Philadelphia Schools Partner with the Community College of Philadelphia to Aid High School Dropouts

Dropout rates across the country have been on the rise over the past decade. In school year 2004-2005, an estimated 5,550 students dropped out of the Philadelphia schools. This is the highest dropout rate in the state, about three times higher than the state average.

To assist these Philadelphia schools dropouts and offer them an opportunity for a better life, the Philadelphia schools have partnered with the Community College of Philadelphia, the largest degree-granting institution in the city with over 38,000 students enrolled annually.

According to a report by the American Youth Policy Forum, 75 percent of the inmates housed at our state prisons are dropouts, and 59 percent of the federal prison population are dropouts. Though the Philadelphia schools already have programs in place to aid students currently in school, they knew that more had to be done to aid those who had already dropped out.

Part of the Gateway to College Program, the Philadelphia schools dropouts begin school in the fall of 2006. The program offers dropouts the chance to simultaneously work toward a diploma and associates college degree or certificate.

The college expects to enroll 360 Philadelphia schools dropouts over the next three years. The dropouts must be between the ages of 16 and 20, with at least an eighth grade reading level. They can attend day, evening and weekend classes at the college, with their first semester in small learning groups of 20 students. Classes include the basics of reading, writing and math, as well as a college survival course to help them be successful in their future college courses and a two-hour academic lab each week.

Dedicated academic coordinators act as advisors, mentors and coaches for the Philadelphia schools dropouts. They also assist with student needs issues, such as course selection, time management, and study habits. After the first semester, the Philadelphia schools dropouts take classes with the colleges general student population.

The Gateway to College Program was developed by the Portland Community College and funded by the Bill

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Fiann Blog56824
Victoria Blog43456

Why Funded Proposal Marketing Will Work For You!

For 10 years I kicked the can at network marketing both off, and online. I followed the marketing systems used by my support line that seemed to be their success tool. Contacting friends & family (who werent either interested or supportive), advertising my opportunity, or buying leads & cold calling opportunity seeks, with minimal success. Certainly didnt make me a millionaire!!! Ended up making me frustrated and broke!

I would become discouraged, and either quit, or blame myself for my inability to succeed. Yet, my understanding of residual and passive income spurred me on despite my formally dismal results. I always knew deep down that there is a key to making this work from home world successful. I knew that there had to be a successful marketing strategy formula that would ideally pay me and put qualified people into my network without all of the previous and discouraging results.

I found it. I certainly want to share this with you. I hope you will take these words to heart and save yourself years of grief in the hit and miss world of marketing your opportunity.

I found a system which includes a step by step Internet Marketing Success Guide which amazingly was FREE. I encourage you to look into this at http://pearce.payitforward4profits.com . The theory is that instead of becoming a member of a business opportunity and receiving a free website, and then wondering what to do next, Funded Proposal Marketing, works on building your marketing strategy and creating opt in lists, which may become interested in your Primary business and create a very strong network of growth. Funded Proposal helps you to help others to put forth effort to create multiple streams of income by which your marketing efforts pay off to enable you to expand your marketing, instead of draining your marking budget.

This is a system which is revolutionizing marketing and creating strong online success, through education, networking, monetization which takes the online marketer of modest means to financial stability with reliable and constant effort. Turns the 95% of potential failure, to conversion to online success. I urge you to do your due diligence. If you are serious, dont miss this.

© Brenda Pearce

Brenda Pearce is an expat of the corporate world, and now a work from home mom. She lives with her husband and 3 children in a beautiful home in rural Ontario. You can visit her blog at http://momsaceo.blogspot.com Fawne Blog78427
Francyne Blog34020

7 Ideas For Increasing Your Internet Marketing Presence

Marketing online is a critical part of any marketing plan. Here are seven Internet-based marketing ideas you can integrate into your 2007 marketing plan:

Volunteer for Internet Interviews

Podcasts, Webcasts, blogs, RSS feeds and newsletters (ezines) are all venues for online interviews or discussions. You'll want to approach publishers who regularly conduct interviews with guests of your caliber, so finding opportunities will take some research. Do this by searching general search engines (such as google.com) or directories. Some directories to get you started: podcast.net (podcasts), ezinehub.com (ezines), syndic8.com (RSS feeds/blogs)

Approach Bloggers Interested in Your Type of Product

Send your product to bloggers as a gift. You are doing this to expose your product to influencers in your category by giving them an opportunity to try it free (not to bribe or beg them to mention the product). If the bloggers like it, they may give it a mention in their blogs. Note that this is a subtle Internet marketing technique. Choosing to mention (or not mention) your product should be solely up to them.

You can find and read blogs by searching blogging directories such as technorati.com.

Join One or More Online Networks

Online social networks allow you to set up a profile page and interact with others who have your same professional (or personal) interests. Each network has different features and may appeal to a different kind of user. As with all Internet marketing techniques, there are dos and don'ts, so you'll want to read some of the profiles and learn a particular site's rules before aggressively working the network. Some networks to explore: linkedin.com, ryze.com, myspace.com, orkut.com, friendster.com

Send Out One or More Press Releases

First and foremost, the release must be something newsworthy to the media (if you need ideas, read the article here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/pr/NewsAngle.htm). Also, be sure to include a link to your Website or blog in the press release. Finally, distribute the release through an online press release service such as PRWeb.com.

Survey Your Website Visitors

Surveys can help you identify opportunities for improvement. Since online attention spans are very short, try asking a single two-part question such as Fred Reichhold's Ultimate Question: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend __________." Fill in the blank with your Website name (or other relevant product). To those who reply with a 6 or lower, ask why they are not more likely to recommend. You should see a pattern in the comments. These will lead to ways of improving your site. There are software packages to help you set up an online survey. Also, surveymonkey.com is a popular Web interface for producing online surveys.

Convey Patrick Hanlon's 7 Primal Branding Pieces Online

According to Hanlon, the seven "Primal Branding" pieces -- a creation story, creed, icons, rituals, sacred words, nonbelievers and leaders -- form belief systems that inherently attract people who want to believe in a product. Those people form the communities that surround successful products and services. Conveying as many of these as you can online can help build followers online.

Study Your 5 Closest Competitors' Websites and Online Marketing Activities

By studying the competition you will not only gain a better understanding of trends in your industry, but also gain new insights into promotional strategies for your own business. As you research, brainstorm a list of ideas and use that list to plan a new online strategy or technique for your own business.

There you have it -- seven ideas for improving your Internet marketing presence. Integrate one or more into your 2007 marketing plan and you'll be on your way to greater success.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. Bobette is proprietor at Web Marketing Place LLC and runs http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com -- http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com -- where you'll find free marketing planning articles and resources. She is also author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business."Filide Blog76677
Valeria Blog56221

Web Promotion

The main methods of online marketing are the following

Web Optimization

The professional SEO services are the first the and in most efficient method of online marketing. It would be ideal that the site should be realized from the begging after the principles of web optimization, in this way you save time and money.

Increasing link popularity

The popularity of a link is given by the number and the quality of the links who lead to your site. The links are a determinant force for search engines. A quality sustainable link it will not help you only in the ranking of search engines but also will bring you targeted traffic.

The registration in main search engines

The registration in search engines is achieved manually only by human operators. The sites who pledge the automatic registration in search engines are not accepted by Google.

Not only that this method will not help you in any way but it is considerate spam by the search engines and you risk to be penalized.

Registration in web directories

Another method is the manually registration in web directories, depending on your target market and the languages in which your site is realized.

The beginning of a promotion campaign Pay Per Click.

This type of campaign will bring immediate visitors, but with certain costs. If the results of web optimization give results on a long period of time, the Pay Per Click campaigns have results as long as they last.

Developmental systems for affiliation networks

Besides direct sales that come from direct requests from your site, your products, services can be sold through your affiliates sites.

Online marketing through advertising banners

Advertising banners are another method of online promotion. Our company makes advertising banners at promotional prices.

