Business Travelers Turn to Bed and Breakfasts for their
Internet Savvy and Extra Value
Lisa Kolb

Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) are Plugged In
People expect a B&B to radiate charm and coziness. Travelers
seek them out for their distinctive character, along with
the personalized attention thrown in. But high-tech savvy?

You bet! Despite their down-home demeanor, the typical B&B
is exceptionally attuned to the benefits of the Internet.
The B&B industry is closely linked up via the World Wide
Web. Searchable B&B directories make it convenient for
tourists to locate exactly what they require in faraway
destinations, and book it with confidence.

Travelers can find even the most “tucked away” inn online,
before they leave home. Almost all B&Bs have a Web site.
These abundantly illustrated sites provide detailed
information about: rates and policies, local tourist
attractions and surrounding vistas, photographs of the inn
(including each room), as well as contact information (with
directions and maps).

About 20% of the bookings we receive are made online, using
our availability software. But 85% to 90% of our business
comes from the Internet, either by a direct email or by
phone call.

Business travelers have different needs than tourists do
A person traveling on business isn’t there to take pleasure
in a romantic getaway, golf vacation, or local sightseeing.
They want business accommodations with the comforts of home
and modern conveniences like Internet access. According to a
recent study by Travelocity, the amenity that road-weary
business travelers value the most is comfortable bedding – a
concern that B&Bs take very seriously.

The B&B industry is promoting business-traveler friendly
practices. Nowadays, most inns are eager to serve up the
additional services business people require.

Top ten essentials for business travel
1. Flexible cancellation policy
2. Acceptance of all major credit cards
3. Special midweek rates for business travelers
4. In-room telephone/data port with fax machine
availability
5. Well-lit, in-room table or desk with appropriate seating
6. Well-lit private bathroom with hair dryer.
7. Flexibility on late check-ins.
8. Early and/or healthy breakfast options; private table if
preferred
9. In-room television.
10.Real-time online reservations or availability calendars

Courtesy of http://www.BedandBreakfast.com, the leading
online B&B reservation network, listing over 27,000 B&Bs
and inns

B&Bs deliver the extras prized by business people on
the road
B&Bs cater to business travelers by providing them needed
services. These are the kinds of extras and fees that can
really jack up the cost of a hotel bill. Yet B&B owners
include them for free, or for a nominal charge. That makes a
B&B stay a relative bargain.

Free business services and benefits
– Breakfast – always included
– Local and toll free calls – free, no charge for long
distance calls made on a calling card
– Convenient Internet access to send and receive email
– Ability to send and receive faxes
– Concierge services like reservations or local resource
recommendations
– Parking
– No need to tip the owner for every little assistance
provided

Providing the comforts of home and the office
The B&B I operate is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado,
next to Pike’s Peak and the Rocky Mountains. It’s a romantic
Victorian property, that’s in demand year round -
http://www.lennoxhouse.com. Tourists come from all over to
see the U.S. Air Force Academy, the Garden of the Gods, and
the Olympic Training Center.

As spectacular as such attractions are, business people
seldom have time to enjoy them. They’re focused on the job
at hand and want to get done and back home ASAP.

But because of my background in banking software, I used to
travel two out of four weeks each month on business. So I
totally understand what business travelers require in
accommodations. And I’ve made sure they’re all included in
my inn. We want business people to keep coming back to
Lennox House whenever Colorado Springs is on their route.

The extra services and friendliness travelers can expect
from their B&B hosts provides a homey note. Between that and
the availability of necessary online access, businesses
travelers can “tend to business” with minimal hassles. And
get back home.
cLisa Kolb, 2004

bio = –Lisa Kolb combines innkeeping and Web development at
Lennox House, http://www.lennoxhouse.com in Colorado
Springs, CO, at the base of the Rocky Mts. Acorn Internet Services, http://www.acorn-is.com
serves the hospitality industry. (877)226-7699

Popularity: 4% [?]

Albany Western Australia is a city of approximately 30,000 people in the south-west corner of Western Australia, approximately 409km from Perth . The city is nestled between three large hills, Mount Clarence, Mount Melville and Mount Adelaide, facing the beautiful King George III Sound.

The main industries of Albany Western Australia consist of tourism, fishing and agriculture, although before the 1950s whaling was one of the major sources of income and employment for the population. One of Albany’s old Whaling stations has now become one of the biggest tourist attractions for the area.

Since that time, Albany has become popular destination for a variety of visitors enjoying the fresh air, clean beaches, and fine views over the Southern Ocean, while still proving to be a thriving regional centre.

There is so much to see and do in and around Albany too. We have pristine beaches, superb yachting facilities, awesome wildflowers (in season), caves and inlets, beach and sea fishing, breathtaking dives, whale watching, great shopping, sumptuous restaurants and a cosmopolitan cappuccino strip, magnificent art galleries, delightful wineries, world-class golfing, lovely lagoons and of course excellent accommodation. Our harbour is one of the most picturesque in W.A. too!

In Albany between June and September watch out for magnificent humpback and southern right whales, who pause to play a while in the surrounding waters before migrating north to the warmer waters to breed.

Albany is the major seaport of the Great Southern region, and the largest centre in Western Australia outside the metropolitan area. It is an expanding regional centre with a wealth of natural and man-made resources. It is surrounded by much of WA’s best agricultural land, and the area is also rich in minerals. Albany, however, is primarily a holiday centre, and each year thousands come here to enjoy their holidays. The city is also used as a base to visit many beauty spots of the Great Southern.

At MyAlbany.net we intend to make as much information available to visitors and locals alike so that we all get to enjoy the variety of attractions that this beautiful town has to offer. Come and see Albany for yourself, you’ll love it!

bio = About The Author

Steve Wall is the owner and managing director of MyMandurah.com, a accommdation & Tourism directory for Mandurah Western Australia. He is also the web designer for www.mymandurah.com, steve@mymandurah.com.

Re-print rights

Need content? You may use this article on your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence: Article by Steve Wall of www.myalbany.net, with the link to our web site active.

steve@myalbany.net

Popularity: 5% [?]

Bunbury is located approximately 172kms south of Perth. Bunbury is a water wonderland visited by day trippers and holiday makers alike all year round. The towns population is approximately 30,000 and continuing to grow.

There is so much to see and do in and around Bunbury too. We have pristine beaches, superb yachting facilities, awesome Karri Forests, caves and inlets, beach and sea fishing, breathtaking dives including the amazing `Lena Wreck’, playful dolphins, whale watching, great shopping, sumptuous restaurants and a cosmopolitan cappuccino strip, magnificent art galleries, delightful wineries, world-class golfing, lovely lagoons and of course excellent accommodation. Our harbour is one of the most picturesque in W.A. and you can drive along the breakwater all the way to Koombana Bay. Now, you must not leave Bunbury without visiting the dolphins at Koombana Beach (near the inlet mouth of the harbour). Of course we can’t promise that they will turn up on time, but this is one of the few places that you can see these magnificent creatures up close and personal. In Bunbury between June and September watch out for magnificent humpback and southern right whales, who pause to play a while !

in the surrounding waters before migrating to the Antarctic.

Bunbury is the major seaport of the South-West region, and the largest centre in Western Australia outside the metropolitan area. It is an expanding regional centre with a wealth of natural and man-made resources. It is surrounded by much of WA’s best agricultural land, and the area is also rich in minerals. Bunbury, however, is primarily a holiday centre, and each year thousands come here to enjoy their holidays. The city is also used as a base to visit many beauty spots of the South-West.

At MyBunbury.com we intend to make as much information available to visitors and locals alike so that we all get to enjoy the variety of attractions that this beautiful town has to offer. Come and see Bunbury for yourself, you’ll love it!

bio = About The Author

Steve Wall is the owner and managing director of MyBunbury.com, a accommdation & Tourism directory for Mandurah Western Australia. He is also the web designer for www.mybunbury.com, steve@mybunbury.com.

Re-print rights

Need content? You may use this article on your website, or in your newsletter. The only requirement is inclusion of the following sentence: Article by Steve Wall of www.mybunbury.com, with the link to our web site active.

steve@mybunbury.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

If you decide to publish this article:You MUST reply to the article’s author and let them know when and where their article will be published.
You MUST include the author’s bylines (resource box).
You MUST send the author a courtesy copy of your publication (if applicable).
You MUST follow the author’s publishing guidelines.
If you would like to publish an article within an HTML publication or on your web site, you must create hyperlinks to the author’s web site. If you decide to publish this article.
If you publish this article on your website, please ensure you create a direct hyperlink to
my website.

http://business-opportunity-online.info

FOCUS on Your Business Program.
Written by: Raymond Johnsen
Power of Focus !

If you are anything like me, you probably find yourself often thinking
of new projects to start, new things to achieve.I did that
in my beginning on Internet. That in itself is very
beneficial and indeed a required ingredient for success. The
trick is to know where to draw a line.

The trap I kept falling into was hoping and looking for new
and better programs all the time,easy to find new once,but i
forgot about them the next day,instead of working on the
programs you already joined and going for the results there.

I would often actually get dragged into gathering more and
more information on new opportunities. I would spend time on
developing them right then and there. I would be stealing
the precious time away from the current project I was
supposed to be working on. Obviously, it was a trap.Be aware
of this trap! The current project would suffer, because
there is only so much time in a day.No one gets results form
Surfing the Internet for “Get Rich Tomorrow “and
thinking,there must be an easier way!There is not,only hard
work will give you success.Focus and work on your Business !

Then I would get discouraged with my current project and
drop it because I didn’t see any results. Think long
term!One of my future projects would become my current
project for the time being, until I’d drop it in favour of
the next project.Its a trap,yes.

This is how most of New to Internet do it!!Dont do the
same! Can you see the trap? And it gets even worse: If you
keep on doing this for long enough, you will actually
program your subconscious mind NOT to complete a project
EVER. You will forever keep on failing. Eventually it may
even filter through to other areas of your life.I did the
same in the beginning,so much waste of time and money!

There is to many Traps out there.It’s easy to see how
working on your online business can become such a trap
quickly. Internet is overloaded with information. I won’t
even mention the plethora of rubbish that exists online. But
there is so much valuable information out there, go and find
them,that developing your online business to a profitable
stage can take forever, UNLESS you start employing the
tremendous power of focus.Its the only way to do it,when you
understand this you will get results!

Here is only one way,focus.To be a success in your online
venture, you must not be working on more than two projects
at a time, EVER. And preferably work on just one project,
particularly if you only do your online venture on part-time
basis.

And by that I mean, don’t get distracted. Don’t dilute your
precious time. Work on your project, whatever it may be,
until completion.Learn the program,take the training section
over and over again,until you really know how it works!

Many programs can be difficult to understand,but take your
time to understand it!

Learn how to!By all means, plan you future. If you want to
work on the future ideas, set an hour per week aside for
doing just that. And then each week spend that hour thinking
about your new projects, write them down. When the time is
up, go back to your current project.

I will guarantee you one thing: If you develop and use the
power of focus, your success will get better and better with
each project. Thats how i got from not getting any results
to see great results every week.Focus.

