he taught is what stuck with me. He said that his people do not assume anything when sending each other healing energy. They do not predetermine that the person needs white light, or green light, or physical healing, or mental healing or anything else. They imagine darkness warm and secure like a mother's womb protecting and embracing the person who appears to need help. They send them energy that is void of all color or emotion so that the person and his spirit can do as they will with it. It's the ultimate in detachment. They simply send the darkness and allow it to become whatever it needs to become in order to heal the persons body or soul. I imagined it as pure unrefined energy rather than as highly tuned and polished energy that the Lightworkers have so beautifully crafted. The concept stuck with me. Among his people there is no battle between the light and the darkness. All energy is of the original source and all is holy and sacred.

I look to nature for reassurance that this is indeed the natural way of things. The sun and the seasons have their natural perfect cycles of light and darkness, of growth and of death. If the summer lasted forever, the grass and trees would all shrivel up and die. If the darkness lasted forever, the seeds would never sprout anew. We can love each for its gift and even have a favorite that touches us a bit more then the other, but the balance is perfect and runs along beautifully with or without our loving it. The cycles of life and death, light and darkness do not require our help nor our approval. Such is healing and religion. All that is, is.... with or without our comprehension or approval.

Light and darkness need each other as a yin yang reveals. Without the other to reflect itself off of, they cease to exist. Remember the cool shade under the trees on a hot summer day. Remember the cool dark room for healing a migraine headache. Remember the restorative sleep that is best done in the dark. The caveman inside of us may still be afraid of the dark, but it does not mean that the darkness and its energy is bad or evil. Much evil has been done in the light of day. Much evil has been done in the name of God and every other holy label we give to the light. And goodness can also come of the shadows.

The dark night of the soul is perhaps the most pivotal moment in every healer's life. Until you embrace that which is deeply hidden within yourself, you can not take your full and complete self into your sacred work. If you deny the darkness within, you deny yourself the chance for real healing, real balance, real peace, and real change. It is in our darkness that we lick the wounds we've been dealt and its in the darkness that we find fortitude and strength to carry on regardless of other people's opinions of us. It's in the darkness that the angels come and show us that we are not alone. The shaman's journey is into the darkness where man keeps his secrets and his power.

The battle between light and dark is a cruel lie that was taught to us just like the battle between men and women. One is not better than the other. One is not more important or more holy then the other. Masculine energy versus feminine energy is not a battle to be fought, but the comparison of two gifts held within each of us. The light and darkness are the same way. Do not turn your backs on each other over gender and do not turn your back on the gift of darkness just because some leaders long ago told you things that were not quite true. The darkness is no more evil then women are. The darkness is simply another piece of the game of life to be explored and experienced.

Do not think that I am advocating evil behaviors or that I'm saying you should worship Satan. I believe that karma will kick you in the head if you are mean or hateful towards others. I believe that the boomerang always comes back and you get whatever you dished out. I'm simply advocating the exploration and appreciation of the darkness. Remember that the stars sit in a black night sky. There is so much more darkness up there then there is light. Remember laying out under those stars on a warm summer night and contemplating humanity's place in the universe. Beautiful amazing inner reflection happens in the dark. Find balance between the two and learn to be whole within both. Do not assume that you know enough to judge any one color or shade as superior or inferior to another. It is the same with the colors of energy as it is with the souls of men. Love them all for they are all pieces of yourself.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge

About The Author

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow's Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. To read more of her articles and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To download free previews of her books, go to www.SkyeThomas.com.

Skye@TomorrowsEdge.net

Marketing Conversations, And Conversation Stoppers

Where many marketing conversations get off-track are the ones you have with yourself, before you even pick up the phone or initiate the handshake. As independent professionals, usually at the helm of solo businesses, we sometimes find ourselves facing daunting internal obstacles as we try to begin our day's marketing activity. With no one in our office-of-one to help with a confidence booster, an important resource to have in our self-management toolbox is a means of submitting the negative self-talk for an internal Second Opinion.

Let's imagine you're about to pick up the phone to follow up on a promising contact you met a few days ago. You recognize that the clammy hands gripping the phone are a sure sign that Fear of Rejection is in charge. You've convinced yourself that the voice about to answer your call is just waiting for an excuse, any excuse, to hang up. What to do? Time for a Second Opinion!