Oana Olariu is the head of marketing department at BODRAG. Visit our website: http://www.bodrag.com.Evangeline Blog26207
Fawnia Blog15552

Pay Per Click Advertising

Advertising has gained tremendous importance in the marketing arena. Newer avenues have emerged giving much more than just the awareness factor to be looked upon. One such arena for marketing where advertising is gaining ground is Internet marketing. Many advertising techniques have come up for web based marketing or advertising projects. One of the Internets advertising techniques is termed as PPC or Pay Per Click. The Pay Per Click technique is primarily used for websites, search engines and advertising networks.

The idea behind the PPC technique is very simple yet effective. Advertisers in order to make their advertisements seen by people offer them money to visit their website and click on a particular ad. This in turn generates revenue for the advertising companies. With search engines, Pay Per Click advertisements are usually some text ads that are strategically placed near search results; when a site visitor clicks on the advertisement, the advertiser is charged a small amount. As the number of clicks increase, the revenue for advertising companies increases.

In todays tough competition, the major players in this segment include Google AdWords and Yahoo search engine. As per the usage of the Pay Per Click facility, these are classified into three types of engines. These classifications are given as keyword, product and service engines. According to the nature of the job, these classifications differ. Normally the rates for Pay Per Click campaigns come to around $0.01 per click, but biger search engines pay upto $0.5 per click. Though it generates a small amount for the person who earns via PPC, it proves useful for people who spend around 4-5 hours on the net.

The very heart of Pay Per Click advertising lies in the keyword search. When a prospective client searches for a particular word or phase, a list of advertisement links appear. Clicking on any one of them increases the visitor count for that particular advertisement and thus creates revenue for the advertising company. Thus, every advertising company wants to be in the first few search counts that the user sees.

Almost the same kind of structure follows for the other two classifications. Pay Per Click is not just restricted to local advertisers. It is done on a large scale to increase the number of clicks in a single day. Nowadays many companies exist that provide Pay Per Click advertising. Judging the best out of them is a real concern for companies these days. Many of them exist only on paper and thus can be cause of fraudulent activities. You need to be extra careful while choosing a advertising agency for such advertising campaigns. For those of you who want to make some money by clicking on ads, it provides a good opportunity to earn some extra income.

Laurie Buckley is the author of http://www.wisdomarc.com, wholesale web traffic suppliers.Vitoria Blog89634
Vikky Blog51675

Commercial Business LoansEnvision your Financial Reasons

Growing flaunts of the financial status in the society, more and more people are trying to be a part of the countrys economy. Monetary is the problem of yesteryears. Provisions of the commercial business loans in the fiscal market have made the start up of individuals plan into a grand success. Now, the people who have good ideal plans of their businesses but money, the real impediment, can avail the facilities of these loans.

Under the commercial business loans, individual can facilitate the fund into the infrastructural development of the enterprises. The loans are committed to making financing process as simple and risk free for the borrowers as possible. Only the need is of accessing online. Have advance knowledge through online of the commercial business loans before jumping into the fiscal market.

There are many lenders available online for the commercial business loans. With their respective terms and conditions, just go through once the proposed offers. Individuals would gradually come to know about the fluctuation of the commercial business loans market. If once you understand the deal, nobody could take advantage of ones financial situation. So be attentive and hassle-free while deal making.

Many optional modes of availing the commercial business loans are available in the market. Just go buy some of them. Some requires collateral, whereas some lacking of pledging. But, the amount offered by these lending authorities is more or less the same. Repayment period set for the borrowers is figured out according to the financial status of the individuals.

It is always a suggestive part of the commercial business loans is that abide by the conditions settled between you and the lenders. As deferment could affect your credit rating, be stick to stipulated terms and condition.

All that individuals have to do is to make an ideal plan so that can impress the lenders. Present the plan with best of your energy and verve. Make each and every point clear to the lenders if any question erupts. Show the plan to a progressive and profitable enterprise in the future.

Business is an idea to the vision and vision should be clear.

Tim Kelly is an expert in finance having completed her LLM in Finance (Master of Laws in Finance) from Institute for Law and Finance at Frankfurt University. She is currently working with Commercial Business Loan as a financial advisor. To find commercial loan, commercial loans in UK, commercial secured loan, cheap commercial secured loan, commercial secured loan uk visit http://www.commercialsecuredloan.co.uk/Evita Blog50269
Vin Blog80869

Make Profit From The Internet - A Fairytale?

Is there any difference between the idea of working from home at the Internet and the believing that there is gold at the end of the rainbow? If you are believing that it should be as simple as clicking the mouse to to make a living out of the Internet. Well, then there isn't much of a difference.

You may have been lead to believe that all you have to do is create a web site and the money will rain over you day and night. Or if you have a unique product that no one else have thought of, you will be home free. If you have that niche product and a flashy web site, then you must really be able to just sit back and watch the money rolling in, right?

You have bought the message from aggressive advertisements: You can get everything you want right now. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. However, if you are willing to to work for what you desire, and allow it to take time, you will be able to make a good living out of the Net.

There is no secret how to be profitable online. The information you need is easy accessible all over the world wide web. Prepare yourself for some serious research. When you have found all the necessary information, you need to use your new knowledge. It's time to get started.

Every time you are out on the Internet looking for information, you'll face advertisements telling you that making money on the Internet is a piece of cake. All of them will tell you a similar story: This is the ultimate secret revealed, purchase this idea and the money will be flooding your bank account, starting yesterday.

In order to get your business a fair chance you need to do some planing. You need to know what you want to do and you simply must realize that it is going to take hard work and commitment to make money on the Internet. Anyone telling you something else, just want you to buy his "make money on the Internet" fairytale.

Let's look at it this way, if you intend to start a regular business in your hometown, you'll have to put in a lot of hard work, passion and determination to make profit and stay in business. You must treat your Internet business in the same manner.

One of the perks coming with an Internet business is that once you have everything in place and working, you actually can spend less time on it. Before you reach that position though, you'll have to face the reality. Nobody will hand it to you on a silver platter. You want it, you are the one who make it happen.

Ove Nordkvist has created his web site http://www.small-biz-ideas.net for generating small business ideas. Visit to design your Internet work from home business idea Vivi Blog26756
Eveline Blog53272

How Blogging Affects Mainstream Marketing

here has been a lot of buzz around blogging lately, and for good reason. Weblogs, or blogs for short, are changing the way people market themselves and their businesses.

If you aren't familiar with blogging, the concept is relatively easy to grasp. Blogs first began as a shared online journal. A blogger posted diary-like entries about his or her daily life for others to read.

Recently though, blogging has evolved into a new form of business writing and advertising. Many business owners now use blogs to promote their goods and services. Others use blogs to promote their website and get higher search engine rankings. Some politicians even use blogs to reach voters.

The typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media that is somehow related to the blog topic. Though most blogs focus on textual contant, a blogger may include videos, pictures, and even audio in blog posts. A blog comprised of videos is called a vlog and a blog that uses pictures is called a photoblog.

The Benefits of Blogging

By adding blogging to their marketing campaigns, business owners are able to market their product with virtually no out of pocket expense. In some cases, bloggers may even be able to make large sums of money with their published blog. For example, a blogger who employs the Google Ad Sense program can make money from blog readers. The more readers a blogger has, the more money can be made from the Google ad.

A blogger can also be a guide for shoppers who are looking for specific products and services. This makes blogging an excellent tool for retailers or affiliate marketers. Blogs can also be a source of valuable information and niche industry news.

Because there are virtually limitless possibilities provided by blogging, it is easy to see why blogs have begun to have a significant impact on mainstream marketing practices. Many companies have noticed this and have chosen to hire a blogger to write and post up to date information for customers, shareholders, and employees.

Some blogs now get millions of readers every single day. There are so many blog readers out there, that experts speculate that the world of blogging is rivaling the mainstream media. New blog search engines are also being created to make searching for a blog easier than ever before.

If you have not yet established a blog for your business, you may want to consider doing so as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that it will take work to attract readers to your blog. It must be interesting or valuable to them in some way. A blogger must also concentrate on creating informative pieces that are as honest and up to date as possible. Blogging is serious business and if you make a mistake, it will not go unnoticed by your readership.