On the other hand, if you keep falling into the trap of
working on too many projects at the same time, the chances
are you will get nowhere.

bio = About the Author:
Raymond Johnsen is the author of “FOCUS on Your Business Program.” He has helped a lot of individuals succeed online. Visit his site to find out how you can get Free info about Business Opportunities on Internet and info about how to succeed online..

http://business-opportunity-online.info

or mailto:
raymatog@online.no

Popularity: 5% [?]

Home Page

Home page should clearly indicate what the site is about. Provide top level navigation on the first page, your logo, and tell to the visitor what he can found on your web site. Your home page should be informative, and should call your visitor on action. Home page is the place where the visitor decides what he will do, click on some of your links, or leave the site. If you have a discount, or if you offer some free service in attempt to make a contact with potential customers, make sure to provide link to that service on your home page.

If you decide to implement flash intro on your first page, make sure to give the user possibility to skip the flash intro. The link “skip intro” should be outside of the flash, because you will force the visitor to wait until the Flash movie is loaded.

Navigation structure

Place the navigation on the place where the people are used too look for it. Don’t experiment with the navigation! I can’t stress enough this. Keep the navigation system same on ALL pages. Visitors are not ready to learn your site navigation system. Consistency is the most important thing here. You should focus your effort on building consistent rhythm across all pages of your site.

Font size

Your font size should be enough big so your text can be read without effort. There are many people who will not bother to read very small letters. Don’t loose your visitors because of font size. Optimal size seems to be 12-13 points. Visitors should be able to read your text easy, without any effort. Broke big chunks of texts in paragraphs and make them easy to follow.

Line Length

The length of a line of type should be comfortable to read. The optimal line length for printed materials seems to be about 10 to 12 words, or 60 to 70 characters. Somewhat shorter lines of about 40 to 50 characters may be more appropriate for larger displays. If the line is too long the reader must search for the beginning of it; if it is too short it will break up words or phrases awkwardly.

Creating emphasis

Creating emphasis is an important and integral part of designing and typesetting. Handled with taste and good judgment it can help direct and inform the reader. When these qualities are lacking, or someone feels that every word is important and must be emphasized in some way then your web page starts to look like a battlefield and becomes difficult to read!

Graphics

It’s well known that one picture worth more than million words. This rule applies on Internet too. Do your best to show clear, attractive photo of your product. If you offer a service, find a photo which will best describe him. However, be careful about file size. Don’t compress your photo to that level to not be clear, but also don’t leave the photo on full quality. That will make file size too big, and will increase download time.

Gif vs. JPEG
Less experienced web designers many times use wrong format to store their picture. Here are few guidelines which will help mistakes to be avoided. If your photo has small number of colors (less then 64) GIF will be better choice. Make sure however to reduce the palette size too. That is, if your image have10-15 colors only, reduce your palette on 16 or 32 colors.
Also, if your image contains text, GIF format should be your choice. JPEG use loosy compression method and will cause text and edges to become blurry.

If you are saving a photograph – save it as JPEG

JPEG images can contain over 32 million different colours. That is much more than the human eye can see.

If you want to incorporate large text into a photographic image, JPEG may be a good format to use. While the edges may still get blurred, danger of it becoming unreadable is slim. If you think your image is more important than the text, go ahead and use the JPEG format.

Speed

Do your best to reduce the download time. We live in a busy world and people are not will to wait long time. Try to reduce size of your graphics as much as possible without to destroy the image. Image must look good, but size (in KB) should be as small as possible.

Test before publishing

Do your homework, and do it well. Your visitors will not bother to send you an E-Mail that some of your links does not work or that some of your images does not appear. Even if someone do so, it is quite embarrassing. Perform spell and grammar checking. Remember that in many cases visitor will build his opinion about you or your company on base on your web site. When published, site should not contain any “under construction” or “coming soon” messages.

Zoran Makrevski
Search Engine Positioning Firm
SEO.Goto.gr

bio = Zoran Makrevski is President and CEO of SEO.Goto.gr, one of the first SEO companies in Greece.

Mr.Makrevski has over 10 years of experience in Web Design & Development and programming. Since 1998 has focused on E-Commerce and attempts to bring more traffic to the customer sites bring him in the SEO industry, and he is running his own company today.

Popularity: 6% [?]

One thing you can count on during the holiday season is the obligatory office party. No matter what the size of the organization, there is always an effort to bring coworkers together for one more moment of merriment. Some people look forward to the chance to mix and mingle outside the confines of business and others would rather give up the annual bonus than have to spend precious personal time with the gang from work.

No matter which side of the issue you fall on, there are certain rules of behavior to follow at the office party if you want to have an office to go to when the party is over. When the invitation arrives for the holiday happening, make sure that you know the answers to these key questions:

1. Do I have to go? Don’t even consider NOT going unless you have a justifiable conflict. The office party is part of your job. Its purpose is to bring together coworkers and colleagues for a bit of camaraderie and some well-deserved recognition. If this is not your idea of a great time, then consider it work, put on your best attitude and go.

2. Do I need to know who will be there? Find out who else has been invited. If you assume that it is just your department or your work team, you may not be prepared to interact with everyone else. Any sort of mixing and mingling event requires advance preparation. Knowing who will be there and having an idea what to talk about is critical to a successful venture.

3. How long should I stay? Stay long enough to speak to everyone there – assuming there is not a cast of thousands. With a large crowd, interact with as many people as possible, especially the key people like your boss. You need to remain at the event for at least an hour or you will give the impression that your appearance was merely obligatory.

If you are having a good time check your watch. Leave before the party time has elapsed. If your invitation was from 5-7, don’t stay one minute past 7 o’clock. You don’t want to be thought of as part of the clean-up crew unless that is the next job you want to have.

4. What should I wear? Remember that this is the office party, and keep your guard up when deciding how to dress. If the event is immediately after work, your business attire is appropriate.

If the party is later in the evening or on the weekend your choices will vary depending on the type of event. If you aren’t certain what to wear, check directly with your host or with coworkers whose taste and judgment you trust. Make sure that what you wear reflects well on you professionally. This is not the time to show up in your most revealing outfit.

5. Is my family invited? Not unless it says so on the invitation. Take your children only if the invitation reads “and family”. Otherwise leave them at home with the babysitter. Unless your spouse is mentioned or the envelope is addressed to you “and guest” you and only you should show up.

6. What will I talk about? It’s not what you have to say; it’s about what other people have to say. The trick is allowing other people to talk. If you plan ahead with some good open-ended questions, you won’t have any trouble with conversations. The best conversation starter begins with “tell me about…” You can then continue with “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

7. How much should I eat and drink? Whether the event is a reception with light hors d’oeuvres or a full buffet, keep moderation in mind. You are not there for the food. You are there for the fellowship so resist the urge to fill your plate to overflowing. The person who goes through the line first and takes all the food will not be remembered fondly or invited back.

Drink in moderation. Alcohol and business rarely mix well so limit how much you consume. This is an opportunity to build business relationships and to promote yourself. You will want to keep your wits about you because your after-hours conduct will have a direct bearing on your business future.

8. Should I take a gift? Unless you are asked to bring something to exchange with your coworkers, the only appropriate gift is one for your host. While flowers and wine are popular items, approach both with caution. Take wine or liquor only if you are certain that your host drinks alcoholic beverages. If wine is being served with a meal, ask ahead of time what kind of wine would be appropriate. Otherwise make it clear that you expect your host to save the wine for a later occasion.

With flowers, take cut flowers already arranged in a vase that does not have to be returned. The host should not have to scurry about to locate a vase and arrange flowers while there are guests to be entertained. Gift baskets with jams, jellies, or gourmet food items that can be stored and served later are the best choices.

9. Is it all right to dance on the table with a lampshade on my head? Not at the office party, no matter how well it fits or what a great little dancer you are. Enjoy yourself, but keep in mind that it is still about business and make sure that you don’t have TOO much fun.

The holiday party is not the time to let down your hair or throw caution to the wind. What you say and do on Saturday night will live on for a long time in the minds of your associates. If your behavior is inappropriate, your career may be shorter than everyone else’s memory. If you conduct yourself with charm and savvy, your rise up the ladder of success could pick up speed.

(c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.
bio = Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL -ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her web site http://www. mannersthatsell.com/

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Jeff Lugeanbeal- www.worldwideweightloss.com

Fat Burners refer to the hundreds of products on the market today that can be purchased over the counter. Their purpose is to somehow burn off the fat by speeding up metabolism, or blocking fat in foods, or other methods.

The companies that sell these products employ savvy at marketing techniques to hook you, with bold print ads and sometimes less than believable before and after pictures.

>>Are these products safe?
Fat burners are not regulated by the FDA so companies can put whatever herb, vitamin, or mineral in them as long as the substance isn’t illegal. I don’t know of any long term studies on any one of the hundreds of fat burners on the market.

>>Do they work?
Many of these products have been shown to be effective for weight loss, though they may have negative side effects. Be aware these products can cause side effects such as rapid pulse, increased blood pressure, constipation, nervousness, sleeplessness, and lack of appetite.

>>Are they healthy to you and your weight loss goals?
The jury is still out on the health benefits of any fat burner. These products should be looked at as temporary fixes to weight loss. Most of them cause a decrease in appetite, which can lead you into a situation of not consuming enough calories on a daily basis.

If you aren’t eating enough daily calories, your body responds by slowing your metabolism, storing fat, and using muscle for metabolism. This can result in you losing weight, but muscle weight instead of fat. The goal in any weight loss program should be to keep the muscle, lose the fat.

Fat burners might help you lose some weight in the short term, but once you stop taking them you run a high probability of gaining the weight back, especially if you aren’t following a healthy eating plan and moderate exercise program.

c Jeff Lugeanbeal – All rights reserved

bio = Jeff Lugeanbeal- Sought after Health and fitness professional, motivational and nutritional coach, is a recognized authority On the subject of weight loss. His Web site, www.worldwideweightloss.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’d ever need to know about permanent, natural fat loss and will help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

Popularity: 5% [?]

1. Write your own articles.

Your articles will give you an effective way to build up your status as an expert by sharing your tips and advice with your readers.

Your articles will also help you to effectively promote your business through your resource box at the end of your articles.

Use your articles to get more subscribers by submitting them to article directories and announcement lists with a resource box that promotes your ezine.

2. Recommend the products of affiliate programs you’ve joined to your subscriber base.

If you’ve earned the trust of your subscribers your recommendations will help you to successfully increase your commissions.

Only recommend products you can honestly vouch for and that you believe can meet your subscribers’ needs.

3. Swap ads with other ezine publishers.

You could swap an ad for your ezine or for your business with another ezine publisher in exchange for publishing her ad in your ezine.

Try to swap ads for multiple issues and track your ads so that you’ll know which ezines are the best ones to continue swapping ads with.

4. Swap “thank you” page ads with other ezine publishers.

Promote other ezines on the page your new subscribers are taken to after filling out a form or subscription box to join your ezine in exchange for those publishers promoting your ezine on their “thank you” pages.

In addition to swapping ads on this page, you can also swap recommendations with other ezine publishers to get even more powerful promotion from your “thank you” page swaps.

5. Publish testimonials.

Post testimonials for your ezine on your site as well as testimonials for your products within your ezine.

6. Provide a sample issue or an archive of your past issues on your site.

This will help you to increase your subscriptions by showing your visitors what your ezine has to offer them.