The Department of Second Opinions draws on that part of yourself that knows enough to question the self-defeating voices by asking, "How real is this?" Buttressing its wisdom is the recognition that a conversation underlies every marketing activity as sub-text, a conversation that's usually unspoken. While we may tend to think of marketing as telling people what we do, in fact all our marketing activities implicitly ask a question: "Do my services have potential value to you?" When Fear of Rejection is in charge, the door slams shut on any potential conversation. "Do my services have value?" "No!" End of conversation. But what if you stay in the (unspoken) conversation and wonder, "What are they actually saying no to, and why?" They could be saying no to having the conversation now, or to a perceived misfit between their needs and your services, or even to the person they couldn't say no to 10 minutes earlier!

Viewed in this light, the imagined door slamming shut in your face shifts to a swinging door. Even if it shuts, you're likely to come away with useful information about the needs of this prospect, or about how to better position your services for your target client. Even if it shuts on him or her as a prospect, you've gotten the word out to one more person about your services.

Another conversation stopper, particularly seductive for service professionals: "I Can't Sell Myself". This one actually negates any conversation from the outset, presuming instead that rather than talking, you have to convince or even manipulate the prospect. A Second Opinion might point to a more promising line of inquiry such as: How do I quickly and accurately inform myself about my prospect's needs and present my services as an effective solution?

Shifting the internal voices ? abandoning the conversation-stoppers or door-slammers and instead framing a question - gives you a good chance of getting off on positive footing for the actual conversation. It's very helpful to remember that even if the prospect says no, this doesn't have to be your last opportunity. When you relax into the conversation, into listening and asking as well as telling, you may hear an interest or need that has no direct connection to your services but provides a basis for staying in touch. This will indeed have been a successful marketing conversation! Good luck.

About The Author

Nina Ham, certified coach and licensed psychotherapist, is principal of Success from the Inside Out, providing individual coaching and teleseminars to build the skills, attitudes and habits for sustainable success in your career or business. Mail to: Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com, subscribe in subject line, for free monthly e-zine, or visit http://www.SuccessfromtheInsideOut.com.

Nina@womenssuccesscoach.com

Why Public Relations Doesnt Just Happen

Public relations is a very important part of the marketing mix. A successful PR campaign provides third-party endorsement of products or services which is something no other marketing element can deliver. Many people think that once a company starts advertising, editors beat a path to your door. In some cases, that actually does happen, but it's not the norm.

Public relations is very different from advertising. One main differrence is that you can't buy media placement. The story is either newsworthy, or it's not. Paid placement is called advertising.

Both marketing elements are important, but public relations can sometimes be a slow build. Results don't happen in a few weeks or in a month, especially with the three month lead time needed for magazines print deadlines. When dealing with television, newspapers or radio, the three month lead time is not an issue, but competition is an issue.

There have been situations where we've had an instant success story. We created a museum event in Philadelphia at a small children's museum that was an incredible media success story. Every newspaper, ethnic publication and television station showed up for this event. Over the years, we've also had a number of press conferences with tons of media coverage the next day. This is expecially true if the news is sensational or the product is very popular at retail.

In one case, we generated thousands of stories for a client, but we were trying to generate an article in a major business paper. Nothing worked. The editor was interested, but he didn't understand the point we were using as the "hook" for the story. When we finally drove home the point of differrence between mass market retailers and specialty retailers, he wrote the story and it was fantastic. Our story ended up on the front page of the business section minus one column, but it took months and months of work.

Many clients don't understand the PR process. For example, when I was handling the marketing for a major children's line of licensed apparel, the client had signed the advertising contract, but not the public relations contract. He just didn't understand the entire subject and finally asked for a meeting to discuss things. Shortly into the meeting, this charming, grandfatherly gentleman looked at me with a straight face and said, "Why do I have to pay for this, doesn't it just happen?"

At first, I thought he was kidding, but then I could see that he simply didn't understand the process, or the discipline. After a rather lengthy discussion, he signed the contract. The campaign was a big success and so was the clothing line.

Some clients don't have the budget for the entire marketing mix of trade advertising, consumer advertising, sales promotion, web site development and PR. Many will start with PR and trade advertising and then increase their marketing budget over time.

How To Choose An Agency

When you are ready to consider an agency, what should you look for in a PR team? For starters, the chemistry has to be there. You also need experience and media connections. Don't hesitate to ask for client references. Once you have them, pick up the phone and make some calls.

Don't assume that the new business people will service your account. If there is one account person that you feel has the expertise you need, consider requesting that this individual be the point person on your account. The agency should be willing to agree to this request in your written contract. Beware of bait and switch, where you are courted by the new business people who will never be seen again after the contract is signed.

What You Can Expect

Some points to remember:

• Nothing kills a bad product faster than excellent PR and advertising. Customers may purchase the product once and then, that's it.