If you need help developing your blog, there are many different browser-based software programs on the market that can help you get a start. Blogs can also be hosted by dedicated blogging services or regular web hosting services.

Last, but not least, a blogger must remember to optimize blog writing for search engines. Blogging is an Internet medium and needs to be approached with Internet principles in mind.

Blogging Example

A typical blog entry includes a title or headline, a body of text, a permalink or URL for another web page, and a post date, which indicates the date and time that the post was published. A blogger may also choose to include a link at the bottom to allow readers to post comments on the blog.

Cliff Posey, owner of CRP Marketing, owns and operates http://webbusinesstoolsonline.com. Cliff Posey has also operated several other successful web businesses including Love Song Cards and Radio Career Consultants. The content in this article was developed from his experience in these businesses.Vania Blog50130
Fawnia Blog15552

Hiring Effective Sales People Worldwide!

APIMage is now hiring effective sales people all over the world to invite prospects to a presentation and close sales utilizing its 10K A Week Wealth Creation System released by Make Money Or Make Excuses creator and CEO of Mentors On A Mission, Al Turnquist. Dornessa Harris says, Al has done it again by creating the best sales job in the world to help level the playing field between Newbies and Experienced home based business owners.

Al Turnquist is paving the path for individuals who want financial freedom by implementing a sales job opportunity that teaches home based business owners how to leverage their time by hiring sales professionals to make calls on their behalf. Due to this cleverly designed income opportunity, Jaguar Marketing System members are able to be in positive cash flow within days of implementation. Named the 10K A Week Wealth Creation System allows effective sales people to earn $400 or $1000 per sale while system owners attend online classes to learn to market their primary business.

The 10K A Week Wealth Creation System takes the meaning of online sales job and financial freedom to a new level. Successful sales people are earning $3,000 to $5,000 per week from home and they are being paid daily. There is no prospecting or presenting. System owners provide the leads. Successful candidates simply work from the comfort of their home, in their own time, fulltime or part-time as an independent contractor on commission.

The 10K A Week Wealth Creation System comes with a Money Back Guarantee. It takes the mystery out of making money online and brings a breath of fresh air to an industry that reportedly has a 95% failure rate. The home based business industry is in desperate need of a big fix. APImage in conjunction with Al Turnquist and the Jaguar Marketing System has created a solution to this growing problem, Effective sales professionals and the $10K A Week Wealth Creation System is creating a following like never before of individuals wanting to make money from home. This has got to be the most exciting business opportunity worldwide.

Sales people who wish to take on the responsibility of creating their own substantial income working from home have a realistic chance to thrive without punching a clock. The 10K A Week Wealth Creation System is backed by a 45 day guarantee which further demonstrates the integrity of the program and provides eager candidates with the essential tools required to be successful.

As a result, Jaguar Marketing System owners are able to earn in excess of $10,000 in any given week.

The Sales Job Description entails:

1. No Prospecting for leads!

2. No Presenting!

3. No Traveling!

Dornessa Harris is an online mentoring coach; trainer and owner of http://www.make1000adayfromhome.com who has help thousands of individual become financially free.Vikky Blog29382
Van Blog74381

5 Facts That Will Have Your Re-Writing Your Website In A Hurry

To view where the facts were gathered from to write this article, please click on the links below:

1. Jakob Nielsen for Sun MicroSystems (http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/)
2. Stanford Poynter Project (http://www.poynterextra.org/et/i.htm)

This article will highlight the differences between writing copy for the web and writing copy for print. Some of these facts go against intuition and against cultural norms. But, these facts detail how people read on the web.

There's no use in arguing against them. Instead you should embrace them and use this knowledge to your advantage. Here's what the facts are and how they're going to affect your website.

1) Where Do Eyes Go First When Your Homepage Comes Up?

Contrary to what you might think, it isn't towards the graphics or photos like in print advertising. Instead your prospects eyes will first go to the copy. Specifically your headline and sub-heads. Therefore, your first chance to engage the prospect is through copy. Not graphics.

Seeing as most web users look at a web page for only 3-15 seconds before deciding whether to stay or move on. The fact that they look at copy first has massive implications for your website. Fancy graphics won't make a prospect stay on your website. But a really strong headline and strong sub-heads will.

2) How Much Of Your Copy Do Users Actually Read?

The fact is that online users, on average, read 75% of the length of any given page. This is big news because most web pages will have the important conclusions, calls to action, and order information on the bottom 25% of any given page. That's a big no-no. Because it will never get read.

You have to have your call to action and order information presented early on your web page to ensure it gets read.

3) Why Do Most Banner Ads Produce Poor Click-Through Rates?

1.25 seconds. That's how long an average user will look at your banner ad. That's just enough time to perceive one image or 6 words (based on college student's average reading speed of 350 words/minute).

Therefore, banner ads that have animation, taking 4-5 seconds to run through a cycle, or more than 6 words must be reconsidered. However, if you really must keep your animated banner ad because "it just looks so cool!" I would suggest that you at least keep your company logo visible throughout the entire animation sequence.

4) Why Is Reading Online More Frustrating Than Reading Print?

Turns out that reading from a computer screen causes a person's reading speed to slow by 25% when compared to reading print. That means reading long copy can be very frustrating online. Break up the copy to help users through.

Have a few one line paragraphs.

Use headlines and sub-heads to summarize information. So users who are tired of reading word-by-word can quickly scan the rest of your document.

5) Are Your Web Page Users Not Getting The Whole Picture?

If you haven't made your web page truly scannable, prospects to your site may only be getting part of the sales message. Only 21% of online users read word-by-word. The other 79% scan a web page headline to headline. Sub-head to sub-head. Picking up only the larger, bolded or italicized copy.

Your sales message has to be read both by scanners and word-by-word readers. Therefore all your major selling points, benefits, call to action and order info must be in easily scannable type.

Otherwise your website will only generate 21% of the sales it could be. And for the money you put into your website, that's not good enough.

So, if online reading is so different from offline reading. Clearly your web copy has to follow suit. Take home message? Make sure your website is performing on all cylinders. Have a professional web writer write your website. It will save you money in the long run.

Aran Kay is a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter with experience working for Nintendo, Direct Energy, Kellogg's and more. He has written numerous marketing articles and includes a selection of them on his web site. http://www.ProfessionalCopy.ca is also your source for "The 52 Best Marketing Web Sites." It's a great resource and yours FREE just for visiting his web site.Fay Blog62409
Essa Blog62814

If Your Professional Time Is Not 100% Billable, Then You Need To Be Doing This

A great way to build your practice is to start out doing pro bono work. Pro bono work has a number of different advantages. First, it helps new practitioners (or those looking to break into a new field of law) gain valuable experience that you can't get by reading a book. By being able to show that you have actually practiced in the area you are looking to work in, you gain credibility. Another advantage of pro bono work is the opportunity to network. By doing pro bono work in a specific area of law, you are then able to meet other practitioners in the area youd like to practice in. Getting your name out there is a great way to gain referrals, additional work, and even employment opportunities. Reputable pro bono organizations also offer mentoring and resources that provide you with great opportunities to learn even more.

There is another choice of you dont want to work for free in order to gain experience and build your practice. Sliding scale and reduced rate services can be made available to those potential clients who are resourceful enough to seek it out. These type of services are usually made available to clients who are of limited means and unable to afford an attorney at their normal rate. Many solo practitioners have found this work to be their bread and butter, at least when they were first getting started. Your fees can be a straight reduction of your hourly rate, a capped flat fee, or a fee based on the income of the potential client.

So where then, do you find these opportunities? Pro bono work is available almost everywhere you look. Nonprofit organizations frequently require help. Bar associations usually have established pro bono programs, and directories of organizations that need help. There are even established pro bono organizations that do legal work internally. As for sliding scale work, it depends on the type of work that you want to do. The courts typically have assigned counsel cases for the criminally indigent. The courts also have legal guardian, guardian ad litem, and court evaluator trainings and accreditation, affording a number of opportunities to you. Many nonprofit legal funds also maintain their own lists of attorneys willing to work for a reduced rate or on a sliding scale. Try to get on their lists. Finally, a targeted search on the internet, or contacting your local bar association is sure to put you in touch with the right entity for your needs. Good luck!