7. Encourage reader participation.

You could run contests, have your readers send in their tips, or have an ask the editor section where you answer questions sent in from your subscribers.

You could also ask your readers to send in their articles for publication in your ezine.

8. Occasionally send out a special solo mailing to your subscribers that tells them about your sale, discount, or subscriber only special.

9. Promote your ezine in your signature file. Use your signature file in your emails to your visitors and clients that email you with their questions and also in your posts to moderated discussion lists and forums.

10. Promote your ezine on every page of your site.

You never know what page your visitors might enter your site from. Promoting your ezine on every page ensures that your visitors will know about your ezine and that they’ll be able to easily subscribe to your publication.
bio = Article by writer, Ken Hill. Do You Publish an Ezine? Want more subscribers? Put your ezine promotion on autopilot with this must have ezine promotional tool. Over 1600+ places to promote your ezine. Learn more now at:

http://netpromarketer.com/ea.html

Popularity: 5% [?]

Want to gain added exposure at a trade show? Consider sponsoring a professional speaker at the attendees meeting. But don’t just settle for a banner on the stage with your company name. There’s much more leverage you can get from a top flight professional speaker.

Having been the sponsored keynoter at major conferences, I am amazed how many sponsors respond with astonishment when I suggest ways they can use me. Consider these additions:

(1) Make sure the speaker is versed in your product or service. If possible and appropriate, the speaker might be able to use your company as an example during the presentation. For example, in addressing the administrators of law firms, I spoke about the importance of strategic alliances so the right work is done by the right people. The sponsor, Pitney Bowes, handled printing, mail room services, etc. in a manner that was be both efficient and cost-effective for the firm. Pitney Bowes served as a great example of a strategic alliance!

(2) Use the speaker for both a keynote and a break-out. Many speakers offer a daily fee which means you can use them for more then one session in a day. This strategy ensures that every attendee, no matter what their schedule, will have the opportunity to see the speaker in action.

(3) Ask the speaker to write an article that can be reprinted with your company logo and given away free at the booth. The speaker can be in the booth, autographing the article. Print the article in your company newsletter or magazine for those who could not attend.

(4) Ask the speaker to sign books in your booth and greet people. Give away the speaker’s book at your booth for the first 100 people. You’ll be amazed at how much traffic will instantly show up. A variation on this theme is to split the give-away into morning and afternoon, thus generating traffic at different times of the day

(5) If possible, work with the speaker to use either her core message or the speech title as part of the background in the booth. This not only reinforces a learning point, but identified your company to all attendees and not just the ones who attended a session.

(6) Print up a postcard with your company information AND the speakers key learning points. Mail it after the trade show to everyone who attended the conference. In fact, a really classy gesture is to write a cover letter about your company and WHY you sponsored the speaker. Mail it in a hand-addressed envelope and enclose a wallet-size card with the speaker’s main points.

(7) Consider hiring the speaker to follow-up with attendees by sending out a regular article or newsletter by e-mail sponsored by your organization. This reinforces the speaker’s message for long term results and provides additional exposure for your organization.

(8) If the fit is a good one, consider sponsoring the same speaker within your organization. So often, rank-and-file employees do not get to attend conferences. The prevailing view that “sales and marketing have all the fun” can be countered if you bring what your learned back to the corporation. And continuing education is one of the top three retention factors.

To sponsor a speaker for a one-hour session leaves value and opportunity on the table. When you match the association’s needs with your business objectives and strategically avail yourself of whatever services a professional speaker can offer, everyone becomes a winner!

(c) 2004, McDargh Communications. All rights reserved. Reprint rights granted so long as the article and by-line are kept intact.
bio = Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE is one of top-ranked women business speakers in the United States. She’s authored numerous books the newest of which is The Resilient Spirit, radio commentator, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association. http://www.eileenmcdargh.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Why Pay-Per-Inclusion Search Engines are Dying

A Pay-Per-Inclusion search engine is a service in which
a search engine charges you a certain amount to spider
and include your website in its database. For this fee,
regular repeated spiderings are guaranteed, so you are
sure to be indexed.

However, rankings are not guaranteed. These pages have
no advantage over any page submitted for free. A few
years ago, pay-per-inclusion search engines such as Inktomi,
Altavista, Ask Jeeves and Yahoo were introduced.
However, they have failed badly and have lost traffic to
Google.

Why Google is Tops

Google built the LARGEST search engine database because
it refused to adopt the pay-per-inclusion model. By allowing
every website to submit its pages free, it built an enormous
database of websites. Good news for everyone searching
Google’s database!

Google’s competitors were unable to deliver the same results,
partly because they had fewer websites to choose from.
If you charge for entry into a search engine, you eliminate
over 90% of the websites on the Net which cannot justify
such a fee.

What the pay-per-inclusion search engines did not understand
was that their real customers were the ADVERTISERS and
not the searchers. Nor were the websites the customers of the
engines.

The advertisers pay the search engines, so they are the customers.
Google recognised this and decided to keep the advertisers happy
by providing a large database of websites. This large database
became well known and it attracted great numbers of searches.
These searches were exposed to the advertisers’ products and
the searches led to good sales. To make this most efficient,
search engine submission must be free.

Search Engine Model is Similar to Television

This is all similar to television where programmes are made for
the masses and given away free. Then the advertisers step in
and make the money! As a search engine survives by the quality
of its search results, surfers and sites flocked to Google making it
the number one search engine.

Why the Death of Pay-Per-Inclusion SE’s is Good for Small Sites

Only large quality SE databases can fulfil the needs of surfers. Your
relationships with the search engines is one of mutual benefit. You need
the traffic and the search engines provide the quality content.

Therefore by creating good websites with quality content and submitting
them free to the search engines, you are both winning. There is no need
to spend enormous amounts on search engine submission and optimisation.
All you need to do is create good websites with the appropriate keywords
for your pages and everything else will take care of itself.

Of course, this is where we were at the beginning of the Internet revolution,
except certain search engines got too greedy and thought they could cash
in on unfortunate small website owners!

c John Lynch

( For a review of Site Build It – the leading website and store building
software package which encourages good content for high search engine
rankings go to: http://www.merchant-account-service.com/sitebuildit.html)

bio = For a review of SiteBuildIt – the most advanced website building software for home and small business
go to: http://www.merchant-account-service.com/sitebuildit.html

Popularity: 6% [?]

Morningstar now provides Fiduciary Grades on mutual funds. How does Morningstar determine these grades? How can mutual fund investors use these grades to better manage their portfolios?

Mutual fund investors use Morningstar RatingT as a sign post of mutual fund performance. These ratings have proved to be a valuable tool for objectively comparing the performances of different mutual funds.

In 2003, New York Attorney General, Elliott Spitzer launched actions against some mutual fund companies for allowing their privileged clients to profit from improper activities such as late trading.

In the aftermath of these developments, investors realize that they need more than the historical performance based Morningstar Ratings to evaluate mutual funds. The Morningstar Ratings do not get at critical intangibles. How seriously does the mutual fund company take its fiduciary responsibility to mutual fund investors? How aligned are the interests of the mutual fund manager and the mutual fund company with those of the mutual fund investor?

To address this need, Morningstar has embarked on a system called the Fiduciary Grade. Morningstar has so far graded about 635 mutual funds, including 500 of the largest ones. Morningstar plans to provide Fiduciary Grades for a total of 2000 mutual funds over time.

The Morningstar Fiduciary Grade System Basics

The Morningstar Fiduciary Grade is based on the evaluation of five areas critical for mutual fund governance and mutual fund operations. Morningstar generally assigns to mutual funds points ranging from 0 (Very Poor) to 2 (Excellent) in increments of 0.5 for each of these five areas.

1. Regulatory Issues: Morningstar examines if the mutual fund company has had any regulatory issues within the past three years. If so, what corrective actions has the mutual fund company implemented? Unlike the other four areas, the minimum score here can be a minus 2.

2. Board Quality: Morningstar looks for a demonstrated track record of the mutual fund board protecting the interests of mutual fund investors. Mutual funds get kudos if their independent directors invest in the mutual funds.

3. Manager Incentives: This score is based on Morningstar’s evaluation of mutual fund ownership and compensation structure. Mutual funds where the fund’s manager owns a meaningful stake in the fund score high on the fund ownership dimension. A compensation structure that rewards the mutual fund manager for long-term mutual fund performance is favored.

4. Fees: Mutual funds are rewarded for having expense ratios lower than that of their peers and for effectively reducing their expense ratios with growth in their assets.

5. Corporate Culture: Morningstar looks for tangible evidence that the mutual fund company takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously. Among the factors Morningstar considers are softer issues like whether the company closes mutual funds when they get too large and whether the company starts trendy mutual funds to garner assets.

The points scored on each of the above areas are aggregated and the Fiduciary Grade is assigned based on the total: A=9-10, B=7-8.5, C=5-6.5, D=3-4.5, F=2.5 or less.

How Investors Can Use the Morningstar Fiduciary Grade

Here are some ways investors can use the Morningstar Fiduciary Grade.

1. Buy and Hold Investors: Buy and hold mutual fund investors first need to examine how mutual funds held in their portfolios stack up on the two dimensions, Morningstar Rating and Fiduciary Grade.

Mutual funds that rank favorably on both dimensions may be retained and mutual funds that rank unfavorably on both dimensions may be replaced by ones that rank favorably.

For mutual funds that rank favorably in one dimension but not in the other, the answer is not clear-cut. Retaining a fund with strong Morningstar Rating but lower Fiduciary Grade is a matter of personal choice. Conversely, a mutual fund’s Fiduciary Grade may be satisfactory but the Morningstar Rating may be unfavorable. This may just be a case of the mutual fund manager going through a temporary bad patch. Investors have to weigh these factors along with tax consequences before deciding to sell a mutual fund.

Given the number of mutual funds available, investors seeking new mutual funds to add to their portfolio should in general have no trouble in finding mutual funds with favorable Morningstar Rating as well as Fiduciary Grade.

2. Tactical Asset Allocators: A tactical asset allocator uses an active investment strategy and typically invests in mutual funds such as sector funds. For example, AlphaProfit uses its ValuM investment process to periodically alter the mix of its mutual fund model portfolios to take advantage of specific trends (e.g. rising natural gas prices, introduction of new wireless technologies).

Since tactical asset allocators seek superior performance during their mutual fund holding period, factors such as superior long-term performance which determine Morningstar Ratings are less important to them. However, these investors typically seek to own mutual funds within a single family such as Fidelity Investments for purposes of administrative ease. As such, tactical asset allocators will find the Fiduciary Grade useful in evaluating and choosing mutual fund families to implement their strategies.

Our Take on the Morningstar Fiduciary Grade System

The Fiduciary Grade system is a blend of several metrics. The grading of mutual funds on regulatory issues is backward looking rather than a prognosticator of potential future trouble. The grading system includes a quantitative dimension in mutual fund fees. Also included are qualitative dimensions such as mutual fund corporate culture, manager incentives, and board quality.

The Mutual Fund Fiduciary Grade ranking provides mutual fund investors with much needed insight on the governance and operations of mutual funds. The Morningstar Fiduciary Grade System is a good first step. We believe Morningstar will refine the Mutual Fund Fiduciary Grade system over time, just as they refined the Morningstar Ratings system.