• When products are photographed, the samples must be in perfect condition. The camera picks up and magnifies very tiny flaws. Retouching is expensive, so be careful when you select product samples for photography.

• PR is not a tool used to force retail distribution. If you try it, the move will come back to haunt you. When an editor asks for information about the retail distribution of a product and/or service, the PR agency had better have answers or the ability to obtain the answers quickly. Reporters and editors always manage to call for this information when they are on deadline so everything is a rush. A response such as we're planning to open outlets soon in your area is not the correct answer.

Put yourself in the editor's place. He/she is interested in writing about your product and the readers expect to be able to find the item in local stores, on respected web sites, or in catalogs. If they can't do any of the above, the editor will not write about the product.

I have had consumers track me down because they wanted a specific product and could not find it at the retail store mentioned in the article because the item had sold out. One Christmas, I was practically running a mail order operation out of the agency because frantic consumers were calling for one specific product that did not have wide retail distribution.

• Trade books usually publish one month in advance. Consumer books publish three, yes three months in advance. If you're hoping for a December magazine story, you'd better start planning in July or August.

• If your agency is creative, it will come up with innovative "hooks" for your products or services.

PR is a wonderful marketing tool, but you must understand the basics to understand how it can work for your company.

Diane T. Creston - Creston & Associates, Ltd.

About The Author

Diane T. Creston has over 25 years of marketing experience covering a wide range of products and services. She has handled campaigns for Fortune 500 companies as well as companies with new product/service introductions. If you are interested in learning more, please visit: http://www.crestonadvertising.com; Crestonassoc@aol.com

Be Serious With Your Child Future

As a parent your biggest responsibility is to prepare your child for the future , physically emotionally and mentally.

The first big Intellectual Challenge your child will face is the Entrance Test for KG and later for the First Standard . Every parent will feel anxious.

We know that a child is born with a million of brain cells called Neurons and they form connection to each other called synapses. You can make the synapses strong by providing your child with a variety of Input & Experiences. If this is not provided at an early age we lose an important learning opportunity.

The early years are most important. Children who are well prepared at home are more confident, enthusiastic, and involved at school. Children who have not received these vital inputs tend to be more withdrawn and less involved. Children are natural learners. They need to be stimulated with a wide variety of inputs.

Preparation begins at home right from the time your child is born .

A rich and diverse learning experience will help to create a complete and well developed personality.

This is the best way to prepare your child for success in school. Don't you think so?

Feel free to get back to us.

In anticipation of your reply,

About The Author

Madhur.G.Bajaj

Website: http://www.geocities.com/language_success

Contact No: +919850276340; language_success@yahoo.co.in

Bill Payment & Cellular Services - The Wave Of The Future For Merchant Retailers!

Electronic Distribution

How Electronic Distribution Works

The Problems of Distributing Prepaid Services with Hard (Scratch) Cards

Introduction

One of the most significant developments in the prepaid telecom industry in the last few years has been the emergence of electronic distribution technologies, such as Prepaid Wireless Direct point-of-sale activaton (POSA) will completely reconstruct the way in which prepaid services are sold.

How Electronic Distribution Works

Prepaid Wireless Direct electronic distribution systems enable any prepaid sevice to electronically transmit their services to virtually any retail location. Prepaid Wireless Direct provides an integrated POSA solution comprised of flexible and compact point-of-sale terminal equipment, proprietary software, transactional communications, protocols, and professional services to assist retailers with implementation.

Once in the retail environment, consumers simply select a product from point-of sale signage or displays and make the approprate payment to the clerk who then inserts a wallet-sized thermal card into the POSA terminal. After pushing a few key corresponding to the desired product, terminal prints a prepaid PIN along with usage instruction on the card. Prepaid Wireless Direct also supports PIN-less delivery whereby the terminal makes a real-time connection service provider. A credit is instantly issued to the customer's account. Within moments of purchase, customers can use services.

The types of retail environments that are beginning to switch to electronic delivery include wireless shops, supermarkets, conveience stores, check cashers, food marts, university shops, electronics stores, hotels and many more.

The Problems of Distributing Prepaid Services with Hard (Scratch) Cards

Prepaid Wireless Direct has developed electronic distribution services to address the many problems of distributing prepaid mobile and other prepaid services through hard cards. Hard cards are also known as scratch cards because the customer scratches a panel on the back of the card to reveal a PIN or other secret code.

The current and traditional distribution methodology of most prepaid services involves the prepaid services involves the provider printing scratch cards, warehousing them and fulfilling orders to distributors. The distributors purchase large quantities for providers, warehouse them and fulfill retail orders. And retailers purchase the cards from distributors, manage the inventory and sell the cards to consumers.