Jack McDonough is a Colorado CPA, speaker, coach, author, and consultant to professionals in the legal and accounting industries who desire to make more money while working less hours. Jack is President of Wealthy Professionals LLC. http://www.wealthyprofessionals.comEveline Blog53272
Frannie Blog21309

FAQ About Running Your Internet Business

Do you have questions about your Autoresponder, articles, and creating your business website? Maybe you dont have questions today, but these questions could pop up tomorrow. So you need to be aware of these common questions. Knowing the answers to these questions can save you precious time and money. Time, in fact, that could be spent making more money instead of trying to figure out a solution to the problem.

So heres a list of questions regarding Autoresponders, articles, and your business website:

Autoresponder Question: I am moving an old list that I havent followed up with or contacted in awhile. I want to move this old list from the AutoResponse Plus to 1Shopping Cart. Can I just import this list into 1Shopping Cart or do I need to contact each person on the list?

Autoresponder Answer: When you move the list to 1Shopping Cart they will make the list double opt-in. 1Shopping Cart will send your list an email about this. So make sure to send an email to the list ahead of time so you can prepare them for the 1ShoppingCart email.

Note: If you havent really talked to these people or followed up then your response rate is probably going to be really low. Still do it, but just note that you might lose a lot of emails during the transition.

Articles Question: I know that submitting articles is a great way of viral marketing. I send out several articles on a consistent basis. I use the article submitter called Article Submitter Pro. Are there any other article submission programs that are faster?

Articles Answer: No, nothing is faster than Article Submitter Pro. If you want to try another article submitter program try Article Announcer.

Business Website Question: How do you select which keywords to put in the HTML code for your business website?

Business Website Answer: It depends. If you dont use conversion tracking then look at keywords that have the highest click through rate. If you ARE using conversion tracking then look at the words that are converting the most. Put the top 2-3 keywords in your title tag. Dont have more than 83 characters in your title tag.

Business Website Question: What is conversion tracking?

Business Answer: Login to your Google AdWords account to find conversion tracking. It will give you a code where you can track cost per lead and your lead conversion. It tracks from when people land on your website to getting to your thank you page. The click through rate, on the other hand, tells you the time it takes from somebody searching Google to the time they reach your website.

Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet millionaire and best-selling author.Viola Blog12750
Vinnie Blog1761

I Have No Product - How Can I Have A Business?

Having a business does not necessarily mean having your own product. Whether you realize it or not, most brick and mortar businesses do not have their own product. Grocery stores sell products that are produced by other companies. Real Estate offices sell real estate that belongs to other people, car dealerships sell vehicles that are made by automobile makers, and even banks sell products based on other peoples money!

There is no reason why you cant sell other peoples products to get your business started as well. This doesnt mean that you will always want to solely sell other peoples products everybody knows that the real money is in your own products. But selling other peoples products is a way to start a business and a way to add additional income to an existing business, even if you do have your own product.

Often, people make starting a home business a lot more complicated than it actually is. Sure, you want a plan but dont plan it to death! Some people plan so much for so long that they never actually start their business. If you are selling someone elses products, all that planning isnt really necessary. In fact, you can literally start your business in one day.

1. Choose a product or a category of products to sell based on your own interests and the popularity of the niche. You can use the keyword research tool at http://www.overture.com to determine how popular a niche is by seeing how many searches have been performed recently for keywords related to that niche. Choose your niche and then find some products. Look for products at http://www.clickbank.com, http://www.paydotcom.com, or http://www.cj.com.

2. Once youve chosen your niche and your products, get your own domain name and webhosting. Go to http://www.godaddy.com for the domain name, and then go to http://www.hostgator.com for your webhosting. Choose the Swampy account at HostGator for the best value. You can add an unlimited number of domain names to your account at no additional cost as your business grows. You should also consider http://www.xaviernelson.com/lifetimewebhosting/ where you can get lifetime hosting for a one time fee.

3. If you know how to design a website, get your website up, and start filling it up with content. Write articles for your site that relate to the products that you are selling, and put your affiliate links in those articles. Post those articles on your site, and also sign up for a Google AdSense account at http://www.adsense.google.com for additional income.

4. Start promoting your website you are officially in business! A good way to promote your website and start building an opt-in list, which is essential for anyone doing business on the Internet, is to join in Joint Venture Giveaways. One such giveaway is launching soon at http://tinyurl.com/ttkms. Look for other joint venture giveaways as well. You will need a product to give away. Look for private label rights products, or create your own ebook for this.

Thats all there is to it. Of course, there are other ways to promote your website that you will learn about as you go along but this is a starting point. The biggest mistake that most people make is taking no action at all. If you follow the four steps above, you have taken action, and this will motivate you to take additional action.

Stop thinking about it and stop planning. Jump in with both feet! Getting started will cost you less than $25 bucks, and there is no time like the present! This initial investment of your time and effort will lead to bigger and better things!

Kelly Lowe is a real work at home professional, and Editor-In-Chief of Real Work At Home Info at http://www.realworkathomeinfo.com. She strives to show people how they can really earn a fulltime income from home.Fannie Blog12562
Vitoria Blog89634

Making Money from Google Adsense

There is nothing more rewarding than receiving the check of hard earned money. You must have seen thousands upon thousands of online testimonies of how they 'got rich' from Google Adsense and how they make thousands per week. Some of these stories are not entirely false.

The main secret behind making money from Google Adwords/Adsense program is content. There is no shortcut. Content is the first step behind any successful money making website. Of course, there is SEO-ing, but content is what drives the potential customers to your site. How much you are willing to invest will determine how much you will make per month, but it is possible to make money without spending a dime.

First of all, you will need a website. Assuming your content will be purely textual (since Google spiders crawl on text/keywords), you may either get a domain and hosting or choose to post to a blog, or you could sign up for free ad-supported website. It is recommended that if you plan on making money from your website, you ought to get a website with your own domain name, after all, ad supported hosting defeats the purpose of your money making; plus, you want your website to appear as professional and less congested as possible.

Now that you have a website, the next step is getting content for your site, but we'll get to that at the end of this article.

Now that you have a domain name and a niche, you will have to sign up for the Google Adwords Program. Note that Google Adwords enables you to get paid for advertising and Google Adsense is when you will have to pay for advertising.

Now that you have your domain with efficient hosting, and your Adwords account, you will need to build your site. If you are already a site-creating guru, then you are a step ahead. If not, creating your content site is not purely throwing out HTML pages. Sooner or later, content is going to keep growing and you may either get an efficient content manager or get hired help.

Traffic makes the difference between you making money or you not getting a dime. In order to get traffic, you can either optimize your website or get traffic by spamming. Now, remember that spamming will not get you repeat visitors, and will give your business a very bad reputation, plus, spamming may cost your website not to be listed on search engines, and Google has the right, under the 'Terms and Conditions' to revoke your Adwords account. You definitely do not want to start from scratch.

Traffic can come by word of mouth and efficient SEO-ing. SEO is an enormously broad topic that ranges from content, link popularity, link exchanges, keywords, web description, etc., to website rankings and so on. In order to remain on the top of your niche, you will need to always want your customers coming back. In order to keep that traffic flowing, you will need to keep content coming fresh and keeping your site constantly optimized and up to date. You will need to be aware of most common spider crawling techniques and use it to your advantage.

Another most common made mistake in getting website content free and cheap is to copy other websites or repeat the same information (if you have more than one money-making site). This is a bad move! Search engines will see this duplicate content as spam and remove it from searched results. Also, if you copy and paste content that is not yours and/or of public domain you will be infringing copyright. Copyright infringement is a crime.