While Morningstar Ratings do an excellent job of objectively evaluating past performance, financial markets by their very nature do not allow the investor to predict future performance based on these ratings alone. Many times, funds with Morningstar Ratings of 4- or 5-star do not live up to their expectations.

The utility of the Morningstar Fiduciary Grade will be significantly enhanced if superior Fiduciary Grade either by itself or in combination with the Morningstar Rating becomes a better indicator of superior future performance. We believe the Morningstar Fiduciary Grade has the potential to become a worthy metric of mutual fund stewardship over time.

Notes: This report is for information purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities or to give individual investment advice. This report does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation, and particular needs of any specific person who may receive this report. The information contained in this report is obtained from various sources believed to be accurate and is provided without warranties of any kind. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC does not represent that this information, including any third party information, is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC is not responsible for any errors or omissions herein. Opinions expressed herein reflect the opinion of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC and are subject to change without notice. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC disclaims any liability for any direct or incidental loss incurred by a pplying any of the information in this report. Morningstar RatingT is a trademark of Morningstar, Inc. The third-party trademarks or service marks appearing within this report are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks appearing herein are the property of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. Owners and employees of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC for their own accounts invest in the Fidelity Mutual Funds. AlphaProfit Investments, LLC neither is associated with nor receives any compensation from Fidelity Investments. Past performance is neither an indication of nor a guarantee for future results. No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. Copyright c 2004 AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. All rights reserved.
bio = Sam Subramanian, PhD, MBA is Managing Principal of AlphaProfit Investments, LLC. Sam developed the ValuMT Investment Process for managing investments. He edits the AlphaProfit Sector Investors’ NewsletterT, a publication that discusses investments using Fidelity mutual funds. For the 5 year period ending December 31, 2003, AlphaProfit model portfolios increased by up to 252%, a compound annual return of 28.6%. To learn more about AlphaProfit and to subscribe to the FREE newsletter, visit http://www.alphaprofit.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

SALT LAKE CITY – September 15, 2004 – ContentWatch, Inc., a trusted provider of Internet filter and protection tools, today announced the launch of its Family Safe Program, a list of Web sites that have been identified and recognized by ContentWatchT as “family safe.”

More than 30 Family Safe sites have already been identified and approved, and anyone can recommend a Family Safe site by emailing familysafesites@contentwatch.com

“There is a real need in the world for more Web sites that are safe for the eyes and minds of families with young children and teenagers,” said Brent Bishop, chief executive officer of ContentWatch. “The more these family-safe Web sites become available, the more ContentWatch wants to recognize them and help families and communities become aware that there are many fun and entertaining Web sites available for even the youngest of children.”

In addition to Family Safe, ContentWatch also provides a number of Internet filter and protection tools including its ContentProtectT software, which was recently selected by the Walt Disney Company as the official Internet filter for the Disney Dream Desk PC for kids. ContentProtect allows real-time, online parental control and is highly rated in the industry. Parents of a child or teenager can monitor Internet use from any Internet connection through powerful remote management and reporting tools. ContentWatch also provides a powerful pop up blocker (PopupProtectT), spam filter / email filter (EmailProtectT), and automatic identification of unapproved temporary Internet files with its ContentCleanupT product.

ContentWatch’s list of “Family Safe” Web sites in addition to information about ContentProtect can be found at http://www.contentwatch.com/learn_center/family_safe_sites.php

bio = About ContentWatch
ContentWatch, Inc. delivers Internet filter and protection solutions for the home, library, education, government and business markets. ContentWatch’s mission is to be the world leader in thought and technology in creating Internet filter and protection tools and services that provide homes and businesses with a safe Internet experience. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, ContentWatch has customers in all 50 states and more than 175 countries. For more information on ContentWatch products, visit http://www.contentwatch.com/
ContentWatchT, ContentCleanupT, PopupProtectT and EmailProtectT are each trademarks of ContentWatch, Inc.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Stress-Free Scrapbook Journaling Ideas
By Elaine Clay

Do you find it intimidating when you come to journal your scrapbook pages?

You are not alone! Many scrapbookers find it hard to get started when it comes to adding journaling to their scrapbooking layouts.

If you are one of those people who go blank at the thought of having to journal, don’t worry. Here are some stress-free scrapbooking journaling ideas to help you write the right words whatever your page theme.

Make a list.
This is a fairly simple journaling technique that is suitable for use with any type of page theme, for example:

Doing a friendship page – list how you met, where you met, how long you have known each other, include what you like about your friend and why you are both pals.

Doing a recipe scrapbook page – then make a personal top 10 list of reasons why you like Grandma’s chocolate cake so much.

Doing a baby layout – do a list of baby’s favorite foods, you can even do one for the foods they don’t like!

A variation of this technique is to use bullet points to mark each line on your list, giving you an opportunity to empathise each item of your journaling:

- Anguilla

- April 2004

- My first trip to the Caribbean

- This is the view from my hotel balcony overlooking the cove – I can’t wait to go swimming the sea looks so nice!

Make sure you have fun experimenting with all the different kinds of embellishments that you can use as your bullet points!

Another bonus with using the list technique is that you do not need to worry about the structure of your sentences or that your journaling makes sense because the list breaks down what you want to say into it’s basic readable form.

Write a Letter.
This is one of those great scrapbook journaling ideas that’s fairly simple to do and it’s also a lovely, personal way to journal your layouts too.

All you have to do is pretend you’re writing to a friend telling them what is happening in your photographs and including the “Dear ..” at the beginning of your writing
will give your journaling an intimate feel.

Sent any emails lately? Like letters, emails are also a good source of journaling material that you can use for your layouts.

If you are unsure of your own journaling then doing it in a letter format could help your writing flow more easily, as you describe the people and the events taking place, letting you tell the story naturally and in your own words.

Ask a question.
If you are completely stuck and cannot think of anything to write this can be a good quick fix technique to use. Just ask some simple questions like, “What was your favorite part of..?” or “Did anything funny or embarrassing happen?”.

This technique can be very effective when used for a special occasion layout, like a bridal shower, where you can ask each of the guests to tell you about their favorite memory of the bride-to-be.

Why not take it a stage further? Give each shower guest some suitable decorative paper and let them write down their own memories rather than journal all of them yourself.

For an extra special touch, you could get the guests to bring with them their favorite photo of the bride-to-be. Ask them to journal why they picked that particular picture and then do a separate layout for each individual photo.

This is an effective way to make a wonderful and unique scrapbook that is quick, simple and full of memorable pieces of journaling that add a very personal feel to the album.

If you are one of those people who find it difficult to begin the journaling process these fun scrapbook journaling ideas will provide you with some basic tips and techniques to help make it easier.

So go on, try out the scrapbook journaling ideas above for yourself and add some stress-free journaling to your pages… Once you’ve finished you’ll see that it’s been well worth the effort.

bio = Elaine Clay is the owner of Online-Scrapbooking-Guide.com :: your one-stop online scrapbooking resource. Find inspiration, increase your creativity and have fun with our helpful tips, ideas, articles and much more.

- Feel free to use the above article on your web site or ezine. Provided that it is published in it’s entirety, including my resource box above and a “live” clickable link to: http://www.online-scrapbooking-guide.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

Employers – Protect Yourself from Custody Battles
that Hold Your Company Hostage

Charlotte Hardwick

Child custody? How’d that get to be an employer’s concern?

When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will
effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes
legal consequences for their employers as well. Unless you
know where to draw the lines regarding your legal
obligations and exposure, you could find your employee’s
custody difficulties costing the company in a variety of
ways.

Custody problems have a major impact in the workplace, where
they effect other employees, as well as hurting the bottom
line. Worse yet, they can be disruptive in the workplace for
a long time. Unlike other kinds of employee stress, a
custody dispute could keep creating turmoil until the
employee’s youngest child turns 18. A matter may seem to be
resolved, only to rise again years later as the child’s
circumstances change.

Financial Costs Add Up
The widespread effects of custody litigation on employers
isn’t a new issue. It’s just that nobody has been noticing
how many negative ways it creates problems in the workplace.
But you need to, because the risks and harmful consequences
to your enterprise of ignoring it are significant.
When you consider the impact on other employees, your
personnel policies, and financial exposure, this article
should be a wake-up call.

Impact on the Employee’s Performance
ú Absence for appointments with attorney, evaluations,
court dates, etc.
ú Stress making them more distracted, and even ill (so
more sick leave)
ú Co-workers having to pick up the slack, so they feel
put upon
ú Unavailable for travel or extended hours
ú Involving other employees in the unfolding dramatic
developments, which sidetracks them all from the job at hand
ú Likely self-medication with drugs or alcohol to deal
with emotional strains
ú Depression, anger and other emotional spill-over on
the job

Impact on the Supervisor or Employer
Extra supervision is usually required to compensate for
erratic employee performance issues. Distracted employees
aren’t capable of doing their best work. Plus, you need to
be vigilant as to how custody developments effect co-
workers, and the extent to which they’re pulled into the
personal problems. Constant updating and consoling distracts
everyone involved from their work.
In an effort to be “understanding” it’s easy for supervisors
to fall into enabling behaviors, that are harmful both for
the business and the employee. These could include:

- “Covering Up: Providing alibis, making excuses or
even doing the work rather than confronting the issue that
they’re not meeting their responsibilities.
- Rationalizing: Developing reasons why their
continued behavior is understandable or acceptable.
- Withdrawing: Avoiding contact with the employee or
their problems.
- Blaming: Blaming others for the continued problem
behavior or performance.
- Controlling: Taking responsibility for their
performance by moving them to a less important job (or
reducing their obligations)
- Threatening: Saying you’ll take action (ceasing to
cover up, taking formal disciplinary action) if they don’t
improve.”
Quoted from Win Your Child Custody War, Chapter 11.

Be Alert to the Company’s Risks
The employer must never sacrifice company policy under such
circumstances. It should already have policies in place to
deal with these matters – and then stick with them. If the
personnel matters are mis-handled, even for well-meaning
reasons, the legal exposure would be costly in both dollars
and time.

And don’t overlook the related issues which put the company
at risk: possible workplace violence (one need only pick up
the paper), compromised company confidentiality (as private
work-related matters are made public records through court
submission) and accidents, which are more likely when a
person is distracted. And that doesn’t even address the
costs related to lost jobs. (It costs approximately $125,000
to hire and orient a new employee.) Custody matters often
trigger relocations or resignations.

No workplace is immune. Just because custody-related
problems haven’t come up before, it’s unwise to disregard
the headaches it can cause. Knowing the proper way to
support the employee and where to draw the line serves them
as well as the organization.

If you want to protect your business from being held hostage
when an employee goes through a custody dispute, you need
reliable information. Because the consequences to your
operation could be crippling.

bio = –Charlotte Hardwick, Author, Win Your Child Custody War, the most
comprehensive and respected guidebook on custody (640 pg,
updated yearly) Resources to put you in control, arming you for
every step of a dispute http://www.custodywar.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Pelvic pain is a widespread chronic pain condition that affects the lives of men and women all across the world. But most people don’t realize how big the problem is because those who suffer don’t talk about it. Why? Would you talk about your pain if it involved rectal pain or vaginal/penis pain to your pals? My guess is no. You would keep it a secret and just try to “brush it under the rug” so to speak. There are so many people that suffer and just accept their pain which is sad.