Each participant in the distribution chain encounters problems with scratch cards.

Retailer Problems. Under today's traditional hard card distribution format, most retailers struggle on several fronts to offer prepaid products

Retailer have a difficult time carrying the inventory costs of prepaid services. The recent growth and popularity of prepaid wireless intensifies the problem. With prepiad mobile, airtime denominations are much more expensive the phone cards that most retailers are familiar with. It's common for one prepaid wireless provider to offer 5 or more different airtime denominations that range in price form $20 to $150 each. To make things worse, prepaid wireless airtime is carrier specific, meaning that Verizon prepaid wireless customers cannot top up (recharge or replenish) their accounts with AT&T, Cingular or any other providers's airtime, and vice versa. This makes it critical for retailers to carry airtime for all of the popular national and regional prepaid wireless carriers or operators in their area, something that retailers didn't have to worry about with phone cards.

Today there is an average of six major carriers or operators offering prepaid wireless in each of the top 20 U.S. markets. Trying to inventory product for all six could mean that prepaid wireless alone could account for as much as 25 percent of a conveience stores total in-store inventory costs. Many retailers simple cannot afford the cash outlay required to successfully sell prepaid wireless services.

Retailer trying to minimize inventory costs often create out-of-stock problems. In general, stock outages cost the average retailer 6% of its sales, resulting in loss of billions of dollars every year and high customer dissatisfaction.

To make thing worse, today's airtime hard cards, also know as vouchers, scratch cards, replenishment cards, recharge cards, and hanging cards, increase the likelihood of fraud. The biggest problem seems to be at the point of sale where easily concealed, high-value airtime cards can be the target of both retail customers and employees alike. To prevent comsumer theft, retailers often put cards under lock and key but still suffer losses due to employee pilferage. In the conveience store industry, it is believed that as much as 80 percent of the store's shrinkage is attributable to employees. Retail employess often feel underpaid and rationalize theft as a way to make up for what they're owed. As prepaid wireless airtime cards often range in denominations from $10 to $150, employees can easily conceal thousands of dollars of product in their pockets or purses.

Cards are also attractive because they can be easily converted to cash on the street by offering them for sale at a discount of their face value. Because they're close cash equivalents, prepaid wireless cards have become tantamount to an underground currency in some places including Europe. Because of the proliferation of theft reduction is the number one investment priority among convenience store executives.

Additionally, each of the supply chain participants lacks efficient inventory controls and reporting while battling fraud. Because of the difficulties they face, and retailers that sell traditional hard cards are in dire need of cost-effective distribution solutions.

Electronic Distribution Solutions

Prepaid Wireless Direct products and services solve the distrbution problems of retailers that sell prepaid wireless (mobile) and other prepaid services.

Retailer. Retailers are increasingly demanding electronic delivery for the significant benefits they derive.

By delivering prepaid products electronically, on demand, with point-of-sale activation(POSA) techniques, Prepaid Wireless Direct essentially allows any retailer to sell prepaid wireless or other prepaid service without carrying any inventory. This eliminates prepaid inventory costs that acted as enormous cash barriers, prohibiting many retailers from selling prepaid wireless or other prepaid services. What once tied up thousands of dollars in inventory, now requires no up front cash from retailers. Now virtually any retailer not only can afford to participate in selling prepaid services, but also can expand their product portfolios to include phone cards, wireless, dail tone, credit cards, internet and more. In addition, they can also afford to represent all of the popular prepaid wireless service providers in their areas.

Also, because products are automatically replenished at POSA terminals electronically in PIN or real-time formats, retailer never run out of inventory. With Prepaid Wireless Direct POSA solution, retailers avoid the heavy costs of out of stocks and resultant customer dissatisfaction.

Once installed in a retail location, the POSA terminal virtually eliminates theft by retail customers and employess. Because only inactive products are on display, retail customers can no longer steal valuable airtime. And because all retail employees are assigned unique passwords required to accesss the POSA terminal, the system creates an audit trail that details all sales activity by date, time, shift and employee. This audit trail provides a monitoring system that virtually eliminates employee theft. With the POSA system, retailer no longer need to count and reconcile scratch card inventory amounts at the beginning of every shift.

POSA also reduces shelf space requirements and simplifies a retailers job by consolidating all prepaid products into one convenient POSA platform. POSA delivers operating flexibility to the retail marketplace that traditional point of sale products fail to provide.