As far as content goes, you can hire help to write articles or you can conveniently buy articles in bulk. Bulk articles are normally distributed by renowned companies and usually are more cost-efficient. Bulk content is also good if you are thinking of expanding your site. A renowned company that can help you with content and marketing strategies is the Myrdhinn's Marketing Madness. There are thousands of articles in different niches and since it's from a trustworthy company, you can always return for new quality content.

http://www.myrdhinn.com/members/davidj/products.html

Remember that signing up for Google Adwords is free. If your website gets rejected at first, don't worry. Just build your site and re-apply. As long as your website is legitimate and is not an 'about-me' site, you are more than likely to get approved. Plus, having an Adwords account opens you to the Google community and you can increase your PageRank dramatically.

Good luck on your first check!

My name is David Jackson. I'm an Internet Marketer living in the Philippines. Upon joining Myrdhinn's Marketing Madness for the many Articles available. Go to - http://www.myrdhinn.com/members/davidj/join.htmlVenus Blog13848
Erminia Blog8965

Secret Sales Techniques

What new sales techniques are coming out of the science of behavioral economics? Mostly better explanations and applications of old techniques. Though the science it is relatively new, many of its findings have been known intuitively by good salesmen and marketers for ages. Maybe now, however, it is time to apply this knowledge more systematically in the real world of business.

There are dozens of principles that have been identified by the scientific research. Each of them can be used to develop or refine sales techniques. Three of them are explained below.

The Science Behind The Sales Techniques

Confirmation bias is the scientific name for the tendency we have to act economically in a way that confirms our current beliefs. A great example is found in a study of Mercedes Benz buyers. When buying the same model, it was found that current owners, who presumably already believe in the value of a Mercedes, paid $7,000 more, on average, than new Mercedes customers.

You can imagine the value of this knowledge to companies that sell high-priced items more than once to a customer. You can use this principle in other ways too. Suppose you are selling homes. Asking the buyer what style of home he thinks is best, and letting him make his arguments might also make him much more interested in a home if you show him "his" style.

Decision paralysis is the phenomenon of having too many choices to fell comfortable making a decision. In one study, customers had four samples of jam available.. Then for several hours, customers were offered twenty jams to choose from. You might think that with more options, people are more likely to find and buy the one they like, but the first group actually bought more jam.

How would you apply this as a sales technique if, for example, you sold paint? Maybe you wouldn't tell the customer about all 84 colors he can choose from. Limiting his options may be a useful technique, according to this research finding. Of course good salesmen have historically overcome this "decision paralysis" by using the either-or sales technique: "Would you like me to order the x or the y for you then?"

Extremeness aversion refers to the fact that people avoid extremes. No big surprise there, but the power of the effect in a consumer situation probably surprised even the researchers. In a typical study, for example, customers might be given a choice of televisions costing $300, $500, and $700. Not many choose the $700 one, unless one simple change is made: add a $1200 television to the selection. Consistently, then, more will choose the $700 television, because it is no longer the most expensive one (the extreme).

It doesn't take much imagination to think of applications for this principle, does it? Add an expensive table or two to the showroom to sell the previously most-expensive ones. Show a buyer a few expensive homes to adjust their price expectations. Put a more expensive cereal on the shelf with the others. Sales techniques don't get much simpler than this.

Steve Gillman has studied unusual ways to make money for thirty years. To learn more, visit his website; http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.comFreddie Blog7095
Vanda Blog17655

Nashville Schools Examines Its 2005-2006 Performance

Nashville Schools Board of Education Reviews Adequate Yearly Progress Results

Every year, every school district in Tennessee must examine its performance from the pervious school year. This summer Nashville Schools had to do this as well. The Nashville Schools Board of Education, which included both the outgoing members from 2005-2006 and the incoming members from 2006-2007, reviewed the results from the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress. The results will help to pinpoint for Nashville Schools those areas that have improved and where continued progress is needed. Nashville Schools had both remarkable achievements in some areas and areas that continue to be a challenge. This is the third year that the majority of schools in the Nashville Schools have received a rating of Good Standing, the highest rating that can be given. The remaining schools had moved either up or down from the previous year. The number of schools in Good Standing was 81 which is the same number as last year.

Possibly the biggest gain this year for Nashville Schools is that some of the schools categorized as high poverty schools received Good Standing ratings. Two schools Kirkpatrick and Napier Elementary Schools achieved a Good Standing rating for the first time since the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress was established. These two schools are two of the highest poverty schools in Nashville School District. There ratings reflect the effort that the students, teachers, parents and principals put in last school year.

But many schools did not receive a rating of Good Standing or even the same rating as last year. Many of these schools received a lower rating than previously. This indicates that there are still lots of areas that still need improvement. Nashville Schools has made the commitment to strive for every school to receive a Good Standing rating. Each summer the Nashville Schools Board of Education meets to determine what steps can be taken to improve the coming school years scores. The difficulty is that there are a variety of factors that can influence the rating. A small adjustment in one area could affect the overall standing. With this in mind the Board tries to find a way to make every school a school that rates Good Standing.

One of the biggest concerns for the Nashville Schools Board of Education is the size of the District. Nashville Schools currently has around 74,000 students and must provide educational opportunities that meet the needs of this student population. Nashville School District includes both Nashville and Davidson Counties, so there are logistic concerns also. Nashville Schools are very confident about how this school year will proceed. The Nashville Schools Board of Education is a nine member body that is elected at the end of every school year composed of educators, community leaders and administrators. The members are elected in a public vote by the citizens of the Nashville School District. The Board believes that there is a real potential for all the schools to gain ratings of Good Standing by summer of 2007.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on Nashville schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Tennessee/Nashville/index.htmlFlorry Blog50680
Fey Blog29325

Business Licenses Required to Legally Start Your Business

Here's a list of business licenses you need to start your business.

All starting businesses need one or more business licenses and tax ids before legally starting business operations. After reading this article you will know exactly what business licenses you need to start your business. First, all starting businesses need a business license.

There are a few businesses that are not required to have one but that's a small percentage compared to the percentage of businesses that need a business license to legally operate. The business license requirement applies to all businesses: Home-based businesses, online internet businesses, contractor's businesses, professional businesses and any other type of business. If you are a professional, such as a mechanic or hairdresser, you might need to apply for a professional license directly from the state. However, you will still need to obtain a business license in addition to your professional license. Depending on the location of your business, or the type of business, the business license is filed at the state, county or municipal level of government.

Second, you may need to register a DBA. If you using a business name that does not include your last name, you need to file a DBA (Doing Business As), also called a fictitious business name, an assumed business name, a trade business name, a trade firm name or a business name certificate.

Keep in mind that even if you use your last name as part of your business name, and the business name also includes a suffix such as "& Co," "& Sons," "& Associates" or anything that denotes additional business owners, you need to file a DBA. Incorporating or forming an LLC is like the registration of a DBA business name so long as the corporate or LLC name is identical to the name you are using to conduct business. So, if you incorporate or form an LLC, you don't need to register a DBA business name. However, even if you file a Corporation or LLC, and the corporation name or LLC name is different from the business name you will use to conduct business, you need to file a DBA. Here's a link to an inexpensive and professional DBA filing service: http://www.businessname.net .

Third, if you sell or lease taxable items or services, in most states, you are required to obtain a state sales tax id number (also called a seller's permit, wholesale license, retail license or resale permit).

The reason that the state wants you to have this tax id number is that, as a retailer, you will be collecting sales taxes, which you will need to later pay to the state. You will need a sales tax id number to buy wholesale, or if you are a wholesaler, you will need it to sell wholesale. For example, if you have a toy store, you will be able to buy wholesale without paying any taxes for the toys to the wholesaler and, subsequently, charging taxes to your customers when you sell the toys.

Fourth, if you will hire employees, you will need to obtain a federal employer tax identification number as well as a state employer tax identification number.

These tax id numbers are required if you are an employer. Employment taxes are paid both to the federal and to the state government. Note that a federal tax id is also you business id number - just like a social security is your personal id number. Even if you are not required to have it, it is a good idea to obtain one and use it to open a business checking account. Otherwise, you will need to use your social security number to open a business bank account. Here's a link to a company that can obtain any tax id number for your business: http://www.tax-id-number.info .