But change is coming…

In the past few years, pelvic pain is getting much more recognition. Awareness is beginning to grow and people are coming out and talking. So you may be asking yourself, do I suffer from chronic pelvic pain? In a nutshell, chronic pelvic pain conditions usually consist of urinary pain, rectal pain, muscle spasms or tightness in the pelvic muscles, and usually there is no sign of any major abnormalities. That is what makes the condition so tough, is that there is nothing actually found to be wrong with the sufferer.

Previously, most doctors would prescribe rounds of antibiotics or pain killers to take care of the pain. In most of the cases, there wasn’t even any sign of an infection. Doctors would just prescribe what they thought might work. Overtime, this method didn’t work. Today, there is a whole new approach to how pelvic pain is treated. One of the popular methods that has had good success is The Pelvic Pain Solution, an ebook written by a sufferer that beat pelvic pain (see www.redmaven.com )It is highly recommended if you suffer from chronic pelvic pain. The whole approach focuses on the body and the mind to beat pelvic pain. It is a more holistic approach that doesn’t involve antibiotics or other invasive procedures.

Finally, people that suffer from chronic pelvic pain conditions such as prostatitis, vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, levator ani syndrome, etc. can have hope. The old methods involving pointless procedures (dilations, pain killers, antibiotics, invasive procedures) are about to bite the dust. There is a new turn to a more realistic treatment that puts the sufferer in charge of healing themselves…instead of someone else trying to heal them. This is new breath of fresh air for people with pelvic pain!

For more information on chronic pelvic pain conditions, visit:
www.chronic-pelvic-pain.redmaven.com
bio = Paul Dylan is a freelance writer and web designer.

Popularity: 4% [?]

It has taken almost forty years for snowboarding to be recognized as a major sport that is followed and participated in by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Humanity’s love affair with snow has been documented throughout the ages, starting with cave dwellers who were smart enough to figure out that snow had its advantages, such as serving as insulation to hold in the warmth in their homes and preserving the day’s kill.

To say who actually invented the sport of snowboarding would be impossible because people have always loved to slide down a snow-covered hill. Soaring through the snow on some kind of seat or board is nothing new. The ways to enjoy the snow are numerous, and people have devised ways to turn garbage can lids and cardboard into “snow boards” to enjoy an afternoon frolic outdoors. The various ways to glide through snow have become more sophisticated and have evolved into using polished boards or skis in much the same manner as a surfboarder would ride a wave.

There have been many attempts at developing a modern snowboard. In 1965, the “Snurfer” (a word play on `snow’ and `surfer’) was developed as a child’s toy. Two skis were bound together and a rope was placed at the front end to afford control and stability. Over 500,000 “Snurfers” were sold in 1966 but they were never seen as more than a child’s plaything even though organized competitions began to take place. The year 1969 brought a slightly more sophisticated snowboard based on the principles of skiing combined with surfboard styling.

The “Flying Yellow Banana” was developed in 1977. This was nothing more than a plastic shell covered with a top surface like that of a skateboard, but at the time it was considered a major advance in the little known sport of snowboarding. The first national snowboard race was held in the area outside Woodstock and was known as “The Suicide Six.” The race consisted of a steep downhill run called The Face in which the main goal was probably mere survival.

Snowboarding continued to increase in popularity over the next several years. In 1985 the first magazine dedicated specifically to snowboarding hit the news stands with huge success and furthered the popularity of this exciting sport. Hoards of fans began to organize regional events and pretty soon snowboarding events were held in all parts of the world. In the year 1994 snowboarding was finally declared an Olympic event, much to the delight of fans. The not-so-new sport of snowboarding was finally recognized and meant a huge victory for serious snowboarders across the globe.

A collection of snowboarding tricks and stunts was released on video in 1996. Filmed in Alaska, the breathtaking beauty and captivating snowboarding techniques featured in the video exposed snowboarding to a new generation, and by 1998 snowboarding constituted almost 50% of all winter activity. Today, nearly all ski resorts accept snowboarders. There are still a few holding on to the past but this is unlikely to continue as the number of snowboarders continually increases.

>From the first crudely built snowboards to the advanced and specialized models available today, snowboarders have carried a “bad boy” image. This rebel reputation is still common today in spite of the fact that snowboarding appeals to men, women, and children of all nationalities and social groups. At most major ski resorts you can find snowboarding gear, information, and lessons. Olympic and world wide snowboarding events are among the most popular of winter sports and the competition to be the best is fierce.

Retailers nation wide and around the world carry many types of snowboards, and the choice in specially made snowboarding gear is immense. Snowboarders have participated in the X Games and even charity events such as Boarding for Breast Cancer. From its early meager beginnings snowboarding has progressed into a fully recognized sport, and large numbers of people are turning to snowboarding for adventure, fun, and professional recognition.

bio = Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher. Visit his snowboards and ski vacation website at http://www.all-4-snow.com There is information also on snowmobiles, snowplows, snow sleds and skiing.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This beautifully laid out trade paperback has a gorgeous and practical design both inside and out. I recommend you read this book with a highlighter and a pen and be ready to take copious notes in the blank pages thoughtfully provided between chapters.

Manners That Sell: Adding The Polish That Builds Profits should be required reading for high school and college students and for anyone already in the business environment. Once upon a time, good manners were taught in school and at home, but that time has long since passed. This book provides the perfect refresher course for those of us who were taught manners but no longer remember the finer points of etiquette.

While reading this book I discovered that the author, Lydia Ramsey, covered every conceivable point of etiquette including many that I’d never been taught. Each of the twelve chapters covers one main topic broken down into digestible bite sized chunks of rules and guidelines to enhance credibility and professionalism. Topics include first impressions, greetings and introductions, the art of conversation, dressing for business, telephone courtesy, electronic etiquette, correspondence in business, etiquette in the office, gift-giving in business, etiquette out of the office, dining for profit and doing business internationally.

The author of this delightful book, Lydia Ramsey, is a business etiquette expert with over thirty years of experience working with non-profits, corporations, colleges and universities. She is a frequently published author who presents workshops, seminars and keynotes on all aspects of business etiquette.

I recommend businesses buy this book in bulk and present one to every employee from the frontline up to the top management. In this ever changing world with so many consumer choices, the bottom line is often affected by the simple courtesies that can and should be afforded to customers. You need this book if you want your employees to succeed and your business to thrive. You can purchase Manners That Sell at http://www.MannersThatSell.com.

(c)2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved. Permission for reprint granted to all venues so long as they are opt-in.
bio = Bonnie Jo Davis is the author of the e-book: Articles That Sell: Use The Best Kept Secret To Promote Your Business For Free! For more information about Bonnie her e-book visit http://tinyurl.com/5wnmm.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Whitewater Rafting Forges Bonds Stronger than the Rapids
Jim Sampson

Colorado River Rafting is a Trip

Visualize the boat’s brow cutting through the swirling,
surging water; the sun sparkling on the frothy waves, making
tiny rainbows; the abrupt lurch of the craft, as the surging
waves suddenly shift direction. The adrenalin is pumping,
all senses alert, with nature working overtime to
orchestrate a thrill you’ll never forget. That’s what most
people think a raft trip entails, but there’s much more
going on. Your connection with the other rafters forms a
matchless adventure that won’t be forgotten.

Rafting down the Arkansas River on the rushing snowmelt from
14,000 feet peaks is exciting – no doubt about it. But the
trip is still safe enough for a family vacation. River
rafting in Colorado combines thrilling rapids with quiet
stretches, where rafters can take in the spectacular
mountain scenery close up. Their mental cameras capture
images that will be studied over and over later, once they
return home.

Look Past the Surging River and the Drama

There’s one thing even more crucial than the water for
making your adventure tour a treasured event. It’s the other
people. Some you bring along, like family, friends or group
(such as a scout troop). You may think you know each other
already, but the time spent on the river forever alters the
way you’ll relate back home. That’s the real pay-off from a
wilderness adventure. The guides and other rafters also play
essential roles in the total experience.

Unlike taking a bus or a train, the goal isn’t to arrive at
the destination. Instead, getting there is ALL the fun. So
there’s no hurry. Everyone along plays their part in moving
the boats, and reacts to what the river throws at them. Each
person needs to develop their sense of teamwork and reliance
on each other. The emotional exhilaration amps up even more
because of the sharing involved. Facing
physical challenges together builds trust and confidence in
each other, in
a matter of hours.

Make Memories that Don’t Fade

Scientists have discovered that the intensity of an
emotional experience permanently alters the way a person
remembers it. Emotionally charged experiences are filed
differently in the brain than everyday ones are. Later,
they’re recalled with vivid detail, without losing clarity
over time. Recalling even a small part of the event brings
the full force of experience back. That’s why they’re called
“flashbulb memories.”

When people go through such powerful experiences together,
they relate to each other in new ways. It’s certainly a step
away from their day-in, day-out routines. That’s a major
reason why a wilderness adventure like whitewater rafting
does more for those who take the trip than a casual vacation
would. They develop new ways to relate to nature and each
other. Rafters tell me they arranged the trip to get away
from the TV and the cell phone. But they’re pleased to find
that the river is the tonic for much of what’s stressful for
them.

Even when they get home, those newly-forged ways of relating
influence the way people treat each other. As owner for Four
Corners Rafting, one of the oldest whitewater rafting
company on the Arkansas River, I’ve taken thousands of
people on the outdoor adventure. Without exception, they
find the experience delivered in ways that they hadn’t
expected. I’m often told that what they experienced during
whitewater rafting was the highlight of their vacation.”We
visited all the other attractions, we saw all the sights.
Nothing comes close!”

Step Out of Your Shoes

The benefits that rafters receive don’t stop when the trip
is over. We’ve all heard the phrase about walking a mile in
someone else’s shoes. That does help to understand the
experiences of others with fresh awareness. But I think that
greater value comes in understanding yourself better. To
step into someone else’s shoes, you must temporarily step
out of your own. That breaks a lot of habits and familiar
assumptions. Then when you return to your own shoes, you can
see aspects of your life that you usually overlook because
they’re so unbroken.

Taking a wilderness adventure is a walk in another pair of
shoes. And those people who shared that intensely emotional
adventure with you took the same mind-stretching trek. That
stays with you for the long haul.

bio = –Jim Sampson owns Four Corners Rafting, an early whitewater
rafting company on the Arkansas River. With 1 to 3-day Colorado
wilderness adventures. Near Buena Vista, CO (800) 332-RAFT
PO Box 219 Nathrop, CO 8123

http://www.fourcornersrafting.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Using a ghostwriter to craft your free reprint articles and marketing materials is an excellent way to maximize your time and profit. The fastest and most effective way to find a freelance ghostwriter or editor is to post your writing projects on an on-line service like Freelance Work Exchange at http://tinyurl.com/3v69r . This allows interested writers to submit their proposals to you. It makes short-order of a needle-in-a-haystack task.

If you’ve already posted a writing opportunity, you’ve probably received several proposals and/or bids from interested writers. Whether you’re already working with a ghostwriter or still considering potential candidates, you want to develop a working relationship that is both professional and congenial as well. This will allow you to maximize the benefits of having your own ghostwriter.