Retailers also have 24/7 online access to reports that show real-time sales activity by each of their locations. Retailers can also print real-time sales report directly for their POSA terminals. Reports can drill down to sales activity at individual retail outlets by product, clerk, day, and time. Reports come standard but may be customized to match the retailers unique information needs. Retailers use sales activity reports can also highlight sudden changes in sales at a particular location. Subsequent investigation often reveals a simple solution to boosting sales such as replacement of signage that has been taken down by a window washer. Timely awareness of problems and simple remedies often make a significant difference to the amount of sales at retail.

Prepaid Wireless Direct is proud to be leading the way in the electronic distribution of prepaid services through retail environment. By delivering unique, industry-first features and benefits, while supporting a growing list of platforms, methods, suppliers, and products. Prepaid Wireless Direct is poised to lead the electronic distribution movement into the future. In addition to its current suite of products. Prepaid Wireless Direct intends to introduce many more electronic product delivery solutions as it continues to leverage the leading technologies to create cutting-edge, customized products for emerging customer segments.

Retail Licensing Provider of Bill Payment & Cellular Providers Technologies.

http://www.prepaidwireless.2ya.com

866-707-8498

Finding the Bad Credit Personal Loans that You Need

It can seem impossible at times to get bad credit personal loans? every place that you go to apply for a loan turns you down without a second thought. You may feel frustrated, depressed, or overwhelmed? all because of credit mistakes that you've made in the past. Luckily, there are bad credit personal loans out there; you just have to know where to look.

Securing a secured loan

In most cases, the bad credit personal loans that you'll be able to find will be secured loans. Secured loans are those that require you to put up some collateral with value equal to or greater than the loan amount? in other words, they'll give you money in exchange for some property of yours that's worth at least as much (but most likely more) than the loan amount. This way, the provider of the bad credit personal loans is protected in case you should default, or not pay back the loan. They have a legal claim to the property used as collateral, and can take possession of it and sell it if you don't pay them back their money. The most common types of collateral are automobiles and real estate, though jewelry or other items of value can also be used.

What about unsecured loans?

Occasionally, lenders who issue bad credit personal loans will offer unsecured loans? in other words, a loan that doesn't require collateral as a security deposit for the loan. Unsecured loans almost always have a higher interest rate than secured loans, so you're going to have to pay more for it, but there isn't the drawback of losing your collateral if you default on the loan. Unsecured bad credit personal loans are rare, as many lenders don't want to take that much of a risk on someone with bad credit, but you will find them from time to time. The amount that the lender is willing to lend you is usually greatly reduced, to help minimize their risk? if the amount that they offer will cover your needs, though, an unsecured bad credit personal loan is definitely the way to go.

Tips for repaying the loan

If repaid promptly, bad credit personal loans can help to improve your credit rating overall. If possible, you should pay more than your minimum payment every month? after all, you want to pay back the loan as quickly as you can so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Along those same lines, you shouldn't borrow more than the least that you can absolutely get by with; the less you borrow, the less you'll have to pay back.

Should you find yourself unable to make a payment date, contact the lender and see if you can work something out with them; many lenders are willing to move your payment due dates around a few days as long as you work with them. It's also a good idea to develop a good relationship with the lender and impress them with your prompt repayment? after all, the next time you need one of their bad credit personal loans then they'll already have a positive experience with you to base their decisions on.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Its About That Time

As we've reached the half way point of the year I'm thinking this might be a good time to pull up and evaluate things. Look back over the first 6 months, and look ahead to the upcoming days and months. Get some clarity. You know?

Ask ourselves some questions. Get some answers. This is also a good time to switch gears. Reach into your reserve tank a little and take the pace of things up a notch. Plan and do some of those things that you've been putting off until later. Well, it's later.

I kind of had a recurring set of questions thundering around the cavernous space in my head this past week (hey, no laughing...). You know, just kind of got stuck on them. Couldn't get rid of them until I finally provided me with some answers. The answers helped a lot with clarity. Thought I might share them with you. If you answer them for yourself maybe they'll do the same for you. So here they are.

Where do you stand? What do you stand for? What's going to be your legacy 20 years after you're gone? What will the world remember you for? Nothing? Something? What?

Kind of goofy I know but knowing the answers to these questions sure helps me cruise through distractions. Helps me to make better, more focused decisions. And besides, we all know the best way to predict the future is to create it. First in our minds then in the realities of our daily life. We all know that right? Thought so.

You see, all day everyday you're writing a book. It's called Your Life.

Make it worth reading. Make it worth noting. Really make it The Greatest Story Ever Told. REALLY!

"It's time you went out and did something great."

Rats, is it time to go already? I was just getting warmed up.

Today, this week, the rest of the year--- Do More, Be More, Have More.