Finally, incorporate your business or form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to avoid personal or civil liability.

You are not required to incorporate or form an LLC but it is recommended because a corporation or LLC is a separate "person" or legal entity and, thus, separates you from the business. Filing a DBA, does not protect your personal assets. However, if you incorporate or form an LLC, your debtors can only satisfy claims from your company's business assets not your personal assets such as your home or automobile.

You can hire a lawyer to file your business licenses, a less expensive legal service or you can do it yourself. After obtaining the required business licenses discussed above, and opening your business accounts, you can legally start business operations.

Obtain all required business licenses for your business so you can start making money!

Copyright (c) 2006 Elias Stassinos

Elias Stassinos, Esquire is a business attorney that has assisted thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs launch their first business enterprise. Visit his law firm Website: http://www.stassinos.com.Fey Blog29325
Verine Blog61023

Avoiding Home Business Scams

How many times have you heard about a great home business or Internet venture opportunity? Or even emails from far off land seeking your assistance to uncover wealth you are supposed to share? Probably more than you care to remember. But to go along with this how many of these home business opportunities ended up being a scam? Again, probably quite a few.

Hopefully, you were never the victim of any of these scams. But unfortunately there are others who probably fell for these opportunities. The fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money. And as long there are gullible people in this world, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people.

The best way to avoid a home business scam is to thoroughly research each opportunity before you move forward with it. This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online. You may get lucky and end up with a good home business opportunity, but chances are that you will not. Not only will you want to read what is available on the site itself, but you will also want to search for other information as well. Check with third party review sites and on message boards and forums. You may find out soon enough that a certain company has been reported as being nothing more than a scam.

You may also want to check with the Better Business Bureau if you are thinking about getting involved with a home business opportunity that you are not sure of. They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file. If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs. But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your research.

Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in. Can you get them on the phone? Do they respond to your emails? If you cannot even talk to a company before you start, there is not chance that they will be around when you need them. This is one test that you can run early on in order to ensure that you are dealing with a reputable company. If you do happen to get an employee on the phone ask them questions in order to get some feedback on the company. Anything that will give you better insight into the home business opportunity is a good question.

Overall, Internet home business scams are all over the place, which also places a burden on legitimate businesses to prove themselves. Do your part in putting them out on the street by not falling prey. The best way to do this is through extensive research and questioning.

© 2006, EMarketSociety.com, Hasnuddin Hamdan

Hasnuddin Hamdan is the owner-operator of The E-Market Society website, and linked to several well-known Internet Home Business Affiliation programs. For more details on how you too can be successful at Internet Home Business, please go to : http://www.emarketsociety.comEvie Blog3550
Fawnia Blog15552

Reaching Your Small Business Sales and Marketing Goals

A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream

Are you on track to reach your business, sales or marketing goals?

If your answer is noor youre not surebelieve me you are not alone. I cant even begin to count the number of small business Ive run across that arent on track to meet their goalsor have no way of knowing if they are or not.

Why do so many entrepreneurs struggle to reach their goals?

Because although setting sales and revenue goals and making resolutions is a good place to start, you have to do more than that. If you truly want reach your goals, you have to have a plan. And you have to have deadlines for taking action.

You see, goals and dreams dont become reality just because you want them to. Neither do resolutions.

Even if you start out strong, without a plan and concrete deadlines its far too easy to find an excuse, or create a roadblock. Or simply put off for today what you can do tomorrow.

Its also easy to give up because achieving your goals just seems too darn difficult. Luckily, humans have an amazing capacity to change, adapt and overcomeeven against tremendous odds.

Just think about the people who climb big mountains like Everest...

Having been an avid extreme sports participant for half my life, Ive had a chance to chat with quite a few successful mountaineers. Personally, as much as I love mountain biking, whitewater kayaking and backcountry skiing, Ill never understand why they do it.

Every single mountain climber Ive ever met agrees that high-altitude mountaineering is a suffer-fest. The closer they get to their goal, the more agonizing each step becomesliterally. Not to mention the fact that it is incredibly dangerous.

Thankfully, for most of us, our small business goals are much easier to achieve than reaching the summit of a mountain like Everest. But there is a lot we can learn from the way these mountaineers go about getting to the top.

How do mountaineers manage to summit major peaks time and again?

By approaching mountain climbing the same you should approach achieving any goal

1) They create a plan

Mountaineers spend literally months planning food, logistics, gear, their route, their possible summit dates and more for a trip that may only last a couple of weeksor less. Without all this planning they would never be successful.

Your goals may not be as difficult, dangerous or extreme, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt devote some time to writing out a plan for reaching them.

2) They set smaller goals with deadlines

Mountaineers dont go from Base Camp to the summit of Everest in one day. They know it takes time to climb a big mountain. And if their sights are set only on the end goal its hard to maintain a positive attitude. Because that end goal is always a long ways off.

Its much easier, and more rewarding, to reach big goals in stages. Plus it gives you a chance to get used to the changes you encounter every step of the way. Thats why mountaineers set a date to reach Base Camp, another to go to Camp 1, and so on until finally they make one last push to the summitideally on their predetermined summit day.

You can, and should, do the same.

3) They remember to plan for the down climb

Mountaineers always say just reaching the summit isnt enough; its only a successful climb if you make it back down. The same holds true for your goals.

If you want to stay on course and truly achieve success, you have to do more than just plan for achieving your short-term goals, or even reaching your summit. Instead you have to think about what youre going to do next to sustain your goals, maintain your new, successful behavior and keep moving forward.

The bottom line isIf you really want to reach your business goals and achieve your dreams, you have to start by making a plan. Abe Lincoln had it right when he said Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Most people avoid planning like the plague, but it really does not have to be difficult. All you need to do is spend a few minutes writing down your main goal, choosing smaller goals to reach along the way, and making a list of what you need to do to make it all happen. And dont forget to include deadlines for when you are going to get each action item done.

So, dont just pick a goal and hope for it to happen. Spend a little time deciding how you are going to make those goals a realitythen take action. Youll be amazed at the great heights you can reach when you do!

©2002-2007 SuccessStream. All Rights Reserved. http://www.success-stream.com

With more than 20 years experience running small businessesincluding four of her ownStacy Karacostas understands the unique challenges entrepreneurs face. An experienced marketing consultant and copywriter, she has created a variety of proven tools, tips and tricks that take the stress out of growing a small business including her Marketing Success Action Plan Workbook Putting Your Business on the Road to Success that makes writing a marketing plan as easy as planning a vacation road trip. Best of all, Stacy loves sharing her know-how and has a knack for making marketing both easy and fun. Have her business-building wisdom sent to your Inbox each week for F*REE by signing up at http://www.success-stream.com/brightideas.htm.Evania Blog95034
Vinni Blog95587

The Net's New Information Highway

For more years than I care to admit, I have depended on either word-of-mouth, catchy ads or Search Engine results to draw me into a new program. I have stopped reading Testimonials altogether because his or her success (real or embellished) is no guarantee of my own and thats just common sense.

Im all about residual or leveraged income anyway and the only road for me. I no longer agree to sell someones product for twenty bucks and do it over again tomorrow and the next day. For the same amount of effort, I can get a leveraged program up and running with whatever is asked of me to qualify for on-going income with no further attention on my part. This is the only way to go. And once initiated and running on auto pilot, I look for a new money-stream.

The Internet changes faster than the speed of thought, and so must our searches and marketing strategies. Yesterdays landing pages are todays splash pages. Yesterday we heard about a great opportunity from an Ezine ad or a Free Report today we have new sources: Forums and Blogs.

Advertising and promotional posts are not allowed in most Forums. There are special Forums for posting your Bizop, but I dont think anyone reads these any more than antiquated FFA pages. But questions and answers do not violate this rule. So I look up Forums whose members are working from home or wish they were, and tune in on what they call Hot Topics. I choose three or four Forums and put the websites in my favorites so I can tune in daily and sort of eavesdrop on the hot topics.