Working with your ghostwriter should be an easy and productive experience. After all, removing the pressure of not having time to write and still gaining exposure through marketing with articles is your purpose for even considering a ghostwriter. It may take a few projects and a little time to develop a good working relationship with a regular ghostwriter, but there are several ways that you can help the process along from your end.

- Your ghostwriter is not your employee, at least not in the traditional sense. Remember, freelance writers offer their services on a contractual basis. You can’t expect your ghostwriter to drop all other projects to work on yours exclusively, without prior notice. By developing a good working relationship with your ghostwriter you can be assured that they will give your projects priority.

- Be open to suggestions from your ghostwriter. He/she may have powerful ideas that can help you target your audience more effectively. Don’t be afraid to ask for his/her ideas or opinions, especially if he/she has been writing for several years. While the subject of an article is always your decision, your ghostwriter may have an article idea that could be very productive for you.

- Offer ongoing and/or continuing opportunities. One of the best ways to guarantee that a professional is always enthusiastic about writing for you is to offer projects on a regular basis. You’ll often be able to receive a less than standard rate for services once you’ve established yourself as a recurring client.

- Mix it up a bit in your writing opportunities. Here’s where you get to expand your work and also increase your exposure in marketing with articles. If there are related subject areas in which you are involved offer your ghostwriter opportunities to help you with these as well. Remember that you can ask your ghostwriter to rewrite sections of your web site, proofread your correspondence or write proposals. This helps keep things fresh for the writer when you allow him/her to focus on other subjects or other areas of writing.

- Be flexible. If your ghostwriter delivers an article with which you are truly displeased allow him/her to do some editing before you completely reject the piece altogether. When making directives for specific editing requests try to explain why you are making your request. This can help your ghostwriter learn your particular preferences and help further develop his/her ability to write from your perspective.

- Be reasonable regarding timeframe for delivery of your article. All work takes time and as you already know, so does writing in particular. Try to offer new projects far enough in advance that your ghostwriter has time to produce his/her best work for you. Even if your ghostwriter is an expert in your subject and works well against short deadlines, he/she can usually produce a better article for you if not pressed for time.

- Money talks, but not always the same language. You may be surprised to learn that many professional ghostwriters are more drawn to regular work than a one-time-shot larger payment for writing an article. As I often say, writers are real people with real lives and financial commitments like everyone else. In offering your projects to a different writer each time you’ll definitely receive a variety of work, but you won’t have much security. By working with one or perhaps two ghostwriters you’ll have the benefit of knowing what to expect in their work.

- Don’t keep your ghostwriter’s name a secret. Sharing the name of your ghostwriter with other people who may have a need for his/her services goes a long way in maintaining a successful relationship. Not only is it the most genuine compliment you can offer, it is also one of the most effective ways of ensuring that you’re a valued client. Even freelance writers who have built a regular client base are almost always accepting new opportunities, if only as filler projects during slow times. Sharing your ghostwriter’s name demonstrates your value of their work. You can be the first name to whom your ghostwriter likewise makes referrals in your area of business and/or expertise.

- Pay your ghostwriter’s fees promptly. Many ghostwriters charge a deposit or in-advance payment on projects that they accept as a standard for doing business. However, some do accept work without a deposit. Whichever agreement you reach with your ghostwriter, it is important that you honor that agreement just as any other contract for professional services by making payment upon receipt of services.

(c) 2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved. Permission for reprint granted to all venues so long as they are opt-in.
bio = Bonnie Jo Davis is the author of the e-book: Articles That Sell: Use The Best Kept Secret To Promote Your Business For Free! For more information about Bonnie her e-book visit http://tinyurl.com/5wnmm.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Five and a Half Ways to Amp Up Your Search Engine
Optimization
Dave Carlson, Green Chair Marketing Group

Statistics show that 85% of pages visited on the Internet
come from people who have gotten there from a search engine.
Statistically, people look first at the top of the first
page of the regular search results, then the bottom, and
then they go to the sponsored listings.

There is an art and science to being ranked highly on the
search engines. The science is formatting the pages with the
right meta tags and submitting them in the right way to the
search engines. The art is to make the site look and read
normal in spite of filling it with key words.

Here are five and a half ways to get a higher ranking and
more visitors:

1. Pick the right Key Words and Phrases

These are the words and phrases that people will put into
search engines to try to find your product, business or
organization. Having good key words and phrases is
foundational to have good optimization. This takes research
using such tools at Wordtracker and Overture’s Keyword
Suggestion Tool. They give you a good idea of what people
are searching for and what you should focus on.

2. Use Good Header Tags

Header tags are hidden in the code within your Web page. The
most important one is the “title” tag, which isn’t
considered a META tag. It tells what’s within your page and
it’s important to have your keyphrases in it. It is also
good to have keyphrases in your “description” META tag,
though it doesn’t rank nearly as high as the “title” tag.

3. Use Keyphrases in Your Visible Page Title

Provide a unique title to each page on your site that is
chock full of key words and phrases. Search engines like
this because it means that there is a higher probability
that your site is a good match for what people are looking
for. This is should be placed within the H1 tag (top
heading) of your page and is visible to the visitor. It also
pays to have your keyphrases in subtitles on the page.

4. Provide Plenty of Content on Your Site

Shoot to have at least 450 characters on your page.
Concentrate on putting key words and phrases in the first
paragraph and last paragraphs.

5. Secure a Lot of Related Incoming Links

The more sites linked to your site, the higher you will be
ranked by the search engines. These links can be from
strategic partners, vendors, directories or other types of
sites with whom you exchange links.

If you are a web site developer, put in your contract that
you are going to put a developer’s link at the bottom of the
site, such as, “Web site design by Green Chair Marketing
Group,” with an active link to your site. This will help
your site grow in its link popularity.

5.5 Keep Optimizing Your Site

The more content on your site, the better. I suggest adding
a couple pages a month, whether it’s case studies, more
product information, testimonials, articles, press releases,
etc. If you add just five new pages a month, you will have
60 new pages by the end of the year, and over 100 pages by
the end of the second year.

You are bound to catch some people you would have missed
because there is more content to choose from. And your site
will be more highly ranked by Google, because they highly
weigh sites that have more content.

While you’re at it, continue to get relevant links coming
into your site. Google loves incoming links. And you might
have people click through to your site from these other
places.

If you don’t have time to work on the optimization or would
feel more comfortable having someone else do it, consider
strongly hiring a professional to do your search engine
optimization. That way you can focus your energies on sales
or creating more and better product.

One caveat, I would stay away from companies that initiate
contact with you through emails or phone calls. They often
use techniques that can get your severely penalized by the
search engines. Ask people you know who have been successful
in their search engine positioning who they use.

bio = –Dave Carlson owns Green Chair Marketing Group, an Internet marketing firm specializing in driving visitors to web sites by search engine optimization, pay per click, and web design/redesign. 720-427-5660 Visit his site at http//:www.GreenChair.net

Popularity: 4% [?]

Five and a Half Ways to Amp Up Your Search Engine
Optimization
Dave Carlson, Green Chair Marketing Group

Statistics show that 85% of pages visited on the Internet
come from people who have gotten there from a search engine.
Statistically, people look first at the top of the first
page of the regular search results, then the bottom, and
then they go to the sponsored listings.

There is an art and science to being ranked highly on the
search engines. The science is formatting the pages with the
right meta tags and submitting them in the right way to the
search engines. The art is to make the site look and read
normal in spite of filling it with key words.

Here are five and a half ways to get a higher ranking and
more visitors:

1. Pick the right Key Words and Phrases

These are the words and phrases that people will put into
search engines to try to find your product, business or
organization. Having good key words and phrases is
foundational to have good optimization. This takes research
using such tools at Wordtracker and Overture’s Keyword
Suggestion Tool. They give you a good idea of what people
are searching for and what you should focus on.

2. Use Good Header Tags

Header tags are hidden in the code within your Web page. The
most important one is the “title” tag, which isn’t
considered a META tag. It tells what’s within your page and
it’s important to have your keyphrases in it. It is also
good to have keyphrases in your “description” META tag,
though it doesn’t rank nearly as high as the “title” tag.

3. Use Keyphrases in Your Visible Page Title

Provide a unique title to each page on your site that is
chock full of key words and phrases. Search engines like
this because it means that there is a higher probability
that your site is a good match for what people are looking
for. This is should be placed within the H1 tag (top
heading) of your page and is visible to the visitor. It also
pays to have your keyphrases in subtitles on the page.

4. Provide Plenty of Content on Your Site

Shoot to have at least 450 characters on your page.
Concentrate on putting key words and phrases in the first
paragraph and last paragraphs.

5. Secure a Lot of Related Incoming Links

The more sites linked to your site, the higher you will be
ranked by the search engines. These links can be from
strategic partners, vendors, directories or other types of
sites with whom you exchange links.

If you are a web site developer, put in your contract that
you are going to put a developer’s link at the bottom of the
site, such as, “Web site design by Green Chair Marketing
Group,” with an active link to your site. This will help
your site grow in its link popularity.

5.5 Keep Optimizing Your Site

The more content on your site, the better. I suggest adding
a couple pages a month, whether it’s case studies, more
product information, testimonials, articles, press releases,
etc. If you add just five new pages a month, you will have
60 new pages by the end of the year, and over 100 pages by
the end of the second year.

You are bound to catch some people you would have missed
because there is more content to choose from. And your site
will be more highly ranked by Google, because they highly
weigh sites that have more content.

While you’re at it, continue to get relevant links coming
into your site. Google loves incoming links. And you might
have people click through to your site from these other
places.

If you don’t have time to work on the optimization or would
feel more comfortable having someone else do it, consider
strongly hiring a professional to do your search engine
optimization. That way you can focus your energies on sales
or creating more and better product.

One caveat, I would stay away from companies that initiate
contact with you through emails or phone calls. They often
use techniques that can get your severely penalized by the
search engines. Ask people you know who have been successful
in their search engine positioning who they use.

bio = –Dave Carlson owns Green Chair Marketing Group, an Internet marketing firm specializing in driving visitors to web sites by search engine optimization, pay per click, and web design/redesign. 720-427-5660 Visit his site at http//:www.GreenChair.net

Popularity: 4% [?]

How many times do you say, “Gee, I wish I had of learned…?” How often do you avoid new tasks simply because they are out of your “comfort zone” and the task would involve having to learn something new?

I realized how slow we, as adults, resist learning. I’ve often heard it said that as we get older, our thought processes slow down and it isn’t as easy for us to learn. Is this true? Or is it simply we don’t want to learn?

When my daughter Kelsey was four years old I was watching her one day, I noted some differences between children and adults. The fact is, I was getting prepared to scold her, when it occurred to me that I should be quiet and study the situation instead. I was observing how she was learning to work with what she has and the tools around her.

Kelsey had dumped a small bucket of mud and stones on the pad behind the house which is typically where we set up our outside table and umbrella. My wife, Crystal, often cleaned this area by spraying it with the water hose, which washes pebbles and dust from it.