Live some. Love some. Learn some. Everyday.

C...

Clyde Dennis, a.k.a. "Mr. How-To" has been writing and publishing Articles and Newsletters online since 1999. Clyde's company EASYHow-To Publications provides "How-To" information on How-To do, be or have just about anything one can imagine. For more information visit http://www.EASYHow-To.com. Email correspondence for Clyde should be sent to: cdennis@easyhow-to.com

Are You Holding Your Mouth Right To Catch More Fish?

My young stepson and I was fishing at Rush Creek in Ohio and using the same rod and reel, line and lure. Everything was exactly the same, the problem was I had caught about a dozen bass and he hadn't caught any and we were only standing about 10 feet apart.

He finally asked me why I was catching all the fish and he wasn't. I said "Well John, you're not holding your mouth right". He said "How A I suppose to Hold it?". I said "like this". I made some strange face and had my lip stuck out and my face all messed up. So, I looked over and seen him trying to mimic the face I made and just fishing away. I never thought any more about it.

About 2 months later, he went up to the mountains of California and was fishing for trout at his grandparent's cabin. He was standing by the stream and his grandfather came along to check on him. His grandfather kept watching and talking to him and finally said "John is there something wrong with your face? Are you sick?". So John explained I had told him to make his face like that to catch more fish. His grandfather tried not to laugh and went on his way to tell John's grandmother who told my wife and it got back to me.

Charles E. White has fished for almost 50 years for bass from California to Florida. In his lifetime, it is estimated that he has caught over 6,000 bass. His biggest bass is a 12 pound 14 ounce that hangs on his wall in his office.

Charles has fished with people who have never fished for bass before and taught them how to become successful anglers and also has fished with the Pros in Florida. His new website about fishing for bass is at: http://www.bassfishingweekly.com

Learn The Truth About Identity Theft

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, according to a recently released FTC study. Did you know that the term "identity theft" did not exist until just a few years ago? It is a recent phenomenon that is causing a great furor around the world.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the terms identity theft and identity fraud refer to "all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain." If a person becomes a victim of identity theft, the recovery process can be time-consuming, stressful, and expensive.

The pace of this danger is quickening. Many of the largest data collection companies and banks have experienced substantial fraud issues affecting millions of Americans. The IRS recently admitted that their complex and detailed financial records are not protected well enough at all. The fact of the matter is that we are all at risk for identity fraud and there is little that we can do about it. Our personal information is already "out there" for the taking. Please examine the following questions to help you assess your risk factors:

- Do you send and receive your personal mail in a locked, secured mailbox?

- Do you ever provide your Social Security number as a means of identification?

- Do any of the cards in your wallet display your Social Security number? (license, medical, etc?)

- Do you keep your Social Security card and all of your other cards in your wallet?

- Do you ever provide personal information in person, over the telephone or via the Internet?

- Do you use a crosscut paper shredder and use it to destroy all credit card offers, bankcard statements, old tax records, and other documents displaying personal information prior to throwing them away?

- Do you use any of the following to construct various passwords or PIN codes? The last 4 digits of your social security number, your birth date, your middle name, your mother's maiden name or anything else that could be easily discovered by identity thieves?

- Have you called (888) 5OPT-OUT to have your name removed from marketing lists that are sold by the credit bureaus? This will also decrease the number of unsolicited credit offers you receive.

- Have you requested a copy of your personal credit report in the last year?  Last 3 months?

- Do your personal checks contain any personal information beyond your first initial & last name, PO Box address and business phone number? Is your Social Security number listed?

- Do you write account numbers on your personal checks as you pay your monthly bills?

- Do you simply dispose of Privacy Notices sent by banks, doctor's offices, credit card firms, etc?

Take a look at your health insurance card. Chances are that your account number is your social security number. Call your doctor's office and request a prescription refill and you will almost certainly be asked for your social security number as a means of file identification.

I was recently at a cell phone retail store and witnessed person after person verbally giving their personal information including social security number to the employee across the counter. A criminal would have a field day listening and making notes in such an environment.

A less-than-scrupulous grocery store checkout clerk could make a fortune using or selling copies of personal checks that disclose a person's personal data including name, address, phone number, drivers license number, Social Security number, bank account number and signature.

Predators have a 360? view of all of us. That's right. They have access to data collected by our doctors, pharmacy, grocery store, banks, employer, insurance companies, credit agencies, IRS, department of motor vehicles, schools, credit card companies, and so on. They can even purchase your social security number over the internet. They steal your identity and become you. The fact is, if a criminal is determined to violate your precious identity, there is little you can do about it.