Often it goes like this: Act3 is asking if anyone has heard about XYZ program; good or bad. Gemeni responds because he is a member of that program. Then others begin to ask about it. They want to know if Gemeni has been paid yet? How long did it take to return his investment? Gemeni responds with replies giving factual data. BigSpender posts her reply by saying she joined under Gemeni and I begin to read her positive comments also. Act3 joined during my second week of eavesdropping on all of this, and the three of them formed a winning team.

I have given you a short version, but enough to realize that this is a perfect avenue to find a new and promising program. Take what this Forum has offered and check out Scambusters and all other due diligence that you would do for any new opportunity. With everything on go join and begin to spread the word the same way you heard about it.

When you join Forums, you choose a username and post your sentence or two without making it appear like a blatant ad. However, they DO allow you to put your URL at the close of your post.

Go to a Forum that has a thread for members who are interested in working from home. Start asking if anyone knows something about XYZ company, good or bad. Wait a day or two to see if anyone posts a reply. If nothing negative comes back, or no one has heard of XYZ, then you might post a new thread giving some of the details you have acquired from other Forums. It might go something like this:

Hi everybody bigbill here in my last post I asked if anyone could tell me about XYZ company and since I didnt get any replies, I went to another Forum and posted the same question. I had several people tell me that XYZs cyclic target referral system has broken all the conservative boundaries of any other system. Can this be true? http://www.xyzcompany.com/osborn

Notice I did include my URL, and I tried hard not to make my post sound like an advertisement or it would have been deleted by the moderator. Now, lets look at blogging. Got a website? Got a product? Got a blog?

Yes, Blog your program daily with a free blog that is RSS fed. There are no rules here. Set up a blog; set up two - or three and each day type a few paragraphs that show the benefits of your program. Be sure to RSS it and you will have no trouble getting new participants to look over your program.

Play nice.

2007 Esther Smith

Esther Smith writes and publishes Marketing Articles and is a firm believer in Leveraged Income. She invites others to view an excellent example at: http://www.diamondcashclub.com/pisces and study the plan. Invitation to Internet Success is her eBook, a pdf file and free to all. Download yours today. When the student is ready, the master will appear. http://thepermanentventure.com/InternetSuccess.pdf Esmeralda Blog59115
Frederica Blog28645

Minister Launches Consultation on Simplifying Immigration Law

IMMIGRATION MATTERS

Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration, citizenship and Nationality has launched a consultation paper on simplifying immigration and citizenship law. The aim of this initial consultation paper is to seek a range of views to inform a fundamental overhaul of the legal framework within which the Border and Immigration Agency operates.

Over recent months the Border and Immigration Agency has outlined plans to reform the immigration system. The object of this paper is to begin the process of simplifying the body of different immigration laws built up over the last few decades.

The new legal framework will be important to the transformation of the Border and Immigration Agency, and to the achievement of its strategic objectives.

The consultation paper is available on the Border and Immigration Agencys website.
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/newsarchive/wmssimplifyingimmigration#mainNav

If you should have any questions on working or studying in the UK email Charles Kelly info@immigrationmatters.co.uk.

HOW 2 COME TO THE UK to Live Work Study or Visit by Charles Kelly & Cynthia Barker 2005 ISBN 0-9546338-3-0.
Available from National Bookstore, PowerBooks, Fully Booked and our website.
http://www.how2cometotheuk.com

USEFUL WEBSITES http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk/useful_websites.html
Immigration Matters
http://www.immigrationmatters.co.uk
http://www.nursejobsamerica.com
http://www.visas4students.com

Charles Kelly is a registered Immigration Adviser and Co Author of How 2 Come to the UK to Live Work Study or Visit.Veronika Blog94314
Freddy Blog82102

The Best Places To Get Free Content Which Very Few People Know About

Everybody knows that getting fresh content is vital to a website's success. The problem is, what is the best way to get it?

Well, there are a number of ways that you can do it. Internet marketing professionals would recommend that you go to the article directories to get instant content. But so many people are doing it nowadays, and there is also the requirement to include the author's biography, so you cannot claim it as your own.

Of course, you can also write your own content. But this is a very tedious job which involves lots of researching on your part. It could be many hours, or even days before you can write one complete article on your own.

So what is the best solution here? The key is to go to places where very few people know about, and get your ideas from there. In this article, I will share with you 4 of the best places to get free content which very few people know about.

1. Creative Commons

Creative commons is a novel and innovative licensing method that allows writers to initiate a certain project, and other parties will be given the permission to join in the project at any given time to contribute whatever they know, or any fresh ideas they can come up with. Indeed, a creative common involves a form of co-creatorship that is something like a joint venture, an idea which many believe is perfect for the digital age.

If you want to know what a creative common is all about, you can head on down to Wikipedia, a hugely popular user-driven online encyclopedia. If you intend to use works that are under a creative commons license, you can check out Creativecommons.org to find some projects with a creative commons license.

2. Public domain information

Let me explain a bit about public domain information. It basically embodies all the works that have been made in 1922 or earlier, or works belonging to authors who had passed away 70 years or more ago. This includes a large collection of creative undertakings that are waiting to be published the right way. For example, a classic piece of recipe or formula can be transformed into an eBook which you can sell or give away for free.

You can even post the same piece of work on your website without any legal limitations. There are a lot of public domain works that have already been converted in digital form.

I suggest that you go to Gutenberg.org for the best collection of these online converted works.

3. Use images as content

You may not know about this, but images do make great content as well. They can enhance the general appearance of your web pages, and help to bring more life to your website. But of course, you cannot just use any image you find on the Internet, because they are all copyrighted material, and those that are being offered on the market usually fetch very high prices.

Fortunately, it is possible for you to seek out images that are not bounded by any restrictions, and you are free to use them in anyway you want. You can find many such images at sxc.hu.

4. Government websites

Strange as it may seem, but you can get some free contents from government websites. Basically, contents published in government websites cannot be copyrighted. The rationale behind this is that the government has prepared such content for the benefit of its people, hence it can be used freely on your website.

The bottom-line here is not to follow the crowd and do what the rest are doing. The resources outlined above are some of the best places that you can go to for unique and fresh contents. These are methods which still very few people know about.

Wyatt Lee is an expert author specializing on the subject of Internet marketing. Please visit his Internet marketing strategy blog at http://internetmarketing-strategy.blogspot.com for all the best tips and latest news on the world of Internet marketing.Valry Blog42580
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Gas Station Gift Cards - An Unusual Yet Highly Appreciated Gift!

Can you even believe the prices of gas nowadays? It’s insane! I feel like I’m buying my car all over again every time I go fill up the gas tank sometimes.

But every dark cloud has a silver lining doesn’t it... And that’s how I got my awesome idea for gifts this year: Gas Gift Cards. Uh-huh. Can you even think of a more perfect gift for anyone? Didn’t think so.

Everything doesn’t automatically fall into place though, so here are a few thoughts to keep in mind when you choose a gas station gift card for that special person:

Include a handwritten note

Gifts cards will always have that stigma of being impersonal and / or lazy gifts. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to make it unique and thoughtful, people wil always have that bias on them. But can get around this obstacle easy but including a simple handwritten note, maybe a poem or a quote, along with the card. Simple Easy. Effective.

Choose a card with several stations on it

This is a big one. Trust me, you do not want to limit or trap your recipient into using only one gas company with your card. People like to have a choice. Nothing is more frustrating than needing to fill’er up and not being able to because you can only get gas at Shell stations and there are none around! So Make sure you get a good quality card that’s redeemable at plenty of different gas stations.

Don't be afraid to show your originality

Are you worried that you’re being too original or creative at choosing a gas gift card to give as your gift? That your friend / relative isn’t going to ‘get’ what you try to do? Far from it.... Truth is you gotta move fast! Because the use of gift cards is rising, more and more every single year, and soon it will be a commonplace gift, even though it isn’t now.

Your gift will last for a long time

A lot of the new gift cards have no expiration dates. So this can be your ‘gift that keeps on giving’ and easily be the stand-out of all the gift your friend receives on his or her special day. Think of how, years from now, they can still be using and enjoying your gift, and think of you as well.