Before I could scold her she whipped out two brooms she had collected from where we keep our outside tools. Why two? Because there were only two! Likely she didn’t know which one would do the best job, so she brought them both. The first broom she dragged across the mud with the brushes pointing upwards. This obviously did not produce the effect she was trying to achieve so she discarded that broom in favour of the other one. The other broom she dragged across the mud with the brushes pointing toward the pad. This was achieving the result she expected.

She studied the two brooms for only a glimmer of a second. She discarded the second broom and picked up the first one again, and this time she had the brushes pointed toward the mud.

Finding the right tool, and learning how to use it is part of the daily life for someone who is 4 years old. Each day is filled with new challenges and they greet it with such enthusiasm. Could our lives benefit by adopting such a strategy? Could our businesses benefit from us learning at least one new thing everyday?
bio = Steve MacLellan is the author of “How to Build Used Car Websites” and has been doing web development for small/medium sized businesses since 1998.

http://carsite-marketing.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

You may use this article for reprint if it
remains unaltered and includes the author
information and resource box. – Isaiah Hull

Explode Your Sales With Free & Exclusive Content

Offering free and exclusive content to ezine
publishers and webmasters is one of the best ways
you can increase exposure for your products and
services. There are several effective methods you
can use to employ this marketing tactic and
subsequently boost your sales.

I personally suggest exploring the following two
methods to increase your exposure:

1. Create exclusive content for websites and ezines. If you have worked to build a website or to promote a product, take your experience and package it into a coherent article that explains specific problems you have encountered and how you overcame them. If you can, design it as a pdf file; make it look professional.

Include a five-line personal bio at the bottom of your article with the URL to your website or product. If you put time into your article and give good advice, people will want to follow the link in your resource box back to your website.

Once you have finished creating your product, search google for webmasters of high-traffic member sites and ezine publishers. Compile a list of prospective distributers who might accept your article–and then email them individually with an offer to “create exclusive content” for their newsletters. You can include the first article as a sample of your writing.

Wait for replies and do not make too many offers.
Remember: you will have to create exclusive articles for each ezine publisher and webmaster that you mutually contract with.

Look for bigger, opt-in mailing list ezines and
good-quality small ezines. Also try to get some
advertisement for your business out of the deal,
other than your resource box. Some publishers
will agree to run free ads in exchange for
free exclusive content. Some webmasters might
include your banner or classified ad for free.

If you follow these directions carefully and
create meaningful content that you would be proud
to see your name on, you will undoubtedly see a
boost in sales when your articles are distributed.

You will also enjoy minor celebrity status–lending more credibility to your products when your articles are regularly featured to the same group of people.

2. The second method I suggest is similiar to the
first, but differs slightly in content and
distribution.

Instead of creating a general-purpose article, you
will create a “special report.” This special report will be tailored to either a) better explain an already popular product on the market that you have used personally; or b) give specific insight into something you have gleaned from your experience as a webmaster or product promoter.

Special reports range in size, but they are usually between 2000 and 8000 words. Take some time to write a guide that would help you if you didn’t already have the insight that you do.

When you’re finished, add your resource box to the
bottom of the special report. Clean up the grammar
and structure. Turn it into a product that you would be proud to see your name on. If you can, turn it into a pdf file.

I would suggest uploading the report to your website and placing a link to download it on a page that has a banner for your product or a prominent link back to your main page.

Now, begin marketing your free special report. You
can spread the word through a number of free
resources.

I would personally suggest posting links to it from internet forums that are related to your field; offering it to webmasters for free; submitting it to ezine publishers; and giving away it to any free resource directories you can find.

You can also include free redistribution rights for anyone else who wants to give away or sell your article if you want to make your campaign viral.

If your finished product is exceptional or provides useful information about a recent popular release, you should be able to spread it around easily.

Special reports and articles are currently two of the most effective ways to get free traffic, so take advantage of this free information. If you follow these tips, create a quality product, and market it carefully, you cannot lose.
bio = Isaiah Hull publishes Work At Home Right Now, a fresh and informative newsletter about making money on the internet and using proven methods to increase your site’s traffic and profitability. If you’re looking for time-saving and money-saving tools, as well as honest business advice, come by and subscribe at http://www.workathomerightnow.net

Popularity: 4% [?]

By c Arthur, The Online Biz Home

The voice you heard by the majority of people in the Net is true, the real true money generating machine is to offer your own product or service where you can keep 100% of the profits.

Before you even start creating or introduce your own product or service, you should do some research to check the target market size, competitors and the available pricing methods available for the type of product or service that you intend to offer.

The most common product that people develop are ebook or what is commonly known as info product. It is based on the experience that you have accumulated over the years either through your jobs or hobbies and convert them into writings.

Everyone of us have a special skills and things that we do better than the rest. You can further expand your knowledge database via further education or self-education in order to create the business.

Many new business are created not by developing new products or services but by improving something that already exists. The initial innovators of products might received lots of recognition for their innovation might not
know how to make the product appeal to the mass consumers and sell like hot cakes. Subsequent bright businessmen or women succeeded in relaunching the same product after some improvement as they are able to saw the mistakes that have been made and was able to capitalized on it.

The movies industry is the best example, many movies are just about repackaging to appeal to the movies consumers. Why develop new super heroes when you can make good money from old familiar heroes like Spiderman. Many movies goers grows up watching Spiderman cartoon and although they maybe adults now, they still enjoy it like when they was young. It is so familiar with them.

Therefore, time spend trying to find brand new idea should instead be spend on improving existing idea. The most important criteria is to try and find a NEED which you can filled.

For improving your business success rate, try not to go into a hot industries that are already overcrowded with suppliers unless you can offer something cheaper and better than them and still make a profit. Finding a niche market is a better strategy as an unique product or service will increase your chances of success.

Starting a Work At Home Online Business means that you should look for product or service that can be sold online and delivered to people living around the world. It should be cheaper or more convenience to order online rather than offline.

The most famous successful niche finder is Amazon.com. The books they sold already exist offline and by bringing it online and pricing its books competitively, they slowly build up their niche market and have now become the world largest online books sellers.

Therefore, open your eyes wide and start looking at things around you and think of ways to improve them.
bio = Copyright c Arthur
“Opportunity are often shy, you just have to keep looking for them.” Learning and putting what you learn into Action is the key to success in operating a successful Work At Home Online Business.
Visit: http://www.sap-basis-abap.com/homebusiness/

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Top Five Reasons For Posting In Online Guestbooks
– Copyright 2004 by Keith P. Stieneke
Opportunity Assistance Business Resource Center http://www.opportunityassistance.com
Your work at home and business opportunity resource connection.

An online guest book is a log for people to sign and sometimes leave brief messages when they visit someone’s website.

Possibly you’ve posted to, or “signed” one of these guest books at one time when you’ve visited someone’s website.

Maybe you’ve encountered one of these guest books or a link to one and never taken the time to leave a brief introduction or comment about the website. Was it just laziness or didn’t you perceive any value in posting to the guest book?

Whatever the reason for not posting or not clicking on the link to the guest book here are five reasons why you should make posting to guestbooks a part of your marketing routine.

It will let the owner of the website know that you’ve shown an interest in the website and it is a polite and courteous method of letting them know you appreciate the website. This reason for posting at a guestbook is simply done as a way to show that you appreciate that the owner of the website set up a guest book for you to sign.

You will be making your online presence known as someone interested in whatever topic the website that you are visiting is targeted at. This may cause you to get contacted by some people promoting their business but it will also let people know that you are in business or that you are looking to make contacts in the specific targeted audience. If your targeted audience is composed of writers, then proceed by doing the following. Do a search on Google.com with the words writer site guestbooks. Go to these and post and let people know of your interest in writing, etc. Please do not fall victim to attempts to find software to post for you. The use of such software has made guestbooks less effective than they used to be; however guestbooks still provide one more place for you place your link.

People are interested in online communities. The building of an online community is easily accomplished through guestbooks in much the same way it can be accomplished through forums. Where both a guestbook and a forum may be topic oriented it is this writer’s opinion that a guesbook is more for the purpose of building relationships and introducing yourself. With a forum you can engage in various threaded discussions about many variations on one topic. Letting people know you are out there is easily accomplished by posting at a guest book.

Except for reason number one for posting in a guest book all of the reasons here are in some attempt a form of publicity if not advertising. So advertising is reason number four to post in online guest books. Do not however post out right ads to a guestbook as this can get your post easily removed. Some of the more advanced guestbooks allow for a signature file that will either accompany your post or will link to the signature file. Almost all online guest books allow for you to put a link to your URL, and this is what takes us into reason number five which I list here as the 5th most important reason for posting in online guest books.

The 5th and most important reason in my opinion to post in online guest books is as follows. On-line guest books are often indexed by the search engines, and therefore can help you by providing more links to your website. Including your URL gives one more place that a link to your website will be found when doing a search on the major search engines.

Yes, publicity can be accomplished by posting in these guest books and it can also help the website owner with knowledge about people visiting his or her website.
bio = Keith P. Stieneke is the webmaster of the Opportunity Assistance Business Resource Center at http://www.opportunityassistance.com. He provides an advanced guest book for his visitors at http://www.opportunityassistance.com/guestbook.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Everyone wants to be rich. A lot of people want to be
successful. Yet, only a few people are willing to pay the
price. There is a price to success as there is a price to
failure. Here are 5 reasons that keep people from
accomplishing their dreams.

A lack of motivation.
Success comes from loving what you do. Is your current job
your passion? When your study highly successful people, you
understand that they have at least 1 thing in common: they
love what they do and they do what they love. Is this the
case for you? If the answer is no, you can start by
identifying your passion. This is the best way to get
motivated.

A lack of faith.
Faith is a firm belief in yourself, God or others that you
can do it. Build up a strong vision of what you want to
accomplish. In developing a vision, the law of attraction is
going to work for you. You are going to attract people,
opportunities and money that will allow you to develop an
unstoppable confidence.

The fear of failure.
The fear of failure doesn’t exist. Neither does the fear of
success. Fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.
Micheal Jordan said himself that “Fear is an illusion”. It
is hard to overcome fears. One simple way to overcome the
fear of failure is to read inspirational stories and quotes
of people that achieved their dreams. Read one every
morning. That will give you strength and hope.

The wrong strategies.
When you want to build a business, to achieve something
really big, you need to have mentors. You can’t allow
yourself to loose time, money and energy. Mentors are people
that will give you the right strategies; they will provide
the right information and will inspire you. They will coach
you through the process. Choose correctly your experts, your
models. Work with them and adopt the same thinking
patterns, the same strategies, the same beliefs. If he did
it, you can do it too.

Limiting beliefs.
Often times we have limiting beliefs about what we want to
achieve. For example, you can really want to achieve a goal
but at the same time something tells you: “It’s not for you,
you don’t deserve that” or “You can’t do it, remember”.
These thoughts pollute our minds and darken our life. A
quick way to stop these damaging thoughts is to use the
power to say no! First, represent in your mind the “limiting
belief” and say NO! to it. Now, represent in your mind what
you want in its place and say a big YES! You will be amazed
how your attitude suddenly changed about the old belief. Can
you remember it?