FACTA will help. It will force employers and other guardians of your personal data to protect it better and dispose of it properly or face legal consequences. As employers implement new policies and preventions to protect your information, data loss and accompanying fraud from companies should be reduced.

Banks, credit gathering companies and database giants are being forced to better protect your sensitive information. The government has finally stepped in to prosecute these ID theft criminals. Banks, credit agencies and private companies have begun offering various types of ID theft insurance. Typically, most banks offer programs for a monthly fee, but the protection usually is only extended to the accounts held at their bank. The three major credit agencies offer plans to monitor your credit file at monthly or quarterly intervals.

Be smart. Get educated. Learn the facts about ID theft by visiting the US government's web site at http://www.ftc.org/, the ID theft center at http://www.idtheftcenter.org/ and the US Post Office's site at http://www.usps.com/ as soon as you can. Review your answers to the earlier questions and study the material at these sites. There are also several private companies offering protection from this hideous crime. Look for a plan that has daily and continuous monitoring of your credit file so that you can be instantly alerted to any suspicious or fraudulent activity. The other major feature that you want is to have to an expert who can walk-you-through the arduous task of restoring your good name. This partner or coach will be invaluable to you. I have a link on my web site that will lead you to the market leader and highest qualified company of its type.

Identity theft can be extremely costly in terms of actual monetary losses, fees for legal services as well as time spent away from work to make repairs and prove your innocence. That's right; This is a crime where you are assumed guilty until you prove yourself innocent. The residual effects of identity theft can last for years. Your best strategy is to be vigilant, having a protective plan in place, and to be protective of your personal information. These plans are analogous to virus scanning software always running in the background on your personal computer. Act quickly when you discover that you have been a victim and seek help immediately when violated. It is no longer a matter of if you might be victimized, but when. Be smart. Learn all you can and take action now.

Daniel Sitter is the author of the breakthrough e-book Learning For Profit, the revolutionary "how-to" book providing simple, step-by-step instructions to teach people exactly how to learn new skills faster than ever before. It is what the author calls a "skinny book", a new generation of e-book designed for busy people. Containing no "filler or fluff", it gets right to the point with no wasted time. It can be read easily and quickly on a computer, a PDA or printed for later reference. Visit http://www.learningforprofit.com/ or contact the author directly. This e-book is currently available from >c|net's download.com, the authors' web site and a variety of online book merchants. Mr. Sitter is a contributing writer for several online and traditional publications.

Planning Ahead With Your Designer: Tips For Design Consistency With Your Logo And Brand Elements

While we recommend that you contract with the same designer or design team while creating your brand identity materials as possible, we know that this scenario is not always possible.

Whenever you work with a designer other than the original who created your logo, stationery and marketing materials, we suggest a few practices that will prove invaluable for ensuring a consistent look and feel across all of your marketing communications.

At a minimum, make sure that you have information on:

? The Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors used in the designs. These will come in the form of a number. For example, PMS #280 is a deep blue color.

? Fonts. Ask your designer what font is used in your logo, and what secondary and tertiary fonts are used in your stationery and other marketing materials. Having this information will save a future designer many font matching headaches.

? The type of paper on which your materials are printed. In order to duplicate and keep consistent with the look and feel of your materials in future print runs, you'll always want to have your items printed on the same type of paper.

? The printer who printed your materials. Knowing whether your materials were printed by a digital printer or a press printer can help to ensure that they are reproduced at the same quality in the future. In the case of press printing, this can save you money on additional films as well.

To make for an even smoother transition, negotiate for the original files for your designs. This can be a delicate matter, as some graphic designers do not sell the rights in the original files to their clients. If you cannot get the entire assembled files, we recommend that you negotiate for a minimum of the following pieces:

? An original file of your logo. This is typically known as a vector graphic version, which means that, if the appropriate software is available (Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand are the most common), you can scale the image up and down without losing image quality. If your logo was not created as a vector graphic (i.e., if it was created in Photoshop), then you need the largest, highest resolution file available. See our article on Logo File Formats for more information on which type of formats of your logo you should have on-hand.

? A file containing any specialized secondary graphic brand elements. Some designers will give you files containing special headers, backgrounds, illustrations, etc., so they are available for any future projects. Loss or lack of these elements keeps a new designer from knowing what original effects were used to create the design.

This information will ensure that your materials have graphics that are consistent across the board, and will save time on future projects.