Angela Bacci is the writer and maintainer of Giftickles, a website and blog whose purpose is to spread the genius idea that is gift cards! Come check us out at http://www.giftickles.comViva Blog5244
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Following Up Is Key To Internet Business Success

Which is more important; following up on prospects or following up on sales? Nine out of ten people would answer 'prospects'. This shows in the fact that most people believe marketing ends once the sale is made. However, marketing actually begins once the sale is made. That's right! Following up on the sale is the crucial most important aspect of Internet marketing.

Think about it. How many times have you received an e-mail after making an Internet purchase? Usually within minutes after making a purchase you receive a brief e-mail thanking you for your business.

It doesn't stop there. Most companies will continue to periodically send you e-mails. Sometimes it is to check up on how their product is working for you. Other times it is to inform you of a new or upcoming product that might benefit you. Regular contact form these companies results in a slow and steady relationship. The business is able to capture your trust, making it easier for them to sell you their services or products.

This follow up marketing tactic can work just as well for you. If you take the time to follow up on each sale you prove to the customer that you really care about their business and are available to help them become successful with your product. One fellow marketer commented that follow-ups are like a fruit tree ripe for the picking. Yes, follow-ups are a great way to garner extra business.

If you're like me, and your Internet ventures rely heavily on affiliate programs and residual income, following up becomes even more important. Why? Because a lot of residual income programs only pay you as long as the members in your down line stay in paid status.

I learned this the hard way. I do a lot of my marketing with a plug-in profit site that promotes a handful of affiliate programs like SFI, Empowerism and Host4profit. I remember the excitement the first time I made a sale with SFI and Host4profit. I remember thinking I was on the track to making monthly income. Boy was I wrong.

I made the mistake of making no contact with my customers after they joined the programs. I just assumed that they would be fine left on their own. Wrong! One or two months into the programs, they suddenly became inactive or simply quit.

I just saw my residual income drift unexplainably away. What went wrong? I have no way of knowing, since the quitters failed to respond to my sudden inquiring e-mails. I assumed it was my lack of support. After those embarrassing episodes, I made a decision to follow up on every sale. Now I immediately respond to each sale. I thank them for their business and then offer assistance in getting them going. Since that epiphany, the dropout rate in my residual income programs has dramatically decreased.

A lot of people join programs and are confused where to start. They don't initially realize that some effort is required to make them work. They become discouraged and simply quit. By having good follow up habits, you can provide them with a motivating kick in the butt. Always make yourself available for assistance. It may take a little extra time out of your day, but it is well worth it to keep that residual income rolling in.

No matter if you are marketing residual income programs or selling a product or service, your follow up habits can make or break your Internet business. Remember, marketing doesn't end with the sale, it actually begins.

Copyright © Robbie Fanucchi
http://www.RJFanucchi.com

Robbie Fanucchi's website is dedicated to finding the best home business ideas and opportunities:Evonne Blog93947
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Starting a Business - What do I do first?

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

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

1) Get Ready to Spend Money

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

2) Pick a good company name

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

There are two primary ways to trademark your business:

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

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

3) Get your Logo and Branding Done

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

4) Market your Business

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

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

5) Run Your Business Well

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

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

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

Daniel TrimpeyVerena Blog29705
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How to offer CDs and DVDs on a Budget

Many Internet businesses sell intellectual property. For example, they sell a book, eBook, audio CD, DVD, or software. Selling intellectual property can be very lucrative. You can sell intellectual property that is in a digital format such as an eBook. You can have customers download the eBook directly off of your website.

Downloading a digital product is easy, but what if you want to send a CD or DVD to your customer? Many customers still prefer an actual CD or DVD. If you offer these products then you have to deal with fulfillment of packaging and shipping. You can work through a fulfillment company, but many fulfillment companies provide less than desirable services.

So how do you act as your own fulfillment company? Lets say that you have digital MP3 audios that you want to put into CD format. You also have an eBook that you want to print and send as a hard copy book. You also are new to the Internet business scene and are on a tight budget.

The good news is that you can burn the CD and print the book yourself. Buy a CD and DVD burner program called BravoPro. BravoPro lets you burn CDs and DVDs quickly and easily. You can burn CDs and DVDs at your home. You can print out the CD and DVD covers yourself.

Tip: Dont buy BravoPro off of EBay just to save a few bucks. If you do then you wont have access to BravoPro support. So if your program breaks or you have questions about features than you are left out in the cold.

The next question is how to package the CDs and DVDs. You need a CD jewel case and/or a DVD case. Did you know that you can actually find DVD cases for free? Head out to your local Blockbuster. They often throw out DVD cases after a hit movie goes onto the regular shelves. So go to your local Blockbuster and ask them when they throw out their DVD cases. They will often be happy to give you the DVD boxes. Using the free DVD cases will save you loads of money.

Burning your own CDs and DVDs is fun at first, but after awhile you may want to outsource the job. Its up to you. Just know that you can provide fulfillment for these types of products on a budget.

Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet millionaire and best-selling author.Faustina Blog61783
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Small Business Marketing: Risk Reversal Will Sky Rocket Your Sales

One of the top obstacles that you have to get over is the prospect's sensation that they are at risk when buying from you. The more they feel that they are at risk, the larger will be their reluctance to buy.

To get over this hurdle, you need to reserve the sense of risk. You must assume the risk yourself.

Have you ever considered how many businesses transfer the built-in risks of conducting such a business to the customer?

Well, the following is a classic model of how this is done currently:

Recently, I went into a store to buy a anniversary present for a friend. I saw a sign on the wall behind the cash counter that said "Absolutely no refund after 7 days" and I thought to myself, "How negative is that?" It sounded so severe and foreboding, even threatening.

I was wondering why these people would want to lessen their customer's goodwill by stating the policy in such a negative way and risk turning off even one customer. Especially, when the very same message could have been stated in a much more favorable way and help to make lasting customer relationships. For example, the same line on the stores return policy could have read, "We will gladly refund your full purchase price within 7 days."

The difference:

I am sure the difference in the two approaches is quite obvious. In the first statement, it is implied that the customer has to bear the burden of responsibility while the second statement indicates that the store management is willing to go out of his or her way to help the customer.

The above example is only a small one with perhaps only a minor negligible effect on sales, but the idea is not to state things in a negative fashion when there is a much better and more positive way of saying the same thing.

Your risk, your gain:

The wide range of anti-customer policies employed by various businesses never ceases to amaze me. The point that they all miss here is that, if you believe you have a sound product or service, then you should leave no stone unturned in advertising it to your customers.

For example:

"Our prices are the lowest in town or well refund double the difference" or "If we dont have your size in stock, well make a special order and have it here within two days" or "Marketing that gets you results or it costs you zilch, nada, zero.

All of the above statements have a powerful and positive psychological impact on the mind of the customer. If you can perform, you must make sure you let people know. If you were the gift shop owner, as in the earlier example, you may get a few returns and refund requests to begin with, but those will be of no consequence at all compared to all the new business you will be getting just by thinking smart and communicating right.

As a matter of fact, studies have generally found that with product guraantees, the longer the guarantee period, the fewer returns. The longer guarantee gives the customer a sense that you really believe in your product.

Take for example an information product. If a customer has not had a chance to really get into the product and consume the information provided within the guarantee period, they may decide to return simply because they haven't had the time to satisfy themselfves that the information is really useful to them.

On the other hand, if the guarantee is for a year, then they don't feel rushed and if they never get to the product and it sits on the shelf unopened, they will have long forgotten all about it and the guarantee when the deadline comes up.

Taking the risk on yourself is good for your business.

George Dodge focuses on small business marketing and offers a free audio CD on "Amazing Advertising, Sales & Marketing Techniques Proven To Boost Your Sales & Profits By 100% To 500% -- FAST!" by the legandary marketing consultant Dan Kennedy. Visit http://www.Magnetic-Marketing-System.com/ to discover how to get your copy today.Fae Blog35743
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