I have just shared with you strategies to overcome the TOP 5
things that prevent people from success. When you apply
these recommendations, your life will be enriched. You
deserve success because you are special and unique. Everyone
of us is. The fact is that we are potential geniuses. But
the other fact is that often we refuse to admit it because
it pushes us out of our comfort zone and most people don’t
like that. Get out of your comfort zone; this is the only
way to succeed in life.
bio = Emmanuel SEGUI is a NLP Meta-master practitioner and the
author of an amazing new ebook, “Moving From Vision To
Action” that will teach how to easily empower yourself and
other people to bring true power, focus, health and energy
into their life.
Click now => http://www.vision-to-action.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Why We Laugh
by FreeCoolJokes Group
(C)2004

Why do we laugh? Is it a silly pun, riddles, amusing stories,
anecdotes, funny one liners, silly quotes, hilarious jokes,
dirty jokes, clean jokes, a commentary on world politics?

Maybe it’s the comic who jokes about his funny experiences
as a child or the comic who amuses you with his
raunchy x-rated humor. Or is it the slapstick of some
up and coming comic who tickles your funny bone.
Maybe it’s the dry wit of a political humorist or
the silly antics of a young entertainer.

According to leading psychologist people usually respond with
laughter to anything that disrupts their comfort zone. Most
successful humorist know this and use this fact to
strike a chord with their audience.

Leading psychologist also further explain laughter is a
product of evolution. We laugh to release hidden fears,
a rise in tension. Laughter is a pressure release valve.
Accordingly, laughter is a natural tool to protect ourselves
against uncomfortable emotions. Remember an
uncomfortable situation where the tension was so thick
you could slice a knife with it. Soon the sound of laughter
released the heavy situation and lightened the load
tremendously.

Think about very young toddlers. What makes them laugh? Anything
that surprises. A funny sound. A funny face. And they giggle like crazy.

When we are pre-teens we find puns, riddles, silly jokes
about school, teachers, friends, very amusing.

Teens find jokes about the opposite sex, authority figures,
or anything parents would find offensive very funny.

When we mature into our twenties and thirties our sense
of humor matures. We develop a more sophisticated
intellectual humor. Funny stories amuse us or stories
with a twist or double meaning.

When we mature beyond our forties our sense of humor
is more about the life experiences we share, about
culture, and community. And consequently it will take
sophistication plus matured intelligence to
understand the deeper meaning of humor at this stage.

At this stage many people might find your political
jokes, world affairs jokes, or the joke on the decline
in morality strikingly humorous. Where as a teen or
individuals in their twenties would fail to comprehend
your humor.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about laughter
or humor is that it is contagious. Start your
day with a smile and a good dose of humor. Share
it with those around you!

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Good Humor! Free Games! Free Funny Downloads!

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bio = Visit FreeCoolJokes For Your Daily Dose Of
Good Humor! Free Games! Free Funny Downloads!

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With the introduction of the inkjet printer and printer ink cartridge in 1984, the task of printing your documents and changing printer ink cartridges became more convenient, reliable and cleaner than the previous methods of changing ribbons or inserting a toner cartridge.

Prior to 1984, the ink delivery systems were not as dependable as they are now. The inkjet system replaced the old dot matrix method, which required changing a ribbon. It wasn’t long before the printer industry began conceptualizing a new ink delivery technique, including the drop on demand method. Several companies were the driving forces behind developing the inkjet technology, and by 1990 the method was widely accepted. Today it is the method of choice for printing requirements, and will print both black and white documents as well as color graphics and photos.

The quality is excellent, thanks to the development of printer ink cartridges. It is possible to print on many different sizes and types of paper, fabric, film, etc. These printers are used in businesses, in schools and the homes of millions of people worldwide.

Each printer uses a specific printer ink cartridge, most often one each of black and color. Each cartridge is given an identifying number and lists the model number of each printer in which it can be used. While each printer manufacturer recommends its own brand of printer ink cartridge, it is possible to refill the cartridge yourself, or purchase a refilled, remanufactured or a compatible cartridge.

There are two types of refilled cartridges: You can do it yourself with a kit that allows you to refill your own cartridge. Refill kits are available at a very low price and are sometimes the choice of those who don’t mind doing the filling in order to save money. The other alternative is to buy a refilled cartridge from a manufacturer. This method involves drilling, filling and sealing an empty cartridge.

A remanufactured cartridge is an original printer ink cartridge that has been taken apart and outfitted with ink and new parts if necessary. It is then inspected and tested before being placed in the marketplace to re-sell. The workmanship in these cartridges is usually guaranteed against defects during the life of the cartridge. The lifetime is generally the same as the original, they are safe to use in all printers, and the warranty on your printer will not be affected. The cost is lower than the original.

Another kind of cartridge that has evolved in recent years is the “compatible” cartridge. Simply put, it is a cartridge that is built to the same specifications as those of the original manufacturer and is generally cheaper than the original. It is also guaranteed against defects during its lifetime.

Inkjet printers using printer ink cartridges have a bright future ahead, thanks to their capability to produce high-quality printed material quickly and inexpensively. The manufacturer’s printer ink cartridge is one option, and the use of alternative printer ink cartridges is another option. When shopping for printer ink cartridges, always buy from a reputable dealer. A huge inventory of hundreds of types of cartridges can also be found by shopping on the Internet, which is a convenient, safe and reliable method of finding the best deals on printer ink cartridges.

bio = Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher who offers advice on how to go about getting great deals on printing and ink supplies.

http://www.4-printer-ink.com/

Popularity: 4% [?]

Most golfers, whether a beginner or a pro, struggle when trying to decide which golf club to buy. The buying process becomes easier when the consumer has a good understanding of the types of golf clubs available and their specific use. Your playing (and thus your staying) power is greatly enhanced by choosing the proper golf clubs.

For the novice golfer, the basic set of golf clubs consists of drivers, wedges, putters and irons. Using the proper type of golf club will help the beginner learn quickly and achieve results. Each different type of club is designed to help with swing speed and to correct faults to improve your game – and your score.

In addition to clubs, a wide variety of accessories are also available, many of which are necessities and others that are “just for looks.” One absolute necessity is a golf bag to assist you or your caddy in moving from green to green, and of course, golf balls. Another must is a pair of golf shoes to help stabilize your body so you can achieve the perfect swing. Other accessories include golf gloves, a golf cap, clothing, and covers for your golf clubs to protect them from the elements or while stored.

There are many variations in the types and styles of golf clubs and their uses. For example, if you’re trying to make a shorter shot, irons may be your best bet. Irons are usually available in sets that include several different sizes. You must also take into consideration the style, size, and type of material used to make the golf club shaft. One of the less expensive materials is steel. Clubs with a steel shaft weigh more but can be longer-lasting than other types. The steel shaft may also give you more control over those fast swings. If you choose a graphite shaft, it will be lighter than steel but will be more costly. This type of club is used for long distance shots or for slower swingers.
Most golf clubs are available with both steel and graphite shafts.

The flexibility of a shaft is referred to as flex, or bend. The less the bend in a shaft, the more control the powerful swinger will have. On the other hand, beginners and those with less powerful swings generally use a shaft with greater flexibility. The average swing speed is from 65 miles per hour for the beginner up to over 100 miles per hour for powerful swingers.

The goal when buying golf clubs should be to own the best golf clubs you can afford, whether they are name brands, used, or a reproduction of one of the name brands. Golf clubs can be purchased at many different types of establishments such as discount stores, buying clubs, specialty shops, catalogs, or the Internet, which offers an almost limitless variety of clubs and bargains, including used golf clubs. The cost of the golf club depends on the type and where it is purchased. Retail stores and catalogs have pre-season, post-season and regular sales, but since someone, somewhere, has the perfect climate in which to play golf at any given time of the year, you may find it difficult to find a true bargain. Internet shopping offers excellent prices throughout the year, and in many cases shipping is free. Golf club replicas are very good bargains if you compare their features to the originals. Many, many types of merchandise are duplicated, or cloned, so be sure the set of clubs you buy have not been illegally duplicated.

Most anytime is the perfect time for most golfers and “wannabe” golfers to play, so take advantage of the large variety of clubs and bargains to be found, and don’t wait another day to start buying your golf clubs.

bio = Keith Kingston is a professional web publisher who offers advice and reviews on golfing equipment.

http://www.4-cheap-golf-clubs.com/

Popularity: 6% [?]

Discover the 5 easy to follow steps how to quickly improve your memory and learn more in less time. Stop forgetting things that you need to remember. Become a fast learner, remember details and be more effective. Simply follow these 5 easy steps and watch your memory improve.

Today everyone is overwhelmed with information and having a good memory is very important. There are thousands of little things that you need to remember each day. You need to remember names, numbers, prices, study material, daily tasks, foreign languages, passwords and so much more. The list could continue forever here.

But can you really improve your memory, is it hard and how much time does it take?

You can improve your memory and it’s easier than you think. With the right knowledge you can have a better memory in a matter of days. Read the 5 steps carefully, try to follow the advice and watch your memory improve.

Step #1: Use your imagination

Use your imagination when you face something that you want to memorize. When reading a book, imagine the things you are reading about. Imagine objects, people, situations, sounds, motion and more.

Imagination keeps you interested in a topic, makes it more fun, and gets you involved. This way your mind concentrates on what you are reading or listening and you’re much more likely to remember it later

Step #2: Motivate yourself to learn

It’s much easier to memorize something that you’re learning with interest and motivation. It’s also important to have a purpose why you want to learn something.

Understand why are you learning something and what benefits does the new information give you. Be involved in what you are learning as much as possible because then you have a purpose and more motivation to learn it.

Step #3: Have some spacing between learning sessions

You don’t have to learn all information at once when you can learn everything much better by taking breaks between learning sessions. You should take breaks as rewards because this gives your mind a chance to review what you have just learned.

When you face lots of information that you have to learn, plan your learning and divide it into parts and learn each part separately. It is better to study in two or three small sessions than to study in a long six hour session.

Step #4: Learn with a clear mind

Try to be relaxed when learning. It is harder to learn something when you are stressed, tired, anxious or angry. You learn more, better and faster when your mind is not occupied by thoughts that distract you.

Also eliminate distractions like clutter, and other things that can distract you. Learn in stimulating, light and positive environment. Distractions can keep you unfocused and waste your time. Before you learn, make sure that the learning environment is free from distractions.

Step #5: Always educate yourself about memory

Your memory is one of the most important assets that you have and learning how to improve your memory is very important. By having a better memory you can make more money, be more effective, save time, always remember important details, look smarter, have more friends and so much more.

Considering all the advantages that good memory gives you and how easily you can improve your memory, it wouldn’t be wise to not do anything about it.

An excellent website where you can learn how to improve your memory is

http://www.memory-improvement-guide.com/

>From this website you’ll learn very effective ways how to improve your memory and how to develop a memory that you can rely on in a short time. What you will learn here can improve your memory to what you want it to be.

The email course that this website offers is absolutely fantastic. From this course you will learn real memory ’secrets’ like how to easily, quickly and perfectly memorize long digit numbers, long speeches, names of people, foreign languages, long lists of items and more things that was previously hard to memorize.

You’ll learn the ’secrets’ that memory experts use to perform impressive memory stunts on stage and how you can easily apply their memory ’secrets’ in everyday life to improve your memory to what it really can be.
bio = Your memory resources are unlimited. Start taking advantage of them now! Go to:

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Popularity: 4% [?]