About the Author

Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and effective logo and marketing material designs for over a decade. elf design offers the comprehensive graphic and web design services of a large agency, with the one- on-one, personalized attention of an independent design specialist. Erin works closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and memorable ? and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent way. For more information about elf design, please visit:

Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com

Using The Popularity of Celebrities and Currrent Events to Promote Your Business

In this article, we want to explore the idea of using the popularity of celebrities and current event (news) topics to help market any internet business.

The Idea

Celebrities and news events are not only popular topics, they are also popular "keywords" in the major search engines. Thousands upon thousands of users everyday search the engines to find the latest info.

The idea is to build mini sites that target this market.

We call these "pop surfer" sites.

It sounds a bit far fetched at first, but with a little strategy, these "pop surfers" can help sell our products - NO MATTER WHAT WE SELL, or at least generate a decent amount of qualified traffic.

To get an idea of the type of traffic, have a look at these sites:

http://buzz.yahoo.com

http://50.lycos.com

http://www.wordtracker.com

http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

Look at the terms in these lists. I'm sure you recognize most of them, as they are an indication of what and who is "happening" right now. Also, keep in mind these sites (Yahoo, Google, Lycos, etc.) are among the most visited sites on the net.

The "Pop Surfer" Mini Site

The first step is to develop a "pop surfer" mini site (or sites - the more the better). It doesn't have to be the greatest or prettiest site ever created. Don't put as much work into it as you would your primary site. The key to these sites is to get the popular names and terms on the page so the search engines can find and spider them.

When developing your "pop surfer" page, keep in mind that you want a page that will 1) get into the search engines, and 2) grab the pop surfers' attention while they are searching for their favorite artist, news story, etc.

The Strategy

After we have our "pop surfer" mini site(s) built and listed in the engines, how do we use it get customers to our businesses?

There are two models that we will call the Indirect model and the Direct model. Each approach has it's own advantages and uses. In one model we "indirectly" target the "pop surfers", and in the other model we "directly" target them.

The Indirect Model

This model gives us the most qualified visitors. In this model, we utilize the power of traffic "exchanges". After we start getting our share of "pop surfer" traffic, we use the exposure ratio from these "exchanges" to drive qualified, targeted visitors to our primary business site.

This works because exchanges allow us to target our visitors. When signing up for an exchange you are usually asked what category you want exposure in. They often give you a list with such categories as Health and fitness or Business Opportunities. This gives us control over where we want our primary sites' information viewed.

Some exchanges have a 1:1 ratio where one exposure on your page is worth one exposure on someone else's page. Others use different ratios such as 2:1 which gives two exposures on your page for one exposure on someone else's.

There are several types of exchanges. The more popular ones are:

Banner Exchanges, which gives banner exposures in exchange for placing other banners on our site.

Exit Exchanges display your whole website, usually as a pop under window when a visitor leaves your site, in exchange for your site being displayed (as an exit pop under window) on someone else's site.

The most powerful, however, are:

Opt In list exchanges. These are special, because in every marketing circle, the number one rule for promoting your online business is to obtain an opt in list of subscribers. Opt in exchanges deliver the most targeted, and qualified visitors we can get with the exchange model.

How they work is when someone enters or leaves your site, a list of newsletter, or business opportunity sign up forms are generated in a small unobtrusive window. When that happens, your newsletter or biz-opportunity is listed on someone else's website - IN THE TARGETED CATEGORY THAT YOU CHOSE when you signed up.

Put the exchange code(s) on your "pop surfer" sites, and take advantage of the traffic.

The Direct Model

The direct model is more of an indirect approach in that we may not necessarily use the "pop surfers" for our primary business but we can still profit from them.

How?

One way is by utilizing Pay Per Click. Not pay per click in the sense that we bid for our sites' exposure in a search engine, but Pay Per Click in the sense that we place listings on OUR sites and GET PAID for having them there. Every time someone clicks a result in your page, you get a percentage of the bidding amount for that click. If you use pay per click strategically, it can be very profitable.

Merchant affiliate programs work well also. Amazon.com, for example, sells books, music, toys, and more. They let you place their products on your website, and you get a percentage when someone buys from you.

Several other merchants work the same way. Do a search for merchants who sell CDs, books, video, toys, or clothing, and have an affiliate program. There are many out there.

Finally, you don't only have to look for affiliate programs. If you have a business or product that you think might cater to popular culture, target the "pop surfers" directly!! For instance, if you print T-shirts, you could probably sell some with hottest stars' faces on them.

Do your research for your pop surfer page topic. You can bet that if a celebrity or topic has recently made news, the traffic is sure to follow.

Rony Perry is an internet marketer with a B.S. In Computer Science. He maintains websites on various popular topics. http://www.fasbnet.com/celeb/